KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Road to Durham highlights the journey of the two teams who will compete in the 2023 NAIA Football National Championship Game. The 68th Annual Battle for the Red Banner will be played at Durham County Memorial Stadium in Durham, N.C. and hosted by the Durham Sports Commission. For more information, click here.

SEMIFINAL ROUND - DECEMBER 9TH

No. 1 Northwestern (Iowa) def. No. 4 Georgetown (Ky.), 35-10

• Northwestern (Iowa) is headed back to the NAIA Football Championship game for the second time in as many years after a big win at home over Georgetown (Ky.) on December 9.
• The Raiders scored consistently throughout the game, grabbing one touchdown in the first, second, and third quarters; then putting up a pair of touchdowns in the fourth to seal the win.
• The Tiger's only points came in the second quarter, via a field goal, then a touchdown in the third quarter.
• NWC's third down efficiency was near perfect in the game at 92% or 12-of-13 attempts compared to Georgetown's 44% third down efficiency.
• Northwestern (Iowa) tallied 199 total yards of passing and 172 yards on the ground in the win.
• The Tigers netted 146 yards through the air and only 79 rushing yards.
• Jalyn Gramstad was 14-of-18 passing with three touchdowns and a game-long 35-yard completion.
• Konner McQuillan led the run game, having 129 yards on 28 attempts and a pair of touchdowns.
• Michael Storey grabbed eight receptions for 110 yards and three scores to lead the Red Raiders.
• Gehrig Slaunaker of Georgetown was 11-for-18 through the air with 146 yards, one interception, and a rushing touchdown.
• Jayson Hayes ran for 37 yards on seven attempts for the Tigers.
• Clayton Bosma for the Red Raiders picked off the Tigers and Slaunaker for a 31 yard return.
• Defensively, Jacob Brass led the way for Georgetown with 14 tackles while Lawson Vaughn led with two tackles for a loss of seven yards.
• Kylar Fritz led the defense for NWC with eight tackles and two tackles for a loss of four yards.

No. 3 Keiser (Fla.) def. No. 11 College of Idaho, 28-21

• Keiser (Fla.) picked up the win on their home turf by a one-score margin, 28-21.
• KU's running game was strong with 181 yards, compared to C of I's  76 rushing yards.
• The Coyotes had the upper hand in the passing game with 285 yards over the 163 yards KU threw.
• Keiser was 5-for-12 on third-down efficiency and the College of Idaho was 3-for-14 in the same category.
• Both the Seahawks and College of Idaho were rolling in the second quarter of the game, scoring a combined 31 points as KU had the advantage in the quarter with 17.
• Bryce Veasley for the Seahawks was 9-for-22 passing in the game with 163 yards.
• Jaden Meizinger led KU with 20 receptions on 86 net yards and a pair of scores.
• Andrew Burnette was targeted heavily as well with 13 receptions for 84 yards and one score.
• Darrell Livingston posted 10 total tackles, including seven solo for the Seahawks while Tivon Sutton had five tackles for a loss of 22 yards in the game.
• Andy Peters and Jon Schofield shared the quarterback duties for the Coyotes in the game and combined for 285 yards, 24 completions on 45 attempts, and three touchdowns.
• John Kreps had eight receptions for C of I with 95 yards and two scores.

QUARTERFINAL ROUND - DECEMBER 2ND

No. 1 Northwestern (Iowa) def. No. 12 Saint Xavier (Ill.), 34-17

• The Red Raiders continued their winning streak in the quarterfinals with yet another victory.
• NWC ran for 174 yards in the game, then threw for another 217 yards.
• Jalyn Gramstad was 14-for-18 on passing attempts with a pair of touchdowns.
• Austyn Gerard recorded the two receiving touchdowns as those were his only two catches of the day.
• Konner McQuillan led the Red Raiders rushing crew with 99 yards and one touchdown, while Gramstad rushed one in on his own.
• For SXU, Stuart Ross threw for 183 yards with one passing touchdown and completed 23-of-38 of his passes.
• Justin Pringle ran for 79 yards on nine carries for the Cougars with a single touchdown.

No. 3 Keiser (Fla.) def. No. 7 Bethel (Tenn.), 56-14

• The third-seeded Seahawks dominated on the ground both offensively and defensively as KU ran for 267 yards, while the defense held Bethel (Tenn.) to only 75 yards rushing.
• Andrew Burnette led the rushing game for Keiser (Fla.) with 134 yards on 24 attempts and three scores.
• Louis Averhart had the only receiving touchdown for the Seahawks in the game.
• Bryce Veasley completed 76.9% of his passes for 135 yards.
• Avont Burrus tallied three receptions for 104 yards to lead the Wildcats; J.D. Dixon was close behind with four receptions for 100 yards and two touchdowns.
• Darrien Lewis of Bethel (Tenn.) recorded 10 tackles to lead all defensive players.
• Wendol Philord, Trevon Cooper, and Jertavis Black all tallied one sack for the Seahawks in the victory.

SECOND ROUND - NOVEMBER 25TH

No. 1 Northwestern (Iowa) def. No. 16 Dordt (Iowa), 7-0

• The low-scoring slugfest between GPAC foes had no interceptions thrown or fumbles committed by either team.
• Northwestern scored the only points of the game at the 5:38 mark of the first quarter on a 12-yard toss from Jalyn Gramstad to Konner McQuillan
• Both punters were busy in the game that saw snowfall end around kickoff.
• Blade Koons booted the ball four times for 140 total yards and one downed inside the 20.
• Eli Stader punted it away eight times for 276 yards with a touchback and two inside the opponent's 20.
• The Defenders had one sack, three tackles for a loss, and three pass breakups.
• The Red Raiders defense had two sacks and three quarterback hits, seven tackles behind the line of scrimmage, and four broken-up passes.

No. 3 Keiser (Fla.) def. No. 13 St. Thomas (Fla.), 45-21

• The Seahawks won the season rematch, defeating their Sun Conference foe.
• St. Thomas had a hot start to the game, scoring all of their points in the first quarter and leading 21-7.
• Jaden Meizinger and Andrew Burnette led the comeback with a combined 381 yards on the ground with three scores; quarterback Bryce Veasley accounted for three total touchdowns.
• Rontavious Farmer could not be stopped to the count of 236 yards rushing and three scores.
• Both teams did damage in the kicking game with STU netting 147 yards of kick returns compared to 114 for KU; Alejandro Prado tallied 224 yards punting for St. Thomas and Matthew Distro 123 for the home team.
• Keiser snagged two picks off Bobcats QB Keely Watson and Donnell Bennet III took a Seahawks pass the other way for 34 yards.

FIRST ROUND - NOVEMBER 18TH

• Northwestern (Iowa) earned a First Round bye as the top overall seed in the FCS.
• Keiser (Fla.) also had the weekend off entering the FCS as the third seed.