2025 Division III football playoffs

January 6, 2026 Final 2025 Division III football playoff bracket UW-River Falls started the playoffs as the No. 3 team in the country in our Top 25 poll, No. 6 via NPI, and finished it as No. 1 by winning the national championship. Here's how they got there.

January 16, 2026 Stagg Bowl ratings up 26% The results are in, and viewership for the Stagg Bowl was up significantly over last year's game and the two previous contests.

January 10, 2026 Six things we learned this season Every season ends with new people, if not new programs, tasting the joy of winning. But this triumph felt more delicious than most because of all it taught us and reminded us about why we play the game, and who it helps us become. Keith McMillan has more from Canton, Ohio.

January 7, 2026 Skipping straight to the top UW-River Falls just needed a chance to get into the playoffs, and once they finally got one, they made the most of it. They didn't need the usual years of early exits and playoff frustration and went straight to the trophy ceremony. Greg Thomas has more.

January 5, 2026 A season to remember After an unforgettable 2025 Division III football season, we sat down to discuss the big game, perhaps crack open a beverage, hand out game balls, hear the highlights, point out the interesting stats and give their big picture perspective on the big game and on the season. What was the good, what was the bad, and sure, what was the ugly of 2025?

January 4, 2026 River Falls wins with defense In an age of offense, defense proved it still wins championships as UW-River Falls forced three turnovers to power past North Central, 24-14. Joe Sager has the game story.

January 3, 2026 Where might you find 92? The River Falls offense faces a big challenge: Try to contain North Central defensive tackle J.P. Sullivan. That, of course, is easier said than done. Joe Sager has more in a Stagg Bowl feature.

January 2, 2026 Defense putting it together in wake of Top Gun The Falcons have played more defensive snaps than any team in D-III, a byproduct of an offense that snaps the ball relentlessly, and rarely bleeds the clock. More possessions mean they give up more yards. That reality isn’t ignored in the defensive meeting room; it’s baked into everything they do. Greg Thomas has more in a Stagg Bowl feature.

December 20, 2025 North Central makes sixth straight Stagg North Central scored three touchdowns on big plays in the first half, including a pick-six by defensive end Eli Renick, and the Cardinals rolled into the Division III football national championship game for the sixth consecutive season, defeating John Carroll 41-21.

December 20, 2025 Recap: River Falls punches ticket for first time The Falcons rolled up 632 yards of total offense and won in dramatic fashion, with Kaleb Blaha hitting Blake Rohrer for a 79-yard touchdown pass with 47 seconds to play.

December 18, 2025 Can't keep up with Cortez Jones Cortez Jones started his career off as an offensive lineman for North Central, then moved to the defensive line and started there his entire sophomore year. But this year, when the Cardinals had jobs open up, Jones answered the call and moved back over, where he has shone. Greg Thomas has more in a Road to Canton feature.

December 17, 2025 At JCU, it's just everyone doing their job The Blue Streaks defense has done some good work this postseason, limiting three playoff teams to 26 total points. As the John Carroll defenders say, it's just a bunch of guys doing their 1/11th of the job. Brian Lester has more in a Road to Canton feature.

December 16, 2025 Blue Jays' O-line keeping things cool Mike Nwosu, Charlie Pearson, Garrett Brophy, Drew Chairuangdej and Albee Cornachio don’t care who knows their names. They just want to keep leading the way for the Blue Jays. Joe Sager has more in a Road to Canton feature.

December 13, 2025 RF, JCU, JHU, North Central advance The national quarterfinals are in, and the three favorites have advanced, with UW-River Falls, John Carroll, Johns Hopkins and North Central all advancing to the national semifinals. Here's the recap.

December 11, 2025 Drews draws on experience in second season Bethel quarterback Cooper Drews made a splashy debut as a starter last year with big passing numbers for the Royals. But this year, those numbers haven't gotten bigger; they've gotten better. Greg Thomas explores this in a Road to the Stagg Bowl feature.

December 11, 2025 Bay Harvey's balancing act Johns Hopkins quarterback Bay Harvey wasn't sure he was going to use his medical hardship year after he missed the vast majority of the 2024 season. He already has a full time job and is working towards a master's degree. But somehow, he finds time to do that and lead the Blue Jays offense. Brian Lester has more in a Road to the Stagg Bowl feature.

December 9, 2025 UWRF's Top Gun offense keeps flying The River Falls offense has some lofty goals, including trying to get somewhere in the neighborhood of 90 snaps per game. And for the record, it's working. Joe Sager talks to the architect, the pilot, and more in a Road to the Stagg Bowl feature.

December 8, 2025 A day to remember The win was so iconic that the coach's phone blew up and D3football.com traffic doubled. Jeff Behrman sits down with us to talk about JCU's win at Mount Union, plus Patrick and Greg hand out game balls, Keith returns to break down the final Mount Union offensive play, and we hear from people in all eight games from Saturday's third round.

