The march to the Stagg Bowl is officially on beginning Sept. 4, when the NCAA Div. III football joins the fray for the 2025 season. This year's National Championship Game marks the second played in Canton, Ohio, at the site of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 

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Canton's a fitting spot for the culmination of the Div. III season, given the influence the division has on the present-day NFL. 

With 239 members, Div. III is the NCAA's largest classification, meaning there is no shortage of intriguing storylines sure to surface as the campaign progresses. The following are five possibilities. 

A First-Timer Will Play In The Stagg Bowl 

After Mount Union and UW-Whitewater dominated the Division III landscape for most of the previous two decades, more recent years have seen newcomers reach the Stagg Bowl between Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 2023 champion Cortland, and 2019, 2022, and 2024 title winner North Central. 

While last season's Stagg Bowl culminated in North Central's third national championship in six years, after the Cardinals reached their fifth straight Stagg Bowl to face perennial powerhouse Mount Union, the ecosystem has seemingly opened up more than it had been in the 1990s and 2000s. 

Keeping in that spirit, look for a first-time Stagg Bowl participant to emerge in the 2025 season. 

Two of the top candidates include preseason top-five-ranked teams and 2024 semifinalists Johns Hopkins and Susquehanna. 

While Susquehanna ran into a freight train in its semifinal matchup with North Central, Johns Hopkins battled Mount Union to the end of a 45-37 loss. The Blue Jays reload for 2025 with a pair of preseason 1st Team All-Americans, offensive tackle Michael Nwosu and safety Carson Bourdo, as well as 2024 1st Team All-Centennial Conference honoree Isaac Urquidi on the defensive line. 

Susquehanna, meanwhile, retains a sensational backfield with quarterback Josh Ehrlich and running back Rahshan La Mons — more on La Mons in a moment — in addition to 1st Team Preseason All-American Brian Layton at defensive tackle. 

And, while its 2024 NCAA Playoffs ended abruptly, that should only fuel a Hardin-Simmons team looking to reach its first Stagg Bowl. The Cowboys have one of the top offensive lines in Division III football, featuring a pair of preseason All-Americans in Bode Walters and Hayden Philpot, and the Hardin-Simmons defense that held opponents to 17.5 points per game returns All-American linebacker Kaiden Roden and safety Harrison Foster. 

Rahshan La Mons Will Lead Div. III in rushing 

Sophomore slump? Don't count on it. 

At the center of Susquehanna's 2024 Landmark Conference championship and national semifinal run was the breakout performance of freshman Rahshon La Mons. The first-year running back erupted for 1,613 yards on just 233 carries with 18 touchdowns. 

La Mons made his presence felt immediately, debuting last September with 123 yards and a pair of touchdowns on just nine carries vs. Bridgewater. His pace never slowed, as La Mons finished 2024 fourth in the nation in total rushing yards. 

The Susquehanna sophomore will face competition for the rushing title, including from returning standouts Montie Quinn of Curry and Pacific's Brody Bantolina, who finished Nos. 1 and 2 in yards per game last season. However, La Mons' explosion and vision, coupled with the all-around talent on the River Hawks offense, should see him emerge as the top ball-carrier in Div. III by season's end. 

Peter Johanik Will Rack Up 20 Sacks 

Flipping to the other side of the ball, Wheaton defensive end Peter Johanik put together quite the 2024 season. He brought the thunder for the Thunder, racking up 23 tackles for loss and 11 sacks, both among the nation's highest totals. 

When Johanik wasn't bringing down the quarterback, he was forcing them into precarious spots with five hurries. All told, he's among the disruptive presences in college football — and, surrounded by a talented Wheaton defense, opposing blocking schemes key in on Johanik at their own peril. 

Johanik teams up with fellow preseason 1st Team All-American linebacker Luca Torti, giving Wheaton what could be a Stagg Bowl-contending defense. Johanik could even see his impressive production from a season ago jump to such an extent he's in the hunt for 20 sacks come season's end — particularly if the Thunder go on a deep playoff run. 

