UMHB takes home another title, emphatically

Mary Hardin-Baylor has posed for this photo twice before, in 2016 and 2018, and now can add 2021 to the collection of memories. Photo by Larry Radloff, d3photography.com

Mary Hardin-Baylor turned a 19-17 game in the third quarter and turned it into a 57-24 rout as the Cru defeated North Central to win Stagg Bowl XLVIII. It was the second national title in the past three tournaments for UMHB.

Defensive lineman Nick Brish, who led Mount Union in tackles and sacked UMHB’s quarterback for a safety, was selected as the day’s Most Outstanding Player.

• Keith McMillan: UMHB shows it's simply the best
• 2021 D3football.com All-America team

Kyle King and his cohorts finished the run of dominant passing performances in the final three rounds of the playoffs. He threw for 436 yards and three touchdowns as his team made it not close in the second half.

?This was an incredible game and Kyle did an awesome job putting the ball on the money,? Fredenburg said afterward.

?I just feel like we ran into a little bit of a buzzsaw,? Thorne said. ?That team, the quarterback was just dynamite ? His ability to throw the ball down the field with accuracy and touch is incredibly impressive.?

More features from the 2021 playoffs follow:

2021 Division III football playoffs

December 20, 2021 2021 Division III football playoff bracket The final results on the Road to Canton.

December 17, 2021 UMHB shows it's simply the best In one whirlwind half, Mary Hardin-Baylor upended everything we thought we knew and crowned itself the new king of D-III. Keith McMillan has more from Canton.

December 16, 2021 UMHB excited to be back in Stagg After seeing its 2019 season end earlier than hoped, Mary Hardin-Baylor's sights have been on winning, week after week. With 19 of those wins under their belt, the Cru are in Canton looking for No. 20 and a trophy. Riley Zayas has more.

December 15, 2021 Cardinals' plug-and-play line does just fine The offensive line continues to drive things forward for North Central, even when it has to call on its backups to do so. Greg Thomas checks in with the guys up front in a Road to Canton feature.

December 11, 2021 North Central punches second trip to Stagg For the second playoff in a row, North Central has gone to Mount Union to eliminate the Purple Raiders, as the Cardinals won 26-13 to book a return trip to the Stagg Bowl and to Ohio.

December 11, 2021 UMHB books return trip to title game Kyle King and Brandon Jordan had a big connection on Saturday, ensuring that they will play again on Friday.

December 10, 2021 Quick Hits: Our predictions for the semifinals We're down to the final four and if you've been watching the D3football.com Top 25 all season, you won't be surprised at who is still playing. The Stagg Bowl will make its first appearance in Canton, Ohio, in just one week and our Quick Hits panel has assembled to predict which teams will be playing for the Walnut and Bronze seven days from now. 

December 10, 2021 Peete, Petro are purple pounders Pounding the rock may be Whitewater's trademark, but when the game needs to be put away, both UW-Whitewater and Mount Union turn their eyes to a senior in the backfield: Alex Peete and Josh Petruccelli. Greg Thomas has more.

December 8, 2021 Meylor comes into his own UW-Whitewater quarterback Max Meylor is making the most of his extra year, and has the Warhawks one win away from a second Stagg Bowl trip in a row. But it has hardly been an easy journey. Here's his story.

December 7, 2021 Cru offense finds cruising altitude Who expected the Mary Hardin-Baylor offense to throw seven touchdown passes? With Kyle King back behind center, the Cru offense took off. Joe Sager has more in a Road to Canton feature.

December 6, 2021 The champs with a chip on their shoulder North Central started this season thinking it was not getting enough respect, and while our pollsters give them plenty of it at No. 1, the NCAA football committee somehow decided to ignore the rule it wrote specifically for this? Pat and Greg talk about all the fallout from this in the latest Around the Nation podcast.

December 4, 2021 Mount survives in OT as top four advance The Division III football final four will feature the top four, as No. 1 North Central, No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor and No. 3 UW-Whitewater all cruised to quarterfinal wins and No. 2 Mount Union needed overtime to move on.

December 3, 2021 Quick Hits: Our predictions for Week 14 Our panel is only unanimous on one of the four games this weekend. Check out the predictions for the Division III quarterfinals!

December 3, 2021 Oar gives Muhlenberg defense a rallying point At Muhlenberg, it's the takeaways that are infectious, and the Mules defense celebrates those moments with a special token of appreciation. Greg Thomas has more in a Road to Canton feature.

December 2, 2021 'We don’t necessarily have a controversy. We just have two really good quarterbacks.' Ryan Redding and Kyle King have both started and won games for Mary Hardin-Baylor this season, but who will start Saturday against Linfield?

December 2, 2021 Peete, Warhawks motivated by Stagg loss Alex Peete and UW-Whitewater struggled in the 2019 title game, but have taken that as a learning experience and motivation into 2021. Brian Lester has more.

