North Dakota State’s remarkable run of five consecutive FCS national championships is over. The Bison lost at home on Friday against James Madison, 27-17, in a national semifinal. They came back from a 17-0 first-half deficit, but the Dukes counterpunched in the fourth quarter to secure the win.
James Madison stuns NDSU and ends Bison’s run of 5 straight FCS national titles
The Dukes did what had come to seem impossible. Now they’re in the national championship game.
James Madison has now reached the national title game in Mike Houston’s first season running the program. The Dukes will play either Eastern Washington or Youngstown State in that final, pending the result of a semifinal on Saturday (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU). The national title game is Jan. 7 in Frisco, Texas.
The Dukes appeared to shock North Dakota State out of the gates. It took them a little more than 22 minutes of clock time to get out to their 17-0 lead, and they dominated the first half in comprehensive fashion.
NDSU got itself back in the game, though, with a Chase Morlock touchdown run to make it 17-7 before halftime, and a Cam Pedersen 45-yard field goal after the break made it 17-10. The Bison kept getting stops, and a King Frazier 16-yard scoring run brought the game back to a tie with 5:53 left in the third quarter. The chances of NDSU getting straight-up run out of the Fargodome were always low, after all.
JMU could’ve wilted pretty easily, after all that. NDSU rarely loses anywhere. It never loses in the playoffs, and it had a raucous home crowd on its side. But the Dukes didn’t stop, instead scoring the next 10 points to reassert themselves on the road.
JMU kicker Tyler Gray hit a career-long 45-yard field goal with just under 12 minutes left, putting the Dukes ahead for good. A Bryan Schor 25-yard touchdown pass to John Miller was plenty of insurance. The Dukes finally closed the deal, and they’re one step away from winning every last marble.
Youngstown State is the playoffs’ Cinderella and the only non-seeded team in a semifinal round that otherwise includes Nos. 1, 2, and 3. We’ll see what the Penguins can do. But semifinal weekend already belongs to James Madison.
The updated FCS playoff bracket looks like this:
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