2005 Saint Francis Cougars football team

The 2005 Saint Francis Cougars football team represented the University of Saint Francis, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the 2005 NAIA football season. They were led by head coach Kevin Donley, who served his 8th year as the first and only head coach in the history of Saint Francis football. The Cougars played their home games at Bishop John M. D'Arcy Stadium and were members of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League (MEL). The Cougars finished in 1st place in the MSFA MEL division, and they received an automatic bid to the 2005 postseason NAIA playoffs.

2005 Saint Francis Cougars football
NAIA national runner-up
MSFA (MEL) champion
ConferenceMid-States Football Association
DivisionMideast League
2005 record13–1 (7–0 MSFA (MEL))
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorPatrick Donley (2nd season)
Home stadiumBishop John M. D'Arcy Stadium
(Capacity: 3,500 )
2005 Mid-States Football Association standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
Mideast League
No. 2 St. Francis (IN) x^  7 –0     13 –1  
No. 18 Walsh  5 –2     8 –3  
No. 14 Geneva ^  5 –2     8 –4  
Quincy  4 –3     5 –6  
Urbana  3 –4     6 –5  
Malone  2 –5     3 –7  
Ohio Dominican  2 –5     3 –7  
Taylor  0 –7     0 –10  
Midwest League
No. 9 Saint Xavier x^  6 –1     9 –3  
No. 10 McKendree x^  6 –1     8 –3  
No. 16 St. Ambrose ^  5 –2     8 –3  
William Penn  4 –3     6 –5  
Olivet Nazarene  3 –4     6 –6  
Trinity International  2 –5     3 –7  
Iowa Wesleyan  2 –5     3 –8  
St. Francis (IL)  0 –7     2 –9  
  • x – League champion/co-champions
    ^ – NAIA playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

The 2005 Cougars finished the regular season undefeated. In the postseason playoffs, the Cougars advanced to the national championship game where they lost to the Fighting Saints of Carroll, 27-10.

Schedule

(13-1 overall, 7-0 conference)
The 2005 season saw a rematch of the 2004 NAIA championship game. Once again, the Cougars finished as runner-up to Carroll (MT). For the three seasons 2003-2005, the USF record was 38-3, with all 3 losses coming as season-ending losses to Carroll (MT).[1]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteResult
September 10at Indiana State*No. 2Terre Haute, INW 42–10
September 17No. 6 McKendree*No. 2
  • Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN
W 28–21
September 24Wisconsin – Eau Claire*No. 2
  • Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN
W 35–10
October 1No. 19 GenevaNo. 2
  • Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN
W 50–22
October 8at Ohio DominicanNo. 2Columbus, OHW 49–7
October 15at No. 16 UrbanaNo. 2Urbana, OHW 35–3
October 22TaylorNo. 2
  • Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN
W 55–0
October 29at MaloneNo. 2Canton, OHW 28–7
November 5QuincyNo. 2
  • Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN
W 53–19
November 12at No. 11 WalshNo. 2North Canton, OHW 21–7
November 19No. 13 Pikeville*No. 2
  • Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN (NAIA First Round)
W 41–7
November 26No. 5 Georgetown*No. 2
  • Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN (NAIA Quarterfinal)
W 44–14
December 3No. 3 Morningside*No. 2
  • Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN (NAIA Semifinal)
W 42–14
December 171:05pm (FW time)vs. No. 1 Carroll*No. 2Savannah, TN (NAIA Championship)L 10–27

Ranking movements
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Final 
NAIA Coaches' Poll 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

References
  1. "Carroll wins fourth straight NAIA football title - College Football - ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. 2005-12-17. Retrieved 2015-03-28.
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