The Red Dragons get to put another Empire 8 trophy in their case after defeating Brockport to wrap up the conference season unbeaten, again. Cortland athletics photo

Mary Hardin-Baylor didn't want Hardin-Simmons clinching on its home field, so it made sure there would be no dancing. CNU knocked off Salisbury to win the NJAC crown, Cortland continued its run through the Empire 8 with another unbeaten season, while River Falls clinched the WIAC automatic bid on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025 in Division III football. 

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Mary Hardin-Baylor handed No. 5 Hardin-Simmons its first loss of the season, as the Cru improved to 6-3, 4-2 against D-III opponents, beating the Cowboys 21-17. Kirkland Michaux found BJ Stewart for a 47-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter to give the Cru a 21-10 lead, but HSU had the answer. The Cowboys (8-1, 4-1 ASC) converted a fourth-and-1 at the Cru 44 before Kyle Brown found Dozie Ifeadi for 18 yards and then hit Christian Marshall on a short pass that Marshall took into the end zone for a 25-yard score, cutting the lead to four with 7:44 to play. UMHB was able to run more than five minutes of clock, however, and pinned HSU on its own 3-yard line with 2:24 left. HSU's drive petered out at midfield. Michaux completed 14 of 21 passes for 214 yards, with Stewart catching nine balls for 131 yards and a score.

Connor Barry may not have had the best night of the season throwing the ball, but he made up for it with his legs, even outrushing Salisbury quarterback SyRus McGowan as No. 13 Christopher Newport upended No. 7 Salisbury 45-42. The win clinches the New Jersey Athletic Conference automatic bid for the Captains for the second time in three years, and CNU has the chance to go into the playoffs unbeaten for the first time in a quarter-century of football if it wins next week at TCNJ. Barry completed just 15 of his 29 passes, including going 2-for-10 in the second half, but he made the most of them, including hitting Colin Hart for a 36-yard touchdown pass to give his team a 35-30 lead after Salisbury had led by two at halftime. The Captains (9-0, 6-0 NJAC) took advantage of a Salisbury turnover and added a 40-yard field goal to go up by eight with 11:27 to play in the third.

That lead held for almost the entire rest of the quarter, before Darrell Walter capped an 80-yard drive with a TD on the final play of the third. But Salisbury, which had missed an extra point earlier, was still chasing two, and the Sea Gulls' two-point conversion opportunity was stuffed. CNU held the ball for nearly five minutes before Gunner White broke loose for a 28-yard TD run to make it 45-36, and although McGowan was able to lead his team to a touchdown with 19 seconds left, another two-point conversion attempt failed, and the onside kick did as well.

The losses by Hardin-Simmons and Salisbury mean we go to the final week of the season with just six unbeaten teams in Division III.

Cortland capitalized on four Brockport turnovers and the Red Dragons claimed their fifth straight Empire 8 title with a 44-14 victory over the visiting Golden Eagles. Cortland (8-1, 7-0 Empire 8) won its 33rd consecutive league game, dating to 2021, and earned the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III playoffs. Brockport outgained Cortland in total offense, 336-262, but Cortland turned the Golden Eagles' four giveaways into short touchdown drives of 14, 32, 42 and six yards. Ravi Dass Jr. returned a punt 76 yards for Cortland's final touchdown. It was the second longest punt return in school history, behind only his 83-yard TD return at Randolph-Macon in the 2023 NCAA semifinals.

Trevor Asher got things going with a 54-yard touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage, Taylor Sussner capped things off with a 65-yard pick-six with 4:57 to play and in between, it was all UW-River Falls as the No. 8 Falcons defeated No. 9 UW-La Crosse 41-7. Kyle Haas, the La Crosse No. 1 quarterback, did not start and only took a couple of snaps when Jacob Huber had to come out of the game. UWL quarterbacks finished 12-for-30 passing for 159 yards and were picked off three times. Meanwhile, Asher ran for 128 yards and two scores, while Kaleb Blaha went 35-for-50 passing for 307 yards and two touchdowns as well.

John Carroll, the preseason No. 3 pick in the North Coast Athletic Conference coaches' poll, showed the league they came to play as they clinched the conference title and automatic bid with a 55-17 win vs. Ohio Wesleyan. The Battling Bishops managed to keep it close for much of the first half before John Carroll broke out for 21 points in the final 2:16 of the first half and never looked back. John Carroll limited OWU to minus-1 rushing yards and 99 yards overall. Tyren Montgomery set the program record for receptions in a season with his 70th in the second quarter.

No. 16 Hope left very little hope for Calvin as the Flying Dutchmen blanked the second-year Knights program 52-0 in the second football edition of The Rivalry. Hope has not allowed a point over its past 10 quarters and recorded back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 1983. The victory kept the Flying Dutchmen (7-1, 5-1 MIAA) in the league title chase with one week left in the regular season. Hope is tied for second place with Adrian, one game behind first-place Alma. Alma hosts Adrian next week, while Hope welcomes Olivet to Ray and Sue Smith Stadium. Hope limited Calvin (6-3, 3-3) to a season-low 152 yards of total offense and forced three interceptions.

Louie Blasiole had 165 yards on the ground and also caught a touchdown pass and Cody Dykes kicked three field goals, including the go-ahead score with 6:48 to play to lift Ohio Northern past No. 22 Baldwin Wallace 30-28. The win knocked Baldwin Wallace out of playoff contention, while leaving ONU a fringe contender as an at-large. The Polar Bears (7-2, 6-1) limited Baldwin Wallace to 253 yards of total offense and 10-for-22 passing as they picked off Charlie Bubonics twice.

Among the other unbeatens: No. 1 North Central clinched the CCIW by trouncing Elmhurst 58-0; No. 2 Mount Union beat Marietta 30-19 to clinch the OAC; No. 3 Johns Hopkins rolled past McDaniel 42-0 and will face fellow Centennial unbeaten F&M for the conference title; No. 4 Bethel cruised to a 49-7 win against Carleton to clinch the MIAC. Wartburg had a bye week.