GAME PREVIEW: National Championship

• A chance at redemption for Marian University as the sixth-ranked Knights take on seventh-ranked Southern Or- egon for the second straight season in the 60th Annual NAIA Football National Championship, presented by Waste Pro at Larry Field Field at Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach, Fla. It is the first repeat matchup in the title game since Carroll (Mont.) and former member Sioux Falls (S.D.) met in 2007 and 2008.

• Saturday's game will kick off at 6:04 p.m. Eastern time and will be televised LIVE on ESPN3 (WATCHESPN.com). It will also air LIVE on Catholic Radio 89.1 FM and 90.9 FM beginning at 5:34 p.m. Veteran broadcaster Scott Mc- Cauley (p-b-p) and former MU lineman Zach Graves (color) will call all the action with MU's all-time leading rusher Tevin Lake serving on the sideline.

• The Knights are ranked No. 6 in the final NAIA Football Coaches' Poll. MU has been ranked 62 times with 42 of them being inside the top 10. MU has been ranked for 22 consecutive polls dating back to Sept. 22, 2014.

• The Knights are 1-1 all-time in the NAIA Championship game, while the Raiders are making their second straight trip to the title game having won last season. MU is currently 13-3 all-time in the NAIA FCS and holds the highest winning percentage of any active NAIA member in the postseason (.813). MU is 5-0 in the first round, 4-1 in the quarterfinals, 3-1 in the semifinals and 1-1 in national title games. MU is making its fifth all-time postseason ap- pearance and has reached the semifinals in four. The MU program is completing its ninth season of competition.

THE COACHES

• Mark Henninger is in his third season as Marian University head coach. He guided MU to an 11-3 record last season while earning AFCA-NAIA National Coach of the Year honors. He has a 28-10 overall record at MU and has guided the Knights to 20 wins in their last 23 games, including the last eight in a row. He holds a record of 6-1 in NAIA FCS play. Prior to MU, he spent five seasons at North Carolina Wesleyan and holds a 53-35 career mark in seven seasons as a head coach.
  
• SOU head coach Craig Howard is in his fifth season at the helm of the Raider program. He comes into Satur- day's game with a 45-16 career record at SOU.
  

NEWS AND NOTES

• The Knights and Raiders are hooking up on Saturday for the second time, both in the national championship game. SOU earned the only win in the series, 55-31, at the national championship in Daytona Beach one year ago today. The Knights are in their third national title game in four seasons, while SOU is in its second all-time national championship game.
  
• Junior Krishawn Hogan comes into the game averaging 150.0 receiving yards per game and has scored three re- ceiving touchdowns as well as 11 rushing touchdowns in the NAIA FCS. He is the nation's leader with 1,677 receiv- ing yards and averages 129.0 yards per game. He has amassed 100 yards or more in 12 of 13 games this season.
  
• The Knights bring the nation's top-ranked rushing defense (75.3 ypg) into the national title game and the na- tion's third-ranked total defense (267.2 ypg).

SPORTS INFORMATION CONTACTS
Assistant director of athletics and director of sports information Dr. Geoff Sherman (317.955.6125 office, 317.509.9613 cell, gsherman@marian.edu) handles all media requests for the Marian University football program.

PRACTICE SCHEDULE
Practices are restricted to the media unless approved by head coach Mark Henninger after requests through Dr. Geoff Sherman are made. Please contact Dr. Geoff Sherman if you are interested in attending practice to shoot background or interview coaches or student-athletes.

INTERVIEW REQUESTS
All player and coaching staff interview requests should be directed to Dr. Geoff Sherman. Requests for post-practice interviews should be made at least 24 hours in advance. Personal phone numbers will not be made available to media. Players have been instructed not to conduct interviews when contacted without prior approval from the sports information staff.

POST-GAME INTERVIEW POLICY
The Marian University locker room is closed at all times. A sports information staff member will collect player requests in the press box midway through the fourth quarter. Requested players will be made available on the field immediately following the game. Head coach Mark Henninger will also be made available following the game to media requesting him. Henninger will be available following his post-game media duties. Post-game interviews on the road will be held in accordance with the host school's procedures. Please contact Dr. Geoff Sherman for interviews on the road.

CREDENTIALS
Working credentials for the 2015 Marian University football season must be requested via email to Dr. Geoff Sherman (gsherman@marian.edu). Credentials will be held in Will Call at the St.Vincent Field Ticket Office near the main entrance on the North end.

MUKNIGHTS.COM
MUKNIGHTS.com is the official web site of the Marian University football program. This is the best and most efficient way for media wishing to receive updated information on Marian University football.

SOCIAL MEDIA
The Marian University department of athletics is on Twitter and Instagram: @MUKnights and on Facebook: Facebook.com/MarianUniversityKnights. You can also subscribe to the MU Athletics Channel on YouTube: MarianUAthletics. Head coach Mark Henninger is on Twitter: @CoachHenn.

KNIGHTS FOOTBALL RADIO NETWORK
The Marian University department of athletics has entered its eighth season of a partnership with Catholic Radio Indianapolis to air all Marian University football road games in 2015. Knights football will air LIVE on Catholic Radio 89.1 FM WSPM and Catholic Radio 90.9 FM WSQM. For the second season, former Indianapolis Indians broadcaster Scott McCauley will serve as the voice of Knights football, while 2015 MU graduate Zachariah Graves will serve as color analyst for the first tiem in 2015. McCauley spent time with the Indianapolis Indians and has done work with numerous other sports in the Indianapolis area over the years. Graves was a member of the MU football program from 2011-15 and was part of the 2012 national championship team and the 2014 national runner-up team.

