2025 Harding Bisons football team
The 2025 Harding Bisons football team represented Harding University in the 2025 NCAA Division II football season as a member of the Great American Conference. The Bisons were led by ninth-year head coach Paul Simmons and played their home games at First Security Stadium in Searcy, Arkansas.
The team entered the 2025 season as the 2024 GAC co-champions. They were undefeated in the 2025 regular season, winning the GAC conference outright.
In the NCAA Division II playoffs, Harding defeated Northwest Missouri State, Pittsburg State and Texas-Permian Basin, on the way to the program's third playoff semifinals. Against UTPB, the Bisons' rushed for 389 yards, pushing their season total to 6,308 yards and eclipsing 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. In the semi-finals, the Bisons defeated Kutztown to reach Harding's second national championship game in history. The next week, Harding lost to Ferris State 21-42..
On January 6, 2026, Coach Paul Simmons was promoted to the newly created position of general manager of the Bisons football program, and longtime assistant and defensive coordinator Roddy Mote was promoted to head coach.
Preseason
The GAC released its preseason prediction poll on August 5, 2025. Harding was the preseason favorite to win the conference and received 9 of the 12 first-place votes, with Ouachita Baptist receiving the other 3 votes.
Game summaries
| Statistics | HAR | NWO |
| First downs | 26 | 3 |
| Total yards | 547 | 66 |
| Rushing yards | 484 | 27 |
| Passing yards | 63 | 39 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 34:48 | 25:12 |
| Statistics | SWO | HAR |
| First downs | 12 | 25 |
| Total yards | 215 | 476 |
| Rushing yards | 103 | 436 |
| Passing yards | 112 | 40 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 32:02 | 27:58 |
| Statistics | HAR | SAU |
| First downs | 21 | 22 |
| Total yards | 433 | 333 |
| Rushing yards | 433 | 119 |
| Passing yards | 0 | 214 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 28:19 | 31:41 |
Ouachita Baptist
| Statistics | OBU | HAR |
| First downs | 13 | 19 |
| Total yards | 285 | 336 |
| Rushing yards | 99 | 326 |
| Passing yards | 186 | 10 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 24:31 | 35:29 |
East Central
| Statistics | ECU | HAR |
| First downs | 6 | 27 |
| Total yards | 78 | 484 |
| Rushing yards | 3 | 475 |
| Passing yards | 75 | 9 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 21:24 | 38:36 |
| Statistics | HAR | SOU |
| First downs | 19 | 15 |
| Total yards | 444 | 277 |
| Rushing yards | 401 | 182 |
| Passing yards | 43 | 95 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 25:39 | 34:21 |
At Henderson State
| Statistics | HAR | HSU |
| First downs | 10 | 20 |
| Total yards | 365 | 300 |
| Rushing yards | 338 | 90 |
| Passing yards | 27 | 210 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 5 |
| Time of possession | 27:56 | 32:04 |
Arkansas–Monticello
| Statistics | UAM | HAR |
| First downs | 16 | 24 |
| Total yards | 165 | 600 |
| Rushing yards | 17 | 590 |
| Passing yards | 148 | 10 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 29:25 | 30:35 |
Oklahoma Baptist
| Statistics | OKB | HAR |
| First downs | 13 | 36 |
| Total yards | 224 | 654 |
| Rushing yards | 93 | 506 |
| Passing yards | 131 | 148 |
| Turnovers | 4 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 23:38 | 36:22 |
| Statistics | HAR | SNU |
| First downs | 20 | 18 |
| Total yards | 586 | 285 |
| Rushing yards | 504 | 236 |
| Passing yards | 82 | 49 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 29:19 | 30:41 |
| Statistics | HAR | ATU |
| First downs | 26 | 15 |
| Total yards | 569 | 320 |
| Rushing yards | 569 | 97 |
| Passing yards | 0 | 223 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 33:40 | 26:20 |
No. 14 Northwest Missouri State (NCAA Division II First Round)
| Statistics | NWM | HAR |
| First downs | 15 | 31 |
| Total yards | 332 | 475 |
| Rushing yards | 253 | 427 |
| Passing yards | 79 | 48 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 16:43 | 43:17 |
No. 6 Pittsburg State (NCAA Division II Second Round)
| Statistics | PSU | HAR |
| First downs | 11 | 24 |
| Total yards | 236 | 456 |
| Rushing yards | 119 | 430 |
| Passing yards | 117 | 26 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 21:08 | 38:52 |
No. 10 UT Permian Basin (NCAA Division II Quarterfinal)
| Statistics | UTPB | HAR |
| First downs | 24 | 20 |
| Total yards | 364 | 396 |
| Rushing yards | 52 | 389 |
| Passing yards | 312 | 7 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 24:13 | 35:47 |
At No. 3 Kutztown (NCAA Division II Semifinal)
| Statistics | HAR | KTZ |
| First downs | 18 | 23 |
| Total yards | 409 | 453 |
| Rushing yards | 389 | 208 |
| Passing yards | 20 | 245 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 25:52 | 34:08 |
Vs. No. 1 Ferris State (NCAA Division II Championship Game)
| Statistics | HAR | FSU |
| First downs | 18 | 26 |
| Total yards | 326 | 587 |
| Rushing yards | 246 | 363 |
| Passing yards | 80 | 224 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 27:01 | 28:28 |