# 2020–21 NAIA football national championship

The 2020–21 NAIA football national championship was a four-round, sixteen team tournament played between April 17 and May 10, 2021. The tournament concluded with a single game, played as the 65th Annual NAIA Football National Championship.
The championship game was played at Eddie Robinson Stadium in Grambling, Louisiana, between the 11–1 No. 6 Northwestern Red Raiders, representing Northwestern College from Orange City, Iowa, and the undefeated No. 3 Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders, representing Lindsey Wilson College from Columbia, Kentucky. This was the second time the championship game was played at this venue with the previous year's game also taking place there. The game was played on May 10, 2021, with kickoff at 6:00 p.m. EST (5:00 p.m. local CST).

## Teams
### Northwestern (IA)

The Northwestern Red Raiders, led by 5th-year head coach Matt McCarty, entered the national championship game as the No. 6 seed. They were seeking to win their third national championship overall and first non-NAIA Division II national championship, having won in 1973 and 1983. They entered the game 11–1, 8–1 in GPAC play.
2020 Northwestern (IA) Football :
| Sep. 12 | at No. 1 Morningside* | L 31–45 |
| Sep. 19 | Dakota Wesleyan* | W 50–16 |
| Sep. 3 | at No. 18 Dordt* | W 49–7 |
| Oct. 17 | Concordia (NE)* | W 31–17 |
| Oct. 24 | at Doane* | W 35–14 |
| Oct. 31 | Midland* | W 43–14 |
| Nov. 7 | at Hastins* | W 62–10 |
| Nov. 14 | Briar Cliff* | W 38–21 |
| Nov. 23 | Jamestown* | W 49–0 |
| NAIA Playoffs (No. 6 seed) |||
| Apr. 17 | No. 10 Dickinson State | W 31–7 |
| Apr. 24 | at No. 2 Grand View | W 27–24 |
| May 10 | at No. 1 Morningside | W 44–41 |

### Lindsey Wilson

The Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders, led by 11th-year head coach Chris Oliver, entered the national championship game as the No. 3 seed and were looking to win the program's first-ever NAIA National Championship. They entered the game 10–0, 7–0 in MSC Bluegrass Division play.
2020 Lindsey Wilson Football :
| Feb. 12 | Pikeville* | W 49–0 |
| Feb. 26 | No. 17 Cumberlands (KY)* | W 45–10 |
| Mar. 5 | at No. 19 Georgetown (KY)* | W 35–14 |
| Mar. 12 | at Cumberland (TN)* | W 56–22 |
| Mar. 19 | Thomas More* | W 52–20 |
| Apr. 1 | at Campbellsville* | W 49–21 |
| Apr. 9 | Bethel (TN)* | W 49–7 |
| NAIA Playoffs (No. 3 seed) |||
| Apr. 17 | No. 14 Bethel (KS) | W 42–10 |
| Apr. 24 | No. 5 Concordia (MI) | W 49–27 |
| May 1 | No. 4 Keiser | W 38–14 |

### Series history

This game was both teams' first time playing each other.

## Game summary

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 6 Northwestern (IA) | 0 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 13 |
| No. 3 Lindsey Wilson | 7 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 45 |
at Eddie Robinson Stadium • Grambling, Louisiana
* Date: Saturday, May 10, 2023
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. EST (5:00 p.m. CST)
* Game weather: • Temperature: 63 °F (17 °C) • Wind: Calm
* Game attendance: 1,241
* Referee: Craig Demaree

### Statistics

| Statistics | NWC | LWC |
| First downs | 16 | 17 |
| Total yards | 231 | 347 |
| Rushes–yards | 32–74 | 40–190 |
| Passing yards | 157 | 157 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 22–32–0 | 18–24–0 |
| Time of possession | 28:50 | 31:10 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Northwestern (IA) | Passing | Blake Fryar | 22/32, 157 yards, 2 TD |
| Northwestern (IA) | Rushing | Blake Fryar | 18 carries, 38 yards |
| Northwestern (IA) | Receiving | Cade Moser | 6 receptions, 54 yards |
| Lindsey Wilson | Passing | Cameron Dukes | 18/24, 157 yards |
| Lindsey Wilson | Rushing | Darius Clark | 4 carries, 70 yards |
| Lindsey Wilson | Receiving | Jaylen Boyd | 4 receptions, 50 yards |

## Postseason playoffs

A total of sixteen teams were selected to participate in the single-elimination tournament from across the country, with invitations that were revealed on Sunday, November 17, 2019. The field included twelve conference champions who received automatic bids. The field was then filled with at-large selections that were awarded to the highest ranked teams that were not conference champions. First-round seedings were based on the final regular-season edition of the 2020 NAIA Coaches' Poll, with certain minor modifications given based on travel and geographic considerations. Each subsequent round also saw minor modifications based on travel and the geography of the remaining teams.
Quarterfinal pairings were announced by the NAIA on November 23, after the first round results were known.
Semifinal pairings were announced by the NAIA on November 30, soon after completion of the day's quarterfinal games.
| 1st Round April 17, 2021 | 1st Round April 17, 2021 | 1st Round April 17, 2021 | Quarterfinals April 24, 2021 | Quarterfinals April 24, 2021 | Quarterfinals April 24, 2021 | Semifinals May 1, 2021 | Semifinals May 1, 2021 | Semifinals May 1, 2021 | | Championship May 10, 2021 | Championship May 10, 2021 | Championship May 10, 2021 |
| 3 | Lindsey Wilson | 42 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 14 | Bethel (KS) | 10 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 14 | Bethel (KS) | 10 | 3 | Lindsey Wilson | 49 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Concordia (MI) | 27 | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Concordia (MI) | 21 | 5 | Concordia (MI) | 27 | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Georgetown | 7 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Georgetown | 7 | | | | 3 | Lindsey Wilson | 38 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Keiser | 14 | | | | |
| 4 | Keiser | 63 | | | | | | | 4 | Keiser | 14 | | | | |
| 15 | Arizona Christian | 21 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 15 | Arizona Christian | 21 | 4 | Keiser | 42 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 8 | Reinhardt | 14 | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Reinhardt | 40 | 8 | Reinhardt | 14 | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Marian (IN) | 29 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Marian (IN) | 29 | | | | | | | | 3 | Lindsey Wilson | 45 |
| | | | | | | | | | | 6 | Northwestern (IA) | 13 |
| 1 | Morningside | 55 | | | | | | | | | | | 6 | Northwestern (IA) | 13 |
| 16 | Carroll | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 16 | Carroll | 0 | 1 | Morningside | 45 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | Baker | 29 | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Baker | 59 | 7 | Baker | 29 | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Olivet Nazarene | 54 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Olivet Nazarene | 54 | | | | 1 | Morningside | 41 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 6 | Northwestern (IA) | 44 | | | | |
| 2 | Grand View | 38 | | | | | | | 6 | Northwestern (IA) | 44 | | | | |
| 13 | Dordt | 10 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 13 | Dordt | 10 | 2 | Grand View | 24 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Northwestern (IA) | 27 | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Northwestern (IA) | 31 | 6 | Northwestern (IA) | 27 | | | | | | | |
| 11 | Dickinson State | 7 | | | | | | | | | | |