The 24 team Division II football bracket was released today. Play starts next week and will continue until the champion is crowned on December 15 2007. The defending champion is Grand Valley State. The brackets are below.

Northwest Region
5. Ashland (8-1) at 4. Central Washington (8-2)
Winner plays 1. Nebraska-Omaha (10-0)

6. Winona State (10-1) at 3. North Dakota (9-1)
Winner plays 2. Grand Valley State (10-0)

Southwest Region
5. Mesa State (10-1) at 4. Abilene Christian (9-2)
Winner plays 1. Chadron State (11-0)

6. Washburn (8-3) at 3. West Texas A&M (11-0)
Winner plays 2. NW Missouri State (9-1)

Northeast Region
5. Bryant (8-2) at 4. Southern Connecticut State (8-3)
Winner plays 1. California (PA) (11-0)

6. Indiana (PA) (8-2) at 3. West Chester (9-2)
Winner plays 2. Shepherd (9-1)

Southeast Region
5. Albany State (GA) (8-2) at 4. Catawba (10-1)
Winner plays 1. Valdosta State (9-1)

6. Shaw (8-3) at 3. Delta State (9-1)
Winner plays 2. North Alabama (9-1)

The winner of the Northwest Region will play the winner of the Southwest Region while the Norteast and Southeast region winners will play each other in the semifinals. In The Bleachers will have the weekly results and bracket update, so keep checking back.

Rank
1 Grand Valley State (25)
2 Northwest Missouri State (2)
3 North Dakota (1)
4 North Alabama
5 Chadron State
6 Valdosta State
7 Pittsburg State
8 Shepherd
9 Bloomsburg
10 South Dakota
11 Abilene Christian
12 Delta State
13 Nebraska-Omaha
14 Northwood
15 Carson-Newman
16 Newberry
17 West Chester
18 Southeastern Oklahoma
19 Bemidji State
20 Albany State
21 Elizabeth City State
22 California (Pa.)
23 Midwestern State
24 West Texas A&M
25 Washburn 86

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.), 79; Tiffin (Ohio), 70; Missouri Western St., 59; Southern Connecticut St., 53; Indiana (Pa.), 36; Tuskegee (Ala.), 36; Southwestern Oklahoma St., 26; Winona St. (Minn.), 26; St. Augustine’s (N.C.), 25; Tarleton St. (Texas), 22; Humboldt St. (Calif.), 20; Nebraska-Kearney, 12; C.W. Post (N.Y.), 9; Catawba (N.C.), 9; Fayetteville St. (N.C.), 9; Central Washington, 8; Ferris St. (Mich.), 7; Wingate (N.C.), 7; Arkansas Tech, 5; Bowie St. (Md.), 5; Mary (N.D.), 5; Henderson St. (Ark.), 4; North Greenville (S.C.), 3; Western Washington, 3; Kentucky St., 2; Minnesota-Duluth, 2; Lane (Tenn.), 1; Merrimack (Mass.), 1; Texas A&M-Kingsville, 1.

Grand Valley State 49 vs Delta State 30
NW Missouri State 33 vs Bloomsburg 3

Grand Valley State will defend their Division II title against NW Missouri State on December 16 at noon on ESPN2 at Florence, Alabama.

GRAND VALLEY STATE 30, North Dakota 20
MW MISSOURI ST. 28, Chadron State 21
Bloomsburg 24, SHEPARD 21
Delta State 27, NORTH ALABAMA 10

Tom Dienhart of The Sporting News is reporting that Michigan State will name Mark Dantonio, the current head coach of Cincinnati, to replace John L. Smith as their head man.  Dantonio lead the Bearcats to a 7-5 record this season.  He became the head coach of Cincy three seasons ago after a successful stint as defensive coordinator at Ohio State.  He previously coached at Michigan State under Nick Saban. Miami Dolphins offensive cooridnator Charlie Baggett and Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Todd Grantham (who earlier in the day, according to one Browns’ fan site, had reportedly accepted the job at MSU) were reportedly among the other finalists for the position at Michigan State.

