A small conversation started nearly three years ago will get its final word at Barron Stadium on Saturday at the 54th Annual Russell Athletic-NAIA Football National Championship.

It was back then at the annual American Football Coaches Association convention that Lindenwood head coach Patrick Ross asked Sioux Falls head coach Kalen DeBoer for some advice.

The Cougars were in the midst of what have become four straight appearances in the title game while Lindenwood was still looking for its first.

“I was trying to get advice from him,” Ross said this week. “Just what it takes to get to this level, because they had done it consistently, and he gave me some good advice.”

“I didn’t know that conversation was going to come back to haunt me a few years later,” DeBoer said with a laugh.

Sioux Falls (14-0) has won two national titles over the last three years, its most recent coming against Carroll (Mont.) College last December in Rome when the Cougars were ranked No. 2 behind the Saints.

This year, it’s Sioux Falls that comes into the championship as the top-ranked team in the country. And that is a bit unsettling to their head coach.

“It makes me a little nervous,” DeBoer said. “We’ve been No. 2 twice and No. 1 once (in the last three years) and the No. 2 team has always won.”

But that’s not saying Sioux Falls is unhappy to be traveling to the Southeast again for warmer weather and a chance to win back-to-back titles.

“Last year was a thrill for us to go to a new site and play in Rome,” DeBoer said. “It was just done so well and to have that experience again this year is something we’re really looking forward to.”

The 2008 game was hampered by wet weather as rain the night before left the turf at Barron Stadium soggy and muddy for the noon kickoff.

Weather services say the forecast for the rest of the week is partly cloudy with high temperatures in the low- to mid-50s.

“The weather is hopefully going to be nice and maybe that was the only thing that may have been a downer last year,” DeBoer said. “But when you win, that makes up for it, too.”

No. 3 Lindenwood (13-0) stamped their ticket for Rome after getting a 42-35 win over No. 2-ranked Carroll in the semifinals of the NAIA Football Championship Series during wintry conditions in Helena, Mont.

Ross said that the win, which snapped Carroll’s 24-game home winning streak, has been a motivating factor in the time leading up to Saturday’s showdown.

“Obviously, you have a win like that, you want to be able to enjoy it because those are hard to come by, to get a chance to go to Carroll and play in their element – in the snow – and execute the way our players did,” Ross said.

After the Lions took an early 14-0 lead, Carroll charged back in the second half and tied the game at 35 apiece at the start of the fourth quarter.

“They moved the football really well down the field, scored on us a couple of times and took advantage of some of our turnovers, which is really uncharacteristic of our football team,” Ross said.

Lindenwood didn’t seal the victory until the final minute when quarterback Phillip Stabeck found receiver Matt Bramow on a 10-yard touchdown pass with 49 seconds left.

“It was great to see our guys … hang in there and stay focused and mentally tough in trying to win that football game,” Ross said.

“Enjoying it is important … because you never know when you’re going to be in this spot again but, at the same time, we can’t just be happy to be where we’re at.”

The two teams will begin heading for Rome this morning with both expected to arrive later today.