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.
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]
Date
Time
Opponent
Rank
Site
Result
September 10
at Indiana State*
No. 2
Terre Haute, IN
W 42–10
September 17
No. 6 McKendree*
No. 2
Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
Fort Wayne, IN
W 28–21
September 24
Wisconsin – Eau Claire*
No. 2
Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
Fort Wayne, IN
W 35–10
October 1
No. 19 Geneva
No. 2
Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
Fort Wayne, IN
W 50–22
October 8
at Ohio Dominican
No. 2
Columbus, OH
W 49–7
October 15
at No. 16 Urbana
No. 2
Urbana, OH
W 35–3
October 22
Taylor
No. 2
Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
Fort Wayne, IN
W 55–0
October 29
at Malone
No. 2
Canton, OH
W 28–7
November 5
Quincy
No. 2
Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
Fort Wayne, IN
W 53–19
November 12
at No. 11 Walsh
No. 2
North Canton, OH
W 21–7
November 19
No. 13 Pikeville*
No. 2
Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
Fort Wayne, IN (NAIA First Round)
W 41–7
November 26
No. 5 Georgetown*
No. 2
Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
Fort Wayne, IN (NAIA Quarterfinal)
W 44–14
December 3
No. 3 Morningside*
No. 2
Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
Fort Wayne, IN (NAIA Semifinal)
W 42–14
December 17
1:05pm (FW time)
vs. No. 1 Carroll*
No. 2
Savannah, TN (NAIA Championship)
L 10–27
*Non-conference game
Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game
