2018 Morningside Mustangs football team

2018 Morningside Mustangs football
NAIA national champion
GPAC champion
ConferenceGreat Plains Athletic Conference
Record15–0 (9–0 GPAC)
Head coach
Co-defensive coordinatorCasey Jacobsen (8th season)
Co-defensive coordinatorNathan Turner (8th season)
Home stadiumElwood Olsen Stadium
Seasons
← 2017
2019 →
2018 Great Plains Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 1 Morningside $^   9 – 0     15 – 0  
No. 12 Northwestern (IA) ^   8 – 1     9 – 2  
No. 23 Dordt   6 – 3     7 – 3  
Midland   5 – 4     7 – 4  
Doane   5 – 4     6 – 4  
Briar Cliff   4 – 5     6 – 5  
Hastings   3 – 6     5 – 6  
Concordia (NE)   2 – 7     3 – 7  
Jamestown   2 – 7     3 – 8  
Dakota Wesleyan   1 – 8     2 – 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

The 2018 Morningside Mustangs football team was an American football team that represented Morningside University as a member of the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) during the 2018 NAIA football season. In their 17th season under head coach Steve Ryan, the Mustangs compiled a perfect 15–0 record (9–0 against GPAC opponents) and won the NAIA national championship, defeating the Benedictine Ravens, 35–28, in the NAIA National Championship Game.[1]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
August 25William Penn*No. 3
W 49–211,100
September 8at Truman State*No. 3
W 35–171,543
September 22at Dakota WesleyanNo. 2
W 66–13
September 29at HastingsNo. 2Hastings, NEW 65–0
October 6at MidlandNo. 1
W 77–211,200
October 13DoaneNo. 1
  • Elwood Olsen Stadium
  • Sioux City, IA
W 69–17
October 20at No. 3 Northwestern (IA)No. 1Orange City, IAW 42–34
October 27Concordia (NE)No. 1
  • Elwood Olsen Stadium
  • Sioux City, IA
W 49–0
November 3DordtNo. 1
  • Elwood Olsen Stadium
  • Sioux City, IA
W 63–21600
November 10at JamestownNo. 1Jamestown, NDW 49–13[2]
November 17 No. 16 Rocky Mountain*No. 1
  • Elwood Olsen Stadium
  • Sioux City, IA (NAIA first round)
W 49–20750[3]
November 24 No. 17 Saint Xavier*No. 1
  • Elwood Olsen Stadium
  • Sioux City, IA (NAIA quarterfinal)
W 51–14800[4]
December 1 No. 8 Saint Francis*No. 1
  • Elwood Olsen Stadium
  • Sioux City, IA (NAIA semifinal)
W 34–28 OT2,000[5]
December 15 No. 7 Benedictine (KS)*No. 1
W 35–28[6]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from NAIA Poll released prior to the game

References

  1. ^ "2018-19 Football Schedule". Morningside Mustangs. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  2. ^ "Morningside captures 8th straight GPAC title". Sioux City Journal. November 11, 2018. p. D1, D3 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "On to the NAIA quarterfinals". Sioux City Journal. November 18, 2018. pp. D1, D3 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Barry Poe (November 25, 2018). "Steaming to the semis". Sioux City Journal. pp. D1, D3 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Barry Poe (December 2, 2018). "Dramatic victory sends Mustangs to title game". Sioux City Journal. pp. D1, D5 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Jeff Bryan (December 16, 2018). "As Close As It Could Be". St. Joseph News-Press. pp. C1, C6 – via Newspapers.com.