James Madison vs. North Dakota State, the perfect FCS Championship, is now official
This is going to be fun.
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The 2017 season’s FCS playoff national championship game is set. It’s No. 1 James Madison against No. 2 North Dakota State, Jan. 6 in Frisco, Texas (12 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
JMU snagged playoff wins over Stony Brook and Weber State (which nearly pulled off a stunning upset) and then obliterated South Dakota State. The Bison made it to Frisco by destroying San Diego, Wofford, and Sam Houston State.
Surprises happen in these playoffs, so this matchup wasn’t inevitable. But it was always the best possible way the FCS season could end. It’s real now.
Four quick reasons this is a dream matchup:
1. For starters, they’re the two best teams.
JMU is 14-0 and has been ranked No. 1 from wire to wire.
NDSU was No. 2 in the preseason polls. The 13-1 Bison settled as the No. 2 seed after a regular season whose only blemish was a loss to rival South Dakota State.
JMU (No. 26) is the highest-rated FCS team in the version of Jeff Sagarin’s ranking of all Division I teams that just factors in results from the 2017 season (so, without preseason stuff factored in). NDSU is next at No. 29.
Both would beat the majority of FBS teams. Every FBS team that schedules NDSU loses, while JMU crushed the AAC’s ECU in Week 1.
2. JMU’s the defending champion.
And 28-1 over the last two seasons.
National championship games are more fun, in my opinion, when someone’s defending a title. It makes for a David-versus-Goliath feeling, even though the David in this case is always an elite team, because this is for the national title.
3. But NDSU is the dynasty of this era.
The Bison won five national titles in a row between 2011 and 2015. The first three were under coach Craig Bohl, and the two most recent were under current head coach Chris Klieman. Five titles in a row might never happen again in Division I football.
4. And these teams have history.
JMU beat NDSU 27-17 in a national semifinal last year in Fargo. That was the death knell to the Bison’s five-time title defense. The Dukes went on to beat Youngstown State for the title.
The Dukes’ head coach, Mike Houston, explained the NDSU win to SB Nation:
He recalled his team’s 5:15 a.m. spring practices, on frost-covered turf in Northern Virginia, and a specific conversation the Dukes had a half-year before the season even started.
“We talked about, you know, ‘We are going to build a team that has a strong, physical running game, that plays good defense, that plays great in the cold weather, and we’re gonna build a team that’s built to beat a team like North Dakota State,” Houston said. “Because teams that play great defense, run the ball, thrive in cold water, unified teams, those kind of teams are the ones that win playoff games and win late in the year.' Our philosophy was, ‘We’re gonna build a team like that.’ By the time we made it to [the semifinal], we had already become that team.”
NDSU plays in a dome, but the point stands. Quarterback Bryan Schor threw for three touchdowns and 242 yards. The Dukes ran for 5 yards per carry. The Bison tied for their lowest scoring output of the year at 17 points.
“I think if you ask any of our kids before winning that game, not a one of them would have flinched,” Houston said. “Every kid and coach believed we were gonna go in there and win.”
The Bison now have their revenge shot. Buckle up.
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