The 2023 NCAA Division III Football Championship Game, more commonly referred to as the 2023 Stagg Bowl or Stagg Bowl L, was a postseason college football game scheduled played on December 15, 2023, at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia. It determined a national champion in NCAA Division III for the 2023 season. The game began at 7:00 p.m. EST, and aired on ESPNU. The game featured the two finalists of the 32-team single elimination playoff bracket, Cortland and North Central; Cortland won 38–37 to claim their first national championship.
Teams The participants of the 2023 NCAA Division III Football Championship Game were the finalists of the 2023 Division III Playoffs, a 32-team single elimination brackets tournament which began on November 18. The winners of each of the four 8-team regions qualified for the national semifinals.
National semifinals
Game summary
Statistics
+Team statistical comparisonStatisticCortlandNorth CentralFirst downs 28 21 First downs rushing 18 7 First downs passing 9 14First downs penalty 1 0Third down efficiency 6–12 6–10Fourth down efficiency 2–3 0–2Total plays–net yards 71–503 58–583Rushing attempts–net yards 37–154 41–404Yards per rush 4.2 9.9Yards passing 349 179Pass completions–attempts 26–34 8–17Interceptions thrown 0 0Punt returns–total yards 0–0 0–0Kickoff returns–total yards 5–105 6–136Punts–average yardage 2–27.5 1–47Fumbles–lost 0–0 1–1Penalties–yards 2–10 6–64Time of possession 32:43 27:17
+Cortland statisticsRed Dragons passing Zac Boyes 26–34 349 5–0Red Dragons rushing Zac Boyes 16 123 0 Ashton Capone 5 28 0 Jaden AlfanoStJohn 13 26 0 TEAM 3 –15 0Red Dragons receiving Cole Burgess 11 134 2 Joe Iadevaio 8 95 2 JJ Laap 2 75 1 Omari Kendrick 3 26 0 Jaden AlfanoStJohn 2 19 0
+North Central statisticsCardinals passing Luke Lehnen 8–17 179 2–0Cardinals rushing Joe Sacco 14 157 1 Luke Lehnen 11 115 2 Charles Coleman 10 94 0 Sean Allen 5 38 0 DeAngelo Hardy 1 0 0Cardinals receiving DeAngelo Hardy 5 146 1 Joe Sacco 1 14 0 Jack Rummell 1 12 0 Charles Coleman 1 7 1
References