December 6, 2025 JCU shuts Mount down; Wheaton rolls again; Berry sweeps; RF cruises John Carroll throttled the Mount Union offense and won in double overtime, while Wheaton recorded a big road win, Berry finished its sweep of Trinity, Johns Hopkins won going away against Salisbury and Susquehanna ended Eastern's playoff run in shutout fashion on Saturday. In the late games, River Falls cruised, while Bethel and North Central eliminated the rest of the WIAC.

December 4, 2025 UW-P right where it expects to be Back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time in program history? First playoff win since 2013? One could be forgiven for thinking of UW-Platteville as a program that has moved up an echelon, improved its place in the D-III world. But that's not how the Pioneers see themselves. Greg Thomas has more in a Road to the Stagg Bowl feature.

December 3, 2025 Long road back to the lineup "You can’t say, ‘why me.’ You just have to be ready for the opportunity," says Susquehanna wideout John Kradenski. And for him, the opportunity came this week after recovering from mono and a serious car accident. Brian Lester has more.

December 2, 2025 Trinity looking to rewrite script for sequel Back in October, Trinity (Texas) went to Berry and got trounced, 29-6, for its only loss of the season. Rarely is the sequel better than the original, but the Tigers hope to keep their enemies closer when they return to Georgia for a third round playoff game. Joe Sager has more.

November 29, 2025 Snow kidding: It was a great second round A half-dozen games came down to the final possession, snow dotted the landscape, three teams from the same conference won playoff games in the same week for the first time, and five road teams won games on Saturday in the round of 32.

November 25, 2025 Ballentine brothers drive DePauw offense Robby and Scott Ballentine haven't been playing football together that long, and that's because it was the older brother who followed in the younger brother's footsteps. Now they work together to help drive the DePauw offense. Scott Crevier has more in a Road to the Stagg Bowl feature.

November 25, 2025 F&M has come a long way Whether bouncing back from a 6-4 regular season last year, or a 21-0 deficit in the de facto Centennial Conference championship game, Franklin & Marshall has come a long way as a team headed into its first-ever playoff game. Brian Lester has more.

November 25, 2025 A full season of unfamiliarity John Carroll has just spent a full season learning brand-new opponents, all up and down the schedule, in its first year in the NCAC. So for the Blue Streaks, learning another new opponent for the playoffs is what passes as familiar. More in a Road to the Stagg Bowl feature by Greg Thomas.

November 25, 2025 Pride chasing another playoff run Springfield's Team 135 lacks a number of pieces that propelled last year's team to the national quarterfinals, but the Pride are still having Thanksgiving together as a team as they head into a second round game at Johns Hopkins. Joe Sager has more in a Road to the Stagg Bowl feature.

November 24, 2025 Now you see it, now you don't The first round had some of the best games nobody saw, and we tackle that plus the action on the field, the big plays that won games, the great seasons and careers that ended. We hand out game balls, take your mailbag questions and more on the latest edition of the podcast.

November 20, 2025 Playoff picks, surprises and disappointments Who will surprise in this year's playoff bracket? Who will disappoint? Who will advance to the semifinals? It's our team's annual take on the postseason, in Around the Nation.

November 19, 2025 2025 Christopher Newport bracket previews This bracket preview starts with the top seed in the bottom right-hand corner, and contains two playoff newbies, a recent champion and three recent national semifinalists.

November 19, 2025 2025 Mount Union bracket previews We start our bracket previews with the top left corner, the No. 1 overall seed, overall seeds 8, 10, 11 and 12, including the mismatched Texas teams, and the home team in Massachusetts. It's our annual playoff team capsules!

November 19, 2025 2025 North Central bracket previews North Central, Bethel, two MIAA teams, two WIAC teams and more make up the bottom left bracket. Check them all out from 1-10 in our 2025 playoff bracket previews.

November 19, 2025 2025 Wartburg bracket previews In the top right bracket, we have Wartburg, two WIAC schools, two playoff rematches from long one and the obvious west coast first round matchup. Check out the Wartburg bracket, from 1-10.

November 19, 2025 Kohawks already in playoff mode Coe started the season 2-2, and has had to win every game the past six weeks in order to be able to have a chance to continue. Brian Lester has more on the Kohawks in a Road to the Stagg Bowl feature.

November 19, 2025 W&J found answers after 0-2 start Losing the first two games and going into the bye week prompted a lot of soul-searching, but Washington & Jefferson found the answers it needed and rattled off eight wins in a row to go into the playoffs on a high. Joe Sager has more in a Road to the Stagg Bowl feature.

November 18, 2025 Did you make your picks yet? There's plenty of time to get in on the bracket challenge over at d3challenge.com! Make your picks in the 40-team bracket and see if you can beat the pack!

November 15, 2025 Our projected playoff bracket Before recently, projecting a playoff bracket also meant projecting all the teams. But all that work is already done by the algorithm, so Patrick and Greg skipped ahead straight to bracketing. And it wasn't easy. Here's what we came up with.