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ASHLAND – The countdown is on for Southern Oregon University's first appearance in the NAIA football championship game.

The eighth-ranked Raiders (12-2) will meet the No. 7 Marian University (Ind.) Knights (11-2) on Dec. 19 at Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach, Fla. Kickoff is set for noon Pacific Time, and the game will be nationally televised on ESPNU.

Leading off our coverage is a quick look at the opponent.

About the school: Located in Indianapolis, Marian is a Roman Catholic institution with an enrollment of 2,700. The Knights compete in the Mid-States Football Association's Mideast League, which also consists of schools from Illinois and Michigan. The Marian athletic department is perhaps most famous for its cycling program, which has produced 26 national championships.

Road to Daytona: The Knights began the season unranked and received an automatic berth into the 16-team NAIA Championship Series by winning their third conference title with a 5-1 record. They opened the postseason with a 34-3 thumping of Georgetown at home, but, like the Raiders, had to win their next two in upset fashion on the road. Marian defeated defending champion Grand View (Iowa) 34-6 in the quarterfinals and upended Morningside (Iowa) 41-21 in the semis. The Knights overcame a 21-14 halftime deficit against Morningside thanks in part to four interceptions of quarterback Ryan Kasdorf, who this season was the NAIA's leader in passing efficiency.

Grand View and Morningside were Nos. 1 and 2 in the first NAIA regular-season poll and were Nos. 2 and 4 in the final poll. The win over Morningside was a rematch of Marian's 30-27 overtime NAIA title-game victory in 2012 – the same year Morningside eliminated SOU with a 47-44 OT win in the quarters.

The losses: The Knights will arrive in Daytona riding a nine-game winning streak following a 2-2 start, which included a season-opening 65-38 loss to Saint Xavier (Ill.), SOU's semifinal opponent, and a 20-7 loss at Robert Morris (Ill.), which at the time was ranked 12th and finished 20th.

The Knights have undoubtedly heated up as the season has progressed. They haven't allowed more than 21 points in a game since the loss to Saint Xavier, ranking second in the NAIA with an average of 78 rushing yards allowed per contest and amassing 37 sacks to rank fifth. After putting up 26.4 points per game through the first six games of the season, they've averaged 43.2 over the last seven.

Player to watch: Tevin Lake – a 5-foot-8, 205-pound senior tailback from South Bend, Ind. – is a two-time All-American who ranks seventh in NAIA history with 5,382 career rushing yards. With 33 more, he'll pass former SOU great Dusty McGrorty for sixth. He ran for 159 yards and two scores last week and is putting up 111.2 yards with 17 touchdowns this year.

Postseason history: The Knights didn't appear in their first NAIA FCS until 2010 – they didn't even have a football program until 2007 – but have posted a 10-2 postseason record since, missing out for the first time since 2009 last season as they went 6-5 overall. 

Their second-year coach, Mark Henninger, led North Carolina Wesleyan College to the NCAA Division III Tournament in 2009.