A clash between the defending national champion College of DuPage Chaparrals and top-seed North Dakota State College of Science Wildcats will take place in the second-annual NJCAA Division III Football Championship at the Red Grange Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 3 at COD's Bjarne Ullsvik Stadium. Kickoff is noon.
 
Tickets are $10 and are available for sale (cash only) at the point of entry gameday. Those fans with pre-paid tickets from The Mac box office will be available at the game with proof of purchase.
 
The No. 2 seed Chaparrals (8-2 overall) will defend their national title after leading the division this season in points (38.2), total yards/game (425.25) and rushing yards/game (240.1).
 
They posted a 4-0 record against D3 opponents and were 3-2 against Division I scholarship foes.
 
"When we play a schedule where we face multiple Division I programs and perform the way that we've performed, we expect to play in the title game,'' said head coach Matthew Rahn. "We'll approach this as just another game for us and another opportunity to be the best that we can be. I'm excited for our kids. All of the hard work they've put into this season, they deserve it.''
 
Two-time national offensive player of the week quarterback Gavin Sukup threw for 1,293 yards on 93 of 146 attempts with 15 TDs and just one INT. The Seward, Neb., native owns a passing efficiency of 170.6. Four Chaparrals rank among the top 12 rushers in the country with freshman Brian Trobel (fourth, 449 yards), Samson Zander (seventh, 432 yards), Jaden McGill (11^th, 399 yards) and Sukup (12^th, 387 yards) leading the way.
 
The Chaps are just as impressive on defense, with All-American DE Michael Simon second in the division in tackles for loss (13.5) and DL Byron Puryear fourth (11.5). Strong safety Guy Goss is a two-time defensive player of the week and is third in solo tackles (36).

DB Ja'Shawn Braswell ranks second in pass breakups (8).
 
Sophomore PK Joshua Winslow, who also earned a pair of national player of the week honors for his special teams work, is the division's leading kicker, hitting 6 of 7 FGs (long 29) and converting 48 of 50 PATs.
 
The NDSCS Wildcats (9-1 overall) are the top seed after winning the Minnesota College Athletic Conference championship, defeating previously unbeaten and top-ranked Minnesota State Community and Technical College 19-0 on Nov. 6 in St. Cloud, Minn. NDSCS allows a division-best 176.1 yards per game.
 
The national championship game recognizes the feats of the late Red Grange, one of football's all-time greats and arguably the game's greatest all-time offensive player. The Wheaton native, nicknamed the "Galloping Ghost" and the "Wheaton Iceman", is a charter member of both the Pro (1963) and College (1951) Football Halls of Fame. His single-greatest feat remains almost fantasy — scoring four touchdowns in the opening 12 minutes vs. Michigan in the University of Illinois Memorial Stadium dedication game on Oct. 18, 1924. All told in that game, he was responsible for six touchdowns against the Wolverines and totaled 409 all-purpose yards.
 
Grange went on to earn three All-American honors at Illinois and became the first major signing by Chicago Bears owner and head coach George Halas. Later that year, Halas took Grange and the Bears on a coast-to-coast tour in which the club played 16 games in nine weeks. That effort is thought to have saved the National Football League and fortified Grange as a household name in America, among the likes of such legends as Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey.
 
Title Game home
This marks the second straight year the NJCAA D3 Football Championship at the Red Grange Bowl will be played at College of DuPage. The Chaps defeated Nassau (N.Y.) CC 34-29 in the inaugural championship Dec. 4, 2021. The NJCAA announced this past summer that the 2022-24 D3 Football Championships will be played at Ullsvik Stadium.
 
Success this fall
COD is aiming for its third national championship title in less than a month when the Chaps take on the Wildcats on Dec. 3. COD, which has won 39 national championships in school history, won the men's cross-country championship in Westfield, Mass., on Nov. 5 and the women's volleyball program won the national crown Nov. 12 in Rochester, Minn.
 
College of DuPage is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association, National Junior College Athletic Association Region IV and North Central Community College Conference (N4C). The College's Athletics program offers nine men's and nine women's sports teams each year, including outdoor track and field, indoor track and field, cross country, football, volleyball, golf, basketball, tennis, baseball, softball and soccer. Men's and women's lacrosse will be added in 2023-24. All home games are played on the Glen Ellyn campus, 425 Fawell Blvd.