Morningside: 2021 NAIA Football National Champions



DURHAM, N.C.—Morningside overcame two different seven-point deficits and three turnovers to score the final 17 points of the NAIA Football National Championship to win its third title in four years.


The Mustangs finished the year with a perfect 14-0 record after defeating Grand View 38-28.


“It was tough, but the guys kept playing,” said coach Steve Ryan. “We struggled with turnovers in the first half and our defense came out and played lights-out in the second half.”


Grand View (14-1) forced a three-and-out to start the third quarter, then blocked the punt to take over at the Morningside 5-yard line. Ali Scott’s second touchdown run of the game put the Vikings up 28-21 with 12:25 left in the third.


Morningside used a 15-play, 82-yard drive that chewed up 6:25 of the third quarter to tie the game at 28 on Anthony Sims’ third touchdown run of the game from four yards out.


Sims was the Offensive Player of the Game finishing with 145 rushing yards on 27 carries.


A Drew Bessey interception with 12:31 left in the fourth which set up a 34-yard touchdown pass from Joe Dolincheck to Reid Jurgensmeier.


Jurgensmeier had a monster game in the second half, finishing with 216 yards on 13 catches.


“He always played big in big games, and he did today,” said Ryan of Jurgensmeier. “He made critical catches and his last touchdown was phenomenal.”


Both teams scored on their first possessions, going 75 yards each on six plays each. A 30-yard pass from Johnny Sullivan to Anthony Turner got Grand View on the board first just 2:27 into the game and Sims scored from three yards out for Morningside to tie the game with 11:11 left in the first. A two-yard run by Sims at the 6:52 mark of the quarter gave the Mustangs their first lead.


The Vikings took advantage of a pair of turnovers to regain the lead with a one-yard run by Ali Scott to tie it. 


Morningside was able to keep points off the board once on a missed field goal following an interception and nearly regained momentum on a long pass to Austin Johnson, but the ball was punched loose by Jianni Angulo after a 57-yard gain. 


Grand View answered with a 10-yard reception by Bennett Spry from Sullivan with 3:03 left in the second to go up 21-14.


“I couldn’t be any prouder of them,” said coach Joe Woodley of his Grand View team. “They showed the same guts and fight and execution today as they have all year. Sometimes it’s not enough.”


The Mustangs answered with a 13-play drive to tie the game with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Joe Dolincheck to Austin Johnson with 20 seconds left in the second.


“Joe just puts the ball in the right spot every play,” said Jurgensmeier. “That’s what we’ve been doing all year, and our coaches had good calls and put us in the right spots.”


Jalen Portis was named the Defensive Player of the Game after making five tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble, leading a defense that limited the Vikings to 324 total yards.

Ferris State: 2021 NCAA Division II Football National Champions



MCKINNEY, Texas -- Quarterback Jared Bernhardt had three touchdown runs in the first half as undefeated Ferris State built a big lead and cruised to its first Division II football championship with a 58-17 rout of Valdosta State on Saturday night.


It was the most points scored in a D-II title game since Delta State beat Bloomsburg 63-34 in 2000. It was also the largest margin of victory since Northern Colorado's 51-0 win against New Haven in 1997.


Ferris State (14-0) finished with 581 yards of offense, 459 yards on the ground, to cap its dominate season. Twelve of the Bulldogs' 14 wins were by double digits.


Bernhardt, a graduate transfer from Maryland playing in his only collegiate football season, was one of the nation's top lacrosse players in his four seasons with the Terrapins. He finished with 148 yards rushing on 14 carries, didn't throw a pass and sat out most of the second half.


Bernhardt scored on a 56-yard run on Ferris State's first play from scrimmage. He added a 78-yard TD run and later a 2-yard score that stretched the lead to 27-17. The Bulldogs broke the game open when Mylik Mitchell threw a strike to a wide-open Tyrese Hunt-Thompson, who ran untouched into the end zone for a 47-yard score with 11 seconds to play in the first half.


The Bulldogs racked up 365 yards rushing and had just two pass attempts for a 41-17 halftime advantage. Mitchell threw both passes with Bernhardt on the sideline resting a sore ankle. Bernhardt had 12 carries for 145 yards in the half. Jeremy Burrell added 95 yards rushing and Tyler Minor had 45 and each ran for a score.


Minor finished with 125 yards on eight carries. Burrell ran four times for 103 yards. Liam Daly had a 37-yard pick-6 late in the third quarter.


Ferris State coach Tony Annese, in his ninth season with the Bulldogs, is 41-2 in the past three seasons.


Ivory Durham was 14-of-34 passing for 158 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for Valdosta State (12-2).