November 30, 2021 Lehnen learning on the run North Central's new quarterback got thrown in the lineup right away in September, and so far Luke Lehnen and his new skillset are working out just fine for the defending champs. Joe Sager has more.

November 29, 2021 Are we entering a new era of parity? Could there have really been eight teams in the bracket capable of winning it all? Is this actual parity or just a number of super seniors? Pat and Greg tackle that and more, plus hear from seniors hanging it up, whether by choice or because they're just out of time.

November 27, 2021 Dutch, 'Cats advance in nail-biters Central scored on the last play of the game to edge Wheaton in an epic battle, while Linfield survived in Collegeville, RPI made a last-second pick to seal it, and even Mount Union got pushed. More in the second-round recap.

November 26, 2021 Quick Hits: Our predictions for the second round There are not a lot of unanimous decisions this week, as our crew predicts the scores for each game in the second round of the NCAA Division III football playoffs.

November 24, 2021 Wheaton defense excited to get after it again After facing one of Division III's most prolific quarterbacks in the first round, the Thunder's defense is ready to take on Central and Blaine Hawkins. More in a Road to the Stagg Bowl feature by Brian Lester.

November 23, 2021 Delaware Valley still starts with D The Aggies rank first in fewest points allowed and fewest yards allowed, but there's only one place they want to be No. 1 in when all is said and done. Joe Sager has more in a Road to the Stagg Bowl feature.

November 22, 2021 How much of an upset, really? When is an upset not an upset? This first round had only one true upset, if we're being honest, but that doesn't excuse some of the decisions that got us here. We talk with UW-La Crosse coach Matt Janus and hear voices from around the first round in the newest podcast.

November 20, 2021 Albion enters postseason on a run With the margin for error razor thin moving forward, the Britons either had to rise to the occasion or let an opportunity to make the 2021 season a special one slip away.

November 20, 2021 DePauw wins thriller; Central rolls The Tigers got five picks and a goal-line stand to hold off Rose-Hulman, while Central, Wheaton and UW-Whitewater rolled. That included the Dutch handing Bethel the only first-round loss by an at-large team.

November 20, 2021 UMHB wins defensive battle; Linfield, SJU set up meeting UMHB survived a defensive battle against an in-state rival, while Birmingham-Southern did the same and St. John's and Linfield made it look easy in the top-left bracket.

November 19, 2021 Carnegie Mellon out of playoffs The Tartans, who were scheduled to play North Central, have withdrawn from the 2021 postseason because of positive COVID tests.

November 19, 2021 Quick Hits: Our predictions for the first round In the playoffs, no game gets overlooked or ignored. Our panel takes every first round game and picks a winner, as well as a score. It's Quick Hits, playoff style!

November 18, 2021 Anna Maria riding high For a program that had never won more than even two games in a season, this is a huge deal. Anna Maria celebrates how far it's come, and realizes what is up next, in a Road to the Stagg Bowl feature by Brian Lester.

November 18, 2021 2021 North Central bracket This top right bracket seems more east than north or central, but here's the skinny on teams which span from Massachusetts to western Wisconsin, including the defending national champions.

November 18, 2021 2021 St. John's bracket The top left bracket, one inhabited, of course, by St. John's, but also by national contenders Mary Hardin-Baylor and Linfield, and for that matter, teams such as Trinity (Texas) and Birmingham-Southern, trying to prove themselves in the postseason. Here's the full breakdown.

November 18, 2021 2021 UW-Whitewater bracket The details on the bottom left bracket, where we are still puzzling over a No. 4 and No. 7 seed matching up in the first round. Check out the key players and details from Whitewater to Greenville and everywhere in between.

November 18, 2021 Running on Linfield? Think again! That's probably not going to work, and Joe Sager tells us why in a Road to the Stagg Bowl feature.

November 17, 2021 Whirlwind weekend extends Royals' run Bethel went from the highs to the lows and back to the highs on Saturday and Sunday, and face another potential drama-filled weekend coming up. Joe Sager has more in a Road to the Stagg Bowl feature.

November 14, 2021 Final NCAA regional ranking The NCAA's final regional rankings are out -- the ones used to select and seed the playoff field.

November 14, 2021 The NCAA playoff bracket is out! Even when you don't agree with all the teams in the bracket, it's just nice to have a bracket at all! However, the folks at Hardin-Simmons and Ithaca might not be so happy.

November 13, 2021 Our projected playoff bracket Expand the first-round radius from 500 miles to 600 miles? Well, there's a little we can do with that. But have a bunch of teams lose on Saturday who were at-large candidate? Hey, now that's interesting. Here's what we think the committee could/should do.

November 10, 2021 NCAA's second regional ranking The second regional ranking is out, and the first one with teams actually listed in a ranked order.

November 3, 2021 NCAA's first regional ranking Rankings? Or listings, really. The teams, in alphabetical order for this first regional ranking.