For the University of North Alabama, an unprecedented third straight NCAA Division II national championship appeared as easy as 1-2-3.  In taking two previous national titles in 1993 and 1994, the Lions had to leap some hurdles to get to the title game, then had to rely on some last minute heroics from quarterback Cody Gross and linebacker Ronald McKinnon to secure those respective titles.

The 1995 Lions would have none of that, however. They simply dominated their field of play like no other team in college football history.  And when the season finally ended with a 27-7 win over Pittsburg State, it seemed almost anticlimactic. The Lions had done what they were expected to do and ended the 1995 season with  no worlds left to conquer.  As a two-time defending national champion with 45  lettermen and 19 starters returning, the Lions entered 1995 with the pressure and expectation of trying to accomplish something that no previous Division II school had done. But the Lions managed to maintain their focus each Saturday throughout the regular-season, dominating 10 straight opponents, then clobbering four more in the playoffs by a combined 138-49 score.  Not only did UNA finish the season at 14-0 with its third straight conference and national championships, but both titles put the Lions in a class by themselves.

UNA's third straight national title marked the first time in the history of NCAA scholarship football (Division I, I-AA or II) that a school had won three consecutive national championships. And with a 41-1 record over that three-year span, UNA became the first team in the history of college football on any level to win 40 or more games in just three years.  In addition, UNA's third straight GSC title marked the first time in the league's 25-year history that any school had won three straight football championships.

The Lions dominance of Division II wasn't only in the post-season either. After taking over the top spot in the Division II poll on Oct. 4, 1993, the Lions have maintained that ranking in every Division II poll since, setting another national record with 27 consecutive No. 1 rankings over a three-year period.  Individually, the Lions were also one of the most recognized groups in college football history.  A total of 10 different UNA players were selected for various All-America teams, and linebacker Ronald McKinnon became the first defensive player in the ten-year history of the Harlon Hill Trophy to be named as the Division II College Football Player of the Year.

The Lions senior class of 1995 closed their collective careers as the winningest class in school and Gulf South Conference history, with a 48-5-1 record that included 41 consecutive wins against Division II opponents and 22 straight conference wins.  Both the Lions offense and defense were dominant in 1995, and nowhere was that better demonstrated than in the championship game.  Pittsburg State had averaged 318 yards per game during 1995, but managed just 50 yards on 15 carries in the first half against UNA, while the Lions rolled up 248 total yards in the first 30 minutes with a make-shift offensive backfield.

With starting quarterback Cody Gross sidelined for the first time since 1992 with a hip injury, senior back-up Cale Manley stepped in and directed a 76-yard, 12-play drive on UNA's opening possession. Jermaine Roberts went the final 28 yards untouched through a huge hole for the game's first score with 8:04 left in the opening period.  The Lions also turned to third-string fullback Nate George to start when 1,000-yard rusher A.J. Lamar went down with a stomach virus.  The Lions never missed a beat, and when McKinnon pounced on a PSU fumble early in the second quarter, Gross limped onto the field to give the team an additional emotional charge that also electrified the partisan UNA crowd of 15,241.

Gross, who closed his career at UNA with a 41-2 record as a starter, completed a pass to Demetrea Shelton on his first play and led a five-play drive that was capped by a five-yard TD run by Roberts. Gross would also fire a 13-yard touchdown pass to Michael Edwards with five seconds left in the half to make it 21-0, capping a 69-yard, 11-play drive.  The only bright spot for Pittsburg State came in the final period, when Ben Peterson recovered a UNA fumble and Jeff Moreland tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Chris Hudson on the next play for the Gorillas only score.   UNA answered with a score of its own, with George bulling in from one yard out with 34 seconds left to make it 27-7.  Moreland was picked off four times and the Gorillas were held to 99 yards rushing and just 176 total yards by UNA's Purple Swarm defense. UNA dominated the line of scrimmage, controlling the ball for 40:13, while PSU had it just 19:47.

Jermaine Roberts led UNA's championship game effort with 107 yards on 20 carries and scored twice. Gross, in limited duty and in severe pain, completed eight of 13 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown.  McKinnon, as always, led UNA's defensive charge with 14 tackles, one tackle for a five-yard loss and recovered a fumble that led to UNA's second touchdown. He closed his career as the all-time leading tackler in school and Gulf South Conference history with 621 career tackles.  Bobby Wallace, who has been named Division II National Coach of the Year in both 1993 and 1994, was honored again in 1995 by the American Football Coaches Association, ABC and Chevrolet, CNN, American Football Quarterly and the Football Gazette.

UNA opened the 1995 season at home against an Albany State squad that had reached the Division II playoffs in 1994. At halftime, the Lions trailed 13-6 but rallied to score on their first possession of the second half and scored 28 third quarter points on the way to a 41-13 blowout of the Rams.

The Lions followed with a 49-0 thumping of Alabama A&M, a 30-0 rout of Delta State and a 41-3 win over Mississippi College to quickly move to 4-0.   An eventual playoff team, West Georgia provided the next test and trailed just 14-13 at the half, but UNA again rolled in the second half and went on to a 34-19 win.

A 28-7 win in a defensive struggle at Central Arkansas pushed UNA to 6-0 as the Lion defense scored twice. Then the Reddies of Henderson State charged into Braly Stadium, ready to end the Lions string of successes. Henderson only led once in the game, at 14-7, the Reddies would not go away and UNA managed to hold on for a 33-28 win behind 216 yards rushing from A.J. Lamar.

A 26-9 rout of Valdosta State, a 52-17 whipping of Arkansas Tech and a 42-10 victory over West Alabama closed the Lions regular-season at 10-0 and gave the Lions a full head of steam for the playoffs.

In the opening round, UNA again met Albany State, and again found itself trailing at the half, 14-10. But the Lions again scored on their opening possession of the second half and never looked back, scoring 28 second half points on the way to a 38-28 win.

Carson-Newman was then eliminated from the playoff picture for the third straight year by the Lions, although the Eagles held a 7-0 lead near the end of the first quarter. Gross rambled 90 yards, going from sideline to sideline on his way to the end zone, to tie the game, and UNA dominated the rest of the way to whip the Eagles 28-7.

Undefeated Ferris State was the Lions semifinal opponent, but the Bulldogs were no match for UNA as McKinnon dominated a head-to-head show with fellow Hill finalist Bill Love, intercepting two passes and sacking Love once.  UNA won 45-7 in a runaway, with the only down moment coming when Gross suffered a hip injury at the end of a 31-yard touchdown run on UNA's opening possession.