While the brass at NCAA headquarters caught some smoke from all over the country in November for the seeding of their 40-team Division III football tournament (more on that later), few detractors remain to find fault with the match-up of the two undefeated institutions left standing to battle for the national championship in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl to be held on Sunday, January 5.
If ever an argument was to be made about whether or not this matchup pits the true “blue-bloods” of Division III football, this game could be it.
North Central College, located in Naperville, Illinois, will be playing in their fifth straight Stagg Bowl, with the Cardinals winning the national championship in 2019 and 2022.
The University of Mount Union hails from Alliance, Ohio, and their pedigree in Division III football is unchallenged. Unbelievably, they will be making their 23rd appearance in the championship game, and the Purple Raiders have emerged victorious 13 times, most recently in 2017.
Both teams have identical 14-0 records and are the last of the unbeatens. In fact, in all of college football, only Oregon (FBS), Montana State (FCS), and Grand View (NAIA) can boast the same unblemished marks this season.
The 51st installment of the Division III’s big game will take place at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, Texas. The venue, which has a capacity of 20,656, is home to the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer and the Houston Dash of the National Women’s Soccer League.
The rubber meets the road on Sunday at 7pm CT, and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN. Here is what fans should know about both teams and how they arrived at the big dance.
North Central College Boasts An Embarrassment Of Division III Riches
Since 2019, the North Central College Cardinals have indisputably taken over as the big dogs in Division III football. Here is a snapshot of all they have done over the past five seasons since 2019 (no football played during 2020):
- 70-3 overall record (two of those losses came in the 2021 and 2023 Stagg Bowls)
- 42-game conference (CCIW) winning streak, last loss on October 5, 2019
- Three Gagliardi Trophy winners (Broc Rutter in 2019, Ethan Greenfield in 2022, and Luke Lehnen in 2023)
- 36 wins in a row at home–last loss at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium was in the second round of the 2018 NCAA playoffs
- Second-best scoring offense (53.4 pts/game) and second-best scoring defense (10.9 pts/game) in Division III this season
Despite that resume` and being ranked #1 by d3football.com the entire season, the Cardinals were deemed just the 5th-overall seed by the NCAA’s tournament selection committee. The disrespect was not foreign to North Central; again being the top-ranked team and coming off a national championship in 2022, the Cardinals were forced to play two games–at UW-La Crosse and Wartburg–on the road in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, respectively, to advance to the 2023 Stagg Bowl.
Similarly, had this year’s tournament gone to chalk, they would have had to hit the road in those two rounds again. However, the upsets of heavyweights Cortland and St. John’s in the round of 16 allowed NCC to enjoy the comforts of home, and did they ever benefit from that.
The Cardinals rolled through their first four playoff games–all at home–over Whitworth, Hope, Springfield, and Susquehanna by an average score of 44.0-10.2.
Leading head coach Brad Spencer’s offense is his quarterback Lehnen, the reigning Gagliardi Trophy winner. Again in the running for the Division III equivalent to the Heisman Trophy, Lehnen has had another memorable season. He has thrown for 2,960 yards and 39 touchdowns thus far in 2024, and has gained another 924 yards on the ground while scoring 14 touchdowns himself.
Coach Spencer understands the great challenges facing his squad from the other side of the field.
Said Spencer, “(Mount Union) is super talented, as usual. Very multiple in what they do in all phases.” He went on to cite running back Tyler Etcheverry and wide receiver Jerry Cooper Jr as difference makers on offense. “Their QBs are talented and different and create game plan challenges. On defense, their defensive ends (Kaleb Brown and Rossy Moore) are long, talented, fast, dynamic.”
Spencer’s main motivation for winning on Sunday is to send his veteran players out on top. “We are doing it for the seniors, so sending them out the right way means everything.”
Four-year starter Lehnen has thrown a touchdown pass in an NCAA-record 58 straight games and leads all Division III quarterbacks in passing efficiency. Also, he is responsible for a whopping 208 touchdowns over his four years via the air or his own feet.
The graduate student will be starting his fourth-straight Stagg Bowl on Sunday, and he hopes to make his final game special and one to remember for himself and his Cardinal teammates.
Said Lehnen: “I’m looking forward to taking the field one last time with my teammates who have become my second family. Spending the game week with them will be special because it’ll be the last time this group will be together.”
While the emotional aspects of Sunday’s game will be strong, Lehnen knows there is a game to play, and he realizes that Mount Union poses a real challenge. “What stands out (about Mount Union’s defense) to me is that they are fast, physical, and can make some big-time plays.”
Also shouldering the load for the Cardinal offense is running back Joe Sacco. The senior from Bartlett, IL, has rushed for a team-high 1,148 yards thus far while punching in 13 touchdowns on the ground and another via a Lehnen touchdown pass. Sacco won the Division III rushing title in 2023, gaining a whopping 1,818 yards on an NCAA-record 9.77 yards per carry, and he needs just 13 yards on Sunday to claim second place on the Cardinals’ all-time rushing leaderboard.
Sacco knows Sunday’s game is a chance to erase the memory of last year’s one-point heartbreaking loss to Cortland in the final, and he is ready for the opportunity for redemption. “Winning a national championship means the world to me, it’s the reason why we play,” said Sacco. “But this one means even more after what happened last year, so being able to go out there and play again is a blessing.”