The teams also played in the 2018 championship at McKinney ISD Stadium, with the Blazers collecting their fourth title since 2002 in a 49-47 victory.

Louisiana: 2021 New Orleans Bowl Champions



NEW ORLEANS -- — Levi Lewis passed for 270 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another 74 yards, and No. 16 Louisiana-Lafayette defeated Marshall 36-21 in the New Orleans Bowl on Saturday night to end its season on a program-record 13-game winning streak.


The Ragin' Cajuns (13-1), who had to rally from behind twice in the game, took the lead for good on Emani Bailey's first of two TD runs he had in the final 8:20.


Lewis' 54-yard pass to Michael Jefferson set up Montrell Johnson's 3-yard TD run to widen the lead with 3:54 to go and Bailey scored again late for the final margin in the first game for Michael Desormeaux as Cajuns head coach. He took over after the ULL won the Sun Belt Championship game under Billy Napier, who left after that to become the Florida Gators' head coach.


Rasheen Ali rushed for 160 yards and three touchdowns for Marshall (7-6). His final touchdown on a 9-yard run put Marshall in front 21-16 late in the third quarter.


Lewis finished 19 of 31 passing without a turnover. He had three completions of 42 or more yards and also had a 55-yard run. Bailey finished with 94 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries.


Marshall QB Grant Wells was 15 of 26 for 99 yards and was intercepted once by Bralen Trahan.


Early on, Louisiana-Lafayette looked poised to take control, driving 81 yards for a touchdown on the game's first series. Lewis' 9-yard scoring pass to Kyren Lacy made it 7-0.


The Cajuns led 10-0 after Nate Snyder's 42-yard field goal.


But Marshall found its footing when Ali burst up the middle for a 63-yard score.


Two series later, the Herd drove 58 yards in three plays, highlighted by Ali's 32-yard run to start the drive and his 14-yard score two plays later to put Marshall in front 14-10 in the second quarter.


Lewis gained 55 yards on a read-option keeper to set up Snyder's 25-yard field goal to cut it to 14-13.


Trahan's interception and 26-yard return to the Marshall 44 set up Snyder's third field goal of the half to put the Cajuns back in front 16-14. ULL parlayed that turnover into points after Lewis' deep heave on a rollout was caught by Jacob Bernard on the Marshall 4.


THE TAKEAWAY


Marshall: The Thundering Herd collapsed after taking a five-point lead into the fourth quarter. Marshall gave itself a chance by frustrating Lewis on several drives and sacking him twice. But Marshall's offense netted just 15 yards and no points in the fourth quarter.


Louisiana-Lafayette: The Desormeaux era is off to a strong start. Bailey, Lewis and Johnson, who rushed for 54 yards, combined for 222 yards on the ground. Lewis finished his career at QB with a performance that earned him bowl MVP honors and the defense completely shut down the Herd in the pivotal fourth quarter. Lewis finished with 9.191 career yards passing, just short of Jake Delhomme's ULL career record of 9,216 yards passing.


POLL IMPLICATIONS


Louisiana-Lafayette's highest ever ranking was No. 15 at the end of last season. The Cajuns could finish even higher this year.


UP NEXT


Marshall: The Thundering Herd will have Wells and Ali back to help lead the offense when Marshall begins its 2022 season on Sept. 3 at home against Norfolk State.


Louisiana-Lafayette: Must find a successor at QB to Lewis, the Cajuns' all-time leader in touchdowns passing with 74, as they prepare to begin the Desormeaux era in earnest when they open the 2022 season on Sept. 3 at home against Southeastern Louisiana.


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Utah State: 2021 LA Bowl Champions



 

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Since last offseason, the mindset for the 2021 Utah State Aggies has been “get one degree better” every day.


That’s head coach Blake Anderson’s philosophy, and to say the players bought into that philosophy this season would be an understatement.


They never talked about winning championships or winning bowl games in NFL stadiums, they just set their vision to one day, one degree at a time.


After so many days and so many degrees, the end of the season approached, and the Aggies reached a temperature that can only be described as white-hot.


The philosophy scored the program its first Mountain West Conference championship, and on Saturday evening, under the bright lights of SoFi Stadium, scored the team a 24-13 victory over the Oregon State Beavers in the inaugural Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl, giving the Aggies their 11th win of the season and capping off what has been the best season in school history.


Utah State hadn’t beaten a Power Five opponent in over 10 years before the season began but picked up its second Power Five victory this year on Saturday, something that’s never been done at Utah State before.


“This journey started over a year ago in less than ideal circumstances,” Anderson said after the bowl win.


