Golden Bears’ return to Final Four no real surprise to KU coach Jim Clements
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Jim Clements knows what a Final Four football team looks like.
The Kutztown University coach had one two years ago, when the Golden Bears put together a 12-game winning streak and reached the NCAA Division II tournament semifinals.
When he looked at his roster this summer he saw the same kind of winning pieces.
“Absolutely, I did,” he said last week after the Golden Bears remained unbeaten with a 52-29 win over Slippery Rock that sent them back to the Final Four.
They’ll play unbeaten Harding Saturday at 3:30 at Andre Reed Stadium for the right to play in the national championship game Dec. 20 in McKinney, Texas.
Top-seeded Ferris State will take on Newberry in the first semifinal at noon. Both games will be produced by ESPN and air live on ESPN+.
The second-seeded Golden Bears (14-0) returned seven defensive starters, including Governor Mifflin grad and linebacker Eden Johnson and PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Year Freddie Retter, from a unit that allowed an NCAA Division II-low 10.2 points per game.
They also returned all-conference offensive linemen Ryan Schernecke and Billy Everitt, as well as all-conference second-team quarterback Judd Novak.
No wonder Clements was so optimistic.
“To me, our line-of-scrimmage play (has been the key),” Clements said of the winningest team in Kutztown history. “Our offensive line and our defensive line really have dominated.”
Kutztown’s defense, the best in the Pennsylvania Conference, will be put to the test by a Harding team ranked No. 1 in the nation in rushing. The Bisons’ Flexbone offense amassed 389 rushing yards in last week’s 34-28 win over the University of Texas Permian Basin, pushing their season total to 6,308 yards and eclipsing the all-division college football record of 6,160 yards, which it set in 2023.
The third-seeded Bisons (14-0) also broke their own single-season record for rushing touchdowns, scoring four times on the ground to bring their season total to 80.
Harding quarterback Cole Keylon led the way, rushing for a game-high 148 yards with a 50-yard touchdown. Slotback Braden Jay had 95 yards and two scores, including a 55-yard burst on the game’s opening drive.
Kutztown’s defensive unit is ranked No. 2 in the nation in points allowed (11.6 per game), No. 3 against the rush (77.9 yards per game), and No. 4 in total defense (260.6).
Johnson, a redshirt junior, is one of three Berks County grads in the Golden Bears’ starting lineup. Governor Mifflin grad Brandon Strausser, a redshirt senior, is a linebacker. Daniel Boone grad Nate Millard, a senior, is the punter and occasionally kicks off.
Novak, a Harlon Hill Trophy finalist and the PSAC East Offensive Athlete of the Year, threw three TDs and ran for another last week. He’ll face the best defense he’s seen all season: Harding is ranked No. 1 in the nation in scoring defense (9.6) and total defense (249.2) and No. 2 against the pass.
The Golden Bears have scored 50 points or more in each of their three playoff victories, defeating Bentley 52-0 and Assumption 56-19 in the opening rounds. Last week’s win marked the first time in the program’s 109-year history that it has scored 50 or more points three games in a row.
Kutztown is averaging 44.1 points and has outscored its opponents 618-163 overall.
Kutztown, the Super Region 1 champion, and Harding, the Super Region 4 champion, have never met.
Harding University is located in Searcy, Ark., and has an enrollment of 4,696 students. (Kutztown’s enrollment is 7,468.)
The Bison play in the Great American Conference and compete against Arkansas Tech, Southern Arkansas and Henderson State, among others.
