FCS Championship Game Breakdown
At the end of August, several conferences in the Football Championship Subdivision began the quest to make it to Frisco. Three months later, the field was narrowed to 20 teams that qualified for postseason play. Only two remain.
Sam Houston State and North Dakota State square off on Saturday at Pizza Hut Field in Frisco, Texas, for the right to hoist the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision trophy at game’s end.
Here are the basics you need to know going into Saturday’s final showdown:
SAM HOUSTON STATE (14-0, 7-0 Southland Conference) vs. NORTH DAKOTA STATE (13-1, 7-1 Missouri Valley Conference)
When – 1:05 p.m. Saturday
Where – Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas
HOW SAM HOUSTON STATE GOT TO FRISCO
The Bearkats ran through the regular season undefeated, save for one scare in the third game of the season when it won 48-45 in overtime against New Mexico. Sam Houston State topped Stony Brook 34-27 in the second round of the FCS playoffs, defeated Montana State 49-13 in the quarterfinals and edged Montana 31-28 in the semifinals for the right to face North Dakota State.
HOW NORTH DAKOTA STATE GOT TO FRISCO
The Bison rattled off nine wins in a row to start the season before Youngstown State surprised them 27-24 on Nov. 12. North Dakota State recovered from there to finish the regular season with a 10-1 record. The Bison beat James Madison 26-14 in the quarterfinals, shut out Lehigh 24-0 in the semifinals and earned a ticket to the title game with a 35-7 semifinal win over Georgia Southern.
HISTORY
This is the first appearance in the FCS finals for either school. The teams have met twice before and split the series evenly. Steve Walker’s touchdown pass to Kole Heckendorf gave North Dakota State a 41-38, come-from-behind win in 2007, and Sam Houston returned the favor two years later when it kicked a last-second field goal to score a 48-45 victory.
HEAD COACHES
Sam Houston State – Willie Fritz, 20-5 at Sam Houston State in two seasons (156-57-1 in 19 years)
North Dakota State – Craig Bohl, 74-31 at North Dakota State in nine seasons
SAM HOUSTON STATE PLAYOFF HISTORY
The Bearkats played in four bowl games between 1952 and 1958, including one appearance each in the Shrimp Bowl and the Christmas Bowl and two appearances in the Refrigerator Bowl. All three bowls are defunct. Sam Houston State tied for the 1964 NAIA championship with Concordia (Minn.) when the teams battled to a 7-7 deadlock. Since going to the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs, the Bearkats lost in the first round in 1986 and 1991, fell in the 2001 quarterfinals to Montana and lost a 2004 semifinal round game against Montana.
NORTH DAKOTA STATE PLAYOFF HISTORY
The Bison won eight Division II national championships (1965, 1968-69, 1983, 1985-86, 1988 and 1990), finished runner-up three times (1967, 1981 and 1984). This is the Bison’s second straight appearance in the Division I FCS round. North Dakota State lost 38-31 in last year’s quarterfinals to eventual champion Eastern Washington. North Dakota State has made 25 postseason appearances, and 17 of those have come in Division II.
SAM HOUSTON STATE ON OFFENSE
The Bearkats are ranked fourth in the nation in rushing with 267.43 yards per game, and they are also the nation’s top-scoring team at 39.14 points per game. Thanks to a quarterback rating of 159.48, Sam Houston is also fifth in the FCS in passer efficiency. The Bearkat running game consists of two legitimate threats in Tim Flanders (277 carries, 1,560 yards and 22 touchdowns) and Richard Sincere (120 carries, 965 yards, nine touchdowns). Quarterback Brian Bell has completed 131 of 212 passes for 20 touchdowns and just five interceptions. Bell has no primary receiver, as a combination of Flanders, Sincere and Torrance Williams have combined for the majority of scores.
NORTH DAKOTA STATE ON OFFENSE
The Bison’s main strength has to be their running game. Sam Ojuri and D.J. McNorton have been equally effective, with Ojuri running 177 times for 1,078 yards and 11 touchdowns while McNorton has 183 carries, 981 yards and 13 scores. Quarterback Brock Jensen throws the ball more than Bell does, accounting for 209 completions in 306 attempts, 13 touchdowns and three interceptions. Jensen averages 171.7 passing yards a game to Bell’s 150.3. North Dakota State has a 32.4 scoring average, about seven points less than Sam Houston State.
SAM HOUSTON STATE ON DEFENSE
The Bearkats are the nation’s top-ranked team in rushing defense (69.9 yards per game) and only three of the 14 opponents Sam Houston has played managed to get out of double-digit rushing totals. In fact, only New Mexico, Stony Brook and Montana had more than 300 yards total offense against Sam Houston State. The two players who should provide most of the defensive power for Sam Houston are Darnell Taylor (118 tackles, 81 solo stops, nine tackles for loss, one interception and one forced fumble) and Kenneth Jenkins (83 tackles, 58 solo stops, five tackles for loss, two interceptions, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries).
NORTH DAKOTA STATE ON DEFENSE
Where Sam Houston has allowed 14.8 points per game on average, North Dakota State’s defense has proven stingier yet, with 13.2 points per game given up. The Bison have also intercepted 19 passes. North Dakota State doesn’t have a dominant, triple-digit tackler like Taylor, but its top defensive players have plenty of spark. Chad Willson has 88 tackles, including 46 solo stops, eight tackles for loss, one interception, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. Preston Evans has 79 tackles, 24 of which were solo, and he has 4.5 tackles for loss, an interception and a forced fumble.
OUTLOOK
Both teams are potent in most areas, but the main area where Sam Houston dominates is rushing defense. North Dakota State has two top rushers in Ojuri and McNorton, and if the Bearkats shut both down this game could be over in a hurry. North Dakota State’s defense has given up fewer points per game, so Sam Houston’s weapons could be neutralized a bit. My projection is for a back-and-forth contest, with the Bearkats holding the trophy aloft at the end courtesy of a 27-24 victory.
