2023 Division III football playoffs

December 16, 2023 2023 Division III football bracket The Road to Salem returned, and it was Cortland who came away from Division III's titletown with the 50th national championship. Here's how it went down.

December 16, 2023 Cortland's storybook season It turns out that dragons are real, and that Cortland's Red Dragons were indeed for real this season. Greg Thomas explores the harmonic convergence that led Cortland to the 2023 Division III football national title.

December 16, 2023 Salem embraces its golden opportunity The golden anniversary of the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl blanketed the bleachers on both sides of the stadium in red, as Salem put on a show worthy of the 50th Stagg Bowl. Ryan Tipps has more.

December 14, 2023 North Central offense: Continuous improvement While it seems that things can’t possibly get better for the Cardinal offense, they found ways. Greg Thomas has more in a Stagg Bowl 50 feature.

December 13, 2023 A mistake, a missed year “At the time, I didn’t know what good could possibly come from the situation,” Cortland wide receiver Cole Burgess said. “You can only understand life backwards. I wouldn’t be here if I ended up playing that season.” Joe Sager has more in a Stagg Bowl feature.

December 7, 2023 Home semifinal amps up energy at Randolph-Macon The Yellow Jackets get another week together, not only playing in the semis for the first time, but hosting. Greg Thomas takes us inside a busy sports week on the Randolph-Macon campus in a Road to Salem feature.

December 6, 2023 'See big, focus small' At Cortland, it's OK to think about the big picture -- the program's first trip to the national semifinals, a chance to get even for last year's season-ending loss, a game on ESPN+, that sort of thing. But once the game starts, it's a different story. Brian Lester has more in a Road to Salem feature.

December 6, 2023 Turbo-charged Clasen, Knights ready for semis He's nicknamed Turbo, as we've been telling you, and if you can't understand why just by looking at Hunter Clasen play the game, you can learn more about it and how he became the running back that all future Wartburg running backs will be looking up at. Riley Zayas has more in a Road to Salem feature.

December 5, 2023 Cardinals aren't going anywhere North Central has won 28 consecutive games, and part of it is due to a bunch of Cardinals who haven't left the nest. Nearly two-thirds of the North Central coaching staff is made up of alumni, and that suits the Cardinals just fine. Joe Sager has more in a Road to Salem feature.

November 30, 2023 Laying down the hammer If you hadn't heard of North Central defensive end Martin Egbo before this year, you can be excused. He was at Concordia-Chicago, and may have been better known as a hammer thrower on the track team. But he found his way to the Cardinals, and the rest is an amazing story, by Greg Thomas.

November 29, 2023 Experience brings confidence for Wartburg Last year, you could have gotten away with saying Wartburg was just happy to be playing multiple weeks into the NCAA playoffs. But this year, the Knights are right where they expected to be. Brian Lester has more in a Road to Salem feature.

November 28, 2023 Wearing of the 3 Jim Margraff did not want the No. 3 he wore as a player at Johns Hopkins to be retired. But when the longtime coach passed away in 2019, a tribute was warranted. Today, the players choose just one player to wear the uniform, and this year it's running back Spencer Uggla. Joe Sager has more on the tradition in a Road to Salem feature.

November 25, 2023 Wrapup: Mount falls, Cortland survives The second round of the 2023 Division III football playoffs contained a bunch of thrilling games, but perhaps none more than Alma scoring 24 in the fourth quarter at Mount Union and Cortland going for two, then surviving when a field goal went wide left.

November 22, 2023 Grove City thankful for another week It's a time for togetherness and, well, thanksgiving, and for Grove City, getting to play another week is the best feeling. Joe Sager has more in a Road to Salem feature.

November 22, 2023 Perseverance gets Weeks, Wheaton to second round Giovanni Weeks had to wait two years at Wheaton before he was even able to take the field, but now when the game is on the line, there's nobody else the Thunder want the ball in the hands of. A Road to Salem feature by Greg Thomas.

November 21, 2023 Aurora lighting things up on defense The Spartans needed a pick-me-up from the defensive side of the ball on Saturday and got it, as the defense allowed no points and had seven takeaways against Coe. And Don Beebe, the former NFL wide receiver-turned D-III head coach, couldn't be happier. Brian Lester has more in a Road to Salem feature.

November 15, 2023 Union excited for postseason shot The new energy around the Garnet Chargers has very little to do with a nickname and a lot more to do with their first-year head coach. Brian Lester has more in a Road to Salem Feature.

November 14, 2023 Kohawks got the call Coe was just hoping for an invitation. Now that the Kohawks have it, they’re ready to make the most of it. Joe Sager has more in a Road to Salem feature.

November 13, 2023 2023 Wartburg bracket previews From Wartburg to Illinois College, the teams in the lower-left bracket, their statistical leaders, how you'll know if they're playing well, and how far they can go. It's our annual playoff team capsules.

November 12, 2023 NCAA's final regional ranking The final regional rankings for 2023. These were the ones used to select and seed the teams.

November 12, 2023 The NCAA playoff bracket is out! This is how teams will line up headed to Stagg Bowl L, which returns to its home in Salem, Virginia. That includes one surprise team, for sure.

November 11, 2023 Our projected playoff bracket Our mock selection committee met Saturday evening to do what we always do: Try to project what the NCAA committee will do, given the same information. We choose, gulp, just four at-large teams. We bracket them using the rules the committee has to use. And it's always a challenge to separate the final at-large teams. Here's our attempt.

November 8, 2023 NCAA's regional ranking Regional rankings from the NCAA, now with actual rankings.

November 1, 2023 NCAA's first regional 'ranking' Rankings? Or listings, really. The teams, in alphabetical order for this first regional ranking, from A to W instead of 1 to 7.