NAIA CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES – TITLE GAME
No. 7 Southern Oregon University vs. No. 6 Marian University
Dec. 19, 3 p.m. PST – Municipal Stadium – Daytona Beach, Fla.

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ASHLAND – Southern Oregon University is 10 days away from its second straight appearance in the NAIA Football National Championship presented by Waste Pro, and followers of the Raiders should already be plenty familiar with the opponent.

Seventh-ranked SOU (11-2) will take on the No. 6 Marian University (Ind.) Knights (11-2) in a rematch of last year's final on Dec. 19 at the 9,600-seat Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach, Fla.  The 60th annual title game will kick off at 3 p.m. Pacific Time and stream live on ESPN3.

Leading off our coverage of the event, we'll get reacquainted with the Knights, who will be attempting to avenge last year's 55-31 loss to the Raiders a year to the day it unfolded.

About the School: With an enrollment of 2,850 full- and part-time students in Indianapolis, Marian University is of Roman Catholic affiliation and was founded in 1851. Perhaps best known for its prestigious cycling program, the MU athletic department didn't add football until 2007, and the football program didn't first appear in the NAIA Championship Series until 2010. The Knights won their first title just five years after their inaugural season with a 30-27 overtime defeat of Morningside (Iowa) in Rome, Ga.

Road to Daytona: The Knights returned 19 starters from their runner-up squad and were tied with SOU for the NAIA's preseason No. 1 ranking. Like the Raiders, they stumbled slightly out of the gate with home losses to Robert Morris (Ill.) (30-21) and Saint Francis (Ind.) (45-42) in their third and fifth games. Both opponents were ranked 11th at the time of the setbacks.

Since then they've been as hot as any team in the country, outscoring opponents 341-77 during an active eight-game win streak. Their playoff wins were 44-7 against No. 11 Campbellsville (Ky.), 30-3 at No. 3 Grand View (Iowa), and 45-14 at No. 4 Saint Francis – bringing their all-time postseason record to 13-3.

Players to Watch: No one will appreciate a redo of last year's game than Marian quarterback Hayden Northern, who threw six interceptions against the Raiders – all to players who are still in SOU's starting lineup. A preseason All-American, Northern has led the Knights to the fifth-best pass offense in the NAIA with 282 yards per game on 62.5-percent completions, totaling 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He has his favorite, the 6-foot-4 Krishawn Hogan, back and averaging 129 reception yards with 15 TDs on the year.

For the second season in a row, the Knights have a top-two rushing defense – last year they held SOU to 66 rushing yards on 31 attempts – which has led the NAIA this year by allowing 76 rushing yards per game. They're also second in sacks (47), led by newcomer Dewayne Beckford's 13. The start of their win streak actually coincided with Beckford's return to the lineup; the 6-1, 240-pound linebacker missed three games, including both losses, due to legal trouble stemming from a 2012 arrest that resulted in his dismissal from Purdue University, where he was an honorable mention All-Big Ten performer in 2011.

Storylines:
– This is the first time the same two teams have met back-to-back years in the final since Sioux Falls (S.D.) and Carroll (Mont.) in 2007 and '08. Carroll was also the last to defeat the same team two straight years, taking titles from Saint Francis in 2004 and '05. Sioux Falls was the last team to win consecutive titles, doing it in 2008 and '09.
– Until last year, the title game hadn't featured two teams that had to win on the road in both the quarterfinal and semifinals rounds since the NAIA went to one division in 1997. Home teams went 28-6 in the semifinals from 1997-2013 and are 0-4 the last two years.
– This is also the second year in a row, and the second time since 1997, that a top-three team in the rankings won't be involved in the game.
– The lower seed has won the last five championships and eight of the last nine.

Explaining ESPN3: Unlike last year's game, which was broadcast on ESPNU, this year's won't be broadcast on cable television. ESPN3 is ESPN's web-streaming service, accessible at http://espn.go.com/watchespn/ or on the Watch ESPN application for smartphones and smart TVs.