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
