2023 NAIA Football National Championship

The 2023 NAIA Football National Championship was a five-round, twenty team tournament played between November 18 and December 18, 2023. The tournament concluded with a single game, played as the 68th Annual NAIA Football National Championship.

2023 NAIA Football National Championship
Northwestern Red Raiders Keiser Seahawks (14–0) (11–2) GPAC TSC 21 31 Head coach:  Matt McCarty Head coach:  Doug Socha Seed 1 Seed 3
1 2 3 4 Total Northwestern 0 7 0 14 21 Keiser 7 10 7 7 31
Date	December 18, 2023
Season	2023
Stadium	Durham County Memorial Stadium
Location	Durham, North Carolina
MVP	Jaden Meizinger (RB, Keiser) (Offensive) Maddox Aprile (DL, Keiser) (Defensive)
Referee	Brad Bunting
Attendance	1,183
NAIA Football National Championship  < 2022  2024 >

The championship game was played at Durham County Memorial Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, between the undefeated 14–0 No. 1 Northwestern Red Raiders, representing Northwestern College from Orange City, Iowa, and the 11–2 No. 3 Keiser Seahawks, representing Keiser University from West Palm Beach, Florida. The game was played on December 18, 2023, with kickoff at 12:00 p.m. EST (11:00 a.m. local CST).

Teams

Northwestern (IA)

Main article: 2023 Northwestern Red Raiders football team

The Northwestern Red Raiders, led by 8th-year head coach Matt McCarty, entered the national championship game as the No. 1 seed and defending national champions. They were seeking to win their fourth national championship overall, having won in 1973, 1983, and 2022. They entered the game 14–0, 10–0 in GPAC play.

2020 Northwestern (IA) Football
Sep. 2	at Concordia (NE)*	W 48–35
Sep. 9	Drake	W 27–24OT
Sep. 16	Doane*	W 51–7
Sep. 23	at Mount Marty*	W 42–0
Sep. 30	at Midland*	W 42–21
Oct. 7	Hastings*	W 45–7
Oct. 14	at Briar Cliff*	W 37–8
Oct. 21	No. 22 Dordt*	W 35–14
Oct. 28	No. 3 Morningside*	W 34–20
Nov. 4	at Dakota Wesleyan*	W 49–28
Nov. 11	Jamestown*	W 40–11
NAIA Playoffs (No. 1 seed)
Nov. 25	No. 14 Dordt	W 7–0
Dec. 2	No. 12 Saint Xavier (IL)	W 34–17
Dec. 9	No. 4 Georgetown (KY)	W 35–10

Keiser

Main article: 2023 Keiser Seahawks football team

The Keiser Seahawks, led by 6th-year head coach Doug Socha, entered the national championship game as the No. 3 seed and were looking to win the program's first-ever NAIA National Championship. They entered the game 11–2, 7–0 in Sun Conference play.

2023 Keiser Football
Aug. 31	Mississippi College	L 14–17
Sep. 9	at No. 9 Lindsey Wilson	W 30–26
Sep. 16	at Valdosta State	L 25–49
Sep. 30	Thomas*	W 44–12
Oct. 7	No. 16 St. Thomas (FL)*	W 21–14
Oct. 14	at Warner*	W 69–6
Oct. 21	Southeastern*	W 51–21
Oct. 28	at Ave Maria*	W 54–7
Nov. 4	Webber International*	W 59–17
Nov. 11	at Florida Memorial*	W 44–13
NAIA Playoffs (No. 3 seed)
Nov. 25	No. 13 St. Thomas (FL)	W 45–21
Dec. 2	No. 7 Bethel (TN)	W 56–14
Dec. 9	No. 11 College of Idaho	W 28–21

Series history

No.	Date	Location	Winning team		Losing team
1	December 17, 2022	Durham, NC	No. 3 Northwestern (IA)	35	No. 12 Keiser	25
Northwestern (IA) leads 1–0

Game summary

^[1][2]

2023 NAIA Football National Championship Game

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 3 Keiser	7	10	7	7	31
No. 1 Northwestern (IA)	0	7	0	14	21

at Durham County Memorial Stadium • Durham, North Carolina

• Date: Monday, December 18, 2023
• Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST (11:00 a.m. CST)
• Game weather: • Temperature: 56 °F (13 °C) • Wind: Sunny
• Game attendance: 1,183
• Referee: Brad Bunting

