The top team in the country was on a bye, but there was plenty of important DII football played. There were four upsets of note and some huge performances from player-of-the-year contenders.
So, let’s get started with the top 10, and what went down in Week 3.
The 2022 football Power 10: Week 3
No. 1 Ferris State | Previous: 1: The Bulldogs were off this week and have Waldorf waiting this coming Saturday. They need the rest, a three-game run of Findlay, Saginaw Valley State, and the Anchor-Bone Classic against Grand Valley State follows.
No. 2 Grand Valley State | Previous: 2: The Lakers finally didn’t have to face a top-25 team this week and cruised to a 66-7 victory. Both Cade Peterson and Cal Endicott had nice days under center, showing the incredible depth on this team. Wayne State (MI) is up next.
No. 3 Northwest Missouri State | Previous: 3: The Bearcats are rolling, having won each of its first three games by two scores. Jamar Moya has been really good thus far, both as the lead back and a reliable receiver in the passing game, scoring a touchdown both on the ground and through the air on Saturday. Central Oklahoma is up next.
No. 4 Shepherd | Previous: 4: In one of the best games of the week, the Rams survived behind another huge passing day from Tyson Bagent. This week he threw for 490 yards and three scores as Shepherd eked by an aggressive Cal (Pa) defense. Another tremendous PSAC battle awaits this week in Kutztown.
No. 5 Angelo State | Previous: 5: Another week, another win. These Rams have scored at least 30 points in every game so far in 2022. No Alfred Grear, no problem: Nate Omayebu III had a monster game, going for 171 total yards and two scores. A big matchup with West Texas A&M, which is coming off a surprising loss, awaits next week.
No. 6 Harding | Previous: 6: The Bisons rushing attack was in midseason form this past week, as Harding piled up 452 yards on the ground. Will Fitzhugh was the star this week, rushing for 124 yards and three touchdowns. A top-10 battle awaits next week as Harding heads to Ouachita Baptist.
No. 7 West Florida | Previous: 7: The Argos were one of several top-25 teams off this week, so they sit tight at No. 7 in a tricky Gulf South Conference. Next up is a Delta State team that got to 3-0 this week by defeating an FCS foe (more on that in a bit).
DII FOOTBALL HUB: News, rankings, stats for 2022
No. 8 West Georgia | Previous: 8:The Wolves had a bye this week as well but enter this week’s matchup against West Alabama having won both its first two games by a combined score of 80-7. Look for them to make a statement in their GSC opener.
No. 9 Ouachita Baptist | Previous: 9: This offense is rolling. having scored 42, 45 and 63 in its first three games, respectively. Running back TJ Cole remains a handful, but how about quarterback Riley Harms? He went 8-for-8 for 247 yards and three touchdowns this week. We'll see how this offense holds up against Harding's defense this weekend.
No. 10 Valdosta State | Previous: 10: Ivory Durham has been on a tear, so you certainly can't blame him for the Blazers' slow start. This week, he threw for 359 yards and six touchdowns while rushing for 113 more yards. He now has 12 touchdown passes, more than 900 yards and just one interception through three games. They head to Rome for a GSC battle against Shorter next weekend.
First five out (in alphabetical order)
- Ashland
- Augustana (SD)
- Colorado School of Mines
- Newberry
- Slippery Rock
Harlon Hill 2022 Watch: Stats that stood out
The goal of this list is to track the contenders throughout the season. That means some players may fall out, while others are added. Note, all preseason contenders had three weeks to put together a player-of-the-year resume, so this is the last week you may see some of these names. All new players from the week prior will be bold.
