SEARCY, Ark. (December 6, 2025) – No. 10 UT Permian Basin's historic season came to an end Saturday in the 2025 NCAA Division II Football Championship Super Region 4 Final with a 34-28 loss at No. 2 Harding University. The UTPB offense scored the most points by any team against Harding this season while the defense gave the Falcons a chance in the second half, but a strong start by the Bisons' offense and a costly turnover by the Falcons just before halftime proved to be the difference. It was also the only one-score game the Bisons have been in all season.

This year UTPB made the NCAA Division II Playoffs for the second time in program history and for the second time in the last three seasons, and advanced to the Super Region Final for the first time in program history. UTPB finished the season 11-3 overall, setting a program record for wins in a single season while also earning the first two playoff wins in program history. The Falcons finished the year 4-2 against nationally-ranked opponents (all top-15), and were the only team in the country with three wins over teams ranked in the top-five. In the end, the Falcon football team became the first UTPB program to advance to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Division II era.

In addition to earning the second 10-win season in program history and second in the last three years, the Falcons have now had three straight winning seasons under Head Coach Kris McCullough, who with 28 wins, is the Falcons' all-time winningest coach.

Playing in the most important game in the Falcons' 10-season history, UTPB led Harding 24-20 on first downs. UTPB picked up 19 first downs through the air while Harding picked up all 20 of its first downs on the ground. The teams were a combined 5-for-5 on fourth down, but two of the key differences were Harding's 10-for-16 rate on third down compared to UTPB's 3-for-8, and the Bisons holding the ball for nearly a quarter longer (35:47-24:13) than the Falcons.

389 of Harding's 396 yards of offense came on the ground while 312 of UTPB's 364 yards came through the air. The Bisons ran the ball 64 times for an average of 6.1 yards per rush, and finished with four rushing touchdowns.

UTPB quarterback Kanon Gibson completed 30 of 41 passes for 312 yards and one touchdown and added 13 rushes for 38 yards and two more touchdowns, but also had two unfortunate interceptions that both led to field goals and made it an uphill battle for the Falcons. Gibson's 312 yards were the most passing yards any quarterback has thrown for against Harding since November 25, 2023. During UTPB's playoff run, Gibson threw for at least 300 yards and combined for at least three touchdowns between the air and the ground in all three games.

Gibson successfully spread the ball around to his plethora of weapons. Jace Wyatt (4 catches, 1 touchdown) led with 85 yards, Kylin Mathis (62 yards) led with eight catches, and Jaylon Tillman added five catches for 64 yards. In all, seven Falcons had at least two catches.

On the other end of the field, UTPB's defensive effort saw several inspiring performances, led first and foremost by First-Team All-Region linebacker Tristan Exline with 20 total tackles for the second time on the season. McKyle So'oto and Layne Horak both finished with 11 tackles, Tre Yanez had nine tackles, Gary Holmes had seven, and Jacob Humphrey and Anthony Cunningham both had six as the Falcons did all they could to try and slow down the Bisons' dreaded rushing attack.

It was the first-ever matchup between UTPB and Harding and was a clash of styles as Harding entered the game ranked first in the country in rushing offense (455.2 yards per game) while having to face a UTPB aerial attack that ranked third nationally as 331.5 passing yards per game. The Bisons entered the game leading all of college football in rushing yards per game by 125 yards per game (455.2), and the scoring defense leads DII, so this team is as balanced as it gets. It was also a matchup featuring varying experience levels as UTPB was in uncharted territory having never made it this far, while Harding, the 2023 national champions, had literal national championship experience up and down its roster.

Harding runs the flexbone offense and entered the contest with nearly 2,000 more rushing yards than any other team in the nation (5,918), and five straight running plays into the Bisons' first drive, the speedster in the backfield, slotback Braden Jay got loose for 55 yards down the sideline and the first touchdown of the game.

On the ensuing kickoff, Harding perfectly tapped it up the middle and recovered the onside kick. The Bisons would proceed to pick up a first down with a two-yard rush by fullback Andrew Miller on fourth-and-two, picked up another first down with a three-yard rush by Miller on third-and-one, and then Jay scored his second touchdown of the opening quarter, taking it in from six yards out to make it 14-0 with 5:18 left in the opening period.

