7 Week 7 DII football games with tournament implications

We're just about at the home stretch of the DII football season. The latest as teams are securing resume-building victories while others are racking up the losses. While the focus is typically on five games to watch, Week 7 of the DII football season has seven significant matchups that can make some teams' seasons, while breaking others. 

DII football 101: Week 6 Power 10 | Player of the year watchlist | DII in the NFL 

Super Region Two has been the largest enigma all season long with teams coming in and out of the projected field of eight as if there were a revolving door for admission. This week, there are four huge matchups — Wingate at Emory & Henry, UNC Pembroke at North Greenville, Benedict at Edward Waters and West Alabama at West Florida — that should finally bring some clarity to the upper echelon of that super region... or blow it up entirely. 

Wayne’s 7 can’t-miss games: Week 7

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Wingate at Emory & Henry, 1 p.m.

The Wasps finished 9-2 last year and are clearly ready to take the next step and make their DII football championship debut. They sit at 6-1 and are currently . The Wasps have signature wins against Lenoir-Rhyne, Carson-Newman and Newberry, which helps separate them in a tightly contested SAC.

Wingate had its back against the wall last weekend. After dropping consecutive games to Carson-Newman and Newberry, the Bulldogs handed Catawba its second loss and stayed alive in the tournament hunt. The SAC is so heavy at the top — there are two one-loss teams and four two-loss teams, one of which is Wingate — that a loss to first place Emory & Henry could spell the end of a return to the bracket for the second straight year and third time in the last five tournaments. 

Matchup to watch: Emory & Henry defense vs. the Wingate offense. The Wasps have the third-best scoring defense in the SAC — and we are talking by fractions of a point. In each of their two resume-building wins against Newberry and Carson-Newman, it was their defense that led the way, allowing 7 and 10 points, respectively. Wingate has the conference's best scoring offense, and has scored fewer than 28 points just once this entire season. Wingate running back Xavier Pugh (649 yards rushing, 12 touchdowns) could be the difference maker.

Number to know: 4. This is only Emory & Henry's fourth year as a DII program, and it really broke out with last year's 9-2 finish. The Wasps are trending to capturing the SAC title, and a win against a perennial tournament threat in Wingate — which they are 1-1 against all-time — would send a big message that they have arrived. 

Indiana (PA) at Slippery Rock 1 p.m.

There is no love lost between these two programs as they are set to face off for the 99th time on Saturday. For Slippery Rock, it is a must-win situation with two losses already. If IUP can take down Slippery Rock and Cal (PA) next week, the Crimson Hawks are in the driver's seat of the PSAC West and securing a spot in the PSAC championship game — which is more important than ever now with automatic bids to the tournament. 

Matchup to watch: Matthew Rueve vs. The Rock. Rueve has been a beast since the Ashland game. In three games from Sept. 13 to Sept. 27, he threw for 1,208 yards 15 touchdowns, and one interception while completing 80 percent of his passes. Last week, he put up human numbers (179 yards, two touchdowns), but still completed 79.2 percent of his passes. He leads DII in completion percentage (76.1) and efficiency (209.8) and is fourth in yards passing per game (321.6) and sixth with 18 touchdowns, playing two fewer games than the quarterbacks ahead of him.

Number to know: 35. Indiana (PA) lost to nationally ranked Ashland on opening day in a tough-fought 13-9 defensive battle. The Crimson Hawks have since gone a tear, reeling off at least 35 points in four straight wins by an average margin of victory of 32.0 points. Slippery Rock allowed 38 and 35 points in each of its losses, so if The Rock doesn't have an answer for the red-hot Hawks, it could be a long day in Slippery Rock.

UNC Pembroke at North Greenville, 2 p.m.

North Greenville was my preseason pick to win the first Conference Carolinas automatic bid to the tournament. UNC Pembroke has been on fire, taking down ranked teams multiple times this season. These are the last two undefeated teams in the conference, and the victor has a massive leg up on making the bracket in November. In fact, at 3-3, North Greenville simply can't afford to lose this one. 

The reason North Greenville was the preseason pick to win the conference was because last year, the Trailblazers were able to hang with some very good programs. We have seen the same this year, as they lost by one touchdown to West Florida and took West Alabama to the limit in a 52-44 thriller. This team can put up points, so it will be interesting to see how they respond to Conference Carolinas' best scoring defense in UNC Pembroke, which has just been annihilating teams of late, including blasting reigning national runners-up Valdosta State 31-0 and all but eliminating the Blazers from a return to the postseason.

Matchup to watch: Tre Robinson vs. Dylan Ramirez. We get a great quarterback showdown this weekend. Robinson is a true dual-threat quarterback for the Braves, leading the team in rushing and passing. He's totaled 336 yards rushing with four touchdowns while averaging 226 yards per game through the air with 19 touchdowns. Ramirez has been sharp this season, completing 66.5 percent of his passes for a conference-best 259 yards per game with 13 touchdowns to just two interceptions. This is a matchup of the two best offenses and defenses in the conference, so the quarterbacks will dictate the outcome.

Number to know: 3-3. These two teams haven't met since 2016, which in DII football years is an eternity. They have split the all-time series evenly, but since they haven't met in nearly a decade, we can throw out the history. This is the Conference Carolinas championship game.

Harding at Henderson State, 2 p.m.

The Bisons don't face many obstacles or roadblocks throughout the regular season, but 5-1 Henderson State could be one of them. Henderson State actually owns the all-time edge in the series 34-25-1. That said, the Reddies lost 66-0 to Harding last year and have surely had that posted on the locker room wall all week for motivation. 

