Well, there you have it folks. Five titles in a row. Amazing. In some wonderful place, John Wooden is nodding in approval.
North Dakota State just looked like a machine today, and Jacksonville State made uncharacteristic mistakes.
Folks …. North Dakota State came into this game leading the nation in time of possession with a crushing 36 minutes per game. Today the Bison had almost 41 minutes of possession.
That's mind boggling.
Jacksonville State had one of the most explosive offenses in the country coming in, but explosive power doesn't amount to a hill of beans when you don't even get the time to load the gun.
This game boiled down this these three things:
1) Carson Wentz putting on pads. Carson Wentz practicing all three weeks. The announcement on Friday that Carson Wentz would start. And of course, Carson Wentz accounting for 276 yards and 3 TDs while making NFL scouts who made the trip giddy. Even if he hadn't played well, Wentz would have provided an emotional lift for the Bison. But he DID play well. And because of that, JSU really never had a prayer … and Big Ten coaches everywhere are wondering why they didn't recruit this 'kid' from Bismarck, North Dakota. (EDITOR'S NOTE: I just typed the word 'Wentz' like 27 times … fitting).
2) I'm going to sound like a run-of-the-mill 8th string TV commentator here, but if you want to have a chance against NDSU, you can't turn the ball over 4 times. It goes without saying, right?
3) Bottom line? NDSU is just used to doing this … and that accounts for a lot. The seniors don't know any better. They don't know any different. And as a result we have a magical thing happening here that Red Auerbach would respect.
So will this reach a 6, 7 or maybe even 8-year title run level? Well, consider this–the "backup" quarterback, Easton Stick, went 8-0 this year. He's a freshman, folks. The leading tackler, Nick DeLuca, is a junior. The best sack man, all-american Greg Menard, is a sophomore. That explosive kickoff returner/running back from Florida, Bruce Anderson? Freshman. Want me to keep going?
Yep, if you hate the colors gold and green (who truly hates gold though? really?), the FCS might not be the place for you in 2016. Try tiddly winks.
Lastly, all I know is … I wouldn't want to be Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa Hawkeyes in 8 months on Sept. 17. The Bison haven't just won five straight FCS national titles, they've also won five straight games against FBS opponents.
And after Iowa, it'll be six.
