complete postseason guide in .pdf format
Storyline
The Lindenwood University Lions and the University of Sioux Falls Cougars will meet on Dec. 19 in the 2009 Russell Athletic-NAIA Football National Championship. The Lions are appearing in their first title game, while the defending national champion Cougars are making their fourth straight appearance in the finals.
The game will be the first in the history of college football to feature two teams that come into the game with over 700 points on the season. Lindenwood leads the NAIA with 55.5 points a game, while Sioux Falls is second, averaging 53.6 points. Both teams nearly have the same total offense numbers as well, with the Cougars having 516.0 yards a game, and the Lions compiling 512.4 a contest.
Defensively, Sioux Falls has the best unit in the NAIA this year, allowing 9.7 points a game and just over 200 yards of offense. Lindenwood's defense is allowing 20.0 points and 340.9 yards a game. All year though, the Lions have gotten the job done defensively when needed, including allowing just 32 yards in four fourth quarter drives to help Lindenwood defeat Carroll in the national semifinals.
A Lindenwood Win Would...
- improve the program to 110-110 all-time.
- improve the Lions to 58-16 under head coach Patrick Ross.
- be the first football national championship for a Heart of America Athletic Conference school.
- be the 11th NAIA National Championship for the Lions athletics department.
A Lindenwood Loss Would...
- drop the program to 109-111 all-time.
- drop the Lions to 57-17 under head coach Patrick Ross.?
- be the second straight national championship for Sioux Falls and the 29th straight win for the Cougars.
Season Review
The turning point of Lindenwood's season came in week three, when the team defeated nationally-ranked Missouri Valley with a touchdown pass with 19 seconds remaining. The next week, the Lions scored 21 points in the first five minutes and defeated another ranked team, MidAmerica Nazarene, 55-14. The rest of the regular season was all Lions as it went undefeated in HAAC play.
In the playoffs, Lindenwood defended its home field in wins over Langston and Ottawa. The Lions then defeated Carroll in the semifinals with another game-winning touchdown in the final minute.
Record Breaking Offense
Lindenwood has completely rewritten its offensive record book this season. Among the team records broken are points, total offense, rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, passing yards, and passing touchdowns. The top individual record set came from Denodus O'Bryant with his 23 touchdowns.
Big Play Offense
Lindenwood has 57 rushing or passing plays this year of 25 yards or more, an average of 4.4 big plays a game. The Lions lead the NAIA by averaging 8.4 yards a play, 0.8 more than Sioux Falls, the number two team in that category.
Scoring Defense
In the playoffs, Lindenwood has held all three opponents below their 2009 average, including holding Langston and Ottawa to 13 points or more below their season mark.
First Quarter Numbers
Lindenwood is outscoring its opponents 195-35 in the first quarter this year, an average of 15.0-2.7 a game. A big reason for those numbers are that the defense has not allowed a first quarter touchdown over the last seven games.
Playing Ahead
In 780 minutes of playing time, the Lions have led for over 693 minutes, and trailed for just 14:06, all in the Missouri Valley contest.
Turnover Margin
Turnovers could play a key part of the national championship game, as both the Lions and Cougars are among the nation's best in turnover margin. Lindenwood is +18 on the season and Sioux Falls is +23.
Vs. Ranked Teams
Lindenwood is 6-0 this year against teams ranked in the current Top 25 poll, including a 4-0 mark against Top 15 teams. Sioux Falls is also 6-0 against ranked teams and 5-0 against Top 15 squads.
Field Position
Lindenwood's average field position is over 12 yards better than its opponents'. The Lions are averaging a starting field position of their 43 yard line. A large part of that is due to the number one kickoff return unit and number six punt return unit in the NAIA. The Lions are averaging 25.4 yards per kickoff return, 14.4 yards per punt return, and have a combined eight return touchdowns.
About The Cougars
Sioux Falls has not been involved in a close contest yet this season, with the closest NAIA margin of victory being 28 points. In the regular season, the Cougars won the Great Plains Athletic Conference title with a 10-0 mark, and won its only non-conference game by a 28-13 score over NCAA FCS North Dakota. In the playoffs, Sioux Fall's closest game has been a 49-21 victory in the quarterfinal contest against Morningside.
Sioux Falls has scored 60 or more points four times, including twice over 70. The defense has shutout three teams and allowed single-digit points eight times.
Lorenzo Brown leads the offense, completing 68.5 percent of his passes for 215.9 passing yards a game. He has thrown 40 touchdowns and just four interceptions, and rushed for 16 scores. Jon Ryan is the top receiver with 53 catches for 924 yards and 16 touchdowns. Ryan Lowmiller has rushed for 1,368 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Dominic Studzinski is one of the defensive leaders with 71 tackles, including 13 for loss. Trevor Holleman has seven interceptions and 69 stops.
NAIA Semifinals
Sioux Falls scored the first 41 points of the game and ended up defeating Saint Xavier by a 48-6 score in the NAIA semifinals.
Sioux Falls compiled over 500 yards of offense and held Saint Xavier to just over 300 yards, including 24 on the ground.
Lorenzo Brown threw for 204 yards and three touchdowns, and Ryan Lowmiller and Brown each rushed for over 100 yards and a score. Jon Ryan had four catches for 81 yards and a touchdown, and Alex Anderson had two receiving touchdowns.
Cody Cavender and Trevor Holleman each had seven tackles. Adam Lopez and Dustin Burgmeier had interceptions and Mike Hartley recovered a fumble. Burgmeier returned his interception for a first quarter touchdown.
Head Coach Kalen DeBoer
Kalen DeBoer is in his fifth season as the head coach of Sioux Falls. He has lost just three games in that span, has won four conference championships, and the 2006 and 2008 NAIA National Championships.