We know the key to victory here: Stop the flexbone. No one has been able to, and Harding is once again leading all college football with 425.7 yards rushing per game. There are so many players that come at you out of that triple option, but Braden Jay is really taking control with four two-touchdown games in a row. 

Matchup to watch: Andrew Edwards vs. Harding's front seven. Edwards, the Reddies' starting quarterback for four seasons now, has been one of the most consistent arms in DII football for the past several years. He's thrown for 91 touchdowns and just 18 interceptions in 40 career games, all while completing 64 percent of his passes. He has not fared well against Harding, however. Last year was arguably the worst game of his impressive career, when he threw for 125 scoreless yards and two interceptions while completing just 36.8 percent of his passes. It was one of just two regular season games in his entire career that he threw two interceptions. He'll have to bring his A-game if the Reddies are to have a chance. 

Number to know: ONE. One is the number of times this Harding defense has allowed more than one score through six games. Harding has the best scoring defense in DII and second best in all college football at 5.5 points allowed per game. This will be Henderson State's largest test of the year, but don't sell the Reddies short. They have put up 40 points a game thus far in 2025.

Fort Hays State at Northwest Missouri State, 2:30 p.m.

It is do or die for the Tigers at the unfriendly confines of Bearcat Stadium. Fort Hays State lost a big one to Central Oklahoma last weekend, moving the Tigers to three losses. However, they have played one of the trickier schedules in DII and have a big signature win against CSU Pueblo, so they are still alive. A fourth loss in a stacked Super Region Four will end those postseason hopes.

On the other side, the Bearcats are one of the big bounce backs of 2025. If you want to know how dominant the Bearcats have been for the past 30 years, they just suffered through arguably their worst two-year run... and still finished above .500 each year. But winning seasons aren't the standard in Maryville, as the Bearcats are the winningest championship team in DII football history. Now, under a new coaching regime, the Bearcats look poised to return to the bracket and are looking for their third straight, resume-building win after downing Central Oklahoma and Central Missouri in each of the past two weekends. 

Matchup to watch: The Bearcats' pass defense vs. Caleb Heavner. Heavner leads Fort Hays State in both passing and rushing, averaging 43.29 rushing yards and 179.7 passing yards per game. He completes less than 60 percent of his passes and has thrown five interceptions to just eight touchdowns. The Bearcats do allow some yards to opposing quarterbacks (216.3 per game), but they have also been impressive in getting stops, allowing just six touchdowns in six games, while picking it off six times. Heavner will be the difference maker, for better or worse, on Saturday.

Number to know: 2. The Bearcats' quarterback duo, which is primarily Chris Ruhnke with some Zechariah Owens sprinkled in, has been sacked twice this season. That's tied for the least in DII. Keep an eye on the Tigers' sack leader Gaven Haselhorst, who needs to disrupt the backfield to give FHSU a chance. 

Benedict at Edward Waters, 4 p.m.

Well, we can safely predict that the Tigers will win this matchup (yes, that is the mascot for both of these teams). Benedict is currently one of two SIAC teams projected to make the field, while Edward Waters has been impressive staying in the bracket hunt despite dropping its first DII game of the season.

Edward Waters was on the map by Week 3 after taking down Miles, the defending SIAC champs and 2024 tournament team, and Virginia Union, a CIAA powerhouse and likely tournament-bound once again, in consecutive weeks. Those two wins alone lift its tournament resume, but a loss here would be tough to overcome. Benedict is doing the things that earned it the No. 1 overall seed in Super Region Two in both 2022 and 2023 and will be a tough win for Edward Waters. But that's exactly when it seems to step up its game. 

Matchup to watch: Offense vs. defense. Sounds pretty simple, right? But Benedict has had one of the best scoring defenses in DII in three of the past four seasons. Edward Waters has scored a lot of points in its four victories, but have not generated much offense in two blowout losses. Quarterback Noah Bodden has had his two worst games of the season in those losses, throwing all three of his interceptions on the year against Bethune-Cookman and recording his first game without a passing touchdown last weekend against Kentucky State. 

Number to know: 13.8. The Benedict defense is doing it again, and its 13.8 points allowed per game is the 10th-best mark in DII. The Tigers opened the season with back-to-back shutouts and continue to roll. Keep an eye on Israel Nwokocha and Ty'Metrius Patterson, who have totaled 10 sacks and 19.5 tackles for a loss. 

West Florida at West Alabama, 7 p.m.

It's always fun when you can get to the halfway point and get a showdown between undefeated teams. That is the case as the Argos and Tigers roll into Saturday perfect. This is arguably the first big test of the season for each, although West Florida took down Lenoir-Rhyne on opening day, and West Alabama has wins against North Greenville and Charleston (WV), both of which are still in the tournament conversation.

West Florida is scoring a lot of points, and this offense is clicking. However, the defense is still coming together as many of the Argos' games have been closer than they needed to be. That could find them on the wrong side of the scoreboard against a West Alabama team that has scored 52 points in consecutive weeks while thumping its opponents. 

Matchup to watch: The quarterbacks. This game features two of Super Region Two's best quarterbacks. West Florida's Marcus Stokes has three four-touchdown games this season, throwing for 1,780 yards and 18 touchdowns so far. Spencer Arceneaux is leading the Tigers in rushing and passing, totaling 1,418 yards while throwing for 12 touchdowns and just one interception. Stokes has one of the best wide receivers in DII at his disposal in Corey Scott, and he may be the difference in a game that may come down to the final possession. 

Number to know: 2. As in two in a row, the number of wins West Alabama has against the Argos. In fact, in West Florida's brief history (remember the Argos started in 2016), it has a losing record against West Alabama, sitting at 4-5 all-time. The Argos need to get to .500 or the No. 1 seed could be lost.