There might be more than two dozen NCAA Division II football games scheduled to be broadcast live this week on FloCollege, and Tiffin University at Northern Michigan may not be the most enticing of the selections, but like every other contest on the list, there are many reasons why you should tune in.
The Dragons and Wildcats will get underway at 6 p.m. Eastern, and there’s no doubt the Superior Dome in Marquette, Michigan, will be overflowing with fans eager to see the renewal of this now nonconference rivalry.
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The first time the two programs met was for a 2008 thriller in Ohio, and each showdown along the way has been a high-scoring affair.
This year marks the seventh chapter of the series and their first meeting since 2017. Each team has won three times, so there’s a little extra on the line this year.
The squads also have a history beyond their own interactions, as they both called the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference home from 2008 through 2017, though neither was ever much of a contender during that time. Tiffin now plays in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
So, as these teams prepare to take the field Saturday, why should you watch?
Here are some of those reasons:
There’s A History Of High Scores Between Tiffin And Northern Michigan Football
Everyone loves big plays and touchdowns, right? Well, there have been plenty of both in the six games between these teams, and they’ve combined for 365 points.
Northern Michigan’s first tussle with Tiffin was a four-overtime victory for the Dragons, but the second-lowest scoring game of the series at 34-28.
In the three contests that followed, all NMU wins, the Wildcats scored 62, 43 and 59 points, while holding their opponents to 17 total points across the three games in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.
After a five-year hiatus, they met again in 2016 and 2017, with Tiffin winning both games at home, 56-7 and 35-24.
Almost another decade later, they still might be pretty evenly matched.
Northern Michigan is coming off a 3-8 season that ended with two confidence-building wins, and Tiffin was 7-4 last year but came into the new campaign with a first-year head coach – former assistant coach/offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach/recruiting coordinator Zack Blair
They’re both 0-1 in 2026, with Tiffin falling to Carson-Newman on Aug. 27 (41-38) and NMU losing to Minnesota State Moorhead the same day (41-19), so someone is going to walk away with a breakthrough win.
The Superior Dome Is An Amazing Venue
Four of the first six interactions between Tiffin and Northern Michigan came on Tiffin’s home turf, but the two biggest routs happened at the Superior Dome.
The Wildcats won 62-0 in 2009 and 59-3 in 2011.
The cavernous venue was constructed in 1991. The Dome reaches 14 stories high and protects more than 5 acres from the harsh Michigan weather. There’s permanent seating for 8,000 spectators and room for up to 16,000. As of 2010, it was the fifth-largest dome structure in the world by diameter.
If the enormity of the facility isn’t enough to intimidate visiting teams, the thunderous roar of a faithful fanbase that has stood by its team through one of the worst stretches in college football history should do the trick.
Even from home on a 20-inch computer screen, the vastness is evident and awesome and something worth checking out.
It’s Hard To Not Want To Check In On Northern Michigan
Northern Michigan plays in the lopsided GLIAC, where so much talk in recent years has been about the dominance of Ferris State, the rivalry between the Bulldogs and Grand Valley State or if one of the middle-of-the-pack teams will ever break through and catch them.
Simultaneously, the NMU Wildcats were part of a different conversation.
While Ferris State was building its collection of Division II national championships – four in the last five years (2021, 2022, 2024, 2025) – Northern Michigan was in the middle of its own streak.
After beating Lake Erie College 33-11 to end the 2022 season, the Wildcats lost 28 consecutive games.
The longer the string continued, it seemed like there were more and more people tuning in to see if it ever was going to end. While no scientific evidence has been provided to support that, it certainly felt that way in the FloSports Slack channels.
Just as the GLIAC has its perennial powerhouses, there also is a handful of teams that seem to be battling each other every season to not be at the bottom of the conference standings.
If Northern Michigan was going to add a tally to the win column, statistics would suggest it would happen against Wayne State or GLIAC newcomer Roosevelt.
The answer ended up being Roosevelt in a convincing 42-21 win on Oct. 18, 2025.
Though the NMU followed the victory with a 70-35 loss to Ferris State and a 56-17 loss to Michigan Tech, the confidence and potential were there for the Wildcats, and they closed the 2025 season in unforgettable fashion.
First, was 47-45 victory over Davenport in a four-overtime battle and a 45-11 season-ending win over Wayne State.
Northern Michigan finished the year at 3-8 overall and 2-5 in conference play, likely leaving the team excited and hopeful for what was ahead in 2026.
