2023 NAIA football national championship
College football game
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The 2023 NAIA football national championship was a five-round, twenty team tournament played between November 18 and December 18, 2023. The tournament concluded with a single game, played as the 68th Annual NAIA Football National Championship.
| 2023 NAIA Football National Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 18, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Durham County Memorial Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Durham, North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Jaden Meizinger (RB, Keiser) (Offensive) Maddox Aprile (DL, Keiser) (Defensive) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Brad Bunting | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 1,183 | ||||||||||||||||||
The championship game was played at Durham County Memorial Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, between the undefeated 14–0 No. 1 Northwestern Red Raiders, representing Northwestern College from Orange City, Iowa, and the 11–2 No. 3 Keiser Seahawks, representing Keiser University from West Palm Beach, Florida. The game was played on December 18, 2023, with kickoff at 12:00 p.m. EST (11:00 a.m. local CST).
Teams
Northwestern (IA)
The Northwestern Red Raiders, led by 8th-year head coach Matt McCarty, entered the national championship game as the No. 1 seed and defending national champions. They were seeking to win their fourth national championship overall, having won in 1973, 1983, and 2022. They entered the game 14–0, 10–0 in GPAC play.
| 2020 Northwestern (IA) Football | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sep. 2 | at Concordia (NE)* | W 48–35 |
| Sep. 9 | Drake | W 27–24 (OT) |
| Sep. 16 | Doane* | W 51–7 |
| Sep. 23 | at Mount Marty* | W 42–0 |
| Sep. 30 | at Midland* | W 42–21 |
| Oct. 7 | Hastings* | W 45–7 |
| Oct. 14 | at Briar Cliff* | W 37–8 |
| Oct. 21 | No. 22 Dordt* | W 35–14 |
| Oct. 28 | No. 3 Morningside* | W 34–20 |
| Nov. 4 | at Dakota Wesleyan* | W 49–28 |
| Nov. 11 | Jamestown* | W 40–11 |
| NAIA Playoffs (No. 1 seed) | ||
| Nov. 25 | No. 14 Dordt | W 7–0 |
| Dec. 2 | No. 12 Saint Xavier (IL) | W 34–17 |
| Dec. 9 | No. 4 Georgetown (KY) | W 35–10 |
Keiser
The Keiser Seahawks, led by 6th-year head coach Doug Socha, entered the national championship game as the No. 3 seed and were looking to win the program's first-ever NAIA National Championship. They entered the game 11–2, 7–0 in Sun Conference play.
| 2023 Keiser Football | ||
|---|---|---|
| Aug. 31 | Mississippi College | L 14–17 |
| Sep. 9 | at No. 9 Lindsey Wilson | W 30–26 |
| Sep. 16 | at Valdosta State | L 25–49 |
| Sep. 30 | Thomas* | W 44–12 |
| Oct. 7 | No. 16 St. Thomas (FL)* | W 21–14 |
| Oct. 14 | at Warner* | W 69–6 |
| Oct. 21 | Southeastern* | W 51–21 |
| Oct. 28 | at Ave Maria* | W 54–7 |
| Nov. 4 | Webber International* | W 59–17 |
| Nov. 11 | at Florida Memorial* | W 44–13 |
| NAIA Playoffs (No. 3 seed) | ||
| Nov. 25 | No. 13 St. Thomas (FL) | W 45–21 |
| Dec. 2 | No. 7 Bethel (TN) | W 56–14 |
| Dec. 9 | No. 11 College of Idaho | W 28–21 |
Series history
| No. | Date | Location | Winning team | Losing team | ||
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| 1 | December 17, 2022 | Durham, NC | No. 3 Northwestern (IA) | 35 | No. 12 Keiser | 25 |
| Northwestern (IA) leads 1–0 | ||||||
Game summary
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 3 Keiser | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
| No. 1 Northwestern (IA) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| Game information |
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Statistics
| Statistics | KU | NWC |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 23 | 21 |
| Total yards | 490 | 338 |
| Rushes–yards | 45–373 | 30–51 |
| Passing yards | 117 | 287 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 10–15–2 | 15–34–1 |
| Time of possession | 28:58 | 31:02 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keiser | Passing | Justin Wake | 10/15, 117 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT |
| Rushing | Jaden Meizinger | 22 carries, 261 yards, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Maurico Porcha | 2 receptions, 45 yards, 1 TD | |
| Northwestern (IA) | Passing | Jalyn Gramstad | 15/34, 287 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT |
| Rushing | Jalyn Gramstad | 18 carries, 47 yards | |
| Receiving | Michael Storey | 6 receptions, 121 yards |
Postseason playoffs
A total of twenty teams were selected to participate in the single-elimination tournament from across the country, with invitations that were revealed on Sunday, November 12, 2023. The field included thirteen conference champions who received automatic bids. The field was then filled with at-large selections that were awarded to the highest ranked teams that were not conference champions. First-round seedings were based on the final regular-season edition of the 2023 NAIA Coaches' Poll, with certain minor modifications given based on travel and geographic considerations. Each subsequent round also saw minor modifications based on travel and the geography of the remaining teams.[3]
Second round pairings were announced by the NAIA on November 18, after the first round results were known.[4]
Quarterfinal pairings were announced by the NAIA on November 25, after the second round results were known.
Semifinal pairings were announced by the NAIA on December 2, soon after completion of the day's quarterfinal games.[5]
| First Round November 18 Campus Sites | Second Round November 25 Campus Sites | Quarterfinals December 2nd Campus Sites | Semifinals December 9 Campus Sites | Championship December 18 Durham, North Carolina | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Marian (IN) | 21 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Saint Xavier | 31 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Saint Xavier | 17 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Northwestern (IA) | 34 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Northwestern (IA) | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Dordt | 35 | 16 | Dordt | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Northwestern (IA) | 35 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Ottawa | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Georgetown (KY) | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Indiana Wesleyan | 24 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Morningside | 21 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Indiana Wesleyan | 21 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Georgetown (KY) | 31 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Georgetown (KY) | 42 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Baker | 55 | 15 | Baker | 21 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Northwestern (IA) | 21 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Louisiana Christian | 28 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Keiser | 31 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Montana Western | 42 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | College of Idaho | 49 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | College of Idaho | 31 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Grand View | 17 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Grand View | 28 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Montana Tech | 28 | 14 | Dickinson State | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | College of Idaho | 21 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Dickinson State | 35 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Keiser | 28 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Bethel (TN) | 40 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Evangel | 13 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Bethel (TN) | 14 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Keiser | 56 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Keiser | 45 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| St. Thomas (FL) | 55 | 13 | St. Thomas (FL) | 21 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Reinhardt | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||