Winning a national championship is never easy.

    After winning 11 games for just the second time in school history, all that stands between East Mississippi Community College and that final prize is just approximately 1,725 miles and an undefeated, top-ranked opponent. EMCC, ranked No. 2 in the nation, will meet No. 1 Arizona Western in the Dec. 3 El Toro Bowl in Yuma, Ariz., the NJCAA announced Tuesday.

    “We are going out there to play them on their field in front of their fans,” EMCC coach Buddy Stephens said. “If we win the national championship, it’s not going to be handed to us; we’re going to have to take it.”

    The Lions, who are 11-0 for the first time and have tied the school record for wins set by the 2009 MACJC state champion and Mississippi Bowl-winning squad, had hoped that Saturday’s 42-17 win against then-No. 5 Mississippi Gulf Coast to capture their second state title in three years would be enough to propel them to their first No. 1 national ranking.

    However, when the final regular season poll was released Monday, EMCC still trailed the Matadors, who have set a school mark for wins with their 11-0 mark. That made Tuesday’s bowl announcement little more than a formality.

    With a win, the Lions would capture their first national championship. When EMCC ascended to No. 2 a week ago, it marked the third time in school history the Lions had been ranked that high: in 2009 before losing to Gulf Coast in the regular season and in legendary coach Bob “Bull” Sullivan’s first season in 1950.

    The Lions began the season ranked No. 16, but quickly vaulted to No. 9 following a season-opening win against then-No. 2 MGCCC. After spending one week at No. 8, the Lions jumped to No. 4 following a road win against then-No. 4 Northwest Mississippi and two weeks later No. 2 Blinn (Texas) College beat top-ranked Navarro (Texas) College, jumping the Lions to No. 3. EMCC remained there for five weeks until the Bucaneers lost two weeks ago.

    Arizona Western, which lost 27-24 to EMCC in that 2009 Mississippi Bowl, is searching for its second national title, and first since 1972.

    The Matadors are led by the nation’s top rusher in sophomore Damien Williams, who averages 162.3 yards per game. Arizona Western as a team is fifth with 246 rushing yards per game. EMCC, in contrast, features the nation’s top passing and overall offense in the country. The Lions average 553.2 yards per game, 380.5 through the air. Freshman quarterback Bo Wallace leads that attack, having set two national records last week for passing yards in a single season (4,118) and total offense in a single season (4,324). The Arkansas State transfer is also tops in the nation with 46 touchdowns passing, leaving him four shy of that national mark.

    While the Lions were hoping for a rematch in Biloxi in this year’s Mississippi Bowl on Dec. 4, they instead will have to travel 1,725 or so miles to Yuma, home of Arizona Western. But that distance — and disappointment of not being No. 1 and getting to stay in-state — won’t stop EMCC.

    With the Lions heading west — as champions of the MACJC, EMCC had an automatic berth in the Mississippi Bowl but opted out for the shot at the national crown — the Mississippi Bowl turned to the state runner-up and ninth-ranked Bulldogs and No. 5 Blinn, the 2009 national champions, it was announced Tuesday.

    “We don’t care where we have to play,” Stephens said. “We would have loved to save the money for the school, but the college is committed to giving us the resources to compete and play for national championships.

    “That won’t stop now.”