UTPB picked up a pair of first downs on its next drive and crossed the 50-yard line for the first time in the game. Then on fourth-and-seven from the Harding 46-yard line, Gibson somehow escaped a potential sack and lobbed it down field for Tillman, who tracked the ball and sold out to haul it in for the 27-yard completion. Two players later from the 16-yard line, Mathis took in the pass out left from Gibson and sprinted for the goal line, but was ruled down at the one-yard line after a review. UTPB tried desperately to punch it into the endzone on back-to-back quarterback sneaks by Gibson, and the second one was successful. Then in his first action of the season, new placekicker Diego Chavarria converted the extra point kick to make it 14-7 after one quarter of action. It was a big 13-play, 75-yard scoring drive for UTPB to answer Harding's five-play, 71-yard and 10-play, 54-yard scoring drives.

Harding totaled 124 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries on the ground in the first quarter, and averaged 8.9 yards per rush. Then just three plays into the second quarter, Harding quarterback Keylon Cole kept it himself, spun off a tackle and went 50 yards straight up the middle of the field for a touchdown, making it 21-7 Bisons. It was only a four-play scoring drive for Harding to try and put the pressure on the UTPB offense to respond.

For the second time in the first half, Harding went for the onside kick trying to get another extra possession, but this time Wyatt was there to field the recovery and return it 12 yards to get UTPB's next drive started at the Harding 34-yard line. This time the onside kick came back to bite Harding as after 13-yard pass to Ben Patterson got the Falcons inside the 10-yard line, UTPB caught a break on an offsides call against Harding to wipe out a fourth-down play that saw an errant snap and an incomplete pass. With another chance on fourth down, Gibson got stuffed at the line of scrimmage, but was able to throw it back to running back Camden Tyler for the one-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal.

The Falcons' defense proceeded to get a much-needed stop on third-and-six as Exline hit Miller hard to force a three-and-out by the Bisons on their next drive.

UTPB started its potential game-tying drive at its own 20-yard line, and Gibson came out firing with back-to-back completions of 12 yards and 23 yards to Wyatt. A third straight completion went to Wyatt for 45 yards as he made the catch on the sideline, got past his defender and somehow stayed on his feet before going unimpeded into the endzone to tie the contest at 21-21 with 6:56 left before halftime. Gibson and Wyatt hooked up for 80 yards in just three plays. It tied the most points given up by the Bisons in a game this season, and the Falcons did it in less than a half. Harding's second-longest home winning streak in the country was officially in danger.

After the Falcons successfully clawed their way back into the game, the pressure was now on the Bisons.

A holding penalty on the ensuing kickoff return by Harding gave the Bisons their worst starting field position of the game at the 20-yard line. Unfortunately, a bruising 17-yard run on the pitch to Jay breaking multiple tackles on third-and-six moved the ball past midfield. A three-yard run by Cole on third-and-three just barely picked up a first down, and then on another third-and-three at the two-minute warning, Yanez and Holmes stopped Miller for no gain. However, on fourth-down-and-three from the 24-yard line, instead of going for the field goal, the Bisons came out with a great play call as Brady Barnett took the reverse, got some great blocking from his receivers, and went all 24 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. It was the second 10-play scoring drive for the Bisons, and would be their longest drive of the game (80 yards).

Things then came apart for the Falcons on the very first play of their next drive as Gibson aired it out 37 yards downfield past the 50-yard line looking for Patterson, but the route was undercut and resulted in an interception to give Harding another possession with a minute and a half left to try and score.

The UTPB defense had to go back out there with no rest, but held Harding to a 47-yard field goal to make it a 10-point game (31-21) at halftime.

Harding added 167 more rushing yards to its total in the second quarter, bringing its number up to 291 rushing yards for the game and 8.1 yards per carry. In all for the first half, Harding led 14-11 on first downs and was 6-for-9 on third down.

Harding successfully answered UTPB's game-tying score in the second quarter with a touchdown followed by an interception and field goal to close out the half, and then the Bisons received the second-half kickoff with a chance to try to add to their lead even more. A costly holding penalty on the Bisons would force a three-and-out and lead to the second punt of the game by Harding, however, an interception on a tipped ball by the Bisons' defensive end went right to the cornerback and gave the ball right back to Harding at the UTPB 21-yard line. Yet again, the UTPB defense would hold, thanks in large part to a five-yard tackle for loss by Jayden Plater, and forced a 23-yard field goal that made it 34-21 Bisons.

