Lenoir-Rhyne football is no stranger to the Division II playoffs, nor with winning games in the post-season.
But the Bears are still searching for their first-ever road win in an NCAA playoff contest. Coach Mike Jacobs’ crew aims to get that done Saturday, visiting Benedict in the second round of the D2 tournament, the equivalent of the Sweet 16.
The game between Lenoir-Rhyne (11-1) and Benedict (11-0) will kick off at 1 p.m. at Charlie W. Johnson Stadium in Columbia, S.C. The NCAA will provide a stream of the game ($$). Click HERE for more information.
Here are nine things to know about the match-up between the Bears and Tigers:
1. Lenoir-Rhyne has a solid 9-2 mark in home playoff contests, including last week’s 63-17 drubbing of Shepherd. But the Bears are 0-3 in road playoff contests, with losses at Carson-Newman (38-35) in 2012, at Valdosta State (61-21) in 2018 and at Bowie State (31-10) in 2021.
Lenoir-Rhyne played in the NCAA national championship game in 2013, falling in that contest played in Florence, Alabama.
2. Benedict cruised through the 2023 campaign in dominant fashion, including a season’s opening 52-0 win over Shaw and a 31-3 triumph at Chowan, but has never won an NCAA playoff game. The Tigers owned a No. 1 seed a year ago after going 11-0 but then lost to Wingate 23-6. Wingate plays in the same conference, the South Atlantic, as Lenoir-Rhyne.
3. The Bears edited the school record books in last week’s playoff victory over Shepherd. Sean White threw for a new program-best 398 passing yards (with five touchdown passes, tying the school record in that category). Songa Yates set a new team record for most receiving yards in an NCAA playoff game (141).
LR threw six touchdown passes as a team, something the program had never done in more than 100 years of playing football until 2023. The Bears also had six TD passes against Tusculum in the SAC championship.
4. Mike Jacobs became the sixth Lenoir-Rhyne football coach to be named conference coach of the year. The former Notre Dame College coach guided the Bears to a No. 7 national ranking earlier in the season.
Lenoir-Rhyne put five players on the SAC all-conference team: Dwayne McGee, Shane Wells, Andre Jefferson, Jon Ross Maye and DeAree Rogers. Another eight players earned first-team all-division honors: Deondre Lester, Xavier Jennings, Blake Jefferson, John Godwin, C’Darius Kelley, James Ussery, Percy King and Carson Keaton.
Amazingly, Lenoir-Rhyne did not have a player earn one of the conference’s top individual performance awards.
5. Benedict drubbed Albany State 47-10 a couple of weeks ago to claim its second consecutive SIAC championship. The Tigers rolled up 563 yards of total offense while holding Albany State to a season-low 193.
6. Both Benedict and Lenoir-Rhyne rank in the top 15 among D2 schools in scoring. The Tigers average 41.1 points per game (11th), while the Bears average 40.2 (14th). Just looking at those numbers might lead you to believe we’re in for a high-scoring game Saturday, but …
7. Benedict has the top-ranked scoring defense in Division II, giving up just 8.45 points per contest. The Tigers have allowed only 10 touchdowns all season. Lenoir-Rhyne, meanwhile, ranks third in D2 scoring defense, surrendering a mere 11.1 points per game. The Bears have allowed 16 touchdowns. Both teams have given up seven field goals.
Benedict and Lenoir-Rhyne rank second and fourth, respectively, in total defense. Opponents have managed just 207.7 yards per game against the Benedict stopping unit and 232.6 against Lenoir-Rhyne’s.
8. Lenoir-Rhyne has a slight advantage in total offense, 443.7 yards (19th in D2) to Benedict’s 423.6 (27th in D2). Both teams manage better than six yards per play. Only 29 teams in Division II have accomplished that this season.
9. Dwayne McGee finished third in the South Atlantic Conference in rushing yards. He has 1,213 yards through 11 games, with nine touchdowns. Only Barton’s Jordan Terrell, who is second in all of D2 with 1,732 yards, and Limestone’s Tre Stewart (1,360) rushed for more yards in the SAC this season.
