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.
Bearkats Falls Short In Quest For First FCS Title
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
FRISCO – Penalties and turnovers by Sam Houston State played a big role as North Dakota State earned their second consecutive NCAA Division I Football Championship with a 39-13 victory over the Bearkats at FC Dallas Stadium Saturday.
The Bixon coverted the miscues in to 441 total yards as game “most valuable player” quarterback Brock Jenson totaled 159 yards total offense including 115 yards rushing and three rushing TDs.
Running back Sam Ojuri rushed 14 times for 92 yards and two more scores.
No penalty hurt more than a holding call that wiped out an apparent 37-yard third quarter run into the end zone by Timothy Flanders. The play would have given the Kats a 17-10 lead early in the third quarter.
On the next play Carlton Littlejohn intercepted a pass at the 40-yard line.
The turnover set up a 10-play 60-yard drive as Jenson scored from the one to put North Dakota State up 17-10 with 8:30 left in the period.
The Bison rolled to 29 second half points.
Sam Houston ended the day with seven penalties for 70 yards including three that gave the Bison first downs.
North Dakota State picked off four Sam Houston passes. Three of the turnovers set up scores.
The loss in the Bearkats’ second consecutive NCAA football finals appearance ended Sam Houston’s season with an 11-4 mark.
The No. 1 seed in the 2012 playoffs, North Dakota finished with a 14-1 record. With the win, the Bison join Georgia Southern (1985 & 86 and 1989 & 90), Youngstown State (1993 & 94) and Appalachian State (2005, 06 & 07) to repeat as FCS national champions.
Bearkat quarterback Brian Bell completed 19 of 33 passes for 255 yards and a touchdown.
Running back Timothy Flanders led SHSU on the ground with 18 carries for 46 yards.
Linebacker Darius Taylor led the Kat defense with 11 tackles including five solo stops.
In a first quarter dominated by the defenses, both teams had field goal opportunities.
Sam Houston’s Miguel Antonio was wide right on a 32-yard attempt, then the Bison’s Adam Keller was successful on a 22-yard kick to North Dakota State up 3-0.
The score with 3:49 left in the first period was set up by a 57-yard run by John Crockett to the SHSU 23.
Antonio nailed his second field goal attempt just 42 seconds into the second quarter to tie the contest 3-3.
A 26-yard Bell pass to Sincere to the Bison 49 was the big play on the 11-play, 55-yard scoring drive.
Marcus Williams 17-yard interception return set up a five-play, 72-yard touchdown drive to put North Dakota State up 10-3 with 3:09 to play before halftime.
Three big plays sparked the drive as Jenson rushed 21 yards to the Bearkat 44, Ryan Smith ran 24 to the SHSU 20 and Jenson scored from the 20.
On Jenson’s run into Sam Houston territory, the Kats lost their leading tackler, Darnell Taylor to a leg injury.
Bell’s arm powered the Bearkats to a quick nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive.
The junior quarterback completed six passes for 60 yards on the two minute and 36 second series.
K. J. Williams caught the final pass for a one-yard score with 33 ticks remaining in the period.
Sincere’s 30-yard diving reception at the one was the key play on the scoring march.
After Adam Keller was short on a 50-yard field goal on the half’s final play to leave the score tied 10-10 at intermission.
Driving after Jenson’s go-ahead touchdown in the third period, a Bell fourth down pass at the North Dakota 43-yard line fell incomplete,and the Bison drove 65 yards in six plays for another score.
Sam Ojuri scored from the one and a two-point conversion pass was successful as NDSU went up 25-10.
The Kat offense responded with an 11-play, 50 yard drive for a 32-yard Antonio field goal as SHSU cut the Bison margin to 25-13 with 13:20 to play in the fourth quarter.
Jenson added another one-yard touchdown after a six-play 65-yard drive as North Dakota State extended its lead with 32-13 with 10:13 to play.
Ojuri scored on an 11-yard score with six minutes left.
Bearkats Grounded The Eagles To Make A Return To FCS Title Game
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Cheney, Wash. – For the second year in a row, Sam Houston State and North Dakota State will meet in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game in Frisco, Texas, thanks to a 45-42 Bearkat victory over No. 2 seed Eastern Washington at Roos Field Saturday.
Sam Houston led 35-0 at halftime, but quarterback Vernon Adams engineered an Eagle comeback as the Bearkats had to run out the clock on their final possession to earn a win by the margin of Miquel Antonio’s 42-yard field goal.
Eastern Washington drove to the Sam Houston 15-yard line but was forced to settle for a field goal attempt.
Jimmy Pavel missed from 32 yards just 39 seconds into the second period.
Three plays later, on a third-and-two, Bell rolled left, kept on the quarterback option and dashed downed the left sideline for a 72-yard touchdown with 12:56 to play in the half.
The run was Bell’s longest as a Bearkat and the longest TD run for Sam Houston this season. His previously long was a 54-yard score in the 2011 NCAA quarterfinals against Montana State.
Six minutes later Keshawn Hill took a pitch from Sincere around left end and dashed 15 yards into the end zone to put the Kats up 28-0 with 6:44 before intermission.
The drive covered 48 yards in eight plays.
