North Dakota State holds off James Madison to claim third straight FCS national title, 28-20
FRISCO, Texas — North Dakota State loves physical football, it’s the program’s signature brand.
But the Bison don’t mind sprinkling in some trickery, too.
On Saturday, in the FCS national championship game against James Madison, NDSU mixed both together to pull away from the Dukes.
A fake reverse, a fake field goal, the explosive and physical running of quarterback Trey Lance. It was the winning formula in the Bison’s 28-20 victory over JMU.
The victory marked NDSU’s third straight national title, and its eighth in the last nine years. The Bison are 8-0 in FCS title games, and the eight titles is a record.
Lance, who on Friday night won the Walter Payton Award as the top offensive player in the country at the FCS level, ran 30 times for 166 yards and a touchdown.
On the Bison’s second offensive play of the game, JMU’s Ron’Dell Carter and D’Angelo Amos (Meadowbrook) combined to sack Lance. But, the play after that, the 6-3, 221-pound Lance broke loose for a 32-yard gain.
On NDSU’s second drive, on a second-and-9, it appeared that JMU (14-2) had Lance contained. But he kept pushing, and surrounded by a pile, picked up 14 yards and a first down. That drive ended with the fake reverse.
With the Bison (16-0) on the JMU 38, Lance handed the ball to Phoenix Sproles, who then appeared to hand it off again, to Christian Watson, who was racing in the opposite director. But Sproles had held on to the ball, and he scampered along the sideline and into the end zone to give NDSU a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter.
Late in the second quarter, Lantz found a wide-open Ben Ellefson in the end zone for what would've been an 18-yard touchdown reception. But the play was called back after an ineligible receiver downfield penalty.
Next, NDSU brought its field goal unit out. But it ran the fake instead. Ty Hendricks carried the ball for a 20-yard score, and the Bison took a 21-10 lead.
JMU, meanwhile, raced to a 7-0 lead with an effective first drive. Quarterback Ben DiNucci went 5 of 5 for 41 yards, and running back Percy Agyei-Obese rushed for 32 yards. DiNucci hit Riley Stapleton for a 5-yard touchdown.
But it was tougher sledding from there, as JMU struggled to finish. Both of their second-quarter drives stalled out in NDSU territory. Ethan Ratke (Atlee) added a 26-yard field goal to end one of the drives, and missed a 39-yard attempt on the other.
In the third quarter, JMU’s defense began to clamp down, keeping Lance at bay. The Dukes held the Bison to just 36 yards of offense and forced the first two Bison punts of the game.
At the end of the third quarter, a reverse was snuffed out by John Daka for a loss of 12, creating a third-and-23 from the JMU 44.
On the very first play of the fourth quarter, the speedy Lance broke free and scooted to the end zone for a 44-yard score to push the Bison’s lead to 28-13.
Later, the physical running of 5-11, 228-pound running back Latrele Palmer helped the Dukes push deep into NDSU terrority. DiNucci kept it himself for a 6-yard gain to the NDSU 5, before he hit Stapleton on a screen pass for a touchdown, which made it 28-20 with 6:55 left.
NDSU, with the ball back reached the JMU 37, and went for it on a fourth-and-2. But Carter and John Daka stopped him to earn the Dukes the ball back.
On the ensuing drive, the Dukes reached as far as the NDSU 2, with the help of a 22-yard reception by Stapleton. But, on first-and-goal from the 3, DiNucci was picked off by Hendricks at the goal line to seal it.
Note the size of the JMU FB at 5-11,228.