“We traveled into the season with most the football community across the country not expecting much of us, but the group never bought into that, worked hard…and learned how to overcome the odds in almost every situation.”


When quarterback Logan Bonner, who set the Utah State single season passing yardage record early in the game, came up with a knee injury toward the end of the first quarter, the Aggies once again were presented with an interesting challenge to overcome.


With normal backup Andrew Peasley out with a shoulder injury, it was redshirt sophomore Cooper Legas’ turn to contribute not only for the first time this season, but the first time in his career.


Legas was thrust into action on a stage that will house the Super Bowl in February, with his team trailing by seven points. Not exactly the most secure of circumstances for a young signal-caller to see his first game action but, just like his team had done all year, Legas stepped in and exceeded everyone’s expectations.


On his first snap from scrimmage, Legas tossed a bomb downfield to Deven Thompkins who caught it and ran 62 yards for the game’s first touchdown.


The sophomore then went on to lead yet another touchdown drive on Utah State’s next possession to give the Aggies a 14-10 lead over the Beavers with 4:24 left in the first half.


The Aggies never gave up that lead.


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The young quarterback finished the night 11-for-20 for 171 yards and two touchdowns, and even added a 34-yard catch on double pass play that Anderson said was in the gameplan for Bonner, but turned out much better since it ended up being drawn up for the much quicker Legas.


None of the Aggies were surprised by Legas’ perfomance. In fact, it’s what they expected.


“On the sideline when I found out that Logan went down, I went over and grabbed Coop and just told him, ‘It’s time to step up,’” Thompkins said. “Honestly, he didn’t even need (the pep talk). He was ready to go, and that just showed the future he’s going to have here as an Aggie. I’m definitely proud of him.”


Thompkins certainly did his part to help the young quarterback make plays. The senior wide receiver — who has the option to return next season if he chooses to do so — ended up being named offensive MVP after his six catch, 115-yard (his ninth 100-yard game of the year) and one touchdown performance.


As pleasantly surprising as Legas’ game was, the true story of the game was a Utah State defense that found new life over the final two games of the season.


Utah State found itself a 6.5-point underdog heading into the game, supposedly because Oregon State and its star running back, BJ Baylor, seemed like a bad matchup for an Aggie squad that had severely struggled to contain opposing lead backs throughout the season.


It appeared that the oddsmakers might be onto something early, as the Beavers marched down the field in three plays (two run plays) and 58 seconds to score the first touchdown on the game’s opening possession.


Maybe the defensive magic had worn off?


Nope, it didn’t.


The opening touchdown would end up being the only time the Beavers found their way into the end zone the whole night.


The Utah State front held Baylor to just 80 yards on 18 carries for a 4.3 average — well below his season average of 5.9 — and held the Beavers to 4.2 yards per carry overall.


One of the head-turning statistics of the night was how former Oregon State-turned-Utah State running back Calvin Tyler Jr. outgained Baylor on the ground.


Tyler, whom Anderson said played with a chip on his shoulder, finished with 26 carries for 123 yards and a touchdown.


The lack of chunk run plays for the Beavers allowed the Utah State pass rush to get after quarterback Chance Nolan. Suddenly, an Oregon State offensive line that had only given up 10 sacks all season allowed four on Saturday.


Three of the four sacks were notched by senior Nick Heninger, who was named defensive MVP of the game. The three-sack performance was a career best for the defensive end, who also finished with a career-high five tackles for loss.


Heninger was understandably emotional after the game knowing that this would be his final time taking the field as a collegiate football player, but he was also incredibly happy with the way he was able to make his way out the door.


“We’ve got a relentless, aggressive defensive front,” Heninger said when asked what allowed the defense to exploit an Oregon State offensive line that had been non-exploitable for most of the season.


“We as a defense were able to capitalize on those opportunities, and it was 100% a team effort. I’m super proud of the defense.”


Up 24-13 with 2:31 left in the game, Tyler fumbled what could’ve been a game-icing touchdown run into the end zone, which was recovered for a touchback by the Beavers.


Heninger admitted after the game —much to Anderson’s disdain — that he was somewhat happy when that fumble occurred because it meant the defense could get the chance to seal the win.


The unit did just that when Hunter Reynolds picked off Nolan four plays later.


A few victory formations later, and the Aggies found themselves as the first ever LA Bowl champions and looked on as Anderson hoisted the wrestling-style championship belt (the bowl game’s unique trophy) over his head like a true WWE superstar.


“It has been an unbelievable ride,” Anderson said. “Start with a Power Five win, finish with a Power Five win, conference title, 11-3. The best season in Utah State history, and I could not be more proud of the guys that get to leave that legacy behind.”

