The North Dakota State Bison squared off against James Madison in the FCS Championship and won in an absolute thriller going down to the final minute.
[divider]COMPARE: Any Two FCS Players | Any Two FCS Teams[divider]
| NDSU Wins Sixth Title in Seven Years | ||
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NORTH DAKOTA STATE 17JAMES MADISON 13 |
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MCLAUGHLIN: Best FCS Title Game In 40 Years
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THE STANDOUTS
NDSU
Jabril Cox, LB — 3 tackles, .5 sacks, .5 TFLs
Bruce Anderson, RB — 18 carries, 63 yards, 1 TD
Derrek Tuszka, DE — 6 solo tackles, 2 sacks
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THE TURNING POINT
JMU looked to have seized the momentum after Easton Stick was sacked and Gus Little scooped up the fumbled ball in the second quarter. With the ball in NDSU's territory and down 7-3, the Dukes couldn't capitalize.
Bryan Schor was pressured and his pass hit defensive tackle Nate Tanguay, who secured the ball against his leg for the interception. Five plays later, on a third-and-17, Stick found wide receiver Darrius Shepherd wide open on a 50-yard touchdown and the Bison went up 14-3 just like that. That was enough to hold on for the win.
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THE SKINNY
What a ballgame. Turnovers. Key drops. A field goal block. A fake punt. A fourth-down heave into the endzone that decided the game. All that happened in the fourth quarter. The Bison and Dukes put on a classic. JMU appeared to have most of the momentum during the third quarter. But the Bison defense got big stop after big stop. Mistakes were made on both sides.
Neither team was perfect or played their strongest game. But for a national championship between two programs so evenly matched and in an FCS tier by themselves, this was exactly the type of game we all expected.
