NAIA Thursday: Meet The Teams

I've seen the University of Sioux Falls football team play before...

It was at last year's NAIA title game where, on a field that turned into chocolate pudding with all the rain and mud, Kalen DeBoer's Cougars took it to the Carroll College Saints for a title...

Now, they haven't lost a game in, like, 45 years coming in to this Saturday's game against Lindenwood ((Missouri)).

It's number one versus number three.
It's the last game on grass at Historic Barron Stadium in Rome, Georgia before they install SprinTurf and $3.6-million in capital improvements before next year's game.
And it's a game where a lot of people don't give the Lions a shot of winning before the Cougars head off to NCAA's Division II in 2010.

If you look at the offensive numbers these two teams have put up, it went past gaudy three months ago.

These two teams have top-ten offenses ALL TIME. Not just all time in the NAIA, but we're talking all versions of organized college football. Both are averaging over 53 points per game- USF at 53.6 and Lindenwood at 55.5. USF even put an 80 on someone early in the year.

Sioux Falls has an average margin of victory of 43 points to go with their 28-game win streak. Lindenwood has cleared 60 five times this year. This went past Arena Football numbers and went straight for XBOX 360-type stuff...

Here's your USF refresher... their 49-21 win against Augustana that gave them another conference title from a month ago...
((HT: USF SID))


Here's your Lindenwood reminder from the semi-finals...
A 42-35 win over Carroll in a freaking blizzard...
((HT: Helena Independent Record))


USF's motto this year is "Plus One." It surrounds the whole idea that you want to be one better than you were before- whether we're talking a play, a day, a game, a week, a month, or a season...

DeBoer says the players dig the notion of having a bull's eye on their back...
You look at QB Lorenzo Brown and he's been here before. He knows the drill...

Lindenwood isn't happy looking like they're just playing with house money in their first-ever championship game...

They're looking for a different kind of first-ever come Saturday afternoon...

More from the "Enchanted Land" tomorrow...