From ncaa.com:
The Cortland Red Dragons are the DIII football champions for the first time in program history. A back-and-forth scoring match ended with one victor, as Cortland [State University of New York at Cortland] defeated [defending champion] North Central (IL) 38-37 to win the title.
Editor’s note: The Stagg Bowl returned to Salem, Virginia, for its 50th anniversary game. The game had previously been played there for 25 years. A report on fans coming from all over because of the anniversary, including from schools that weren’t even playing, may be found here. UW-Whitewater has won the bowl six times.
In Friday’s matchup, both teams were tied 31 a piece with 7:16 left on the clock in the fourth quarter. Cortland’s Cole Burgess’ second TD of the night came on a 21-yard pass from junior QB Zac Boyes with 1:41 left. North Central (IL) QB Luke Lehnen’s 60-yard TD pass to DeAngelo Hardy gave the Cardinals a possibility to win their fourth Stagg Bowl in a row, but a failed two-point conversion fell incomplete to close out the game.
Boyes accounted for 472 of Cortland’s 503 offensive yards, 349 through the air and 154 on the ground.
Cortland finishes its first national championship-winning season 14-1 overall.
Here is the schedule of the 2023 NCAA Division III football tournament:
2023 NCAA Division III football tournament schedule, scores
Opening Round: Saturday, Nov. 18
- Mount Union 56, Alfred State 14
- Alma 32, DePauw 17
- Cortland 28, Endicott 17
- Grove City 21, Susquehanna 20
- Johns Hopkins 62, Western Connecticut State 20
- Union (NY) 24, Delaware Valley 16
- Ithaca 21, Springfield 7
- Randolph-Macon 28, Christopher Newport 20
- Wisconsin-La Crosse 62, Minnesota-Morris 7
- Aurora 20, Coe 7
- Trinity (TX) 20, Hardin-Simmons 6
- North Central (IL) 65, Belhaven 0
- Wartburg 49, Illinois College 14
- Wheaton (IL) 41, Mount St. Joseph 34
- Wisconsin-Whitewater 42, Bethel (MN) 14
- Whitworth 42, Chapman 28
Second Round: Saturday, Nov. 25
- Cortland 25, Grove City 24
- Randolph-Macon 46, Ithaca 0
- Johns Hopkins 39, Union (NY), 17
- Alma 24, Mount Union 20
- North Central (IL) 71, Trinity (TX) 28
- Wartburg 42, Whitworth 20
- Wisconsin-Whitewater 49, Wheaton (IL) 42
- Wisconsin-La Crosse 56, Aurora 35
Quarterfinals: Saturday, Dec. 2
- Cortland 58, Alma 41
- Randolph-Macon 39, Johns Hopkins 36
- Wartburg 31, Wisconsin-Whitewater 28
- North Central (IL) 55, Wisconsin-La Crosse 42
Semifinals: Saturday, Dec. 9
Championship: Friday, December 15
