What we learned in the first round of the 2024 DII football championship

The 2024 DII football regular season was full of upsets, and the first round of the DII football championship followed suit. Two No. 2 seeds fell, and three No. 3 seeds are going home early. When you keep in mind that No. 1 seeds were off on a bye — and you throw in the Minnesota State upset over No. 4 Augustana (SD) — that means there were just as many upsets as host teams winning.

And you thought the madness was in March?

Yes, my bracket is busted because I had Charleston (WV) in the semifinals. No, I don't care one bit. Saturday's first round was one of the most thrilling in recent history with a bevy of games being decided at the wire and in overtime. Here's how it went down.

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The defending champs are alive and (very) well

Harding Athletics

Harding had to go on the road to the unfriendly confines of Carnie Smith Stadium — aka The Jungle — as an unseeded road warrior against a stout Pittsburg State team. The Gorillas only allowed 90 yards rushing per game and seven total rushing touchdowns this season, and anyone that knows anything about DII football knows that Harding likes to run the ball... and then run it some more.

That's exactly what Harding did in the most lopsided victory of the first round. You can argue the victory should have been even larger considering Harding turned it over twice before scoring, but that Bisons' defense kept the Gorillas from capitalizing. On the day, Harding ran for 518 yards and five touchdowns while holding Pittsburg State to 167 yards and just three points — and no points over the final 54 minutes of play.

Never underestimate the value of a strong kicker

Both Minnesota State and Ashland definitely learned that having a kicker that doesn't crack under pressure is crucial. Both teams entered the tournament unseeded, both teams had three losses to their names — and both teams are moving on in thrilling upsets won as time expired by their trusty kickers. 

Minnesota State and Augustana (SD), meeting for the fourth time in the past two seasons, was essentially a war of attrition. Neither team was really able to pull away comfortably, but the Vikings built up a two-score lead late in the fourth quarter, leading 19-10. That's when Mavericks' quarterback Hayden Ekern took over, passing for a touchdown with 1:35 remaining to make the score 19-17. The Mavs immediately recovered an onside kick, Ekern completed a few passes and rushed for nearly 20 yards on the drive setting up Matthew Jaeger's game-winner.

Mavs with a 34 yard FG attempt..good! MSU wins 20-19. Final.

— Matt Witwicki (@WittD2Football)

Ashland wound up in a shootout, which wasn't exactly ideal against Charleston (WV)'s high-scoring offense. Back and forth the two went, and underdog Ashland had the Golden Eagles on the ropes for much of the game. Charleston quarterback Ean Hamric connected on a pretty 44-yard touchdown pass to Yves Bosmans to take the lead 38-37... but too much time was left on the clock. Ashland quarterback Trevor Bycznski — who may be the player of the first round with a 435-yard, four total touchdown day — completed pass after pass, including an unbelievable leaping catch by Tony Pannunzio to get the Eagles into field goal range. A.J. Rhodes connected on the field goal leaving zero ticks on the clock and putting Ashland back into the second round for the second time since 2022.

It wasn't only upsets in which kickers were the hero. Cal (PA) learned what I spoke about in last week's preview — East Stroudsburg had one of the more underrated offenses in DII football this year. The Warriors went into California, Pennsylvania and dropped 27 points, the most the Vulcans had allowed in over a month. East Stroudsburg was up by eight heading into the fourth quarter, but the Vulcans scored 11 unanswered points, with Anthony Beitko sealing the deal from 29 yards out as time expired, giving Cal (PA) its first playoff win since 2016.

It's a party in the CIAA (and SIAC)

The CIAA and SIAC went a combined 0-5 in the past two tournaments. Bowie State had some success in 2021 with two wins, but over the past five seasons, the two conferences combined for a 2-8 mark. That included back-to-back seasons of Benedict having the No. 1 seed and being upset in its first game.

The losing streak is over, as both Miles and Virginia Union advanced. And both were in nail-biting fashion. Carson-Newman entered the game with the third-best rushing offense in DII football, averaging 273.7 yards per game. This Miles defense, which entered the game tops in DII in turnovers and top 3 in sacks, held the Eagles to just 179 yards rushing, nearly 100 yards fewer than their season average. Miles, on the heels of its first-ever postseason win, now heads to No. 1 Valdosta State and will have to produce more than the 153 yards of total offense to beat the juggernaut that is the Blazers. But it will be interesting to see what this opportunistic defense can do.

HISTORY!!!! earns 14-13 won over Carson-Newman for first playoff win EVER! Next up…Valdosta State!

— Miles Golden Bears (@GoldenBearsofMC)

Wingate had one of the best defenses in DII football as well, but Virginia Union simply didn't care. The Panthers led a balanced attack — despite All-American running back Jada Byers having a very human day by his standards — and were the first team this season to put up 400 yards on this Bulldogs' defense — a defense that was second in DII allowing just 202.8 yards per game. But don't think all those yards made it a comfortable victory. Virginia Union had to come from behind, tying the game with just 20 seconds remaining and winning it in overtime after falling behind 31-28. Virginia Union advances and plays Lenoir-Rhyne next week in a battle of unseeded teams.

Just keep winning

On the complete opposite side of losing streaks, how about the little winning streaks we saw extended this past weekend? Both Grand Valley State and Bemidji State won a playoff game for the fourth season in a row, the only two current teams that can boast the feat.

Bemidji State entered the tournament unseeded for the third time in four years and upset its first round opponent once again. The Beavers controlled the tempo of this one, rushing for more than 200 yards and never trailing. In fact, the Beavers were tied early in the second quarter and led the rest of the way. Connor Carver ran for 114 of the Beavers' 231 yards and put the game out of reach with a 41-yard touchdown with just over two minutes remaining. The Beavers head to Western Colorado to face a stout offense and defense looking for another upset.

Twitter | Grand Valley State Athletics

The Greyhounds kept it close on the Lakers, but Grand Valley State pulled away about halfway through the third quarter and win 24-7. That defense made life miserable for UIndy quarterback Gavin Sukup, holding him to 91 yards on 32 percent passing and sacking him six times, with Niles King feasting for 2.5 sacks of his own. Up next is a rematch from last year against Harding — a game the Lakers led for 56 minutes before a late Harding touchdown won the game 7-6 for the Bisons. 

Odds and ends

Super Region One: Slippery Rock is off to the second round after a tightly contested battle against New Haven. It is the fifth time since 2018 that The Rock has advanced to at least the second round.

Super Region Two: Lenoir-Rhyne was another bracket buster, sending No. 3 West Alabama home in a come-from-behind 37-34 victory. West Alabama had the chance to tie it as time expired, but the field goal attempt fell short. 

Super Region Three: It took overtime, but Central Oklahoma is victorious in the DII football tournament for the first time since 2003. The Bronchos' reward? They get to head to No. 1 Ferris State and try to derail one of the hottest teams in all DII football.

Super Region Four: The season is over for the Lone Star Conference. The NSIC and RMAC are all that remain in Super Region Four. I also mentioned that it wouldn't be a far cry from seeing a three-loss team sneak into the semifinals this year, and both Bemidji State and Minnesota State have three losses heading into Round 2. 

Standout performances from Round 1

Let's take a look around the Super Regions at the top statistical leaders at quarterback, running back and wide receiver.