Liberty: 2021 LendingTree Bowl Champions



MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) -- For the first time, the LendingTree Bowl made its way to Hancock Whitney Stadium as Liberty University Flames and Eastern Michigan University Eagles squared off Saturday ending in a solid win for Liberty.  


A lightning delay that pushed kickoff back by about 15 minutes but things got going fast.


A lot of eyes were on Liberty quarterback Malik Willis and it’s safe to say Willis gave everyone their money's worth.


Eastern Michigan and Liberty both looked to cap off their seasons with a post-season win.


After an opening drive field goal by Eastern Michigan, Liberty answered back in a big way.


Willis went way up and a wide open D.J. Stubbs hauled it in for a 54-yard touchdown. Flames led 7-3.


On the next possession for Eastern Michigan, Ben Bryant's pass was tipped at the line and picked off by Skylar Thomas. Thomas for the 27-yard pick 6 and the Flames led by two scores.


The Eagles answered back on their next drive. Samson Evans got in for the two-yard touchdown. The Eagles pull within one score, but the momentum wouldn’t last long.


Back-to-back pass interference calls put Liberty deep into Eagle territory and that’s when T.J. Green took the handoff, cut outside and went 34 yards for the touchdown.


Liberty had the ball again and it’s back to the passing game. This time, Willis found Johnny Huntley up the seam. Huntley Brooks through two tackles and he was in for the touchdown. Liberty was up by 16 midway through the second quarter.


And with time winding down, Malik Willis got it done on the ground. Willis walked in from two yards out and the Flames took a 23-point lead into halftime.


Liberty poured it on in the second half and they walked away with a 56-20 win.


That’s the third straight bowl win for Liberty since moving up to the FBS level and Malik Willis was your MVP with five total touchdowns.

Fresno State: 2021 New Mexico Bowl Champions




ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- — Jordan Mims ran for 165 yards and two touchdown and caught five passes for 71 yards and another score to help Fresno State beat UTEP 31-24 on Saturday in the New Mexico Bowl.


Fresno State (10-3) won the bowl game for the first time in three tries.


Jake Haener was 26 of 41 for 286 yards and a touchdown. His status had been somewhat in doubt when he briefly entered the transfer portal after coach Kalen DeBoer took the job at Washington.


Mims' 22-yard catch and run late in third quarter gave the Bulldogs a 26-17 lead. But it was setting the tone with the ground game that was important, he said.


"The offensive line, we preached running the ball hard all this week," Mims said. "Even though they have a good defense, it's all about us and what we do and I think we showed that (Saturday) by running the ball."


Taking advantage of Mims was a key part of the game plan, said Bulldogs interim head coach Lee Marks.


"We knew we were going to be able to rely on Jordan," he said. "To be honest, he's such a good player. One cut, get vertical, just downhill. He told me coach, 'I'm not going to get tired. And he did not. That's tremendous for him."


The Miners (7-6) pulled to 26-24 early in the fourth quarter on Calvin Brownholtz's 51-yard touchdown pass to Trent Thompson.


But Fresno State got a field goal, followed by a UTEP safety, before the Bulldogs ran out the clock.


UTEP's Gavin Hardison threw for 252 yards and a touchdown. But one play after completing a 27-yard pass on fourth and five, Hardison fumbled at the end of a 10-yard scramble and the Miners never saw the ball again.


"Fresno has a really good defense and Gavin did a lot of positive things," UTEP coach Dana Dimel. "He threw for 200 yards in their first half alone. He did so many positive things. He just keeps getting better and better and better."


UTEP has lost the New Mexico Bowl in all three of its appearances and has a seven-game bowl losing streak dating to 1967.


It is the third time in the past five years that Fresno State has reached he 10-win mark.


"For any program, getting 10 wins is a big deal," Marks said. "It hasn't happened a lot in our program."


MILESTONE


With his second completion of the game, a 53-yarder to Reynaldo Flores, UTEP quarterback Gavin Hardison surpassed the 3,000-yard mark on the season, the first Miners quarterback to do so since 2009.


TURNOVERS


For only the second time this season, the Bulldogs did not commit a turnover.


TAKEAWAY


Fresno State: The Bulldogs will be spending the offseason readjusting to new/old coach Jeff Tedford, who returns following a two-year, health-related absence after coaching the team from 2017-19.


UTEP: With Hardison having at least two seasons of eligibility remaining, as well top running back Ronald Awatt and top receiver Jacob Cowing, also scheduled to return, UTEP is well positioned for next season.