DII Football Championship: First round by the numbers

Twenty four teams entered the first round of the DII Football Championship with national title aspirations. Only twelve would survive the day.

Interactive bracket | Printable bracket

Paired with the four No. 1 seeds on bye, a field of 16 are left for next weekend's second round. Let's go beyond the box score and take a look at the first round action by the numbers.

7.83 -- Average margin of victory by the 12 teams that advanced.

31 -- Largest margin of victory by any team. West Florida defeated Wingate 31-0 in the first round's lone shutout. 

3 -- Closest margin of victory, acheived by three teams. Minnesota State, Ashland and Harding all eked out wins by a field goal's margin.

4 -- Gulf South Conference teams remaining in the hunt, the most of any conference. The Super Region Two portion of the bracket pits Delta State against West Alabama and West Georgia against West Florida.

West Florida dominates, earns first playoff victory in program's young history: https://t.co/GLAMs6Expm #D2FB pic.twitter.com/s5yRxlcOc4

— NCAA Division II (@NCAADII) November 18, 2017

9 -- Number of sacks recorded by the West Florida defense. The pressure forced three Dylan Williams interceptions, one of which Jalen Spencer took to the house for the game's first score.

5 -- Total interceptions Assumption had in its 40-31 win. Shawn Springs, Jr. had a pick-six that iced the victory late in the game.

7 -- Lower seeded teams that advanced to the second round.

3 -- Total No. 7 seeds that advanced to the second round. Findlay upset Shepherd 29-17, West Georgia upended Virginia State 35-9, and Harding defeated Indianapolis 27-24.

20 -- Unanswered points the Findlay Oilers scored to pull off the upset against Shepherd. They didn't allow the Rams to score the entire second half.

RELATED: Findlay stuns Shepherd en route to first postseason win

5 -- Undefeated teams remaining in DII football. Minnesota State is the lone 12-0 team, Midwestern State moved to 10-0 and Fort Hays State, Central Washington and Indiana (Pa.) preserved their 11-0 records on bye.

0 -- Completed passes by Harding quarterback Terrence Dingle. Dingle went 0-for-1 in the Bison's 27-24 win, but did run for 97 yards and two touchdowns, including what would be the game winner. And no, the Bison didn't have another QB throw a pass. One attempt on the game. Total.

As the defenses get tougher in the postseason, big offensive numbers become more scarce. Here are five players who stood out at each position.

QUARTERBACKS:

FINAL | @Harding_FB 27, Indianapolis 24 - NCAA DII Playoffs #HUBisons

Next Up: at Ashland, Saturday, Ashland, Ohio, time is TBD pic.twitter.com/c2xdvTQpmM

— Harding Football (@Harding_FB) November 18, 2017

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