Elsewhere, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer is reporting that the Iowa State Cyclones have narrowed their search to replace ousted head coach Dan McCarney.  Their shortlist is composed of former NFLer and San Diego University head coach Jim Harbaugh, Nebraska offensive coordinator Jay Norvell, and Central Michigan head coach Brian Kelly.  Various uncited sources are indicating that, when the dust settles, CMU’s Brian Kelly will get the nod tomorrow evening at a 6:00 PM press conference.  Kelly has been at Central Michigan for just three seasons, but has a distinguished record as a head coach, leading Grand Valley State University to back-to-back Division II Championships in 2002 and 2003.

Bloomsburg 21 vs West Chester 20
Shephard College 31 vs Merrimack 7
Delta St 24 vs NC Central 17
North Alabama 38 vs Newberry 20
Chadron St 43 vs West Texas A&M 17
Grand Valley State 35 vs South Dakota 17
NW Missouri St 27 vs Midwestern St 0
North Dakota 38 vs Nebraska Omaha 35


Rank
1 Grand Valley State (25) 10-0 695
2 Northwest Missouri State (2) 10-0 670
3 North Alabama (1) 9-0 649
4 North Carolina Central 10-0 601
5 Shepherd 9-0 566
6 Bloomsburg 9-1 559
7 Chadron State 10-0 524
8 North Dakota 8-1 509
9 Newberry 10-0 473
10 West Texas A&M 9-1 438
11 Missouri Western 9-1 403
12 Tiffin 10-0 366
13 Valdosta State 7-2 319
14 Delta State 8-2 311
15 South Dakota 8-2 310
16 Pittsburg State 8-2 280
17 Nebraska-Omaha 7-2 276
18 Abilene Christian 8-1 255
19 Elizabeth City State 9-1 194
20 Winona State 8-2 155
21 Northwood 7-2 129
22 Midwestern State 8-2 128
23 California (Pa.) 8-2 70
24 Bemidji State 8-2 63
25 Indiana (Pa.) 7-2 46

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Carson-Newman (Tenn.), 34; Lane (Tenn.), 23; Arkansas Tech, 20; Bryant (R.I.), 8; Tarleton St. (Texas), 6; West Chester (Pa.), 6; Ferris St. (Mich.), 4; Wingate (N.C.), 4; C.W. Post (N.Y.), 3; Henderson St. (Ark.), 2; Albany St. (Ga.), 1.
DROPPED OUT: No. 24 Wingate; No. 25 C.W. Post.



Rank
1 Grand Valley State (26) 9-0 697
2 Northwest Missouri State (1) 9-0 669
3 North Alabama (1) 8-0 649
4 North Carolina Central 9-0 590
5 Shepherd 8-0 553
6 Bloomsburg 8-1 551
7 Nebraska-Omaha 7-1 523
8 Pittsburg State 8-1 488
9 Chadron State 9-0 481
10 North Dakota 7-1 467
11 Newberry 9-0 410
12 West Texas A&M 8-1 392
13 Missouri Western 8-1 371
14 Northwood 7-1 305
15 Tiffin 9-0 288
16 Valdosta State 6-2 245
17 Delta State 7-2 236
18 Indiana (Pa.) 7-1 223
19 Abilene Christian 7-1 217
20 South Dakota 7-2 216
21 Elizabeth City State 8-1 140
22 Winona State 7-2 105
23 Midwestern State 7-2 91
24 Wingate 7-2 60
25 C.W. Post 7-2 43

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Bemidji St. 17, California (Pa.) 15, Lane 14, Arkansas Tech 10, Carson-Newman 10, Presbyterian 6, Harding 5, Bryant 4, Kentucky St. 4, St. Joseph's 3, Tarleton St. 2.
DROPPED OUT: Carson-Newman (21), Lane (22).