The Cougars play their home games at Bishop John M. D'Arcy Stadium as members of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League (MEL).
Transfer sophomore quarterback Matt Crable started his first game as a Cougar, completing 16 of 23 passes for 189 yards, good for 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.
With a completion percentage of .900 (18/20), Crable established a new single-game record for Saint Francis quarterbacks attempting 20 or more passes in a game.
Dean was subbing as the main running back for the second straight game due to the absence of Justin Green with a minor injury.
In perhaps their most efficient drive of the day, Saint Francis moved down the field and scored with 20 seconds left, a 10-yard pass to Nick Brickens.
But later in the quarter, USF's Ryan Johnson intercepted a pass and returned it for a TD, the third straight game the defence had accomplished that feat.
The opening kick was then returned 91 yards; the only thing that prevented a touchdown was a desperation lunge by the kicker that tripped up sophomore runner Matt Kominkiewicz.
But on the next play, the Marian quarterback fumbled the snap, and USF defender Marcus Stepp scooped the ball and returned it for a 31-yard touchdown.
But the score was too little, too late; Marian controlled the ball again, this time marching down and kicking a field goal to extend their lead to nine with nine seconds left on the game's clock.
The three-point production was the lowest score ever generated by any regular season team in the history of Saint Francis football.
With the second conference loss, Saint Francis now finds itself in the position of needing some help to make the postseason to try to defend their back-to-back national titles.
It was an exciting Homecoming game, and those who stayed until the end were treated to one of the best comebacks in the history of Saint Francis Cougar football.
Quarterback Matt Crable completed a 27-yard sideline pass to the Saints' 41-yard line, and Siena Heights regrouped by calling a timeout with 42 seconds left.
The following play saw a Siena Heights personal foul advance the ball half the distance to the goal and resulted in another Cougars' first down.
But instead of running into the end zone, Dean pulled up short of the line of scrimmage and completed a touchdown toss to a waiting Dylan Hunley.
But the Cougars' Marcus Stepp blocked the following extra point kick, and the live ball was scooped up by Wilmer Cole and returned the length of the field in a touchdown-like fashion.
Saint Francis nearly ran back the opening kick-off for a touchdown, with Cougar Stan Jackson - who was not expected to play this game because of his previous-game targeting violation - being driven out of bounds at the 2-yard line.
After last week when Jackson was tossed out of that game, Cougar coach Kevin Donley appealed the suspension to the governing body.
The game pace was set quickly as Lindenwood won the coin toss and elected to defer possession until the second half.
The Saint Francis defense held on the next possession, and the ball returned to the Cougars after an unsuccessful attempt on 4th down to the Lynx 48-yard line.
But the kick was blocked by Eric Dunten, and USF defender Malachi Manion recovered the ball and ran it back 20 yards for another touchdown.
For his effort, Ricksy was named Mid-States Football Conference special teams Player-of-the-Week for the second successive week.
It moved Donley into a 7th place tie with legendary coach Bear Bryant on the all-time wins list for college football.
The penalty moved the ball into field goal range, and the Grand View kicker split the goalposts to put the Vikings' only 3 points on the scoreboard.
After the two teams traded a couple of possessions in the second half, Saint Francis put together a 72-yard scoring drive, aided largely by a 42-yard pass completion to Dylan Hunley.
Saint Francis drove the ball on their next possession, but the drive ended early in the fourth quarter with a goal-line interception by a Baker defender.
Saint Francis punted, and Baker turned the ball over on downs before USF ran out the clock with a couple of plays from the victory formation.
On the first play from scrimmage, Morningside quarterback Trent Solsma completed a touchdown pass to wide receiver Connor Niles.
Morningside took a timeout and considered inserting their backup quarterback into the game, but in the end, they opted to attempt a 41-yard field goal.
No extra point was needed, so Morningside claimed a 34-28 OT win and made plans to play for the national championship in two weeks.