2010 NAIA Football Championship Series First Round Preview
Nov. 18, 2010
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (Scoreboard) The 2010 NAIA Football Championship Series will begin on Saturday and 16 programs all eye one prize -- the 55th edition of the National Championship trophy. Eight games are hosted on-campus sites with seven of those hosts being a repeat from last year. Overall, 11 teams are back after competing in the 2009 postseason and 14 programs are making at least their fifth trip to the Football Championship Series.
The quarterfinal pairings, to be played on Nov. 27, will be announced by 10 p.m. CST on Nov. 20.
Since 2000, the home teams in the First Round are 61-19 overall. All eight hosts won to open up the 2009 postseason.
Two-time defending national champion Sioux Falls (S.D.) welcomes Northwestern Oklahoma State to the Mount Rushmore state. The Cougars and Rangers have met two previous times in playoff history (1-1 record). The last meeting came in 2007 when Sioux Falls won 35-7 in Sioux Falls. The Cougars are riding a nation-best 39-game winning streak, which is the longest among any division (NCAA or NAIA). With a 10-0 record, Sioux Falls has now finished each of the last five regular seasons with an undefeated record.
The Victory Sports Network Game of the Week has McKendree (Ill.) heading to McPherson (Kan.). Kick-off from McPherson, Kan., is set for 2 p.m. CST. McPherson is the only team that is a new host this year and one of two schools with postseason unfamiliarity. This is the second playoff for the Bulldogs and they are looking for their first win. The Bearcats, who are champions of the Mid-States Football Association Midwest League with an 8-2 record, are playing in their ninth postseason. Fans can check out the live, free video and audio streaming broadcast by clicking here.
Carroll (Mont.) is making its 19th postseason trip and 11th consecutive, which are the most appearances of any current team. The Fighting Saints host Azusa Pacific (Calif.), a team making its first Football Championship Series trip since 2005. Owners of five National Championship rings, Carroll has won 10 straight First Round games and has been a spectacular 18-2 at home in its last 20 postseason contests. Azusa is no stranger to the big stage as the Cougars are 8-5 in the playoffs and earned the 1998 National Championship.
Marian (Ind.) is making its inaugural appearance in the Football Championship Series. With a 9-2 overall record, the Knights earned a berth as an at-large team. They travel to Ottawa (Kan.), a team with a 9-1 mark and playing in its fifth playoff.
A team with five straight wins in the First Round, Morningside (Iowa) has made seven consecutive trips in the Football Championship Series. The Mustangs will face a Dickinson State (N.D.) club for the first time in the postseason. Dickinson State has been a playoff mainstay with seven trips since 2000 but is looking to improve upon a 5-9 mark in the First Round.
The three other remaining matchups include Saint Francis (Ind.) at Lindenwood (Mo.), Georgetown (Ky.) at MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) and Saint Xavier (Ill.) hosting Cumberlands (Ky.). Be ready for some scoring as all six teams rank in the top 20 nationally in scoring offense.
The 55th Annual Russell Athletic-NAIA Football National Championship is scheduled for Dec. 18 in Rome, Ga. Rome-Floyd County and Shorter (Ga.) College will host the event at Barron Stadium. The event will be televised live on CBS College Sports Television with kickoff slated for 4:30 p.m. EST. For ticket information, call 1-800-858-7601.
For complete Championship history and records, click here.
For more information on the 2010 National Championship, click here.
Championship Series Quick Facts:
• All eight hosts won in the First Round last year for the first time since 1997. Overall, the winning teams scored an average of 45.6 points while holding their opponents to just over 17 points.
• Defending national champion Sioux Falls is playing for its fifth National Championship and third consecutive. Only one team has won at least three straight titles, with Carroll (Mont.) winning four in-a-row from 2002-05. Texas A&I (now Texas A&M-Kingsville) holds the most NAIA Championships with seven overall.
• Carroll (11) holds the longest active streak of postseason appearances, followed by Sioux Falls (10) and Morningside (Iowa) (7).
• Sioux Falls boasts the most wins all-time in the Football Championship Series with a 33-11 record. The next team with the most wins is Carroll with a 32-13 mark.
• Six teams are making their 10th-plus trip to the Football Championship Series.