KNIGHTS FOOTBALL ON TELEVISION
The Marian University football program will have three of its five home games televised LIVE in the Indianapolis region. The home season opener against the University of Indianapolis on Saturday, Sept. 12 will air LIVE on Hometown Sports and News (HTSN) (Channel 6.2) in Indianapolis at 6:05 p.m. The homecoming game against Missouri Baptist on Saturday, Sept. 26 will also air LIVE on HTSN beginning at 1 p.m. The penultimate home game, on Saturday, Nov. 7, against the University of St. Francis (Ill.) at 12:05 p.m., will also air LIVE on HTSN. Veteran play-by-play man Greg Rakestraw will serve as the television voice of the Knights for the Sept. 12 and Sept. 26 games, while Scott McCauley will step into the television role for the Nov. 7 game. Zachariah Graves will also maintain his role as color analyst on television as well.

KNIGHTS FOOTBALL ON THE WEB
Each of the Marian University football team's home games will also be video-streamed LIVE at MUKNIGHTS.com after the department of athletics agreed to their eighth year with Stretch Internet, a streaming provider based in Mesa, Ariz. Each home game will be video-streamed, while the road games will featured LIVE AUDIO in a simulcast with the Knights Football Radio Network.

KNIGHTS KNOCK OFF TIGERS IN THE SNOW, 44-7
The snowstorm that hit at kickoff was epic as the Knights earned their fifth straight opening round win, 44-7, over Campbellsvlle last Saturday. Junior Krishawn Hogan earned NAIA FCS Offensive MVP honors with six catches for 151 yarsd and scored four total touchdowns, three rushing. Senior Jamar Wilhite earned his first NAIA FCS Defensive MVP award after he tallied six tackles, 3.5 for loss and a sack in the win. MU is now 5-0 in the first round and has appeared in five of the last six NAIA Football Championship Series'.

MU DEFENSE FLEXES MUSCLE IN 30-3 WIN AT #3 GRAND VIEW
For the second straight season, the Knights were sent to Des Moines, Iowa for the national quaterfinal and for the second straight year, MU came away with a victory. The Knights notched a 30-3 win over the Vikings on the strength of its defense and the quick-strike potency of the offense. It marked the fifth time MU has appeared in a quarterfinal and their fourth win. Junior Krishawn Hogan was named the NAIA FCS Offensive Player of the Game with seven catches for 152 yards and a touchdown to go with three rushing touchdowns. Senior Dewayne Beckford registered seven tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and three sacks in earning NAIA FCS Defensive Player of the Game honors. The Knights are now 9-1 all-time against the Vikings.

MU EXACTS REVENGE ON ARCH-RIVAL IN 45-14 NATIONAL SEMI WIN
The Knights posted the program's largest victory over arch-rival Saint Francis in the NAIA semifinal. MU de- feated the Cougars by a 45-14 score for the single-largest margin of victory for the Knights in the 11-game series history. Junior Krishawn Hogan and senior Dewayne Beckford earned NAIA FCS MOP honors for leading the Knights to their third semifinal win in five NAIA FCS appearances. The program is completing its ninth season.

REMATCH ... ENOUGH SAID
The 59th annual NAIA Football National Championship didn't go as planned for the Knights last season. However, not only did they get back to the title game, but they have a second shot at Southern Oregon. SOU defeated MU 55- 31 last season in the title encounter in Daytona Beach. MU can redeem itself for a second time this season after avenging an earlier loss to USF with a 45-14 win in the semifinal. Now, MU can avenge last season's defeat in the first rematch since the 2007 and 2008 championship games.

HOGAN IN RECORD-SETTING CAMPAIGN
Junior wide receiver Krishawn Hogan has recorded an amazing 11 straight 100-yard receiving game with his 10-catch, 149-yard performance last week. He has 12 100- yard games this season and became the all-time leader in receiving yards during the 2015 campaign. Hogan now has 2,831 career receiving yards breaking JaQuan Patilla's record of 2,128 yards set from 2007-10. In addition, he has also become the first Knight to surpass the 1,000-yard mark twice and now has 1,677 yards this season. He achieved the career record in just 22 career games as a Knight. Hogan has also moved into the top spot in career receptions with 172.

GIBSON CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Redshirt junior running back Robert Gibson continues to climb the charts in MU's all-time rushing list. He has moved into third all-time with 1,661 rushing yards. He is 449 yards behind William Stubbs for second on the list. Gibson moved into fifth on the single-season list after his 102-yard performance two weeks ago. He now has 1,053 yards this season and is behind the four seasons of Tevin Lake.

NORTHERN HAVING RECORD-SETTING SEASON
Senior quarterback Hayden Northern has become the all-time leader in passing yards in MU history. After be- coming the third quarterback to surpass 5,000 career yards, his 254-yard performance on Saturday gave him 6,319 career yards to set a new standard. He passed Adam Wiese (2010-12), who finished with 5,707 yards, as the all-time leader. He has also become the all-time single-season passing leader with 3,380 passing yards this season. He passed Clay Coomer as the single-season leader.