Make It Four Championships For North Dakota State

By Cheval John

North Dakota State and Illinois State did not face each other during the regular season.

The Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) national championship game in Frisco, Texas was a perfect place for the Missouri Valley Football Conference rivals.

The game lived up to the hype as the last two minutes was filled with drama.

In the end, North Dakota State escaped with a 29-27 victory to claim their fourth consecutive FCS national championship.

It seemed as if the Bison was going to dominate this contest as they extended their lead to 20-7 with 7:33 left in the third quarter.

The Red Birds had other ideas as they outscored the Bison 13-3 to cut the lead to 24-21 with 2:22 remaining in the matchup.

That was when the excitement began after Tre Roberson, who went 11 of 23 for 157 yards, broke free for a 58 yard touchdown run to make it 27-23 with 1:30 left.

The touchdown capped a 5 play, 80 yard drive in 44 seconds.

It was a matter of if the Red Birds could hold on to win their first football championship as the Bison had enough time to retake the lead.

North Dakota State’s quarterback, Carson Wentz started the final drive with two pass completions to R.J. Urzendowski for 32 yards and 13 yards.

After two incompletions, Wentz connected another pass with Urzendowski for 33 yards that brought them to the Red Birds’ 5 yard line.

On the next play, Wentz, who finished with 237 passing yards and a score, ran the football into the endzone for a go-ahead touchdown that made it 29-27 with 33 seconds left.

With the point extra blocked, Illinois State sensed an opportunity to win the game.

Roberson started the drive with a 14 yard pass completion for a first down.

After a penalty pushed them back for 5 yards, Roberson rushed for 9 yards with 13 seconds left in the game.

Then Roberson threw an interception to Esley Thornton to allow the Bison to seal their fourth championship.

“Right when that clock hit zero, I had so many emotions I couldn’t say anything,” Wentz said to ESPN.com. “I didn’t know whether to cry or to be happy. It was just unbelievable.”

Though the Bison is the first team in FCS history to win four consecutive national championships, they became the second team to pull off the feat at all levels.

The first team to win four consecutive national championships were Augustana, who won four consecutive national championships at the Division III level from 1983-86.

Video courtesy of North Dakota State Athletics