Upsets, upsets and more upsets ruled the second round of the NCAA Division II Football Playoff. Of the eight matches played on Saturday, four lower seeds advanced with three No. 1 seeds finding an early exit from the tournament.
The only No. 1 seed to advance to the final eight was Concord University, giving the Mountain Lions their first playoff win in school history. Concord defeated West Chester University 51-36 after falling behind a 388-yard passing day from sophomore quarterback Brian Novak. Concord will host Bloomsburg University on Saturday after the Huskies defeated Virginia State 35-14 last weekend.
The winner of the Concord-Bloomsburg match will face the winner of Saturday's Minnesota derby, which pits Minnesota-Duluth vs. Minnesota State - Mankato. Duluth defeated No. 1 seed Ouachita Baptist University 48-45 on Saturday, which Mankato took out Pittsburg State 24-21.
On the other side of the bracket, three of the four remaining teams are seeded five or lower, with No. 2 seeded Colorado State University-Pueblo the highest seed remaining. The Thunderwolves put on the most dominating performance of the second round, defeating Angelo State 52-14. Colorado State will face Ohio Dominican on Saturday after the Panthers upset No. 1 seed Ferris State 46-33 last weekend.
The final region of the tournament is the one that's seen the most upsets with the lower seed winning all four matches to date. On Saturday, No. 6 seed West Georgia defeated No. 2 seed Delta State 37-27, while No. 5 seed Valdosta State defeated No. 1 seed Lenior-Rhyne 23-21. Valdosta State will host West Georgia on Saturday, with the winner advancing to the semifinal round.
Of the eight teams remaining in the tournament, only two (Valdosta State and Minnesota-Duluth) have won a Division II football title. Five of the teams have never made a championship match before, while Bloomsburg finished as runners-up in 2000.
The championship match will be held at Sporting Park on Dec. 20. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. CT on ESPN2. Tickets are available and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com.
Quarterfinal Schedule - Saturday, December 6
12pm - No. 1 Concord vs. No. 2 Bloomsburg
12pm - No. 5 Valdosta State vs. No. 6 West Georgia
1pm - No. 2 Minnesota St. - Mankato vs. No. 4 Minnesota - Duluth
2pm - No. 2 Colorado State Pueblo vs. No. 5 Ohio Dominican
