August 29th, 2026 11:30pm
Photo: Northern State running back Hank Kraft. Photo Credit: Kory Burdick
By Chuck Bitner, D2Football.com
In terms of competition, we had an incredible opening weekend around the country and I can’t wait to dive into it. Regrettably, we have to open the recap column with sad news. During Saturday afternoon’s game at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, student-athlete MicahJo Barnett suffered a medical emergency. Barnett, a junior running back for William Jewell, received medical attention on the sideline before being transported to a local hospital. At 2:31pm, central time, William Jewell released a statement announcing Barnett’s death. Barnett had been participating in the game and scored a touchdown before the incident occurred. All of us at D2Football.com are shocked and shaken by this news and we extend all of our love and sympathies to MicahJo Barnett’s family, friends and teammates.
Top Stories
No. 1 Ferris State dominates at No. 5 Pitt State
On the scoreboard, Pitt State was in the game, down just 14-7 at the half, but Ferris State had been controlling the action. Once they settled into a rhythm, the Bulldogs ripped off three straight scoring drives to open the second half and then pulled away for a 42-14 win. The Gorillas didn’t score offensive points until the game was way out of reach. Its easy to get desensitized to Ferris State winning by big margins, but this should be appreciated for what it is. They went into one of the toughest environments in Division II, faced early challenges, and responded by blowing out a top five team. On this week’s installments of Inside D2Football and MIAA Weekly we’ll have reactions from Matt Witwicki and Jon Dykstra who were at the game in Pitt.
No. 25 Slippery Rock rallies to stun No. 20 Minnesota Duluth
After a competitive opening 20 minutes, UMD started to look like the better team heading towards the halftime break. The Bulldogs book-ended the half with two TDs in less than two minutes of game clock, which built the lead to 17 points. It looked bleak at that point for the home team, but the Rock never gave up. After finally building some offensive momentum, they were in position to swing the game. UMD went for a 4th and 11 at the Rock 31 with just over three minutes left. A first down in that situation likely would have allowed the Bulldogs to run out the clock as Rock had already used timeouts. But the unthinkable happened on a strip-sack-scoop-and-score that drew the Rock within three points. After another stop and a quick strike, we had a tie game with under 20 seconds to play. The teams combined for four touchdowns in the OT periods but Rock converted the two point play in the second OT. Duluth did not. I was at this game and will have a lot more to say about it on Inside D2Football on Sunday night.
Carson-Newman outlasts Tiffin in come-from-behind thriller
Neither team was ranked in this affair, but both programs were getting attention in the preseason polls. Tiffin led for nearly the entire game and even built the lead to as much as 17 points in the first half. The Eagles did not claim the lead until the final minute of the game when Bennett Smith drilled the 42-yard game winning field goal. Tiffin had a sizable edge in total offense, 442-288, and even out-rushed the Eagles, 292-207. In close games, penalties and turnovers can be a difference. The Eagles were penalized only once, Tiffin was flagged for nine infractions. It was the first game for both head coaches, with the Eagles taking the win in Tyler Almond’s debut
Riverhawks Roll
We have Northeastern State ranked at No. 23 for a reason and the entire panel of Inside D2Football picked them to beat Delta State. But did anyone foresee a 52-0 beatdown? I can’t say I did. Delta State might be more of a rebuild job than we expected, but this was total domination by the Riverhawks. NSU put up 519 yards while holding Delta State to just 69 total yards and four first downs. The Riverhawks ran twice as many plays and held possession for 42:34.
D2 over D1
Opening night delivered a trio of upsets over Division I FCS programs. Ohio Dominican was comfortably ahead of Morehead State but a furious rally from the home team extended the game. ODU recovered and pulled out the win in OT. Carson Parker threw four touchdown passes for the Panthers.
South Dakota Mines earned the program’s first ever win over a Division I program, taking down Drake 38-35. Much like Ohio Dominican, the Hardrockers held a large lead heading into the final period but Drake would rally with a 22-0 run. After surrendering the lead, the Hardrockers responded with a 16 play, 79-yard drive game winning drive. Dawson Dunbar and Ty Harris both eclipsed 100 rushing yards on the night.
An explosive first half turned into a slugfest in the second half as Concord prevailed at Davidson. Stanley Horn, Jr’s pick six early in the third quarter would prove to be a pivotal moment. The Mountain Lions posted 467 total yards in the 41-35 victory.
D2 didn’t fare as well on Saturday in the matchups with FCS opponents.
Top 25 RoundUp
No. 3 Minnesota State opened with a good performance on the road at Colorado Mesa. Both quarterbacks were efficient, combining to go 19 for 26, with 299 yards, 3 TD and 0 INT. Jackson Owens had a big night, catching five balls for 137 yards and a pair of scores.
No. 6 Northwest Missouri got two early turnovers that were converted to points and they never left Texas A&M Kingsville even think they were in the game. The Bearcats allowed just 179 yards of offense to the Javelinas and cruised to a 48-3 win in Texas. Te'Shaun Porter looked very strong at running back, piling up 100 yards and three TDs on just 16 touches.
You might not be familiar with Marian, but the Indianapolis-based Knights have a Top 25 caliber program in NAIA. They scored first in the opener against cross-town rival No. 7 UIndy, but it was all Greyhounds after that. The Hounds scored the next 39 points and outgained Marian in total offense by a margin of 474-162. Dontay Fort had a pair of sacks for the UIndy defense.
No. 8 Grand Valley had to wait out a weather delay just a few minutes into their opener at Charleston. The Eagles were hanging around at the half, down just 14-10, but the Lakers pulled away for a comfy 38-10 win. The Laker D locked down in the second half, forcing three punts and a fumble in Charleston’s four possessions..
