FLORENCE, Ala. — Everything was breaking perfectly for Delta State, the team of destiny.

Not only were the Statesmen holding their own against top-seeded and undefeated Minnesota-Duluth, but they were getting help from the officials as well. Three replay challenges went their way — one of them on a fumble that led to the tying field goal, another that wiped out a huge return on the ensuing kickoff.

Delta State had the ball with a little over a minute and 50 yards to go to claim its second national championship.

Then it all went wrong. Dead stop, record screeching.

Quarterback Micah Davis threw an interception that Duluth’s Cody Eich returned to midfield. All of a sudden the Bulldogs were the ones in prime position to win, and one long pass and a memorable field goal later they did exactly that.

David Nadeau converted the turnover into a championship with a wobbly, hooking 32-yard field goal as time expired, and Minnesota-Duluth earned its second Division II title in three seasons with a 20-17 victory over Delta State on Saturday.

“When it came off my foot I knew it was going to be close,” Nadeau said. “It wasn’t the best kick that I ever hit in my life by any means. I saw it going up and I knew it was going in. When I saw it in the air, I just turned around and ran.”

Duluth (15-0) capped its second undefeated season in three years with a finish for the ages. It was the first game-ending field goal in a Division II title game since Ted Clem’s 50-yarder gave Troy State an 18-17 win over North Dakota State in 1984.

This was also the 10th straight Division II championship game decided by 10 points or less. Ironically, the last lopsided final was Delta State’s 63-34 blowout of Bloomsburg in 2000.

“What a great game,” Minnesota-Duluth coach Bob Nielson said. “It was one of those games where both teams certainly had an opportunity to win. It could have gone either way and that’s a credit to (Delta State) and their performance.”

Delta State (11-4) was trying to win its first national championship since 2000 by becoming the first unseeded team to win it all. The Statesmen pulled out all the stops, going for it three times on fourth down. They converted only one of those tries, however, and committed four turnovers.

Delta State only scored 10 points on five trips inside the Bulldogs’ 20. Meanwhile, Minnesota-Duluth turned it over once and scored 20 points on four red-zone trips.

“I am real proud of our guys and I thought they played extremely hard,” Delta State coach Ron Roberts said. “We had some opportunities to win the game, but I am real proud of the way our guys played down to the wire.”

Delta State tied it at 17 on Matt Snyder’s 27-yard field goal with 2:22 left — a kick that was preceded by a false start penalty on a fourth-and-goal attempt and a delay of game. On the ensuing kickoff, Zach Hulce returned it across midfield but was ruled down at his own 11 after a replay review showed his knee hit the ground as he knelt to pick up the football.

Duluth ended up punting with 1:10 remaining, giving Delta State the ball at its own 46-yard line. Davis completed a pass to Maurice Moore to move it across midfield, then made a crucial mistake. His throw toward the sideline for L.J. Castille sailed behind the receiver and was intercepted by Eich.

Eich’s long return and a 25-yard screen pass to Brian Hanson put the ball at the DSU 21, and Nadeau’s game-winning field goal followed moments later.

Hanson ran 16 times for 98 yards and caught three passes for 54 yards. Quarterback Chase Vogler accounted for 201 yards of total offense for the Bulldogs. He completed 11 of 19 passes for 118 yards and one touchdown, while running a game-high 21 times for 83 yards.

Brad Foss’ 12-yard run with 8:20 left in the game gave Minnesota-Duluth a 17-14 lead, helping to set the stage for a dramatic final few minutes.

“I just look at the way that the game went and all I can tell you is that I’m really proud of this group of guys,” Nielson said. “Not a lot went our way in that game and we just kept playing. We just kept playing and believing and somehow when you do that, good things happen.”

Davis completed 24 of 35 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns for the Statesmen. He tossed an 8-yard TD pass to Moore and a 28-yarder to Castille to put DSU ahead 14-10 at halftime.

Former South Delta star Garrett Williams had 15 tackles, including two for loss.