NCAA Division III Bracket

La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse football team is set to face top-ranked North Central College (Ill.) in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Third Round Saturday, September 6. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. at ?Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium in Naperville, Illinois. 

UWL, 8-2 on the season, received an at-large bid to the national championships. The Eagles, ranked 13th on the D3football.com Top 25 Poll and 16th in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top 25 Poll, advanced to the third round with a 9-7 victory at Hope College (Mich.) on November 29.  The Flying Dutchmen were ranked 18th on D3football.com and 15th in the AFCA. 

North Central (Ill.), 11-0 this year and the top-ranked team on the D3football.com and AFCA Top 25 Polls, advanced to the third round with a 38-6 home win over Hanover College (Ind.) on November 29. The Cardinals are the defending NCAA Division III Champion after a 41-25 victory over the University of Mount Union (Ohio). North Central (Ill.) also won the 2019 and 2022 national titles.
 
The teams will be meeting for the third time in NCAA Division III Playoff history. The Cardinals earned a 34-20 home win over the Eagles in the 2021 second round and a 55-42 victory in La Crosse in the 2023 national quarterfinals.

North Central (Ill.) leads the all-time series, 3-1, with UWL. The teams have split a pair of regular season contests with each winning on the road. UWL earned a 21-17 victory in 2012 while North Central (Ill.) picked up a 41-24 win in 2013.
 

In the first meeting between the teams in series history, UWL and Hope (Mich.) were scoreless at halftime as they combined for nine punts on November 29.

Hope (Mich.) punted on its first drive of the third quarter with UWL taking over at its own 35-yard line. The Eagles used nine plays to go 65 yards in 4:57 to take a 6-0 lead with Gabe Lynch scoring on a four-yard run with 6:35 remaining in the third quarter. Kyle Haas converted a fourth-and-two on the drive with a nine-yard completion to Keaton Arndt. Michael Stack's extra-point was blocked, his first miss of his career. Stack entered the game 131-of-131 in extra-points.

UWL forced another Hope (Mich.) punt and extended its lead to 9-0 on Stack's 25-yard field goal with 1:13 left in the third quarter. The Eagles went 38 yards in nine plays and 4:21. Lynch converted a third-and-two with a six-yard run on the drive while Braedon Ott added a 14-yard run.

In the fourth quarter, the Flying Dutchmen drove to the Eagles' 19-yard line, but a mishandled snap on a field goal attempt turned the ball over to UWL.

Stack's 33-yard field goal was no good with 6:49 remaining on UWL's next possession. Hope (Mich.) cut the lead to 9-7 with 3:49 left on a four-yard touchdown pass. The Flying Dutchmen went 80 yards in eight plays and 3:00.

UWL was forced to punt with Hope (Mich.) taking over at its own 40-yard line with 2:43 left. The Flying Dutchmen drove to the Eagles' 31-yard line, but on fourth-and-three, Hope's (Mich.) pass was incomplete and UWL ran out the final :57.

UWL finished tied for second in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) with a 5-2 record. The Eagles are averaging 382.9 yards of offense this season with 143.0 rushing and 239.9 passing. The team is averaging 29.7 points per game. 

Haas is 177-of-256 (69.1%) passing this season with 1,865 yards with 16 touchdowns and six interceptions.  Lynch leads the team in rushing yards (634), attempts (122) and touchdowns (7) while Jack Janke is the Eagles' leader in receptions (69), yards (922) and touchdowns (10). 

Haas ranks third in school history in career completions (362), tied for ninth in attempts (539) and 11th in yards (4,054). He is also tied for seventh in touchdown passes (36). Lynch is ninth in career rushing yards (2,463) at UWL. Janke needs 78 yards to become the seventh player in school history to record at least 1,000 yards in a season. 

Opponents are averaging 304.9 yards of offense, including 115. 0 rushing and 189.9 passing, and 20.3 points per game. 

Tyler Shaver leads the defense with 46 tackles with Nicholas Jorndt is second with 40. Ben Ott is third with 39. Grant Achterkrich and Christian Powell are tied for fourth with 33. Shaver and Ott have a team-high 23 unassisted tackles.

Powell leads the team with 9.0 tackles for loss while Henry Walsh leads in quarterback sacks with 4.5.

UWL has 10 interceptions, including a team-high three from Trent Mullen and Sam Baumgard.

Stack is 35-of-36 in extra point attempts and nine-of-12 in field goals this season. He has a season-long 47-yard field goal. The Eagles' Ethan Tranel is averaging 41.3 yards per punt with 16 punts inside the 20-yard line. He has 10 punts over 50-yards.

Matt Janus is in his sixth year as UWL's head coach.

Making its 16th appearance (1983, 1991-93, 1995-96, 1999, 2002-04, 2006, 2021-25) in school history in the NCAA III Championships, including fifth straight, UWL is 21-13 all-time in NCAA playoff history with two (1992, 1995) national titles.
 
The five consecutive national championship berths are the first time UWL has accomplished the feat with six straight trips from 1988-93. The Eagles advanced to the second round a year ago, earning a 59-14 home victory over the University of Northwestern (Minn.) in the opening round before falling 24-13 at third-ranked Saint John's University (Minn.) in the second round.
 
UWL advanced to the national quarterfinals in 2023 for the sixth (1991-93, 1995-96, 2023) time in school history. Playing all three games at home in 2023, the Eagles earned victories over the University of Minnesota Morris (62-7) and Aurora University, Ill. (55-42) before falling in the quarterfinals to top-ranked North Central, Ill. (55-42).
 
UWL's 62 points versus Minnesota Morris are the most points in a playoff game in school history. The Eagles are 12-4 at home in the NCAA Division III Championships.

North Central (Ill.) won the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) title with a 9-0 record to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA III Championships. ?The Cardinals are averaging 52.7 points and 503.9 yards of offense per game, including 272.4 rushing and 231.5 passing.

North Central (Ill.) led 10-0 at halftime in its second round victory over Hanover (Ind.) after an Aidan Ellison 22-yard field goal with 6:35 remaining in the first quarter and a Zeb Rashid one-yard touchdown run with 12:56 left in the second quarter.
 

A pair of Thomas Skokna touchdown receptions from Garret Wilson in the third quarter gave North Central (Ill.) a 24-0 lead. Jalen Johnson had a 22-yard punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter to make it 31-0 and Johnson's nine-yard touchdown pass from Wilson extended the lead to 38-0 in the fourth quarter. Hanover (Ind.) scored on a 23-yard run with 3:44 remaining.

Wilson is 149-of-207 (71.9%) for 2,311 yards with 38 touchdowns and four interceptions. Donovan McNeal leads in rushing attempts (127) and yards (1,009) while tying for the team lead in rushing touchdowns (7) with Sean Allen. Allen is second in rushing attempts (91) and yards (490).

Skokna leads North Central (Ill.) in receptions (64), yards (1,040) and touchdowns (22).

Ellison is 13-of-14 in field goal attempts with a long of 57-yards while Chip Dose averages 38.8 yards per punt with seven inside the 20-yard line.

Opponents are averaging 6.6 points and 201.5 yards of offense with 62.0 rushing and 139.5 passing.

Matt Janiak leads North Central (Ill.) with 72 tackles while John Sullivan leads with 17.5 tackles for loss. Bobby Medina and Eli Renick leads with 9.0 quarterback sacks. The Cardinals have 12 interceptions with Brayden Garrigan leading with three.

Brad Spencer is in his fourth season as head coach.