| Player | School | Position | Week 2 Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon Alt | Bemidji State | QB | 371 pass, 3 TD, 2 Int |
| Tyson Bagent | Shepherd | QB | 490 pass, 3 TD |
| Andrew Brito | Saginaw Valley State | QB | 248 pass, 110 rush, 3 TD |
| Demilon Brown | Arkansas-Monticello | QB | 320 pass, 106 rush, 4 TD |
| Cooper Callis | Southwest Baptist | QB | 242 pass, 57 rush, 3 TD. 1 Int |
| TJ Davis | Nebraska-Kearney | QB | 164 pass, 74 rush, 3 total TD, 1 Int |
| Ivory Durham | Valdosta State | QB | 359 pass, 113 rush, 6 TD |
| Harrison Frost | West Georgia | QB | Bye |
| Braden Gleason | Emporia State | QB | 261 pass, 62 rush, 5 TD |
| Noah Grover | Slippery Rock | QB | 289 pass, 4 TD, 22 rush |
| Jayden Johannsen | South Dakota Mines | QB | 349 pass, 22 rush, 3 TD |
| Mylik Mitchell | Ferris State | QB | Bye |
| Logan Nelson | UMary | QB | 307 pass, 3 TD, 2 Int |
| Kellen Simoncic | Washburn | QB | 145 pass |
| Mario Anderson | Newberry | RB | 101 rush, 1 TD |
| Ronnie Brown | Shepherd | RB | 27 rush, 91 receiving, 1 TD |
| Jada Byers | Virginia Union | RB | 199 rush, 2 TD |
| Toriano Clinton | UIndy | RB | 81 rush, 56 receiving |
| TJ Cole | Ouachita Baptist | RB | 137 rush, 4 pass, 15 receiving, 1 TD |
| Josh Cummings | Western Colorado | RB | 111 rush, 3 receiving |
| Brandon Hall | Missouri Western | RB | 31 rush |
| Dwayne McGee | Lenoir-Rhyne | RB | 118 rush, 2 TD |
| Jesse Sherwood | Southwest Minnesota State | RB | 205 rush, 3 TD |
| Jordan Terrell | Barton | RB | 44 rush, 1 TD |
| Michael Zeman | Colorado School of Mines | RB | 147 rush, 3 TD, 9 receiving |
| Ryan Beach | Shepherd | WR | 34 receiving |
| Brendan Beaulieu | Bemidji State | WR | 132 receiving, 2 TD |
| Duane Brown | IUP | WR | 160 receiving |
| Jeremiah Bridges | South Dakota Mines | WR | 164 receiving, 3 TD |
| Armani Carmickle | Minnesota Duluth | WR | DNP |
| David Durden | West Florida | WR | Bye |
| Keilahn Harris | Oklahoma Baptist | WR | 63 receiving |
| Danny Kitner | UMary | WR | 152 receiving, 4 rush |
| James Letcher Jr. | Washburn | WR | 60 receiving. 10 rush |
| Hunter Budke | Fort Hays State | TE | 103 receiving |
| Kyle Morlock | Shorter | TE | 14 receiving |
5 storylines you may have missed from Week 3
1. A thriller in the PSAC: One week before divisional play opens in one of the more competitive conferences in the nation, two preseason contenders went head-to-head. The matchup featured Cal (Pa)'s top defense from 2021 versus 2021 Harlon Hill Trophy winner Tyson Bagent and that juggernaut Rams offense.
To the Vulcans' credit, their defensive front was very impressive, clamping down on the running game and holding Ronnie Brown to a season-low 27 yards, and did put a lot of pressure on Bagent, especially late in the game. However, like most, they had no answer for Bagent. The Shepherd quarterback led the comeback, leading the drive to the game-tying field goal. After Cal missed a field goal in overtime, the Rams put it away to move to 3-0. Cal will have to win its division to get into the PSAC championship game to garner postseason attention with two losses.
2. A rumble in the MIAA: One week after losing to Pittsburg State and seeing the Gorillas leap into the top 25, Nebraska-Kearney had little time to rest. The Lopers found themselves in another top-25 showdown, this time on the road in Kansas against Washburn. TJ Davis and crew made a statement as the defense held Ichabods' quarterback Kellen Simoncic to a modest 145 yards while Davis did Davis things, throwing for two touchdowns and leading the team in rushing.
3. Upset in the Lone Star Conference: After jumping out to a 2-0 start and up the national rankings, West Texas A&M hosted Texas A&M-Kingsville. The Javelinas surprised, leaving victorious 31-24. Chris Anderson controlled the ground game for TAMUK, rushing for 155 yards and two touchdowns, while the defense forced three interceptions and held the Buffs to 103 yards rushing. West Texas A&M has to regroup quickly for its matchup against No. 5 Angelo State.
4. Upsets that wreak havoc on the top 25: Minnesota State was rising quickly after an off 2021. Two big wins saw the Mavericks jump as high as No. 15 in the d2Football poll, but Northern State wasn't intimidated. The Wolves came out victorious, 23-22, the first victory over Minnesota State since 1971 (we think). Elsewhere, Shaw stunned Bowie State, likely dropping the Bulldogs from the top-25 conversation. Bowie State's defense was pretty remarkable, holding Shaw to just 199 yards, but a Sidney Gibbs touchdown with just 36 seconds left sealed the deal.
5. FCS no Match for Delta State: In the second DII over FCS upset in as many weeks, Delta State took down Mississippi Valley State 28-17 in the Duel in the Delta. Perhaps most impressively, it improved the Statesmen to 3-0 having yet to play a home game in 2022. Delta State outgained Mississippi Valley State by 60 yards despite losing the time of possession battle. They return home next week in a battle against rested West Florida.
