2019 NAIA football national championship explained

Year Game Played:2019
Game Name:NAIA Football National Championship
Visitor Name Short:Marian
Visitor Nickname:Knights
Home Nickname:Mustangs
Visitor School:Marian University
Home Name Short:Morningside
Football Season:2019
Home School:Morningside College
Visitor Record:12–0
Home Record:13–0
Visitor Conference:MSFA
Home Conference:GPAC
Visitor 1Q:0
Home 1Q:7
Visitor 2Q:7
Visitor 3Q:14
Visitor 4Q:17
Home 2Q:14
Home 3Q:12
Home 4Q:7
Visitor Coach:Mark Henninger
Home Coach:Steve Ryan
Visitor Seed:2
Home Seed:1
Date Game Played:December 21
Stadium:Eddie Robinson Stadium
City:Grambling, Louisiana
Mvp:Joe Dolincheck (QB, Morningside)(Offensive)
Deion Clayborne (DB, Morningside) (Defensive)
Referee:Jeff Bell
Attendance:1,646
Us Network:ESPN3
Us Announcers:Drew Fellios (play-by-play), Forrest Conoly (analyst), Kristen Bedard (sideline)

The 2019 NAIA football national championship was a four-round, sixteen team tournament played between November 23 and December 21, 2019. The tournament concluded with a single game, played as the 64th Annual NAIA Football National Championship.

The championship game was played at Eddie Robinson Stadium in Grambling, Louisiana, between the undefeated No. 2 Marian Knights, representing Marian University from Indianapolis, Indiana, and the undefeated No. 1 Morningside Mustangs, representing Morningside College from Sioux City, Iowa. This was the first time the championship game was played at this venue after the prior five games had been played at Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach, Florida. The game was played on December 21, 2019, with kickoff at 7:00 p.m. EST (6:00 p.m. local CST) on ESPN3.[1]

Teams

Marian

The Marian Knights, led by 7th-year head coach Mark Henninger, entered the national championship game as the #2 seed. They were seeking to win their third national championship, having won in 2012 and 2015.[2] They entered the game 12–0, 8–0 in MSFA play.

Morningside

The Morningside Mustangs, led by 19th-year head coach Steve Ryan, entered the national championship game as the #1 seed and the defending champions, having won their first national championship the year prior.[3] They entered the game 13–0, 9–0 in GPAC play.

Series history

Game summary

Statistics

Statistics MAR MORN
First downs 21 29
Total yards 414 528
Rushes–yards 31–123 43–224
Passing yards 291 304
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 19–43–1 30–44–1
Time of possession 26:01 33:59
Team Category Player Statistics
Marian Passing Ethan Darter 19/43, 291 yards, 5 TD, 1 INT
Rushing Charles Salary 26 carries, 111 yards
Receiving Johnny William 10 receptions, 161 yards, 4 TD
Morningside Passing Joe Dolincheck 30/44, 304 yards, 6 TD, 1 INT
Rushing Arnijae Ponder 30 carries, 130 yards
Receiving Reid Jurgensmeier 7 receptions, 102 yards, 2 TD

Postseason playoffs

A total of sixteen teams were selected to participate in the single-elimination tournament from across the country, with invitations that were revealed on Sunday, November 17, 2019.[4] The field included twelve conference champions who received automatic bids. The field was then filled with at-large selections that were awarded to the highest ranked teams that were not conference champions. First-round seedings were based on the final regular-season edition of the 2019 NAIA Coaches' Poll, with certain minor modifications given based on travel and geographic considerations. Each subsequent round also saw minor modifications based on travel and the geography of the remaining teams.

Quarterfinal pairings were announced by the NAIA on November 23, after the first round results were known.[5]

Semifinal pairings were announced by the NAIA on November 30, soon after completion of the day's quarterfinal games.[6]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Undefeated Morningside, Marian set to square off in 2019 NAIA Football Championship . NAIA . December 17, 2019 . en . 16 December 2019.
  2. Web site: Marian University - Indianapolis . www.muknights.com . December 17, 2019 . December 9, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191209075159/http://www.muknights.com/coach/19/5 . dead .
  3. Web site: 2019 Football Coaches . Morningside College (Iowa) Athletics . December 17, 2019 . en . December 17, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191217180059/https://www.msidemustangs.com/sport/football/2019-20/coach . dead .
  4. Web site: 2019 NAIA FCS First Round Pairings Announced. National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. November 17, 2019. November 18, 2019.
  5. Web site: 2019 NAIA FCS Quarterfinal Preview. 23 November 2019 . November 26, 2019. National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
  6. Web site: 2019 NAIA FCS Semifinals Pairings Announced. November 30, 2019. November 30, 2019. National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.