Now that it’s finally time for the D2 football national championship between Northwest Missouri and Shepherd, there will be plenty of predictions and arguments about who’s going to win.
With both teams heading into the game undefeated, it can be hard for the average D2 football fan to decide which team has the advantage. That’s where I come in. Here are some of the key team stats from the 2015 season. These stats certainly don’t tell the whole story, but they give us an idea of these teams’ relative skill.
Will the statistically superior team win?
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Rushing Yardage
Northwest Missouri: 2108
Shepherd: 1795
Advantage: Northwest Missouri
Phil Jackson leads the way for Northwest Missouri with 842 rushing yards on the season. While Northwest Missouri holds the advantage as a team and that’s the statistic we’re looking at, Shepherd’s back Allen Cross beats Jackson out with 989 yards.
Passing Yardage
Northwest Missouri: 4025
Shepherd: 3625
Advantage: Northwest Missouri
Quarterback Brady Bolles has thrown for 3,748 yards this season. He’s been pretty efficient along the way as well, with a 139.83 rating.
Rushing TDs
Northwest Missouri: 35
Shepherd: 27
Advantage: Northwest Missouri
Phil Jackson claims 32 of the 35 rushing touchdowns by Northwest Missouri, clearly handling much of the load on the ground.
Passing TDs
Northwest Missouri: 33
Shepherd: 34
Advantage: Shepherd
Quarterback Jeff Ziemba has thrown for 29 touchdown passes this season and perhaps could have thrown for even more if he didn’t get injured on the first drive in last week’s playoff game.
Interceptions
Northwest Missouri: 25
Shepherd: 16
Advantage: Northwest Missouri
Defensive back Kevin Berg has the most interceptions from Northwest Missouri with eight.
Fumbles Lost
Northwest Missouri: 11
Shepherd: 8
Advantage: Shepherd
Maybe we won’t point out who’s lost the most fumbles on Northwest Missouri…
Net Punt Average
Northwest Missouri: 30.7
Shepherd: 38.14
Advantage: Shepherd
All due to the punting prowess of Ruan Venter, who is a freshman.
Sacks By (Sack Yards)
Northwest Missouri: 50 (314)
Shepherd: 38 (223)
Advantage: Northwest Missouri
Collin Bevens has 11.5 sacks on the season with Jacob Vollstedt right on his tail with 11. Together they make up 144 of the 314 sack yards.
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Totals: Northwest Missouri 5, Shepherd 3
Will Northwest Missouri actually win the title? Do you think these stats have any correlation at all to how they will perform on the field? Leave your comments below!