They'll have their opportunity to prove their Stagg Bowl-worthiness, seeing reigning national champion North Central for the Little Brass Bell on Oct. 4. 

And speaking of the Cardinals...

North Central Flips The Script To Lead The Nation In Defense

NCC's run to the national championship came behind perhaps the greatest quarterback in Division III football history, Luke Lehnen. 

The Cardinals' dynamic, dual-threat playmaker passed for 43 touchdowns to close his career out with 162; rushed for 15 touchdowns, giving him 51 for his NCC tenure; and powered the offense to a staggering 52.5 points per game. 

North Central coach Brad Spencer faces some considerable turnover on that offense, starting with Lehnen. No matter how good Lehnen's replacement is, matching the predecessor's standard is a near-impossible ask. 

Fortunately for the Cardinals, their defense is more than built to keep the Stagg Bowl repeat pursuit alive. 

North Central heads into 2025 with four preseason 1st- and 2nd-Team All-Americans: tackles John Sullivan and Cortez Jones up front, with cornerback Rahmareon Roby and safety Brayden Garrigan in the secondary. 

While it's hardly a leap coming off of a 2024 in which it held opponents to just 11.8 points per game despite seeing a remarkable 909 snaps — a byproduct of the fast pace established by the high-scoring offense — North Central can and should lead the nation in scoring defense in 2025. 

A Position Other Than Quarterback Will Hold The Gagliardi Trophy 

Much like the Heisman Trophy of its counterpart, the Football Bowl Subdivision, Div. III football's top individual prize is primarily designated for the nation's most outstanding quarterback. 

It's difficult to argue with Luke Lehnen joining Mount Union's Kevin Burke as the only two-time Gagliardi Trophy winners in the last 30 years. It's also noteworthy that from 2013, when Burke won his first through 2024 with Lehnen claiming his second, a position other than quarterback won the Gagliardi only twice: Saint John's linebacker Carter Hanson in 2016, and North Central running back Ethan Greenfield in 2022. 

While the landscape is still stocked with outstanding quarterbacks sure to stuff stat sheets — a group that includes Alma's Carter St. John, UW-River Falls' Kaleb Blaha, and Bethel's Cooper Drews, to name a few — look for another position to take home the trophy. 

Plenty of candidates on both sides of the ball stand out, including the aforementioned La Mons at Susquehanna and Johanik at Wheaton. But don't sleep on wide receiver Dylan Wheeler of Saint John's, coming off a 21-touchdown campaign. 

Cortland running back Ethan Gallo, who scored 22 rushing touchdowns in a breakout sophomore campaign, is another potential Gagliardi contender to watch. 

Two-way play might be en vogue among award voters coming off the 2024 Heisman run of Travis Hunter; perhaps this is the year for a special-teams sensation like Hardin-Simmons' Dameon Gomes or UW-Whitewater's Tyler Vasey, who ran back three kickoffs each for touchdowns, to also breakout on offense. 

There are no shortage of options to rise up and break the quarterbacks' hold on the Gagliardi Trophy.  

Division III Football Rankings

Rankings via D3Football.Com.

1. North Central (Ill.)
2. Mount Union
3. Johns Hopkins
4. Susquehanna
5. St. John's (Minn.)
6. Hardin-Simmons
7. Salisbury
8. Mary Hardin-Baylor
9. Wartburg
10. Cortland
11. Wisconsin-La Crosse
12. Bethel (Minn.)
13. Springfield
14. DePauw
15. Wisconsin-Platteville
16. Linfield
17. Wheaton (Ill.)
18. Carnegie Mellon
19. Wisconsin-River Falls
20. Hope
21. Randolph-Macon
22. Aurora
23. Grove City
24. Wisconsin-Whitewater
25. John Carroll

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