The 2026 women's college flag football is ramping up as more teams took the field this week. We highlighted some of the action from the start of the season in the February 15 recap, which can be found here. As with the previous recap, the format will look at each governing body (NCAA, NAIA, JUCOs, etc.) and end with a preview of some games scheduled for the final week of February.

NCAA

The University of Georgia hosted the Dawg Pound Showdown over the weekend, with the Bulldogs winning the tournament. Georgia bested Clemson (SC) 20-7 in the semifinal, while Florida State defeated South Florida 28-7 in the other semifinal. Georgia would win the championship game 13-6 over FSU.

Lees-McRae (NC) started the season 2-0, but saw that turn into a 2-4 record with four losses to good teams this week. It started with the 47-6 loss to Keiser (FL) on Thursday, February 19, followed by a 21-14 loss at Daytona State (FL) the next day. The Bobcats had a quick strike late in the fourth quarter, but ran out of time to fall short. On Saturday, February 21, LMC dropped two more games to Thomas (GA) 40-0 and another close one to Florida Gateway 13-6.

NAIA

Perhaps the most eye-popping start to the season belonged to Lindsey Wilson (KY). LWU won both of its games by a combined margin of 198-0!! In the first game versus Chowan (NC), LWU won 87-0. Jali Santiago threw for 207 yards and 5 touchdowns, while teammate Amaya Pablo threw for 164 yards and 7 touchdowns. Cadence Wermers had 9 catches for 119 yards and 6 TDs! Tyria Tanner recorded two interceptions and returned one of them for a score.

In game two, Lindsey Wilson defeated Virginia Wesleyan 111-0. Pablo threw for 223 yards and 6 TDs, while Santiago had 136 yards and 6 TDs passing. Wermers had a pedestrian game compared to the opening win, recording "only" 7 catches for 74 yards and 2 TDs. Jade Mazziotta led the team with 9 catches for 95 yards and 4 TDs. Most strikingly, LWU's defense recorded 9 interceptions. Ashten Dickerson had 5 of those by herself, while Tyria Tanner returned her lone interception for a touchdown.

#2 Keiser (FL) won its first two games of the season. The Seahawks first defeated Lees-McRae (NC) 47-6 on Thursday, February 19. The second victory came on Saturday, February 21, with a 46-13 win against Life (GA). Quarterback Ava Wallace threw for 503 yards and 11 touchdowns in the two wins.

#3 Warner (FL) opened its season with a 66-0 win over Hope International (CA) on Tuesday, February 17. Quarterback Kathryn Hutchinson threw for 331 yards and 9 touchdowns, while receivers Jessica Finley (8 catches for 102 yards and 4 TDs) and Avalon Lux-Offerman (11 catches for 76 yards and 3 TDs) were the main targets.

Fellow Sun Conference member #7 Webber International (FL) posted a 38-0 win over Hope International on Wednesday, February 18. Quarterback Luzariana Herrera also had a strong game, throwing for 353 yards and 6 TDs. Kaitlyn Sigmundi caught 3 of those TDs, finishing with 8 receptions for 70 yards.

Despite the two blowouts, Hope International pulled off an upset to end its Florida road swing. HIU defeated #5 St. Thomas (FL) in overtime. (Both schools show a 36-35 final score on their respective websites; however, HIU posted a graphic showing a 46-40 final score and 6 overtimes.) It's a big win for the NAIA's newest conference, the Great Southwest Athletic Conference, over the established Sun Conference.

#6 Kansas Wesleyan started its season with a 73-0 victory over Hesston (KS). Chihiro Iwata went 19 of 21 for 251 yards and 6 touchdowns and added another 39 yards and a score on the ground. Five different receivers caught at least 3 passes, while three of them had two receiving touchdowns: Aliyah Wood, Aaliyah Young, and Nyjah Green.

JUCOs and Other Governing Bodies

Florida Gateway posted two victories last week against four-year schools, starting with a 35-6 win over the NAIA's Brewton-Parker (GA) on Wednesday, February 18. Three different players threw a touchdown in the win for FGC and Nichelle Brown led the team with 6 catches for 77 yards and 2 touchdowns. The other win came on Saturday, February 21, with a 13-6 win over NCAA Division II Lees-McRae (NC).

Nevada State is not affiliated with a governing body, but that did not stop the team from starting 3-0. The Scorpions stung Arizona Christian 38-7, La Sierra 51-20, and Arizona State 21-12 in a dream start to its program.

The Saddleback Tournament took place on Friday, February 20, and the hosts emerged victorious. Saddleback (CA) dispatched East Los Angeles (26-0), Santa Barbara CC (14-6), and Southwestern (39-0) to make the title game to face Cypress (CA). In that game, Cypress scored first, but Saddleback responded in the final minute of the game to send it to overtime. Both teams scored in the first OT period, but failed to score in the second one to send the game to triple overtime tied at 7. It was there that Saddleback pressured Cypress into a short pass and the Saddleback offense saw Breanna Sandmark dig low for the game-winning catch. Ventura (CA) went 3-1 at the Saddleback Tournament, with its lone blemish coming against runners-up Cypress.

The Week Ahead

There are some big matchups scheduled for the upcoming week. On Tuesday, Saddleback (CA) will return to action fresh from the tournament win last week. The Bobcats will welcome El Camino (CA). Saddleback will play at Claremont Colleges (CA) the following day, before a two-week break between games.

The biggest day of the week will be on Thursday, when the top NAIA and NJCAA teams match up. Five-time defending NAIA champs, Ottawa (KS), will start its season versus Keiser (FL) and three-time NJCAA champion Florida Gateway.

On Friday, February 27, Baker (KS) will face the other Ottawa from Arizona. Keiser (FL) will take on Reinhardt (GA) and Wingate (NC), while Ottawa (KS) will also face Wingate. Warner (FL) will face Brewton-Parker (GA) and Nevada State is scheduled to take on the University of California.

On Saturday, February 28, some NCAA D-II Conference Carolina action will take place, with Emmanuel (GA) facing Lees-McRae (NC) and King (TN). Erskine (SC) will also play King (TN). Ferrum (VA) will take on non-NCAA opponents in Hollins (VA) and the NAIA's high-scoring Lindsey Wilson (KY) offense. In the Northeast, Post (CT) will face Manor (PA) and Holy Family (PA) in the season openers for all three schools. The NAIA's Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference will see conference play between William Woods (MO) and Southwestern (KS), Cottey (MO) and Bethel (KS), and Midland (NE) and Hesston (KS).