The D-III championship will be decided between two regular season powerhouses.

Mary Hardin-Baylor robbed the world of another epic showdown between Mount Union and Wisconsin-Whitewater at the Stagg Bowl. Now the question is whether the undefeated Crusaders have enough left in the tank to earn their second NCAA title in three seasons when they face Mount Union with a national championship on the line Saturday.

The Crusaders have been outright dominant in 2018’s regular season, tearing up Texas’s D-III schools with reckless abandon to establish their top-two bonafides for pollsters across the nation.

That earth-shaking offense cast an intimidating shadow over the Division III playoff field, but if there’s one team built to shed light on Mary Hardin-Baylor’s weaknesses, it’s the always-powerful Purple Raiders. Mount Union is also 14-0 this fall, counting three shutouts and 10 games in which they held opponents to two touchdowns or fewer among those wins.

Mount Union will also carry a mental edge into Friday’s matchup; the Raiders shut out the Crusaders in last year’s Stagg Bowl, earning their 13th national title in a 12-0 nailbiter that re-established UMU as Division III’s top program. That left Mary Hardin-Baylor aching for revenge — and their dynamic run-pass duo of tailback Markeith Miller and quarterback Jase Hammack are capable of delivering an emphatic win Friday night in Shenandoah, Texas.

Time, TV channel, and streaming info

• Time: Friday, Dec. 14, 7 p.m. ET
• Location: Woodforest Bank Stadium, Shenandoah, TX
• TV: ESPNU
• Streaming: WatchESPN

Division III Bracket