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| Will Kaster was in the wrong spot at the wrong time in the first OT, but in the right spot one period later. Photo by Larry Radloff, d3photography.com | More photos from this game |
The Monon Bell and the NCAC title went to DePauw in double overtime, while Whitworth defeated Linfield with a last-minute touchdown, Minnesota-Morris intercepted a pass on the goal line in the closing seconds, Belhaven booked its first trip to the D-III playoffs, and teams such as Merchant Marine, Cortland and Amherst each won big rivalry games on Saturday in Week 11.
All this is a prelude to the announcement of the NCAA Division III football playoff bracket, which will come at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday. A link to the broadcast (streamed only) will be available on D3football.com.
The Monon Bell Game, which is the rivalry between DePauw and Wabash, had never gone to overtime before, and DePauw had never gone 10-0 in the regular season before, but both of those things happened on Saturday. The game went to overtime because Wabash blocked a DePauw extra point, and it went to the second overtime because DePauw blocked a Wabash field goal attempt. DePauw had fumbled on its possession in overtime. Wabash booted one through in the second overtime, but DePauw finished it off with a touchdown pass over the middle to Will Kaster.
The Tigers limited Liam Thompson to 11-for-21 passing for 114 yards, although he did pick up 135 yards on 17 carries. Gus Bumgartner had two TDs on the ground for DePauw. The game was played in front of 8,122 fans at Wabash.
The 64th Cortaca Jug Game lived up to all the hype, as No. 15 Cortland defeated No. 14 Ithaca 38-28 at Butterfield Stadium. Cortland outgained Ithaca 299-132 in the first half, and added another 90 yards to start the second half, taking the kickoff out of the locker room and going 15 plays over the next 8:08 to take a 21-6 lead. Ithaca responded with a TD, converting a fourth-and-4 in its own territory before Julien Demuga hit Jalen Leonard-Osbourne on an option pass to cut the lead to eight. The teams traded touchdowns again to make it 28-21 early in the fourth, but Cole Burgess returned the kickoff 72 yards down to the IC 11-yard line and Jaden AlfanoStJohn scored his second touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run on fourth down with 11:01 left in the contest to give the Red Dragons a 35-21 advantage. The teams traded TDs again and Ithaca fumbled the ensuing kickoff, allowing Cortland to run out the clock.
The at-large picture only cleared up a little bit on Saturday. Union survived against RPI to win the Dutchman Shoes and get into the clubhouse at 9-1, keeping its at-large chances alive. UW-River Falls, already looking at being the third choice for an at-large bid from Region 6, found itself knocked all the way off the bubble as the Falcons lost 38-31 at UW-Oshkosh.
Union booted a ball through the uprights early in the fourth quarter to go up 16-0 on RPI, but decided to take an RPI offside penalty and put its offense back on the field for a fourth-and-1 at the RPI 9. That play was stuffed. The Engineers went 84 yards on 13 plays back the other way for a TD to cut the deficit to 13-7. But RPI had minus-6 yards of total offense the rest of the way, and Union ran out the clock with two methodical drives for the 13-7 win.
Whitworth scored twice in the fourth quarter to rally from a 10-point deficit and the Pirates got out of Linfield with a 28-24 win against the Wildcats. Austin Ewing led his team on two long drives, going 87 yards in 13 plays for a TD and 75 yards in 14 plays, as he found Evan Liggett for a TD pass with 29 seconds left in the game. Dillon Kuk had 12 catches for 154 yards and a TD for the Pirates, who improved to 9-0. Linfield enters the night deep on the bubble for an at-large bid, with an 8-1 record and an SOS of just over .500.
Minnesota-Morris clinched its first Division III football playoff bid since 1981, as the Cougars survived a wild UMAC head-to-head battle, defeating Northwestern (Minn.) 42-39. Alex Happ kicked a 42-yard field goal with 4:29 to play to give his team a 42-39 lead, and Juan Garza intercepted a pass at the 1-yard line with seven seconds left to secure the victory. Izayah Boss and Blake Johnson combined for 40 carries, 272 yards and four touchdowns on the ground for Morris, which improved to 7-3 overall after an 0-3 start to the season.
Kolbe Blunt ran for 67 of his 149 yards in the fourth quarter, including a 17-yard TD with 12 seconds to play as Belhaven sealed up the USA South Athletic Conference automatic bid by rolling over Brevard 46-19. Blunt helped his team run for 311 yards on the day, helping the Blazers qualify for the Division III football playoffs for the first time.
North Central cruised to a 61-17 win at Augustana to clinch the CCIW automatic bid in a head-to-head matchup. Luke Lehnen threw for 304 yards and four touchdowns in the win, which is the 33rd consecutive win for North Central in conference play. The Cardinals set conference single-season records for points scored (576), touchdowns (83) and total offensive yards (5,504). The high-flying Aurora offense was mainly kept under wraps on Saturday, but the Spartans scored often enough to get past Concordia (Wis.) 23-0. Jhe'quay Chretin ran for 142 yards, while Ian Luyando threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns in the win. Aurora clinched the NACC automatic bid.
Cole Simmons ran for 144 yards and three touchdowns, and Ceaser Gonzalez went for 135 yards and two scores as Merchant Marine ran past Coast Guard 39-27. The win, on Veterans Day, gives the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy the rivalry's Secretaries' Cup for the fifth consecutive year.
List of automatic bid clinchers below.
Who's clinched?
The following teams have clinched bids to the 2023 NCAA Division III football playoffs. Twenty-eight conferences receive automatic bids, with four at-large bids. The NESCAC does not participate in postseason play in football.
ARC: WartburgASC: Hardin-Simmons
CC: Johns Hopkins
CCC: Endicott
CCIW: North Central
E8: Cortland
ECFC: Alfred State
HCAC: Mount St. Joseph
LAND: Susquehanna
LL: Ithaca
MAC: Delaware Valley
MASCAC: Western Connecticut
MIAA: Alma
MIAC: Bethel
MWC: Illinois College
NACC: Aurora
NCAC: DePauw
NEWMAC: Springfield
NJAC: Christopher Newport
NWC: Whitworth
OAC: Mount Union
ODAC: Randolph-Macon
PAC: Grove City
SAA: Trinity (Texas)
SCIAC: Chapman
UMAC: Minnesota-Morris
USAC: Belhaven
WIAC: UW-La Crosse