Unlike the first round of the 2025 DII football championship, Round 2 saw fewer surprises. All four No. 1 seeds moved on, and all four remained undefeated in DII play. The only true upset of the day (on paper at least) was unseeded Minnesota State defeating No. 3 UIndy in a 35-27 thriller, but if you have been following the weekly rundowns, you are fully aware that November Mavericks are a different team altogether, and this wasn't much of an upset at all.
2025 DII football championship: Bracket, schedule, scores
Now, just eight teams remain with a spot in the national semifinals on the line next Saturday. While all four No. 1 seeds remain, let's remember there are a few factors here. The main one is, with this year's newly expanded bracket, the No. 1 seeds didn't have a first-round bye. Thus, they have all played two games, as opposed to just one in year's past, and that levels the playing field a bit. Taking a look at the last decade of DII football, we haven't seen all four No. 1 seeds in the semifinals; however, in 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2021 we saw three make it, so it is quite possible the superpowers advance. Let's take a super region-by-super region look at how we got here and what lies ahead.
Super Region One: Will the Cinderella Bobcats keep dancing?
In last week's tournament rundown, we asked: "Frostburg State and Cal (PA) met on Nov. 1, and the Vulcans won a tight one 31-26. It is always tough to beat a team twice in the same football season… do the Cinderella Bobcats now have an edge?" The answer was a resounding yes as Frostburg State, in one of the closest games of the weekend, defeated Cal (PA) 23-21. That brought the Bobcats to 11-2, tying the program record set in 2017 when they were still Division III. It was a thrilling back-and-forth battle with Harrison Fritz redeeming himself from missing an earlier extra point by converting on the go-ahead and game-winning field goal with just four minutes to go.
The Bobcats will head to Kutztown and face a Golden Bears team that is just annihilating its competition for, well, the entire season. Kutztown won 56-19 over Assumption and have now scored 108 points in its two tournament games. So, what will it take for the Bobcats to pull off the upset in the Super Region One finals?
In short, a miracle. Kutztown has the No. 2 scoring defense in DII, allowing just 10.3 points per game. Frostburg State is a very efficient offense, but a high-scoring juggernaut they are not. Whereas Kutztown has scored more than 40 points in nine of their 13 wins, Frostburg State has broken the 40-point barrier just three times, and not once since Sept. 27. Kutztown is also the No. 2 total defense, allowing just 253.1 yards per game, and fewer than 80 yards per game rushing, another top 3 mark in DII. Frostburg State averages 393.8 yards per game, the 59th-best in DII, so there isn't a glaring advantage in the Bobcats favor here. Can Frostburg State win? Absolutely, but when you add the simple counting stats, and the utter dominance Kutztown has showed in its 13-0 romp to this point, it seems like an upset is highly unlikely.
Super Region Two: A SIAC semifinalist?
Albany State (GA) is now 12-1 overall with its second round victory over SIAC rival Benedict. The Golden Rams are 12-0 against DII competition and three of those wins came against Benedict, two of which were under the spotlight in the SIAC championship and this past Saturday. Albany State's defense is suffocating, as shown in its 14-12 victory in Round 2. If the cliche holds true, and defense wins championships, Albany State is in a great spot.
Opposite the Golden Rams are the Newberry Wolves. Newberry won a thriller at West Florida, outlasting the Argos 24-17. West Florida completely took away the Wolves rushing attack, holding them to just seven yards on the ground, but Reed Charpia showed why he was SAC offensive player of the year, throwing for 416 yards and two touchdowns, including what stood as the game-winner with under five minutes to go.
This sets up for an interesting matchup. Neither of these two programs have much experience in a game with implications as large as this. So, it comes down to where a team has any sort of slight advantage and Albany State has several.
The Golden Rams have the third-best scoring defense in DII (13.3 points per game), third-best total defense (253.1 yards per game), fifth-best rushing defense (82.5 yards per game) and 17th-best passing defense (171.5 yards per game). Newberry doesn't even average 100 yards per game on the ground, so this will come down to the quarterbacks, and arguably the best quarterback matchup of the weekend. The Golden Rams' Isaiah Knowles was the SIAC offensive player of the year, and Charpia was the SAC's. We've seen Albany State show the ability to shut down teams completely with its defense and outlast teams offensively in shootouts like in the 35-30 victory over Valdosta State in Round 1. But the Wolves are on a historic run and Charpia shows no quit, so this could be the tightest game of the weekend where anything goes.
Super Region Three: Here we go again
Ferris State vs. Minnesota State. Let's look at the last 10 years of DII football, shall we? Since 2016, Ferris State has made it this far in every season minus 2023. Minnesota State has made it this far four times over the same span. Now, grant it, these two are in the same super region for the first this year with the new alignment, so it was a very different ball game these past 10 seasons; however, the two have faced off in the spotlight before, with Ferris State downing the Mavericks 42-25 in the 2018 semifinals.
The Mavericks are once again on an upset train, although this has been a top-25 team — and even top-10 team — for much of the season. This week it was the one-score victory over UIndy's high-octane offense that allowed them to advance once again to a super regional championship bout. Sam Backer was huge, rushing for 116 yards and two scores to lead the way. The Mavericks are 4-0 when Backer breaks the century mark, and 7-0 when he rushes for two or more touchdowns. Want to know the key to victory? There it is.
Ferris State fell behind 14-0 in the opening seven minutes of a snow-covered matchup against Ashland, but then took over, routing the Eagles, 56-24. The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 121-38 in the first two rounds, and against Minnesota State's defense, which allows 18.54 points per game, not much should change.
This isn't so much about what Minnesota State can or cannot do. This is more about Ferris State. This is a team that has won three of the last four national titles and we very well may be looking at their best iteration yet. It isn't so much star power, but the depth of talent at every position. Chase Carter has taken over the starting quarterback position and has been responsible for 18 touchdowns over the past five weeks. This is the best offense in DII and the defense is top 15 in several categories. It simply doesn't feel like anyone can slow down the Bulldogs right now.
Super Region Four: Harding on another... run
This is a matchup of opposites. UTPB is in uncharted territory having never made it this far, while Harding has national championship experience up and down the roster, putting up big numbers once again.
UTPB got to this point after an exciting come-from-behind win against Western Colorado. Trailing 15-0, the Falcons scored 15 fourth-quarter points to force overtime and walk away victorious. Quarterback Kanon Gibson (pictured above) was tremendous again, throwing for 354 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 71 yards and the game-tying touchdown.
Harding did what it always does and ran the heck out of the football. The 37-21 victory over Pittsburg State was not as close as the score indicates, as the Gorillas scored 14 points in the fourth quarter with the game well in hand. Both Andrew Miller (172 yards, three touchdowns) and Braden Jay (127 yards, one touchdown) led the Bisons' charge.
And that will be the true test for UTPB. Can the Falcons stop Harding's rush attack, one that only Ferris State has over the past two years. Harding is in the national quarterfinals for the third-straight year and the second time being undefeated. The Bisons lead all college football by nearly 2,000 yards with 5,918 yards on the ground (with six games in a row of rushing for more than 425 yards), which keeps their defense rested, helping them to the third-best scoring defense at any level. There are key players that have won a national championship on this team.
But that doesn't make it a lock. UTPB, while very focused and very good, is playing very loose. The Falcons have gone further than any team in program history and have a dominating upset in Round 1 and comeback special in Round 2. This makes UTPB very dangerous, and if they can get ahead big early, they have a chance. It is a slim chance against this unbelievably talented Harding team, but it is a chance.
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