Shaw broke up a pass attempt on fourth down to give the ball to the Kats at the EWU 45.
The Kats needed only three plays to score again, this time on a six-yard run by Sincere with 3:48 remaining in the second quarter.
Flanders’ 39-yard run to the six on the second play of the drive set up the score.
Sam Houston went into the locker room with a 35-0 lead.
A different East Washington team came out in the third quarter.
First, Vernon Adams hit Greg Herd for a 31-yard touchdown to complete a seven play 79-yard drive.
Then Adams found Brandon Kaufman for a 22-yard score ending a six-play, 55-yard scoring march.
A successful onsides kick set up a third TD pass by Adams, this time for 43 yards to Aston Clark to make the score 35-21 with 1:05 in the period.
Kaufman was the target for a 43-yard score with 13:08 to go in the fourth and, in just 15 minutes, EWU had cut the lead to 35-28 with 9:48 to play.
Finally, the Bearkat offense got its mojo back, taking two minutes and 19 seconds to go 86 yards in five plays for a four-yard scoring pass from Bell to Shane Young to put them with a two touchdown lead at 42-28.
A 49-yard run by Flanders to the EWU three-yard line was the key play in the drive.
Adams picked up where he had left off, finding Kaufman for a 60-yard gain to the SHSU seven, then two plays later hitting Nicholas Edwards for a four-yard touchdown.
The Eagles were back within a touchdown 42-35 with 9:48 to play.
Miguel Antonio increased the Bearkats’ margin to 45-35 with a 42-yard field goal with 5:33 remaining.
Sam Houston drove 36 yards in eight plays.
Adams again struck, hitting Kaufman for a 33-yard touchdown as the margin now was 45-42 with 3:04 to play.
But the Bearkats stood their ground and made the plays when it was needed with Flanders’ key first down conversion run on 3 and 3 to ice the game.
They will now look to finish what they started as they face the No. 1 ranked and defending national champion NDSU Bison on Saturday, Jan. 5, at 12 noon at FC Dallas Stadium.
SHSU Bearkats Remains At No.3 In Both Polls
by Cheval D. John
After the Bearkat football team clinching a share of the Southland Conference (SLC) title with a 52-17 beat down of Northwestern State Demons in Natchitoches last Saturday, they remain at No.3 in both the FCS Sports Network Polls and the NCAA Coaches Polls this week.
The Bearkats completed their conference schedule with a 6-1 record.
Central Arkansas clinched the SLC title the week before with a 35-14 win over the Demons at Estes Stadium in Conway, Arkansas and also finished conference play with a 6-1 record.
The Bears received the automatic bid into the NCAA FCS playoffs due to their head-to-head win over the Bearkats earlier in the season.
This marks the 22nd week that the Bearkats have been nationally ranked in the top 25 and the 19th time they have been in the top 10.
Both North Dakota State and Montana State remains at No.1 and No.2 respectively, after both teams won their matchups last week.
The Bearkats will finish their season in a non-conference matchup with Football Bowl Series (FBS) opponent Texas A&M on Saturday at Kyle Field in College Station.
The Aggies are coming off a huge 28-24 upset win over the previous No.1 University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa this past weekend.
To see the FCS rankings, click here.
NDSU’s Win Against Iowa Is No Upset
By Cheval John
Teams from the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) who scheduled teams from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) 95% of the time would get an easy win.
It would give them an opportunity to “practice” their football schemes in order to prepare for tougher matchups against competion in their respective conference.
Iowa thought they were going to get an easy win when they scheduled North Dakota State.
Even the analyst of ESPN gave NDSU a 9% chance of winning against Iowa.
Unfortunately for the Hawkeyes, they lost to the Bison 23-21 in a walk-off field goal by Cam Pederson.
Maybe Iowa should have listened to Allie Davison.
I am not surprised that many are declaring this win by the Bison (3-0) an upset.
To be fair, it could be called an upset because football teams in the FBS has 85 athletic scholarships while teams in the FCS only has 63 athletic scholarships.
The win by North Dakota State should not be viewed as an upset because they are 9-3 against FBS teams.
They have the belief that they can beat anybody whether it is an FCS or an FBS team because they know their strength of running the football will wear them out.-
That is why it is no accident that they have won five consecutive FCS National Championships and could possibly win their 6th championship next year.
Small businesses must have the mentality that they can beat the larger corporations in the same manner that North Dakota State defeats FBS colleges.
Unfortunately, most small businesses do not have the winning attitude because they believe that they don’t have the marketing budget, the staff or the infrastructure to cdmpete against larger businesses.
If North Dakota State had went into the matchups with the mindset that they can’t win against the FBS college teams, then they would have wind up losing those football matchups.
Instead, the Bison believed in their strong work ethic and their strength of running the football and knew that they could defeat anyone.
Small businesses must understand that their strengths in building a loyal following on social media, putting out uplifting and quality content through their blogs, podcasts, live video streams and free reports can help them to stand out from their competition.
Most large businesses would not even consider putting out content about their industry because they believe they might be put out of business if their competitors find out their secrets that have made them successful.
When you have the mentality that you can succeed in your business with less resources, you will see the positive outcomes of your business.
And the masses will wonder how did you outlast the larger businesses who had the larger marketing budget to succeed.
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