Archive | January 2016

North Dakota State Is The Team Of This Decade

By Cheval John

The Bison won their fifth consecutive NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) National Championship after defeating Jacksonville State 37-10 in Frisco, Texas.

The five consecutive national championships won by the Bison is an NCAA record in football at any level.

It seemed as if they were not supposed to win anymore after their third national championship when Craig Bohl had left for Wyoming in 2014 and Brock Jensen had graduated.

But somehow, some way, North Dakota State have kept the winning streak going under coach Chris Kleiman.

The journey for North Dakota State was tougher this year than their previous championship runs.

The Bison lost to Montana in the opening matchup of the 2015 season.

Then their senior quarterback, Carson Weinctz went down with a wrist injury on October 17th during their 24-21 loss to South Dakota at the FargoDome.

Video courtesy of North Dakota State Athletics

That injury to Weinctz brought further doubt to the Bison faithful that they were not going to return to Frisco.

They even thought that they would have gotten their refund because they buy their championship tickets to the National Championship matchup in August.

However, the Bison football team believed that they were going to turn their season around because they have won before when nobody thought that they would win.

Freshman quarterback Easton Stick stepped up and led the Bison to an 8-game winning streak that includes securing their fifth consecutive conference championship and also keeping their playoff winning streak of 16 matchups in the Fargo Dome alive and well.

However for the championship matchup against Jacksonville State, the coaching staff decided to let Weinctz start after he was cleared to play football by the doctors.

And Mr. Weinctz went 16 of 29 for 197 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 79 yards and two scores on 9 carries.

The Bison’s mindset of believing that they can win despite the obstacles that they face is a testament to what the residents of North Dakota love about their team.

Did you know that the Bison is 8-3 against teams from the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) since they joined the Division I level?

Do you also know in those 8 wins against FBS teams, five of those wins are consecutive against the Big Ten and Big 12 combined?

The Bison football team also have a strong fan base in Fargo, North Dakota and probably in all of college football.

The Bison faithful travel well whenever the football team is on the road

That is evident whenever the Bison are playing in the championship matchup in Frisco.

North Dakota does not have any professional sports teams.

So the only sports teams that come close to professional is the collegiate sports teams from the different universities that are in the state.

And the fact that North Dakota State has a rich history of winning national championships when they were in Division II before transitioning to Division I tells a story of how they have captured the hearts of the residents of North Dakota.

Video courtesy of North Dakota State Athletics

The residents of North Dakota understands that hard work and dedication is what gets them to be successful in life for the better.

North Dakota State exemplifies the work ethic that the residents of North Dakota share that makes them proud for the better.

The Bison also showcases the importance of having a positive mindset and working hard to achieve your dreams for the better.

When a person have the positive mindset and the work ethic to succeed in their respective careers for the better, they will eventually have the same success like North Dakota State.