And then there were two. Ferris State and Harding are readying for battle in the 2025 DII football national championship. Ferris State is looking to repeat (again) while Harding is looking for its second national championship in three years. The Bulldogs entered the season No. 1 while Harding came in at No. 2... and not one thing has changed over the past four months.
REWIND: Wayne Cavadi's semifinals takeaways
DII football fans are going to be entertained in a clash of the titans. Let's break down what to know about Saturday's big matchup.
How to watch the 2025 DII football championship
This is the championship DII football fans wanted seemingly from Day 1 of the 2025 DII football season. No. 1 Ferris State and No. 2 Harding face off from McKinney ISD Stadium in McKinney, Texas at 4 p.m. ET, on Saturday, Dec. 20. You can watch .
Harding vs. Ferris State, by the numbers
| Stat (per game, unless noted) | Harding | Ferris State |
|---|---|---|
| Scoring offense | 45.0 | 53.5 |
| Scoring defense | 10.8 | 18.6 |
| Rush offense | 446.5 | 310.5 |
| Rush defense | 113.2 | 115.6 |
| Pass offense | 35.5 | 204.5 |
| Pass defense | 149.0 | 182.7 |
| Turnovers (season) | 11 | 40 |
| Turnover margin (season) | 14 | 17 |
How Harding can win
Run. Run as much as you can, and then run some more. That has been the recipe all season, and that continued into the playoffs. The Bisons have run for 1,635 yards and 21 touchdowns in its four tournament games, two of which came against Kutztown's No. 14 rush defense and Northwest Missouri State's No. 41-ranked rush defense.
The Bisons are 141 yards shy of becoming the first 7,000-yard rushing team in college football history and is 17 yards shy of becoming Harding's first 2,000-yard rusher. When you think of the All-Americans and big-name running backs that have come through this record-setting rush attack, it is somewhat mind-boggling that there has never been a 2,000-yard rusher. That speaks to the depth of backs in the Bisons' stable, which includes the current DII active leader in rushing yards, Braden Jay. There are four Bisons with at least 10 rushing touchdowns and five players with at least 500 yards rushing.
The key to victory for Harding is establishing their dominance of the flexbone. Ferris State scores a lot and fast, so doing what they do best will go a long way in controlling the clock and keeping that Bulldog offense off the field. Defensively, the Ferris State offensive front is ferocious, but Paul Simmons has almost two defensive lines, one for bum rushing the running attack and one that is quicker on the edges. Defensive linemen Justin Sobczak (eight sacks) and Kaden Spencer (7.5 sacks) need to penetrate that monster o-line, and linebacker Clark Griffin — who has 156 tackles this year and is the active DII leader with 432 — will have his hands full. Ty Dugger leads a strong secondary, but it will be up to this front to stop the option attack from getting comfortable for Ferris State. The pass is predicated off the run, and if Harding can get in the backfield, they could cause trouble for the mighty Bulldogs.
How Ferris State can win
The key for Ferris is to get ahead and get ahead quickly. Harding's Cole Keylon is an able quarterback, but his team is all about the run. The Bisons don’t feel like a team that is built to come back from big deficits, so it is imperative not to let them establish that flex one and control the tempo. Remember what was said in last week's semifinals preview: "Of the 67 points Ferris State has allowed in the playoffs, only 15 have come in the second half." Well, last week, Newberry dropped 17 more points on Ferris State... none of which came in the second half. If this team gets ahead by two scores by halftime, it is all but over.
They do that by playing Ferris State football. The offensive line, dubbed the “Nasty Boys” is led by Gene Upshaw winner Tim Anderson and gives whoever is under center the time they need. They are massive and athletic — Anderson and his brother Bob, Dayne Arnett, and Jarvis Windom are all well over 6-foot and average 300 pounds... and can move. This line is trouble for anyone, even Harding's dynamic front seven.
Getting Carson Gulker involved in different ways is another key. He lines up in so many different ways and keeps defenses guessing. His transformation from bulldozing touchdown quarterback to Taysom Hill 2.0 has been fascinating to watch and is the epitome of this team’s philosophy. Last week, he led the team in rushing, threw for a touchdown, and caught one ball as a tight end. Everyone is multitalented, and is ready to do whatever is asked.
Defensively, it will be interesting to see how the Bulldogs get Justin Payoute involved. He's one of the best lockdown defensive backs in DII and has four interceptions in the Bulldogs' last two tournament games. If Harding has its way, the Bisons will throw the ball three times all day Saturday, so will Annese send Payoute on blitz packages and try to disrupt the Harding tempo? We'll find out, but you can be sure they will find a way to get him involved.
Harding vs. Ferris State: Prediction time
This is about as interesting as it gets. It's pretty wild when you think about it. The DII football championship moved to McKinney in 2018, and six championship games have been played in that span. Only six teams total have made the trip to Texas, and Ferris State leads the way with four, while Harding is making its second, tying Colorado School of Mines and trailing Valdosta State by one for most appearances.
Both teams run the option better than anyone in DII football. The tricky part is both teams are very tough defending the run. Each have quick, strong, big, athletic defenders that explode to the ball and are disciplined and seldomly fooled.
The thing is, no one has come close to putting a scare into Ferris State since the tournament started. Sometimes you wonder if, during the season in those close games against Grand Valley State or Saginaw Valley State, the Bulldogs hold back the playbook, not showing too much to potential playoff teams. After all, this is a team with three different quarterbacks, each with slightly different skill sets, so Tony Annese can come at you with something you may not have seen on film before... 16 games into the season.
For Harding, there is no secret recipe. I had a friend at the Kutztown game seeing Harding in person for the first time who summed it up best: "We knew what was coming on every play... and we still couldn't stop it." This line is monstrous and athletic, and there are five guys that can run it down your throat. If Paul Simmons wanted to, he could be the first coach to run a quadruple option, and no one would be able to stop them.
I think at the end of the day it comes down to the trenches, and Ferris State has an insanely strong offensive line. They are 3-1 in McKinney ISD Stadium for a reason, and I don't think that the Bulldogs see their three-game winning streak end here. Last year, I picked Harding to beat Ferris State in the Super Region Three championship, and the Bulldogs responded with a 41-7 blowout. Simmons learned from that and will keep it closer, but Ferris walks away with its fourth championship in five years.
Prediction: Ferris State 35, Harding 24
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