When Eastern Washington and North Dakota State meet in the FCS national title game on Jan. 5, it'll almost be like things have come full circle this decade.
The Eagles started out the 2010s by winning the national championship. En route to that title was a 38-31 overtime win against NDSU in the quarterfinals on Dec. 11, 2010.
That's also the date a lot of people in and around the Bison football program point to as the start of the Bison's dynasty.
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EWU finished that season 13-2 and earned the program's first national championship. Meanwhile, the Bison players and coaches, coming off a 3-8 season in 2009, realized their program wasn't too far from being a top team in the FCS.
NDSU went on to win the next five national titles from 2011-2015 and six of the last seven. The Bison now look to set the FCS record with seven titles against an EWU program that, in a way, kick-started this run. This is the first time since that 2010 game these teams have met in the playoffs.
With three weeks before the game is kicked off, trash talk between the fan bases is sure to happen. One of the arguments will be "was it a fumble or not a fumble?"
What does that mean exactly?
In overtime of the 2010 quarterfinal game, the Eagles scored on their first play to take a 38-31 lead. Needing a score, NDSU quarterback Brock Jensen kept the ball himself on the goal line, but the ball came loose as he dove toward the end zone. After a long review, it was confirmed a fumble with EWU recovering to win the game.
It's a call Bison fans still disagree with.
EWU and NDSU have met twice in the regular since this game. The Bison went 2-0 with a 50-44 overtime win in 2016 and a 40-13 win last year. You can bet "#NotAFumble" signs were in the crowd.
This is the first national title game appearance for the Eagles since winning it all in 2010. The Bison have been there every year but one since suffering that Dec. 11, 2010 loss.
There have only been three different FCS national champions in the 2010s. Two of them meet in January. That's a long ways away, so don't be surprised to see arguments online about a play that happened eight years ago.
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