Nov. 29, 2008
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The 2008 NAIA Football Championship Series (FCS) Semifinals have been officially announced by the NAIA office today (Nov. 29). Defending national champion Carroll (Mont.) hosts Lindenwood (Mo.) while undefeated Sioux Falls (S.D.) welcomes 12-0 Saint Francis (Ind.). Both games are scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 6.
Carroll (Mont.), who holds 29 wins in FCS play and owns five national championships, faces a Lindenwood team playing in its first ever Semifinal contest. Carroll has not lost since a 2006 FCS game against St. Xavier (Ill.). The Lions of Lindenwood have displayed a superior offense recording 99 points in two FCS wins. Sioux Falls (S.D.), which extended its home-game winning streak to 35 games with a 50-13 Quarterfinal win over Langston (Okla.), is appearing in its fourth straight Semifinal. Conversely, St. Francis is making its sixth straight trip to the Semifinal round and is 17-9 overall in FCS play.
The 53rd Annual Russell Athletic-NAIA Football National Championship is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 20 at 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 Network with kick-off slated for 12 p.m. EST. For ticket information, call (706) 233-7288 or click here to download the order form.
For complete Championship history and records, click here.
For more information on the 2008 National Championship, click here.
For scores and stats from the Football Championship Series Quarterfinals, click here.
Football Championship Series Semifinal Pairings | Saturday, Dec. 6
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Game 1:
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Carroll (Mont.) hosts Lindenwood (Mo.), 12:07 MST
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Game 2:
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Sioux Falls (S.D.) hosts Saint Francis (Ind.), 12:00 CST
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Football Championship Series Notes: St. Francis earns its sixth straight trip to the Semifinals in as many seasons while Sioux Falls is in its fourth straight Semifinal and Lindenwood is appearing in its first… Carroll is in its eighth Semifinal in the last nine seasons… St. Francis leads the active group in consecutive FCS appearances with 10… Carroll holds the most current wins in the FCS with a 29-11 record after the First Round win over Dickinson State… St. Francis (Ind.) kept alive its home game winning streak at 52 in-a-row after the 31-20 Quarterfinal win over Cumberlands (Ky.)… Sioux Falls extended its home winning streak to 35 straight after the win on Nov. 29… Carroll has not lost (a span of 27 games) since the 2006 FCS Quarterfinals… Sioux Falls is one shut-out shy of equaling the national season record of eight shut-outs… Since 2000, the home teams in the FCS Quarterfinals are now 24-11 after 2 of 3 hosts won on Saturday (Nov. 29)… Three teams will enter the FCS Semifinals with an undefeated record -- Carroll, Sioux Falls, St. Francis… Two programs in this FCS hold at least one National Championship ring – Carroll (Mont.) has five followed by Sioux Falls (S.D.) with two.
Football Championship Series Records Set or Tied in the First Round: Lindenwood (65) and Lambuth (48) combined to tie the most combined points (113) joining Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Western Montana for the all-time high… Lambuth set the most first downs (41) ever breaking the 38 by Hardin-Simmons (Texas) in 1994… The 108 total plays by Lambuth set the record breaking the 106 by Hardin-Simmons in 1994… Morningside QB Ian Gilworth threw a FCS record seven touchdowns breaking the 6 done six times with the last occurrence coming in 2000.
2008 NAIA Football Championship Series
• Semifinal Team Notes (Listed Alphabetically)
2008 Championship Series
Team (Overall W/L Record) Notes Appearances* Record# Titles
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Carroll (Mont.) (12-0)
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Champions of the Frontier Conference… Riding 27-game winning streak… Has won 59 of last 61 overall games… Stands 111-12 (.902) since 2000, holding the most wins of any NAIA school during that span… Finished regular season undefeated for the fourth time in the last six years… Won its ninth straight Frontier Conference Championship… Head coach Mike Van Diest is No. 1 among all NAIA active coaches in win percentage at (.867) and is 116-18 in his 10th year… Has won 22 of last 23 games in the Football Championship Series (only loss in that streak vs. St. Xavier (Ill.) in 2006)… Has won five of last six national championships – the most ever in a six-year span… Has won 15 of last 16 FCS home games and is 17-5 overall at home.
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17th (9th straight)
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29-11
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5
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Lindenwood (Mo.) (11-1)
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Qualified based on at-large selection from the Heart of America Athletic Conference… Offense averages over 40 points per game hitting 50-plus points four times… Lone loss of the year came in the season-opener vs. MidAmerica Nazarene 26-16… Is appearing in first ever Semifinal.
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4th (2nd straight)
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2-3
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0
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Saint Francis (Ind.) (12-0)
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Champions of Mid-States Football Association Mideast Division – ninth conference title in the last 10 years… Has won 52 straight home games overall… Finished regular season undefeated for the fourth time in the last five years… Has now appeared in six straight Football Championship Series Semifinal round games winning three of them… Holds the most consecutive FCS appearances among current schools with 10… Offense scores 49.0 points per game, which ranks first nationally… Stands 104-11 (.903) since 2000 and holds the second most wins of any NAIA school during that span.
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10th (10th straight)
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17-9
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0
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Sioux Falls (S.D.) (12-0)
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Champions of Great Plains Athletic Conference… Has won 35 straight home games overall… Held seven of 12 opponents this year without a point (national record is 8 shut outs) and forced two opponents into negative total yardage in offense… Ranks No. 1 in the country in all major defensive statistical categories: scoring defense, total defense, rushing defense and passing defense… Finished regular season undefeated for the third straight year and sixth in the last seven years… Advanced to the Semifinal round in each of the past four years winning in the last two appearances… National champions in 2006 and 1996.
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14th (8th straight)
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27-11
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2
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* Includes 2008 Championship Series
# Based on available records
