The 2021 NCAA Division II Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game that determined a national champion in NCAA Division II for the 2021 season. It was played at McKinney ISD Stadium in McKinney, Texas, on December 18, 2021, with kickoff at 9:00 p.m. EST (8:00 p.m. local CST), and television coverage on ESPNU.[1][2]
| 2021 NCAA Division II Football Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 18, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | McKinney ISD Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | McKinney, Texas[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Greg Gompf | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 3,933 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPNU[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
The championship featured the top-seeded Ferris State Bulldogs from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference easily defeating the second-seed Valdosta State from the Gulf South Conference, 58–17. The win gave Ferris State their football program's first national championship.[3][4]
Teams
editThe participants of the 2021 NCAA Division II Football Championship Game were the finalists of the 2021 Division II Playoffs, which began with four 7-team brackets to determine super region champions, who then qualified for the national semifinals. The 2021 game featured the winners of those national semifinal games: No. 2 seed Valdosta State and No. 1 seed Ferris State.[5][6] This was the second meeting between the two teams. The first meeting was for the 2018 Championship game, which Valdosta State defeated Ferris State by two points, 49–47.[5] This was Ferris State's second championship game appearance, and Valdosta State's fifth; the Blazers were 4–1 in previous appearances.
National semifinals
editSuper region champions were seeded 1 to 4 for the national semifinals.
| Semifinals December 11 Hosted by higher seeded team | National Championship December 18 McKinney ISD Stadium, McKinney, TX | ||||||||
| 1 | Ferris State | 55 | |||||||
| 4 | Shepherd | 7 | |||||||
| 1 | Ferris State | 58 | |||||||
| 2 | Valdosta State | 17 | |||||||
| 2 | Valdosta State | 34 | |||||||
| 3 | Colorado Mines | 31 | |||||||
Game summary
edit| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 2 Valdosta State | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| No. 1 Ferris State | 20 | 21 | 17 | 0 | 58 |
at McKinney ISD Stadium • McKinney, Texas
- Date: Saturday, December 18, 2018
- Game time: 9:00 p.m. EST (8:00 p.m. CST)
- Game weather: 42, Sunny, Wind N @ 7 mph
- Game attendance: 3,933
- Referee: Greg Gompf
- TV announcers (ESPNU): Drew Carter, Kelly Stouffer and Kris Budden[2]
- ESPN game summary
| Game information |
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Statistics
edit| Statistics | VAL | FSU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 18 | 19 |
| Total yards | 268 | 581 |
| Rushing yards | 110 | 459 |
| Passing yards | 158 | 122 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 28:53 | 31:07 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valdosta State | Passing | Ivory Durham | 14/34, 158 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT |
| Rushing | Ivory Durham | 13 carries, 45 yards | |
| Receiving | Brian Saunds | 3 receptions, 64 yards | |
| Ferris State | Passing | Mylik Mitchell | 3/6, 122 yards, 1 TD |
| Rushing | Jared Bernhardt | 14 carries, 148 yards, 3 TD | |
| Receiving | Xavier Wade | 1 receptions, 72 yards |
References
edit- ^ a b c Raffel, John (December 11, 2021). "On to Texas: Bulldogs advance to national title game". Big Rapids News. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
- ^ a b Brooks, Amanda. "ESPN College Football Coverage Continues: Bowl Season Begins, FCS Semifinals Kick Off, Champions Crowned in NCAA and NAIA". ESPN. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
- ^ Jason, Hutton (December 19, 2021). "Ferris State routs Valdosta State to win first National Championship". WXMI. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
- ^ Crawford, Kirkland (December 19, 2021). "Ferris State football wins Division II national title by trampling Valdosta State, 58-17". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
- ^ a b Savage, Brendan (December 11, 2021). "Ferris State to play for Division II national football championship". MLive. Booth Newspapers. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
- ^ Doles, Jack (December 11, 2021). "Ferris State headed to NCAA D-II championship game". Grand Rapids, Michigan: WOOD-TV. Retrieved December 12, 2021.