Though NMU started the 2026 campaign with a loss, there’s no reason anyone should be thinking that the same ‘ol Wildcats are back in action.
They started slowly but finished with a 14-point final quarter. They showed offensive versatility and defensive potential, even recording a safety along the way.
How To Watch Tiffin University Football vs. Northern Michigan On FloCollege
The Tiffin University Dragons vs. Northern Michigan Wildcats football game is streaming live on FloCollege and the FloSports app.
Highlights, replays and breaking news will be available on both platforms.
Division II Football Week 1 Schedule On FloCollege
Here’s every Division II football game happening on FloCollege this week:
All Times Eastern
Thursday, Sept. 3
- Thomas (GA) vs. Carson-Newman (4:50 p.m.)
- Northwood vs. Wayne State (Mich) (6 p.m.)
- No. 3 Kutztown vs. Assumption (6 p.m.)
- Indiana (Pa.) vs. No. 13 Ashland (7 p.m.)
- Warner vs. Valdosta State (7 p.m.)
- West Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Grand Valley State (7 p.m.)
- New Mexico Highlands vs. Western N.M. (8 p.m.)
Friday, Sept. 4
- Bentley vs. No. 1 Ferris State (6 p.m.)
- No. 24 East Stroudsburg vs. Pace (7 p.m.)
Saturday, Sept. 5
- Truman State vs. Davenport (11:45 a.m.)
- McKendree vs. Hillsdale (noon)
- Midwestern State vs. No. 20 Michigan Tech (noon)
- Saint Anselm vs. Lake Erie (3 p.m.)
- Lock Haven vs. American International (3 p.m.)
- West Alabama vs. Lenoir-Rhyne (3 p.m.)
- Colorado Mesa vs. Eastern N.M. (4 p.m.)
- Texas A&M-Kingsville vs. Saginaw Valley State (6 p.m.)
- Tiffin vs. Northern Michigan (6 p.m.)
- Keiser vs. Anderson (SC) (6 p.m.)
- Chowan vs. UVA Wise (6 p.m.)
- North Greenville vs. Catawba (6 p.m.)
- Wheeling vs. Walsh (6 p.m.)
- Reinhardt vs. No. 14 Newberry (7 p.m.)
- Wingate vs. Delta State (7 p.m.)
FloCollege Division II Football Rankings: After Week 0
- Ferris State (1-0)
- Harding (0-0)
- Kutztown (0-0)
- CSU Pueblo (1-0)
- Central Washington (0-0)
- Northwest Missouri State (1-0)
- Minnesota State (1-0)
- Indianapolis (1-0)
- Western Colorado (1-0)
- Grand Valley State (1-0)
- Findlay (0-0)
- Augustana (SD) (1-0)
- Ashland (0-0)
- Newberry (0-0)
- Western Oregon (1-0)
- Northeastern State (1-0)
- Slippery Rock (1-0)
- Frostburg State (0-0)
- Pittsburg State (0-1)
- Michigan Tech (1-0)
- Kentucky State (1-0)
- Benedict (1-0)
- Upper Iowa (1-0)
- East Stroudsburg (1-0)
- UNC Pembroke (1-0)
Also receiving votes: Northwood, Wayne State (Neb.), Valdosta State, Lenoir-Rhyne, Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State Moorhead, Assumption, Virginia Union, Catawba, Johnson C. Smith.
How The FloCollege Division II Football Rankings Are Determined
The FloCollege Division II football rankings are driven by a mix of objective data and input from voters.
Ranking factors include:
- Voter Points
- Wins
- Margin of Victory
- Away Wins
Who Won The 2025 NCAA Division II Football Championship?
The 2026 Division II Football Championship title game was played Dec. 20, 2025, at McKinney ISD Stadium in McKinney, Texas.
Ferris State, under head coach Tony Annese, won the title for the fourth time in five years (2021, 2022, 2024, 2025).
The latest triumph was a 42-21 victory over Harding, the 2023 Division II national champion.
5 Most-Watched Division II Football Games 2025
Watch the five most-watched Division II football games from the 2025 season on FloCollege.
Did your team make the cut?
Archived Footage On FloCollege
Video footage from all games will be archived and stored in a video library for FloCollege subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions.
Watch The 2026 College Football Season On FloCollege
FloCollege is the home of the best FCS, Division II and Division III football action all season long.
Don’t miss the latest college football action by bookmarking the FloCollege schedule page for the latest games.
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