First-team All-American senior Sam Pryor and second-team All-American Jeske Maples lead the way for the Cardinals’ potent ground attack, which averaged 305.1 rushing yards this season.
Not to be overshadowed by their playmakers on offense, the North Central College defense has much to crow about. Defensive coordinator Shane Dierking has developed his crew into one of the country’s hottest units; the Cardinals have given up just one field goal over their last two playoff games.
Defensive tackle John Sullivan anchors the stingy defensive group. The junior from Lake Villa, IL, was named the Region 5 Defensive Player of the Year, and he is a finalist for the Cliff Harris Award which honors the best defensive player from Division II, Division III, and NAIA schools. Sullivan leads North Central with six sacks.
Sullivan realizes he and his fellow Cardinals have had a great run, but there is still unfinished business to address. “Our team’s success this season has been really great so far,” said Sullivan, “but we are all focused on finishing this season off the right way and doing it for the guys around us.”
Middle linebackers Danny Nuccio and BJ Adamchik provide veteran leadership for the Cardinals in the heart of the defense.
Nuccio, a senior from Plainfield, IL, was injured for the latter part of the regular season, but his return to the lineup has generated additional energy and bolstered an already stout and miserly core. Adamchik, a graduate student and three-year starter from Raleigh, NC, was a third-team All-American last season, and leads the team in total tackles while snatching two interceptions.
Nuccio has experienced both the highs and lows of participating in a Stagg Bowl, but he attributes the Cardinals’ success to the culture set by all involved. “In my opinion we have the best coaches in the country. They put us in a position to be successful every single week regardless of who we play.” He went on to echo Lehnen’s sentiment pertaining to his teammates. “With this being our biggest senior group to date, I believe our success comes from our senior’s leadership,” Nuccio said. “Good teams are coach led but great teams are player led. And our seniors do a great job of holding everyone to the Cardinal Football standard.”
University of Mount Union Out For Revenge Against North Central College
Over the past 30 years, the University of Mount Union Purple Raiders’ accomplishments on the gridiron are unmatched in Division III football.
- Since 1985, Mount Union has won 35 Ohio Athletic Conference championships. From 1992 through 2015, they won 24 straight.
- In those 35 championship seasons, the Purple Raiders lost two conference games.
- Through the 2024 season, Mount Union has won 13 NCAA Division III National Championships and has 23 total appearances in the Stagg Bowl, including 11 consecutive appearances from 2005 to 2015, along with 36 playoff appearances.
To fans of the Purple Raiders, however, recent playoff history against North Central makes those impressive anecdotes less imposing and Sunday’s battle one for revenge.
Sunday’s game will mark the fifth all-time meeting between the two schools, all in the NCAA playoffs, and the Cardinals have gotten the better of the Purple Raiders lately.
Since beating the Cardinals in a national semifinal game in 2013 by one point, 41-40, Mount Union has welcomed North Central to their on-campus Kehres Stadium for playoff games twice, beginning in 2019. In both matchups, the road team emerged victorious.
In 2019, North Central outlasted Mount Union, 59-52, in a second-round matchup. Then in 2021, the defending national champion Cardinals marched into Alliance and beat the Purple Raiders 26-13 to punch their ticket for a return trip to the Stagg Bowl.
Their most recent tussle took place the following year in Annapolis, MD, site of the 2022 championship game. After bolting out to a 14-0 halftime lead, North Central withstood a furious 21-point fourth quarter from Mount Union and held on for a 28-21 victory for the Cardinals’ second national championship.
See Also: Highlights of the 2022 Stagg Bowl
After three disappointing losses in the playoffs, the Purple Raiders will look to stem that red tide and shake the losing streak to North Central on Sunday.
Similar to North Central, Mount Union boasts a bevy of star players. On offense, junior offensive lineman Giovanni Kennedy from Avon, OH, was named first-team All-American. Kennedy anchored an offensive line for an offense that led the Ohio Athletic Conference in points per game (42.9), yards per game (462.5), and rushing yards per game (234.2).
Kennedy and his linemates paved holes for second-team All-American running back Tyler Echeverry, a senior from Naples, FL. Echeverry leads NCAA Division III in rushing touchdowns with 26 and is averaging over 100 yards rushing a game (111.4).
Ed Hall Jr. / Special To The Alliance Review
On defense, Rossy Moore stands out for the Purple Raiders. The senior Moore, who plays bandit (a hybrid of defensive lineman and edge rusher) for Mount Union, earned his second All-America honor this season. He leads the team in tackles for loss (20.0) and is second on the team in sacks (11.0).
Fourth-year head coach Geoff Dartt, a former Purple Raider who is 42-3 since taking over in 2021, is looking for his first national championship as the top man in Alliance.
North Central College vs. University of Mount Union: Something’s Gotta Give
Two teams will enter, one will survive triumphantly in Houston; the old paradox of an immovable object meeting an unstoppable force just may have been coined for this year’s Stagg Bowl. The question of which side breaks first will be settled on the field in southeast Texas on Sunday night.
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