Football 11/20/2025 11:33:00 AM

Week 12: #12 Oilers Host #21 Minnesota St. in Round One of NCAA Playoffs

The Game
For the third time in program history, the University of Findlay football team is playing in the NCAA DII Playoffs but, for the first time, will host at least one round of the event. The Oilers, ranked No. 12 in the latest AFCA National Poll, are seeded second in Super Region III and will welcome #21 Minnesota State to Donnell Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 22 for the first round game. Kickoff is set for 1:02 pm EST.

The Series
This is the first-ever meeting between these two schools.

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Tickets
ROUND ONE PLAYOFF TICKETS

Follow the Action
Video streaming of the contest will be produced by UFTV and streamed exclusively on ESPN+.

LIVE STREAM LINK
LIVE STATS LINK

#12 Findlay Oilers (10-1, 8-1 G-MAC)
2025 Findlay Football Coaching Staff

It was a regular season to remember as the Oilers rattled off 10 straight wins to begin the year, the most in the regular-season wins in the NCAA era of the program, and won a share of the G-MAC Championship, the program's third G-MAC title. All of that work has built to this, the first round of the DII Playoffs.

For Findlay, it feels like the last four weeks have been playoff games as the G-MAC schedule for the Oilers was heavy on the back end, taking on all three of the league's other top finishers in the final three games of the year. Despite a heartbreaker last week, Findlay finished the year allowing just 12.2 points per game, fourth-best in the country, and held opponents to 57 rushing yards per game, second-best in the country. Three-time all-G-MAC honoree and captain Sam Weihrauch leads that unit with 73 tackles, 14.5 tackles-for-loss, and 4.5 sacks. His TFL are second in the conference but the most among the league's linebackers. Sophomore Kevin Henderson ranks second among G-MAC linebackers with 13.0 TFL 67 tackles this year to go along with six pass breakups, second on the team in that category.

The UF offense, which ranks second in the G-MAC in rushing, is led by senior Jayden Farmer who has been a monster in the last month. On the year, Farmer has 171 carries for 826 yards and a league-leading nine touchdowns. In that last four games, Farmer has averaged 25 carries and 122 yards per game. Through the air, Chase Harrison is 95-140 for 1,180 yards and nine scores and, over the past couple of games, is completing passes at better than 78% without throwing an interception. Denny Furlong leads the receiving corps with 40 receptions for 737 yards and eight scores. His yards rank second in the league.

About the Opponent – #21 Minnesota State Mavericks (8-3, 7-3 NSIC)

No stranger to the NCAA DII Playoffs, the Minnesota State Mavericks, despite entering as an un-seeded team, begin the postseason will lofty expectations. Under head coach Toff Hoffner, now in his 15th season at the helm, MSU has won seven Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) championships and has made 11 trips to the NCAA tournament including five runs into the national semifinals, one of which came last season. The Mavericks may have three losses on their resume, but make no mistake, they are as talented as just about any team in the country and will provide a tough test for the Oilers come kickoff on Saturday.

Scoring more than 35 points per game, MSU features a potent offense combined with a stingy defense, allowing just 18.2 points per game, both of which rank among the top-30 in Division II. Much of the production on offense comes on the ground where, behind a burly offense line, the Mavs run for 221.5 yards per game which is 16th in the country. That line has been critical to the team's success this year rank in the top ten in the country, allowing just 41 tackles-for-loss and eight sacks all season. Combine that efficient offense with a defense that turns the ball over at better than one time per game, and the Mavs can flip a game in a blink.

At the start of the year, quarterback Maximus Sims was getting a bulk of the starts, splitting time with his backup Mitchell Thompson. An injury to Sims in Week 6 against Concordia St. Paul now has Thompson as the full-time starter and he will take most of the snaps on Saturday, although Justin Silverstein has played in four games. Thompson has completed 76-of-133 this year for 1,161 yards and 11 touchdowns. He has not thrown for 200 yards in a game yet, but as a dual-threat QB, has not had to. Thompson is the team's second-leading rusher and has carried the ball 109 times for 600 yards, an average of 5.5 yards per carry. He has found the endzone seven times on the ground.

Senior wide receiver TreShawn Watson was also injured against Concordia St. Paul and, through six weeks, had 40 receptions for 732 yards for an average of 122 yards per game. That leaves the bulk of the work on the outside to senior Grant Guyett who has been, by far, the team's leading receiver since Watson's absence. Guyett has 32 receptions for 602 yards and two scores, more than 400 yards more than the next leading receiver, freshman Hudson Dillon.

Running back Sam Backer, last year's NSIC Newcomer of the Year and first team all-NSIC selection, has 162 carries for 789 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground. His top performance this year came against Concordia St. Paul where he picked up 114 yards on 21 carries including three touchdowns.

Defensively, linebacker Jefferson Mobry leads the way with 52 tackles and has also been a key contributor to MSU's ability to create turnovers. Mobry has four interceptions this year and also has a pair of fumble recoveries to lead a defense that is +12 on the season in turnover margin. Defensive lineman Tanner Olson leads the team with 7.0 tackles-for-loss and 4.0 sacks while fellow lineman Jack Hawkinson has three TFL, two sacks, and a pair of forced fumbles.