Filed under: Division II
The NCAA Division II Football Championship features the top-ranked team for most of the season facing an unranked opponent. Minnesota Duluth, No. 1 in both national polls for the majority of the year and the No. 1 seed out of Super Region Three, takes on Delta State on Saturday, December 18th at 11:00 a.m. ET.Storyline: The UMD Bulldogs are back in the Division II Football Championship game, where they last won in 2008 in their only other title game appearance. On the way to the title game, the Bulldogs squeaked by St. Cloud State 20-17 in the first round then topped Augustana 24-13 in the quarterfinals. In the semis, sophomore QB Chase Volger scored on a 34-yard run to grab the lead with 4:12 remaining in the fourth quarter and UMD never relinquished the lead, beating Northwest Missouri State 17-13 for a shot to play for the title. It marks the first time since 2004 that Northwest Missouri State is not playing for the national title. UMD got to the title game despite losing their best player, All-America running back Isaac Odim, to a knee injury in October. Vogler has two 100-yard rushing games in the playoffs, as UMD has relied almost solely on the ground game. With more favorable weather for the passing game expected in Florence, it's possible they will throw more.
On the other side, No. 2 seed from Super Region Two, Delta State, has had an easier journey to the title game. In the first round, Delta State ran all over the North Alabama Lions for a 47-24 victory. In the quarterfinals, after falling behind 7-0 early, the Statesmen scored 28 unanswered points to beat the Golden Rams 28-7 at the ASU Coliseum. Delta State's semifinal game was their biggest test, battling tough weather in a 29-17 victory over Shepherd University. Defensive back Garrett Williams leads the Statesmen with 115 tackles, and he intercepted two passes in the win over Shepherd. DSU last won the national championship in 2000. In the 38 years the NCAA has sponsored a Division II football championship, Delta State is the first unranked team to make the final.
Who: No. 1 Minnesota Duluth (14-0) vs. No. 2 Delta State (11-3)
Where: Braly Stadium, Florence, Ala.
When: December 18th, 11 a.m. ET
TV Coverage: ESPN2
Update: David Nadeau kicked a 32-yard field goal as time expired Saturday to give Minnesota-Duluth a 20-17 victory over Delta State in the Division II national title game.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Geoff Ogilvy Gianluca Zambrotta Gianluigi Buffon Guillermo Garcia-Lopez Heath Slocum
No comments:
Post a Comment