2023 Stagg Bowl

NCAA Division III college football championship game

College football game
2023 NCAA Division III Football Championship
Stagg Bowl L
Cortland Red Dragons North Central Cardinals
(13–1) (14–0)
Empire 8 CCIW
38 37
Head coach: 
Curt Fitzpatrick		 Head coach: 
Brad Spencer
1234 Total
Cortland 031421 38
North Central 071020 37
DateDecember 15, 2023
Season2023
StadiumSalem Football Stadium
LocationSalem, Virginia
Attendance3,381
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPNU
NCAA Division III Football Championship
 < 2022 2024 > 

The 2023 NCAA Division III Football Championship Game, more commonly referred to as the 2023 Stagg Bowl or Stagg Bowl L, was a postseason college football game scheduled played on December 15, 2023, at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia. It determined a national champion in NCAA Division III for the 2023 season. The game began at 7:00 p.m. EST, and aired on ESPNU. The game featured the two finalists of the 32-team single elimination playoff bracket, Cortland and North Central; Cortland won 38–37 to claim their first national championship.

Teams

The participants of the 2023 NCAA Division III Football Championship Game were the finalists of the 2023 Division III Playoffs, a 32-team single elimination brackets tournament which began on November 18. The winners of each of the four 8-team regions qualified for the national semifinals.[1]

National semifinals

Semifinals
December 9
Asterisk denotes host 		National Championship
December 15
Salem Football Stadium, Salem, VA
      
Cortland 49
* Randolph–Macon 14
Cortland 38
North Central 37
North Central 34
* Wartburg 27

Game summary

2023 Stagg Bowl
Period 1 2 34Total
Cortland 0 3 142138
North Central 0 7 102037

at Salem Football Stadium • Salem, Virginia

  • Date: Friday, December 15, 2023
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Clear • Temperature: 45 °F (7 °C) • Wind: E 0 mph
  • Game attendance: 3,381
  • Referee: Justin Ackley
  • TV: ESPNU
Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP Cortland North Central
2 0:57 15 92 6:21 North Central Charles Coleman 7-yard touchdown reception from Luke Lehnen, Sean Ryniec kick good 0 7
2 0:02 7 55 0:55 Cortland 31-yard field goal by Mike Baloga 3 7
3 11:33 7 72 3:27 Cortland Cole Burgess 9-yard touchdown reception from Zac Boyes, Mike Baloga kick good 10 7
3 6:34 5 47 2:14 North Central Joe Sacco 4-yard touchdown run, Sean Ryniec kick good 10 14
3 6:21 2 65 0:13 Cortland JJ Laap 65-yard touchdown reception from Zac Boyes, Mike Baloga kick good 17 14
3 3:16 7 62 3:05 North Central 24-yard field goal by Sean Ryniec 17 17
4 14:56 8 73 3:20 Cortland Joe Iadevaio 9-yard touchdown reception from Zac Boyes, Mike Baloga kick good 24 17
4 13:39 3 65 1:17 North Central Luke Lehnen 4-yard touchdown run, Sean Ryniec kick good 24 24
4 8:16 10 63 5:23 Cortland Joe Iadevaio 10-yard touchdown reception from Zac Boyes, Mike Baloga kick good 31 24
4 7:16 3 71 1:00 North Central Luke Lehnen 64-yard touchdown run, Sean Ryniec kick good 31 31
4 1:41 10 73 5:35 Cortland Cole Burgess 21-yard touchdown reception from Zac Boyes, Mike Baloga kick good 38 31
4 1:20 2 72 0:21 North Central DeAngelo Hardy 60-yard touchdown reception from Luke Lehnen, 2-point run by Luke Lehnen was stopped short of the end zone 38 37
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 38 37

Statistics

Team statistical comparison[2]
Statistic Cortland North Central
First downs 28 21
First downs rushing 18 7
First downs passing 9 14
First downs penalty 1 0
Third down efficiency 6–12 6–10
Fourth down efficiency 2–3 0–2
Total plays–net yards 71–503 58–583
Rushing attempts–net yards 37–154 41–404
Yards per rush 4.2 9.9
Yards passing 349 179
Pass completions–attempts 26–34 8–17
Interceptions thrown 0 0
Punt returns–total yards 0–0 0–0
Kickoff returns–total yards 5–105 6–136
Punts–average yardage 2–27.5 1–47
Fumbles–lost 0–0 1–1
Penalties–yards 2–10 6–64
Time of possession 32:43 27:17
Cortland statistics[2]
Red Dragons passing
C–A Yds TD–INT
Zac Boyes 26–34 349 5–0
Red Dragons rushing
Car Yds TD
Zac Boyes 16 123 0
Ashton Capone 5 28 0
Jaden AlfanoStJohn 13 26 0
TEAM 3 –15 0
Red Dragons receiving
Rec Yds TD
Cole Burgess 11 134 2
Joe Iadevaio 8 95 2
JJ Laap 2 75 1
Omari Kendrick 3 26 0
Jaden AlfanoStJohn 2 19 0
North Central statistics[2]
Cardinals passing
C–A Yds TD–INT
Luke Lehnen 8–17 179 2–0
Cardinals rushing
Car Yds TD
Joe Sacco 14 157 1
Luke Lehnen 11 115 2
Charles Coleman 10 94 0
Sean Allen 5 38 0
DeAngelo Hardy 1 0 0
Cardinals receiving
Rec Yds TD
DeAngelo Hardy 5 146 1
Joe Sacco 1 14 0
Jack Rummell 1 12 0
Charles Coleman 1 7 1

References

  1. ^ "2023 Division III Football Official Bracket". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Football vs North Central on 12/15/2023 - Box Score". SUNY Cortland. December 15, 2023. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
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NCAA Division III football
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