2019 NCAA Division II Football Championship Game

Not to be confused with 2020 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game or 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship.

The 2019 NCAA Division II Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game that determined a national champion in NCAA Division II for the 2019 season. It was played at McKinney ISD Stadium in McKinney, Texas, on December 21, 2019,^[1] with kickoff at 3:00 p.m. EST (2:00 p.m. local CST),^[2] and television coverage on ESPNU.

2019 NCAA Division II Football Championship
West Florida Argonauts Minnesota State Mavericks (12–2) (14–0) Gulf South Northern Sun 48 40 Head coach:  Pete Shinnick Head coach:  Todd Hoffner Seed 4 Seed 3
1 2 3 4 Total West Florida 14 24 7 3 48 Minnesota State 14 7 8 11 40
Date	December 21, 2019
Season	2019
Stadium	McKinney ISD Stadium
Location	McKinney, Texas
Referee	Marcus Thornton
Attendance	3,415
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPNU
NCAA Division II Football Championship  ← 2018 2021 →

Teams

The participants of the 2019 NCAA Division II Football Championship Game were the finalists of the 2019 Division II Playoffs, which began with four 7-team brackets to determine super region champions, who then qualified for the national semifinals.^[3] The game featured the winners of those national semifinal games: No. 4 seed West Florida and No. 3 seed Minnesota State. This was the first meeting between the two teams.^[4] West Florida defeated Minnesota State, 48–40 to win the 2019 NCAA Division II Football Championship.^[5]

National semifinals

Super region champions were seeded 1 to 4 for the national semifinals.

	Semifinals December 14 Hosted by higher seeded team					National Championship December 21 McKinney ISD Stadium, McKinney, TX
	1	Ferris State	14
	4	West Florida	28
						4	West Florida	48
						3	Minnesota State	40
	2	Slippery Rock	15
	3	Minnesota State	58

Game summary

2019 NCAA Division II Football Championship Game

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 4 West Florida	14	24	7	3	48
No. 3 Minnesota State	14	7	8	11	40

at McKinney ISD Stadium • McKinney, Texas

• Date: Saturday, December 21, 2019
• Game time: 3:00 p.m. EST (2:00 p.m. CST)
• Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 47 °F (8 °C) • Wind: N 4 mph
• Game attendance: 3,415
• Referee: Marcus Thornton
• TV: ESPNU

Game information

First Quarter (9:22) UWF – Austin Reed 5 yard pass to Kevin Grant, Austin Williams kick (Drive: 13 plays, 72 yards, 5:38; West Florida 7–0) (6:09) MNST – Ryan Schlichte 38 yard pass to Justin Arnold, Luke Williams kick (Drive: 7 plays, 68 yards, 3:05; Tied 7–7) (3:38) UWF – Austin Reed 12 yard pass to Ka'Ron Ashley, Austin Williams kick (Drive: 5 plays, 69 yards, 2:24; West Florida 14–7) (0:53) MNST – Nate Gunn 2 yard rush, Luke Williams kick (Drive: 7 plays, 60 yards, 2:38; Tied 14–14) Second Quarter (13:18) UWF – Austin Reed 2 yard pass to Quentin Randolph, Austin Williams kick (Drive: 7 plays, 59 yards, 2:26; West Florida 21–14) (10:58) UWF – Austin Williams 31 yard field goal (Drive: 5 plays, 21 yards, 1:20;West Florida 24–14) (6:21) MNST – Nate Gunn 6 yard rush, Luke Williams kick (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 4:37; West Florida 24–21) (5:31) UWF – Austin Reed 34 yard pass to Quentin Randolph, Austin Williams kick (Drive: 3 plays, 72 yards, 0:44; West Florida 31–21) (0:18) UWF – Austin Reed 48 yard pass to Quentin Randolph, Austin Williams kick (Drive: 4 plays, 99 yards, 0:38; West Florida 38–21) Third Quarter (8:12) UWF – Austin Reed 8 yard pass to Tate Lehtio, Austin Williams kick (Drive: 7 plays, 40 yards, 2:27; West Florida 45–21) (3:48) MNST – Kaleb Sleezer 15 yard punt block return, 2-point pass good (West Florida 45–29) Fourth Quarter (14:39) UWF – Austin Williams 30 yard field goal (Drive: 6 plays, 33 yards, 1:24; West Florida 48–29) (9:52) MNST – Luke Williams 24 yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 45 yards, 2:36; West Florida 48–32) (4:03) MNST – Ryan Schlichte 7 yard pass to Shane Zylstra, 2-point pass good (Drive: 13 plays, 90 yards, 3:48; West Florida 48–40)

Statistics

Statistics	UWF	MNST
First downs	21	30
Total yards	561	562
Rushes–yards	16–38	42–143
Passing yards	523	419
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	33–54–1	31–48–0
Time of possession	27:32	32:28

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
West Florida	Passing	Austin Reed	33/54, 523 yards, 6 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Jaden Gardner	7 receptions, 47 yards,
	Receiving	Quentin Randolph	10 receptions, 254 yards, 3 TD
Minnesota State	Passing	Ryan Schlichte	24/39, 309 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Ryan Schlichte	9 carries, 57 yards
	Receiving	Justin Arnold	13 receptions, 154 yards, 1 TD