2019 NCAA DIVISION II FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET

WATCH ON DEMAND: 2019 NCAA Division II Football Championship Selection Show

INDIANAPOLIS -- Kutztown University football is headed back to the NCAA Division II Football Championship tournament.

The Golden Bears received the No. 2 seed Super Region One and will host No. 7 seed Tiffin in a First Round game at Andre Reed Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 23, at 12:05 p.m.

Kutztown, ranked 13th in the AFCA Division II Poll, started 10-0 for the first time in program history before falling to eighth-ranked Slippery Rock, 37-35, in the PSAC Championship game yesterday. Sixth-year head coach Jim Clements has the Maroon and Gold back in the NCAA playoffs for the second straight year and 2019 marks the Golden Bears' fourth appearance all-time (2010, 2011, 2018, 2019). KU was defeated by Hillsdale, 40-26, in last year's opening round.

Fifth-year senior quarterback Collin DiGalbo (Secane, Pa./Monsignor Bonner) ranks among the leaders in Super Region One in total offense (298.7 yards per game) and completion percentage (66.8%), which is good for third behind Slippery Rock's Roland Rivers III and Shepherd's Tyson Bagent in both categories. The four-year starter is also fourth in SR1 in passing efficiency at 172.3 and seventh in passing touchdowns with a career-high 26. DiGalbo is five yards shy of a new single-season career-high for passing yards, having already thrown for 2,465 in nine games (246.5 per game).

Fellow fifth-year senior running back Abdul-Hassan Neblett (Newark, N.J./Paramus Catholic) is second in SR1 with 7.57 yards per carry and 13th with 11 rushing touchdowns. He needs just 61 yards to become the 10th Golden Bear to rush for 1,000 in a season all-time and first since Craig Reynolds (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) in 2016. Neblett and DiGalbo have combined for 21 of KU's single-season record 31 rushing scores this season. DiGalbo's 33 career rushing TDs are two short of tying Reynolds' career program record of 35.

Kutztown (10-1) is the top team in SR1 in third down conversion rate at 52.2%. The Golden Bears rank tied for first in fewest interceptions thrown (five) and turnovers gained (29), second in turnover margin (1.55), third in kickoff returns (25.6 yards per return), tied for third in passes intercepted (17), fourth in completion percentage (64.8%), fourth in passing efficiency (163.76), tied for fourth in fumble recoveries (12), fifth in scoring defense (17.6 ppg allowed), fifth in total defense (308.8 ypg allowed), sixth in rushing defense (99.9 yards allowed per game), seventh in rushing offense (192.3 ypg), eighth in scoring offense (37.5 ppg) and eighth in total offense (446.9 ypg).
 

A look at our section of the bracket: pic.twitter.com/4O8FL6Tnip

— Kutztown University Athletics (@KUGoldenBears) November 17, 2019

Tiffin will bring a 9-1 record into Saturday's meeting, which will be the first ever between the two schools on the gridiron. The Dragons went 7-0 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference and captured the league title with a 52-45 victory at Findlay this past Saturday. Hillsdale, KU's First Round opponent last season, also came out of the GMAC.

Kutztown's defense has another challenge in front of it as the Dragons are averaging 44.4 points per game, third best in SR1, and feature the super region's top overall and rushing offense at 518.3 yards and 249.0 yards per game, respectively.

Redshirt junior running back JaQuan Hardy was the top rusher in the GMAC with 1,405 yards (140.5 per game) and is tops in SR1 with 7.89 yards per carry. Tiffin, which is in the NCAA DII playoff field for the first time in school history, is far from one-dimensional, however. Dragon QB Nick Watson has thrown for 2,614 yards and 28 touchdowns and his top target, WR Stanley Jackson Jr., leads the super region with 121.4 receiving yards per game. Jackson also ranks second in SR1 with 1,093 total receiving yards.

Saturday will mark Kutztown's fourth home NCAA playoff game all-time. The Golden Bears are 1-2 at Andre Reed Stadium in the postseason, with a 17-14 win over Concord in the 2011 First Round, and losses to Shepherd (41-34; 2010 First Round) and Hillsdale (2018).

Slippery Rock surpassed KU for the top seed in the super region by virtue of yesterday's PSAC Championship game victory and received a First Round bye. The Rock will face the winner of No. 4 IUP and No. 5 Shepherd. Completing the bottom of the bracket with KU and Tiffin are No. 3 Notre Dame (Ohio) and No. 6 West Chester.

Ticket information and additional details regarding Kutztown's NCAA First Round game against Tiffin are forthcoming throughout the upcoming week.