Two undefeateds meet ... at a weirdly ornate high school football stadium in Texas.

Valdosta State and Ferris State are playing Saturday in McKinney, Texas, for the Division II national championship. You can watch on on ESPNU, and we’ll have score updates here.

Valdosta is looking for its fourth title, with the previous three all coming since 2004 but none since 2012. Ferris has never won the title before. Neither’s lost this season.

First quarter

FSU 17, VSU 14

Valdosta State punt returner Brian Saunds weirdly tried to cover up a bouncing kick at his own 15, and he muffed it into a Ferris State recovery. The Bulldogs were back in the lead a few plays later after a 3-yard TD run by Jayru Campbell.

VSU 14, FSU 10

Valdosta State has its first lead. Rogan Wells found Kenny Benjamin in the back left corner of the end zone for a 9-yard TD.

Important update after that TD:

FSU 10, VSU 7

Ferris State’s Jackson Dieterle drilled a 52-yard field goal. He’s one of the better kickers in Division II, on the watch list for the non-FBS levels’ Fred Mitchell Award.

FSU 7, VSU 7

A nice bounce-back drive for the Blazers. They tied the score on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Rogan Wells to Lio’undre Gallimore, capping a 75-yard march.

FSU 7, VSU 0

What a horrible sequence for Valdosta State.

The Blazers’ Andrew Gray just missed a 31-yard field goal, and then Ferris State got an 80-yard touchdown on its first play after that. Valdosta had some kind of coverage bust, and Keyondre Craig got free down the left sideline with no one near him. QB Jayru Campbell will never have an easier 80-yard TD pass in his life.

VSU 0, FSU 0

They’re underway in McKinney. Valdosta State’s moved inside the Ferris State 20-yard line quickly, as the Blazers look to start the game with a score.

VSU 0, FSU 0

The game’s not yet on ESPNU, while an NC State-Penn State basketball game wraps up. If you’re looking for it, you should see it in a moment.

Update: Here it is.

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A game preview by Christian D’Andrea

The treacherous road to the Division II football title has already claimed programs like LIU Post, Slippery Rock, Ouachita Baptist University, Lenoir-Rhyne, and a Notre Dame. Not the Notre Dame, but still a pretty good one.

Notre Dame College fell victim to a semifinal defeat at the hands of Valdosta State, leaving the Blazers just one win away from a national title. Standing in their way is Ferris State, a team that’s razed their own postseason path behind a pair of blowout victories the past two weeks.

That shouldn’t intimidate Valdosta. The Georgia-based program has been dominant throughout the 2018 season; last week’s 34-30 win over Notre Dame was the team’s first game this fall they didn’t win by at least 16 points. While Ferris State should give the club its toughest test of the season to date, the Blazers have flown through their schedule earning nothing but “A” grades this fall.

A win Saturday would deliver the Blazers their fourth NCAA title in program history. For Ferris State, this weekend’s title game is the opportunity to claim national championships in men’s basketball and football in the same calendar year. For DeShaun Thrower, a safety for the Bulldogs’ gridiron team and a guard on the basketball court, it presents the chance to be the first athlete in NCAA history to win titles in the two sports.

It would also give Ferris State some extra bragging rights in the state of Michigan. The Bulldogs have never won a national title, but Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival Grand Valley State has four NCAA trophies filling their wall of pride. Victory Saturday would cap an undefeated season for Ferris State — and cement its status as Michigan’s top athletic program in Division II.

Time, TV channel, and streaming info

• Time: Saturday, Dec. 15, 4 p.m. ET
• Location: McKinney Independent School District Stadium and Community Event Center, McKinney, TX
• TV: ESPNU
• Streaming: WatchESPN

Division II Championship Bracket