UTPB had to answer on its next drive, and after a four-yard sack to bring up third-and-13, Gibson needed to make a play, and found Tillman right at the line to gain for a 13-yard completion to move the chains. They next play went to Patterson for 15 yards to get the Falcons into Harding territory, and then on third-and-three, UTPB picked up another first down on a six-yard pass to Traylen Suel. Gibson and the Falcons' offense kept the pressure up with a 16-yard pass to TJ McKenzie, and then after a nine-yard pass to Tyler got the ball down to the one-yard line, Gibson rushed in his second one-yard touchdown of the game. Chavarria added the kick to make it a six-point game (34-28) with 3:34 left in the third quarter. It was a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive for the Falcons, their second 75-yard scoring drive of the game.

Harding's ensuing drive started in UTPB territory at the 44-yard line after a facemask penalty on the Falcons during the kickoff, and then just one play into the drive, Jay looked to have his third touchdown of the game with a 44-yard run, but it was called back due to holding penalty on the Bisons. That would back Harding up, and on third-and-10, Cole would look to pass for the first down, but could not find anyone open, and was brought down by the combination of So'oto and Yanez after just a three-yard gain, forcing the third punt of the game by Harding.

UTPB outgained Harding 94-40 in total yardage in the third quarter and held the Bisons to just one first down and a 1-for-4 mark on third down.

Down by just a two field-goal margin entering the fourth quarter, Gibson and the Falcons were methodical going downfield, using an array of short passes to the outside combined with quarterback runs. On third-and-six from the Harding 25-yard line, Gibson completed a short five-yard pass to Kory Harris to bring up fourth-and-one. After a timeout by Harding, Gibson quickly threw out to his right to Mathis, who dove for the first down and picked up three yards in the process to keep the drive alive. A nine-yard pass to Tillman then got the Falcons down to the seven-yard line and set up first-and-goal.

The crucial drive for UTPB came to a head on third-and-goal from the six as Gibson escaped pressure in the pocket and threw it toward the pylon, but what was initially called a touchdown catch by Suel was instead, after a discussion, ruled an incomplete pass as he was just out of bounds trying to bring it in. The Falcons then sent out the field goal unit trying to cut their deficit in half, but the attempt from 24 yards out by Chavarria was wide left, giving the ball back to Harding with 8:44 remaining.

Harding tried to burn as much clock as it could, converting on a pair of third-down rushes, and then on fourth-down-and-two from the UTPB 47, a three-yard run by Miller was enough for the first down. UTPB still had all three of its timeouts entering the two-minute warning, but two more first downs for Harding was all she wrote.

UTPB's final drive started with a minute to go in the third quarter and went 18 plays for 84 yards, taking 7:21 off the clock, including the first 6:16 of the fourth quarter. Then Harding was able to successfully run out the final 8:44 with 16 plays going for 58 yards, denying the Falcons one more possession.

The UTPB defense held its own against a Harding rushing attack that entered the game leading all of NCAA Division II in rushing offense, limiting the Bisons to 66 yards below their season average. The Falcons "held" the Bisons to just 389 yards rushing, their lowest total (and first time under 427 yards) since October 17. Cole finished with a game-high 148 rushing yards and a 50-yard touchdown on 17 carries from the quarterback spot. Jay had 95 yards and two touchdowns on just 10 carries, including a 55-yard burst on the game's opening drive. Lastly, Miller had 91 yards on 28 attempts. Jay averaged 9.5 yards per rush against the Falcons and entered the game holding the HU and DII career record at 12.5 yards per rush. In the end, the Falcons snapped Miller's seven-game 100-yard rushing streak, and snapped the Bisons' streak of six straight games in a row of rushing for more than 425 yards.

Despite the positive performance by the UTPB defense, it was a record-breaking day for the Harding rushing attack. With their 389 rushing yards, the Bisons pushed their season total to 6,308 yards and eclipsed the all-division college football record of 6,160 yards set by the 2023 Harding squad. The Bisons also broke their own single-season record for rushing touchdowns, scoring four times on the ground to bring their season total to 80.

This was Harding's third straight national quarterfinals appearance and fifth regional final appearance since 2016, and it will now be the Bisons third appearance in the national semifinals. In addition, with the win, Harding extends its home winning streak to 24 consecutive games, the second-longest active streak in the nation.