MCKINNEY, Texas - Colorado School of Mines' quest for a national title came to an end as Harding claimed its first NCAA Division II football championship, 38-7, before a record crowd of 12,552 at McKinney ISD Stadium.

In a battle of unbeatens, the Orediggers (14-1) suffered their only loss of the year as the Bisons (15-0) ran their trademark flexbone triple option offense to perfection and shut down Mines defensively on fourth down opportunities.

Mines was not without its offensive chances - the Orediggers compiled 341 yards of offense, with John Matocha going 24-of-33 for 270 yards and a touchdown and Max McLeod catching a career-high 14 passes for 153 yards. But Mines going 0-for-3 on fourth downs, combined with Harding's ability to hold the ball limiting the Orediggers to eight possessions, made it hard to catch up in the first half after scoring first.

Harding, which had already set the national record for rushing yards in a season before this game, ran for 502 yards led by Blake Delacruz (212) and Braden Jay (161), with Jay finding the end zone three times. They passed only twice with Cole Keylon going 2-for-2 for 46 yards.

Mines had the football first and scored to open the game, driving 75 yards on 11 plays and scoring on Matocha's two-yard pass to Noah Roper. Harding would go the same distance to score on their first possession, with Jhalen Spicer scoring from 10 yards out, but a Mines punt led to the Bisons' first lead after a 10-yard Jay touchdown early in the second half.

Mines was stopped on 4th and 1 at the Harding 9, the drive set up by a 52-yard Landon Walker run, and Harding then went 90 yards to score in 2:07 to take a 21-7 lead into the break.

Harding would go touchdown-field goal-touchdown on their next three possessions in the second half, while Mines was stopped on fourth down twice in the third quarter and forced to punt in the fourth as the Bisons pulled away.

NOTABLES
- John Matocha's superlative career came to an end with his name at or near the top of multiple national records. After 57 consecutive starts (a program record) and 51 wins, Matocha ends as college football's all-time leader in both passing (162) and total (191) touchdowns, throwing for 15,006 yards (third all-time in D-II history) and becoming only the second player in D-II history to cross 17,000 total yards with 17,006. All are Mines and RMAC records.
- Noah Roper ended his one season with Mines with 20 total touchdowns (16 rushing, 4 receiving), rushing for 960 yards and catching 178.
- Two Orediggers - Adrian Moreno and Jaden Healy - had double-digit tackles with Moreno a career-high 14 and Healy a career-best 12. Peyton Rose and Hayden Gregg had tackles for loss. 
- Mines was appearing in its second consecutive title game. It was the first appearance for Harding.  
- The time of possession had Harding ahead 36:10 to 23:50. 
- For the 2023 season, Mines set program records for wins (14), first downs (387), yards in a season (7,630), and scoring defense in the modern era (13.0).