Sunday, November 21, 2021
by Cody Bush, PFL Media Relations

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Pioneer Football League champion Davidson travels to face Big South Conference Champion Kennesaw State at 2 p.m. (ET), Saturday in Fifth Third Bank Stadium.

The winner of the Davidson-Kennesaw State matchup will face No. 7 national seed East Tennessee the following Saturday.

Davidson (8-2, 7-1 PFL), making its second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division I Football Championship, won a share of the PFL Championship for the second-straight season. Davidson won its first six PFL contests this season before a Week 11 loss but bounced back with a regular-season ending victory against Drake.

The triple-option-based Davidson offense continued to flex its strength, leading all FCS teams in rushing offense (348.8 yards per game). They also ranked among the FCS Top 10 offensively in scoring offense (7th, 37.9 points per game) and time of possession (2nd, 34:00 per game).

The Wildcats boast a balanced running attack led by Dylan Sparks and his 79.6 yards per game (34th in the FCS) and Coy Williams' 69.5 yards per game (59th in the FCS). Aris Hilliard (59.8 ypg), Louis Colosimo (43.4 ypg), and Mark McCurdy (35.2 ypg) also were ranked among the FCS Top 200 runners.

Davidson's defense has held up its end of the bargain, ranking 26th among FCS teams in defensive yards allowed (328.3 ypg) and 31st in passing defense (201.8 ypg). Jonathan Hammond leads that defensive group with his 1.3 tackles for loss and 0.95 sacks per game, ranking 25th and 15th in those categories.

PFL FCS PLAYOFF HISTORY

The NCAA Football Championship began in 1978 with a four-team field. It has expanded over the years to its current 24-team format. The Pioneer Football League first received an automatic bid during the 2013 expansion.

2013: Tennessee State 31, at Butler 0

2014: at Montana 52, San Diego 14

2015: Western Illinois 24, at Dayton 7

2016: San Diego 35, at Cal Poly 21 | at North Dakota State 45, San Diego 7

2017: San Diego 41, at Northern Arizona 10 | at North Dakota State 38, San Diego 3

2018: at Nicholls 49, San Diego 30

2019: at Northern Iowa 17, San Diego 3

2020: at Jacksonville State 49, Davidson 14

2021: Davidson at