NCAA Playoffs - Semifinals
#4 Mount Union vs. #1 North Central
Saturday, December 11 at 12 p.m.
Mount Union Stadium - Alliance, Ohio

Video: 
ESPN+ (Michael Reghi, Je'Rod Cherry)

Radio: 
WRMU 91.1 FM (Ben Johnson-Bowers, Riley Sullivan and Jacob Buttar)
WDPN 1310 AM (Sam Bourquin and Ryan Keller)

Mount Union Notes (PDF)
North Central Game Notes (PDF)

The Matchup: No. 4 ranked Mount Union hosts No. 1 ranked North Central (Ill.) in the national semifinals of the 2021 NCAA Division III Football Playoffs Saturday, Dec. 11 at 12 pm at Mount Union Stadium.

The Purple Raiders are 13-0 overall, won their 32nd Ohio Athletic Conference title to claim one of 27 automatic bids to the tournament.

Mount Union has a 107-18 record in NCAA Playoff games and the Raiders have advanced to the Stagg Bowl 21 times since 1993 with a record 13 National Championships.

The Raiders, who have played in the tournament a record 32 times, defeated Washington & Lee (Va.) 52-0 in the first round, No. 16 ranked Johns Hopkins, 45-35, in the second round and a 35-29 overtime win over No. 13 Muhlenberg in the quarterfinals.

North Central, located in Naperville, Ill., is 12-0 overall, won the automatic bid as champions of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin and is making its 13th NCAA Playoff appearance.

The Cardinals have a 20-11 record in the NCAA Playoffs and are the defending national champions after winning 2019 title game with a 41-14 win over Wisconsin-Whitewater.

North Central ended up with a first round bye since Carnegie Mellon (Pa.) could not play the game. The Cardinals then scored a 34-20 win over No. 11 Wisconsin-La Crosse in the second round and a 55-6 win over No. 18 R.P.I. (N.Y.) in the quarterfinals.
The Series: This will be the third-ever meeting between the schools, who have split the previous two meetings, both in Alliance. The Raiders won 41-40 in a 2013 national semifinal game while the Cardinals scored a 59-52 win in a 2019 second round game.

Up Next: The winner of this game will take on the winner of a semifinal matchup between No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) at No. 3 ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater in the 2021 Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on Friday, Dec. 17 in Canton, Ohio.

Bracketology: Since 2005, the NCAA Division III Football Championship has consisted of a 32-team field. 
 
For perspective, in Mount Union's first appearance in the playoffs in 1985, the field was 16 teams. 
 
This year's field breaks down like this: automatic bids were given to 27 conference champions and the other five spots are national at-large bids.
 
Each team is allowed to only dress a total of 58 players for a playoff game.

Aye Captain: Mount Union has three team captains this season in senior linebacker Kordell Ford (Massillon / Massillon Washington), senior wide receiver Derrick Harvey, Jr. (Akron/ Buchtel) and junior quarterback Braxton Plunk.

On the Air: All Mount Union football games will be broadcast on the radio on WDPN 1310 AM and WRMU 91.1 FM and simulcast online along with a LIVE STATS game tracker. You can also hear the WRMU 91.1 FM feed on any phone by calling 605-781-3283.

Scouting the Cards: North Central has the nation's longest active winning streak at 23 games and NCAA D3's top scoring offense this season at 57.2 points per game.

The nation's No. 1 total offense is led on the ground by junior Ethan Greenfield is fourth in the nation in rushing with 1,482 yards. He averages 7.8 yards per carry and has 23 TDs on the ground. Through the air, senior Andrew Kamienski is 12th in the nation in receiving yards with 1,144 with 11 TDs. At the helm of this potent offensive attack is freshman quarterback Luke Lehnen, who has completed 66-percent of his passes for 3,001 yards with 30 TD's.

The defense is ranked 10th nationally and has 86 tackle for loss and 42.5 sacks. Senior linebacker Ben Wong is the top tackler with 58 stops, junior lineman Dan Gilroy has a team-best 8.5 sacks while sophomore Nic Rummell has a team-high three interceptions.

Plunk City: Junior quarterback Braxton Plunk (Plant City, Fla.) enters this week with Mount Union single season records in completions (343) and attempts (478). His 4,284 passing yards is second in NCAA Division III. He is a two-time OAC Offensive Back of the Year who is one of 15 finalists for the Gagliardi Trophy given to the top all-around football player in NCAA Division III.

Wayne's World 2: Senior wide receiver Wayne Ruby (Miami, Fla. / Flanagan) had 10 catches last week which now gives him 101 catches for the season. The OAC receiver of the year is just the third Mount Union player with over 100 catches in a season and nine from matching the school record 110 that Adam Marino had in 2000.

Running on Petro: Senior running back Josh Petruccelli (Perry) had his second straight 100-yard passing game with 105 yards last week. It was his 24th career 100-yard rushing game. This week he will play in his 60th career game.

McTackles: OAC linebacker of the year in junior Mason McMillen (Wadsworth) had a team-best nine stops last week and leads the squad with 94 tackles on the season.

No Fly Zone: Senior Malik Britt (Bossier City, La. / Airline) is the OAC defensive back of the year and has a team-best six interceptions 

Line Items: Mount Union is fourth in the nation in tackles for loss allowed and literally at the center of it is senior center John Valentine (Ashland), who was named OAC offensive lineman of the year. 

Second City: Mount Union has two Chicago-land players in seniors Jalen Griffin (Simeon H.S.) and Evan Weygandt (Lincoln-Way West). Griffin is a safety with 15 passes defended and Weygandt is a tight end who had a season-high four catches last week.