Game information

First Quarter (14:49) UK – Jaden Meizinger 75-yard run, Nico Cavanillas kick (Drive: 1 plays, 75 yards, 0:11; Keiser 7–0) Second Quarter (7:00) UK – Nico Cavanillas 31-yard field goal (Drive: 9 plays, 66 yards, 6:23; Keiser 14–0) (4:55) UK – Andrew Burnette 1-yard run, Nico Cavanillas kick (Drive: 4 plays, 14 yards, 1:14; Keiser 21–0) (0:29) NWC – Austyn Gerard 6-yard pass from Jalyn Gramstad, Eli Stader kick (Drive: 6 plays, 45 yards, 1:14; Keiser 21–7) Third Quarter (5:17) UK – Maurico Porcha 30-yard pass from Justin Wake, Nico Cavanillas kick (Drive: 5 plays, 99 yards, 2:29; Keiser 28–7) Fourth Quarter (10:54) NWC – Konner McQuillan 53-yard pass from Jalyn Gramstad, Eli Stader kick (Drive: 7 plays, 86 yards, 2:30; Keiser 28–14) (7:17) NWC – Konner McQuillan 2-yard run, Eli Stader kick (Drive: 7 plays, 52 yards, 3:37; Keiser 28–21) (7:06) UK – Louis Lubin III 77-yard kickoff return, Nico Cavanillas kick (Keiser 35–21)

Statistics

Statistics	KU	NWC
First downs	23	21
Total yards	490	338
Rushes–yards	45–373	30–51
Passing yards	117	287
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	10–15–2	15–34–1
Time of possession	28:58	31:02

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Keiser	Passing	Justin Wake	10/15, 117 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Jaden Meizinger	22 carries, 261 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Maurico Porcha	2 receptions, 45 yards, 1 TD
Northwestern (IA)	Passing	Jalyn Gramstad	15/34, 287 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Jalyn Gramstad	18 carries, 47 yards
	Receiving	Michael Storey	6 receptions, 121 yards

Postseason playoffs

A total of sixteen teams were selected to participate in the single-elimination tournament from across the country, with invitations that were revealed on Sunday, November 12, 2023. The field included thirteen conference champions who received automatic bids. The field was then filled with at-large selections that were awarded to the highest ranked teams that were not conference champions. First-round seedings were based on the final regular-season edition of the 2023 NAIA Coaches' Poll, with certain minor modifications given based on travel and geographic considerations. Each subsequent round also saw minor modifications based on travel and the geography of the remaining teams.^[3]

Second round pairings were announced by the NAIA on November 18, after the first round results were known.^[4]

Quarterfinal pairings were announced by the NAIA on November 25, after the second round results were known.

Semifinal pairings were announced by the NAIA on December 2, soon after completion of the day's quarterfinal games.^[5]

	First Round November 18 Campus Sites					Second Round November 25 Campus Sites					Quarterfinals December 2nd Campus Sites					Semifinals December 9 Campus Sites					Championship December 18 Durham, North Carolina
						5	Marian (IN)	21
						12	Saint Xavier	31
											12	Saint Xavier	17
											1	Northwestern (IA)	34
						1	Northwestern (IA)	7
	Dordt		35			16	Dordt	0
																1	Northwestern (IA)	35
	Ottawa		7
																4	Georgetown (KY)	10
						6	Indiana Wesleyan	24
						10	Morningside	21
											6	Indiana Wesleyan	21
											4	Georgetown (KY)	31
						4	Georgetown (KY)	42
	Baker		55			15	Baker	21
																					1	Northwestern (IA)	21
	Louisiana Christian		28
																					3	Keiser	31
						8	Montana Western	42
						11	College of Idaho	49
											11	College of Idaho	31
											2	Grand View	17
						2	Grand View	28
	Montana Tech		28			14	Dickinson State	3
																11	College of Idaho	21
	Dickinson State		35
																3	Keiser	28
						7	Bethel (TN)	40
						9	Evangel	13
											7	Bethel (TN)	14
											3	Keiser	56
						3	Keiser	45
	St. Thomas (FL)		55			13	St. Thomas (FL)	21
	Reinhardt		7

References

1. "Keiser vs. Northwestern - Box Score - 12/18/2023". NAIA Stats. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
2. "No. 3 Football vs No. 1 Northwestern College (Iowa) on 12/18/2023 - Box Score". Keiser University Athletics. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
3. "2023 NAIA Football Championship Series Qualifiers Announced". NAIA. November 12, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
4. "2023 NAIA Football Championship Series - Second Round Pairings Announced". NAIA. November 18, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
5. "Semifinal Round Pairings in the 2023 NAIA Football Championship Series". NAIA. December 2, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.