Sam Houston State vs. North Dakota State live stream: Time, TV schedule, and how to watch FCS playoffs online

After five national titles, North Dakota State is FCS royalty. Friday, Sam Houston State is coming at the king — and it best not miss. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ESPN2 (live stream).

The Bison had their streak of five straight NCAA championships snapped last winter when eventual champion James Madison ousted them from college football’s greatest tournament in a 27-17 semifinal defeat. NDSU hasn’t let one stumble deter one of college football’s greatest dynasties, however. The No. 2 seeded Bison have beaten their opponents by a combined score of 80-13 leading up to Saturday’s semifinal game against the Bearkats.

North Dakota State took $350,000 from Iowa State and won. Demolished them, really, 34-14. They outgained them 495-253. This was not a close football game, by any means.

The year before they took $350,000 from Kansas State and beat them, running for 215 yards in a 24-21 win. Before that, it was Minnesota, and before that, Kansas. [Update: They got $500,000 to beat Iowa,bringing their total for these wins to over $2 million.]

“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.”

Sam Houston State is the only team in the country to score more points per game this season than NDSU, hanging nearly 46 points per game on its opponents. Quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe has thrown for more than 4,700 yards and tossed 44 touchdowns through 13 games, giving the Bison defense plenty to worry about. Saturday’s test will be the stiffest North Dakota State has faced all season.

But getting there and following through are two different things. San Diego brought a top-10 offense to Fargo two weeks ago. It left after scoring three points.

The Bison have torn through their competition in the 2017 bracket, dispatching San Diego and Wofford with prejudice in a pair of routs. The Bearkats will put up more of a fight, but there’s too much going in NDSU’s favor to pick against them.