What You See in One FCS Championship Game is Often What You Get the Next Year
It wouldn’t surprise many people if 2022 FCS national champion South Dakota State or runner-up North Dakota State, maybe even both teams, advance back to the next title game in January.
It goes beyond their talented lineups.
In the dynasty-filled history of FCS college football, the chances are a finalist will appear in consecutive championship games, even capture national titles in back-to-back seasons.
The championship game matchup has been repeated three different times, a program has won two or more consecutive national titles seven different times, and an incredible 35 of the 45 overall FCS seasons (1978-2022) involve at least one team that’s in the midst of consecutive appearances in the final.
Most recently, SDSU defeated NDSU 45-21 to end the 2022 season, which was NDSU’s second straight appearance in the title game.
Following is a breakdown of the FCS championship game’s recurring “look who’s back” storyline:
Consecutive Championship Game Matchups
Marshall vs. Youngstown State (1991-93) – 1991: Youngstown State 25, Marshall 17; 1992: Marshall 31, Youngstown State 28; 1993: Youngstown State 17, Marshall 5
Marshall vs. Montana (1995-96) – 1995: Montana 22, Marshall 20; 1996: Marshall 49, Montana 29
North Dakota State vs. Sam Houston (2011-12) – 2011: North Dakota State 17, Sam Houston 6; 2012: North Dakota State 39, Sam Houston 13
Consecutive National Championships
Appalachian State (three straight) – 21-16 over Northern Iowa in 2005, 28-17 over Massachusetts in ‘06 and 49-21 over Delaware in ‘07
Georgia Southern (two straight three different times) – 44-42 over Furman in 1985 and 48-21 over Arkansas State in ’86; 37-34 over Stephen F. Austin in 1989 and 36-13 over Nevada in ’90; 59-24 over Youngstown State in 1999 and 27-25 over Montana in 2000
North Dakota State (five straight and three straight) – 17-6 over Sam Houston in 2011, 39-13 over Sam Houston in ’12, 35-7 over Towson in ’13, 29-27 over Illinois State in ’14 and 37-10 over Jacksonville State in ’15; 17-13 over James Madison in 2017, 38-24 over Eastern Washington in ’18 and 28-20 over James Madison in ‘19
Youngstown State (two straight) – 17-5 over Marshall in 1993 and 28-14 over Boise State in ‘94
Consecutive Championship Game Appearances
Appalachian State – 2005-07 (three titles)
Eastern Kentucky – 1979-82 (two titles, two runner-up)
James Madison – 2016-17 (one title, one runner-up)
Georgia Southern – 1985-86 (two titles); 1988-90 (two titles, one runner-up); 1998-2000 (two titles, one runner-up)
Marshall – 1991-93 (one title, two runner-up); 1995-96 (one title, one runner-up)
Montana – 1995-96 (one title, one runner-up); 2000-01 (one title, one runner-up); 2008-09 (two runner-up)
North Dakota State – 2011-15 (five titles); 2017-19 (three titles); 2021-22 (one title, one runner-up)
Sam Houston – 2011-12 (two runner-up)
Youngstown State – 1991-94 (three titles, one runner-up)
FCS Championships by School
9 – North Dakota State (2011, ’12, ’13, ’14, ‘15, ’17, ’18, ‘19, 2021)
6 – *Georgia Southern (1985, ‘86, ’89, ‘90, ’99, 2000)
4 – Youngstown State (1991, ’93, ’94, ’97)
3 – *Appalachian State (2005, ’06, ’07)
2 – Eastern Kentucky (1979, ’82); *Marshall (1992, ’96); Montana (1995, 2001); *James Madison (2004, ’16)
1 – *Boise State (1980); Delaware (2003); Eastern Washington (2010); Florida A&M (1978); Furman (1988); Idaho State (1981); *Louisiana-Monroe (1987); *Massachusetts (1998); Montana State (1984); Richmond (2008); *Sam Houston (2020); South Dakota State (2022); Southern Illinois (1983); Villanova (2009); *Western Kentucky (2002)
* – now an FBS program
