Preview, prediction, and how to watch the DII football championship game

Colorado School of Mines and Harding are all that's left. The two will face off at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 16, from McKinney ISD Stadium in McKinney, TX in the 2023 NCAA DII football championship game. You can follow the stats live right here on NCAA.com or watch on ESPN+.

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL:

Harding vs. Colorado School of Mines: What to know

This is the first time we've had two undefeated teams battle for the national championship since 2018. That year, Valdosta State defeated Ferris State 49-47 in a game in which the history books were rewritten. With these two potent offenses, we could possibly see the same. The Orediggers enter the game 14-0 having last lost in the 2022 national championship game. The Bisons are also 14-0 but dating back to last year have won 18 straight, the longest streak in DII.

Neither team has won a national championship, so the victor will achieve a program first. Harding has never been to a championship game, so this is new territory for the Bisons, while Colorado School of Mines is back for a second year in a row. 

That's not all these two have in common. Both are in the top-3 in scoring offense and both are in the top three in scoring defense. This game is either going to set records offensively or finish 3-0. 

Tale of the Tape (number in parentheses is the rank in all DII football) 

Harding: Bisons' flexbone offense among best in college football

When the Bisons have the ball, you know what's coming. A healthy dose of running backs coming at you, with more on the bench ready to run. The flexbone — Harding's version of the triple option — is one of the toughest offenses to stop in DII football, mainly because quarterback Cole Keylon is such a rushing threat himself. He has one rushing touchdown in each playoff game thus far — and 10 rushing touchdowns in his last six games. But if the Orediggers' tough defense closes in, he simply pitches to Blake Delacruz — who ran for 1,296 yards and 21 touchdowns — or Braden Jay — who ran for 914 yards and nine touchdowns — or Jhalen Spicer, or Andrew Miller, or Omar Sinclair, or... well, you get it.

Miller was the running back who put the Bisons in the history books, now with 5,659 rushing yards — the most-ever in a DII football season. Harding leads all of college football with 404.4 yards rushing per game. If the Bisons hit that mark, they will be the first team to eclipse 6,000 yards rushing in a season in college football history. 

Defensively, the Bisons are one of the best in DII football. While their points and yards allowed are top-10 worthy, keep an eye on those special teams. Harding is in the top 10 with seven blocked kicks this season, two of which were pivotal in the playoffs. One thing that keeps this defense — which is uber-aggressive and has scored seven touchdowns either through interceptions or fumble recoveries — fresh is that Harding's offense dominates time of possession, leading DII with roughly 35 minutes per game. The key to victory is to try to figure out a way to tire out this tough defense.

Colorado School of Mines: Matocha Madness

John Matocha may not have had the best stats at the quarterback position in DII football this season, but he didn't need to. No matter what the outcome of this game is, Matocha will end his career among the all-time DII football greats. He already has a Harlon Hill Award and is a finalist once again in 2023. He is the college football record holder for career touchdowns (190) and passing touchdowns (161) and is second in DII football history for total offensive yards (16,731) and third in passing yards (14,736). Matocha has led the Orediggers to three straight national semifinals and now two straight national championships. If he wins it all this weekend, we're talking an elite talent for the ages. 

Matocha isn't a one-man show, however. He has one of the best offensive lines in DII football — arguably equally-matched by their championship game counterparts — and Max McLeod is one of the best wideouts in DII. He leads DII in receiving yards with 1,503 and added 16 touchdowns. Replacing All-American Michael Zeman at running back wasn't as difficult as expected: Noah Roper was a nice addition, rushing for 951 yards and 16 scores while Landon Walker added 12 rushing touchdowns. 

The defense is good at disrupting the backfield and is led by All-American Nolan Reeve. He has 10 sacks this year, but offenses can't forget about Jaden Healy who has seven of his own. Jackson Zimmermann leads the secondary with six interceptions and nine pass breakups, but against the Harding flexbone, he may be called upon to attack the backfield a bit more. It will be interesting to see how both teams attack two very different offenses on Saturday. 

The 2023 DII football national champion, predicted

I have always been adamant on accountability, so let me say this. My predictions this year stunk. I was off on quite a bit, but one thing I was not off on was that Colorado School of Mines would reach the national championship game.

Since that was who I predicted to win it all way back on Nov. 9, that's who I stick with. As we saw with Central Missouri, a strong aerial attack — which Colorado School of Mines clearly has — and the ability to keep the Harding offense off the field for half the game is the key to keeping it close with the Bisons. The past two national championship games have been blowouts, but I don't think that's the case this year. Throw these top-3 scoring defenses out the window, it should be a good, old-fashioned DII football championship game shootout.

Prediction: Colorado School of Mines 35, Harding 31