Dukes, Bison face off with FCS championship on line
FRISCO, Texas — The way James Madison coach Mike Houston sees it, North Dakota State’s dominance of the Football Championship Subdivision isn’t quite over — even though his Dukes ended the Bison’s fiveyear title run in the semifinals last season.
Houston speaks from experience with his team a win from an undefeated season. The final opponent in the pursuit of a second straight crown is North Dakota State (13-1) during a highnoon showdown today in the FCS final at Toyota Stadium.
“I don’t know that you’ll ever see that again,” Houston said. “It’s almost an absurd achievement. And the fact that they made it to the semifinals last year and they’re back in the finals this year, I mean really you’re talking about a seven-year run where there’s just complete dominance week in and week out.”
James Madison ended North Dakota State’s 22-game postseason winning streak in Fargo last season, then survived a 31-28 scare in the quarterfinals against Weber State this season. The Bison have cruised by an average margin of 36 points in these playoffs, perhaps with their eyes on a rematch.
“Not at first. I kind of put it behind me,” said Bison running back Bruce Anderson, who has taken the lead role with an injury to Lance Dunn. “But as we got closer, especially after we beat Sam Houston, I was looking forward to playing James Madison.”
It’s a rematch of experienced quarterbacks as well, with James Madison senior Bryan Schor trying to extend the second-longest FCS winning streak, currently at 26 games.
The longest FCS winning streak? Why, North Dakota State, of course — a 33-win run from 2012 to ’14 that included one undefeated season.
“To consistently come back here, now that we’ve done it two years now, is really hard,” said Schor, who threw for three touchdowns in last season’s win over the Bison. “And they’ve done it for, what, six now? It’s pretty incredible what they’ve done.”
Easton Stick is starting his first title game for North Dakota State as a junior but has plenty of postseason experience, including the 2015 season, when he won three playoff games before Carson Wentz returned from injury. Four months later, Wentz was taken by the Philadelphia Eagles as the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL draft.
Stick couldn’t beat James Madison with his arm when the Dukes slowed North Dakota State’s run-first offense last season. But he has 10 touchdown passes in three playoff games with three other touchdowns on the ground this season.
“I think to get to this stage you have to have a quarterback that’s a winner, that’s a playmaker, that the moment’s not too big for them,” Bison coach Chris Klieman said. “That’s no question — both quarterbacks in this game are like that.”