• In four of the eight First Round matchups, two teams are meeting each other for the first time in postseason action.
• Besides Azusa Pacific (Calif.), Georgetown (Ky.), Marian, Northwestern Oklahoma State and Saint Francis (Ind.) all are new compared to the 2009 field.
• Five programs all own at least 10 wins in the Football Championship Series, led by the 33 victories from Sioux Falls.
• It is a battle of the “Mc” schools in McPherson, Kan., as McPherson (Kan.) will host McKendree (Ill.) in the first-ever home playoff game for the Bulldogs.
• Marian (Ind.) is making its first trip to the Football Championship Series.
• Besides Marian, McPherson is searching for its first-ever win in the Football Championship Series. McPherson is playing in its second playoff.
• Not including newcomer Marian (Ind.), Azusa Pacific is a team that is breaking the longest playoff drought. The Cougars last played in the 2005 postseason when they hosted Montana Tech, only to lose 24-17.
• Since 2005, four of the past five national champions led the NAIA in total defense. Currently, six qualifiers are ranked in the top-10 statistically in that defensive category, led by Sioux Falls (209.0 yapg).
• The Mid-States Football Association Mideast League (MSFA – Mideast) boasts the most teams in the 16-team field: Marian, Saint Francis and Saint Xavier (Ill.). The Great Plains Athletic Conference, Heart of America Athletic Association and Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference each land a pair of teams. Overall, 11 conferences / independents sport at least one team.
• Sioux Falls is riding a nation-high 39 game winning streak heading into the postseason. Last year, the Cougars were on a 25-game winning streak heading into the playoffs. In 2008, Carroll was on a 26-game winning streak heading into the postseason.
• After securing the Frontier Conference Championship, Carroll now has won 11 straight (outright and shared) conference titles. The Fighting Saints own the nation’s longest active streak of conference championships.
• Five teams will enter the FCS with an undefeated record: Carroll, McPherson, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), St. Xavier (Ill.) and Sioux Falls. In each of the last three seasons, there have now been at least five schools to finish the regular season with an unblemished record. Sioux Falls has gone undefeated in each of the last five seasons, the longest active stretch.
2010 NAIA Football Championship Series
• First Round Pairings | Saturday, Nov. 20 | All times local and subject to change
Game 1:
• Northwestern Oklahoma State (8-2)^ @ Sioux Falls (S.D.) (10-0)&, Noon
(All-time series in FCS: 1-1)
Game 2:
• Azusa Pacific (Calif.) (6-3)^ @ Carroll (Mont.) (10-0)&, Noon
(All-time series in FCS: Carroll, 1-0)
Game 3:
• Cumberlands (Ky.) (7-3)$ @ Saint Xavier (Ill.) (11-0)&, 1 p.m.
(All-time series in FCS: 0-0)
Game 4:
• Georgetown (Ky.) (8-2)^ @ MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) (10-0)&, 1 p.m.
(All-time series in FCS: Georgetown, 1-0)
Game 5:
• Saint Francis (Ind.) (9-1)^ @ Lindenwood (Mo.) (9-1)&, 1:30 p.m.
(All-time series in FCS: Saint Francis, 1-0)
Game 6:
• McKendree (Ill.) (8-2)$ @ McPherson (Kan.) (10-0) (KCAC)$, 2 p.m.
(All-time series in FCS: 0-0)
Game 7:
• Dickinson State (N.D.) (9-1)$ @ Morningside (Iowa) (9-1)&, 1 p.m.
(All-time series in FCS: 0-0)
Game 8:
• Marian (Ind.) (9-2)^ @ Ottawa (Kan.) (9-1)&, 1:30 p.m.
(All-time series in FCS: 0-0)
^ new team in the Football Championship Series, compared to 2009
& hosted a 2009 First Round game
$ played on the road in the 2009 First Round
2010 Football Championship Series
First Round: November 20
Quarterfinals: November 27
Semifinals: December 4
55th Annual Russell Athletic-NAIA Football National Championship
Saturday, December 18, 2010
4:30 p.m. EST kick-off
Televised live on CBS College Sports
Barron Stadium
Rome, Ga.
Tickets: 1-800-858-7601