The cast and crew of Inside D2Football will have their hats in hand when reviewing No. 10 CSU Pueblo’s win over Central Missouri. The guys (myself included) had faith in the Mules to win this one on the road but the Thunderwolves pulled away for a 44-25 win. UCM outgained Pueblo in total offense…but they did last year as well and the result was the same.
No. 11 Western Colorado left no doubt in a drubbing of West Texas A&M. This was a 38-0 rout before The Buffaloes finally found the end zone. They would add a few late scores to draw closer but the Mountaineers were in control from start to finish. Josiah Roy attempted only 11 passes for Western Colorado. He completed nine of them for 268 yards, with four touchdowns.
No. 13 Augustana survived a barn-burner with Missouri Western, winning by a final of 63-58. The teams combined for 1,368 yards of total offense. Eleven of the first 12 possessions in the game resulted in touchdowns.
No. 14 Western Oregon used a physically punishing defense to earn a road win at Colorado Mines, 22-20. The Wolves limited Mines to just 41 rushing yards and 13 offensive points.
After Emory & Henry had erased an early deficit at No. 15 Valdosta State, the Blazers closed the game with a 24-0 run to pull away for a 38-10 win. The Blazers’ run game was on fire, producing 374 yards on the ground.
Unranked Lenoir-Rhyne clobbered No. 16 Virginia Union 45-3 in a Friday night title in Hickory for the program’s largest ever margin of victory over a ranked opponent. The Bears offense was unstoppable in the first half and the defense did not yield a first down until after the break. The Panthers’ normally strong rushing attack put up just 26 yards as they went 0-9 on third down.
Northern State crushed No. 21 Chadron State at home. The Wolves were led by running back Hank Kraft who racked up 232 rushing yards and four touchdowns on just 15 carries. He also added 46 receiving yards on five grabs. It was a tough look for a Chadron State team that sported one of the top defenses in the RMAC last year.
No. 22 Wingate built a 13-0 lead by halftime but were shutout by UNC Pembroke in the second half. The Braves scored 21 unanswered to take down the ranked Bulldogs. Neither offense found much traction with Wingate producing only 204 total yards and UNCP just 216. The Braves did manage to hold possession for nearly 38 minutes and converted three of four fourth down attempts.
Around the nation
Wayne State’s Boston Hensley kicked a field goal on the final play to beat in-state rival Nebraska-Kearney by a single point. The Lopers inched ahead 20-18 with a 52-yard field goal with just over a minute remaining, but it was enough time for Wayne State to respond with a 69-yard drive and a 33-yard field goal as time expired. Dawson Forgy netted 122 rushing yards and two scores for Wayne State. Elite 100 running back Isaiah Harris did not play for Nebraska-Kearney.
For the second year in a row, Michigan Tech opened the season with a win over Bemidji State. The Huskies held a 17-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter but had to survive a late rally that came down to a failed 2-point play and onside kick.
Benedict looked impressive in a 32-10 home win over defending CIAA champ Johnson C. Smith. The Tigers used a balanced offensive attack and a physical defense to control the action. Caleb Riggs had 129 receiving yards and a TD on just four touches.
Fort Hays State impressed in its season opener, winning by three touchdowns at Angelo State. This was competitive until midway through the final period when the Tigers had two quick scores. The Tigers defense limited Angelo State to just 11 first downs.
New Mexico Highlands won the in-state rivalry game with Eastern New Mexico, 35-34. Eastern scored with 1:34 remaining and opted for a two-point try to take the lead. The rush attempt came up short and Highlands held on for the one-point victory.
Minnesota Moorhead got the post-Jack Strand era off to a good start. Drew Huebner tossed four TDs and the rush attack produced nearly 200 yards in the Dragons’ 41-19 win over Northern Michigan.
Lincoln (Mo.) started last year 2-0 but then lost the last nine. They’ll try to avoid a repeat of that, but they did win the opener again, this time over Central Methodist.
Saginaw Valley State kicked off a new era under Michael Engle with a 48-24 win at home over McKendree. JT Webber and Matt Vaughn both went over 100 yards receiving, Vaughn added two TD grabs.
Concordia-St Paul picked up a nice win over Quincy in the debut of head coach Joshua Schumacher. The defense had a solid night with five total sacks and three interceptions.
West Virginia State was in an early battle with Chowan but the Yellow Jackets scored 21 in the second quarter and 28 in the third to pull away for an impressive 56-24 win.
Black Hills State picked up one of their bigger wins in recent years with a 24-21 win at Sioux Falls. The teams are in-state rivals but compete in different conferences.
Walsh beat West Liberty in the season opener for the fourth year in a row. The Cavaliers are looking to build off last year’s 6-5 record, their first winning season as a Division II member.
The weekend isn't over yet. West Alabama and Tuskegee play Sunday night at 7pm in the Red Tails Classic
And we’ll close with this….
We had to lead off with tragic news but we’ll end on a high. West Virginia Wesleyan ended a 35-game losing streak that dated to October 22, 2022. The Bobcats endured three straight winless seasons. Their last win was so long ago, it was over Alderson-Broaddus, an institution that no longer exists. Its all in the past now. The 2026 Bobcats are 1-0 after an opening day win over Post in the first game under new head coach Mike Kellar.
That's all for now. Be sure to watch Inside D2Football on Sunday night at 8pm, eastern for more news and reactions from week zero.
Questions, suggestions, comments, complaints? Email me at [email protected] or find me X @D2Chuck