FCS Playoffs 2011, North Dakota State Vs. Georgia Southern: Bison To Meet Bearkats

North Dakota State will play Sam Houston State in the FCS Championship Game after beating Georgia Southern 35-7 in their FCS Playoffs Semifinal match-up on Saturday.

The Bison rolled by clamping down on Georgia State’s normally super-productive running game — Eagles averaged more than 330 rushing yards per game this season, but managed just 186 yards on 48 carries on Saturday — and scoring the game’s final 28 points after a Georgia Southern touchdown in the second quarter tied up the affair at 7-7.

The 2011 FCS Championship Game, set for 1 p.m. ET on Jan. 7, 2012 in Frisco, Texas, will match unbeaten Sam Houston State against North Dakota State. The Bison rocked Georgia Southern, 35-7, in the rowdy Fargodome on Saturday, and SHSU advanced by holding off a Montana comeback Friday night, winning 31-28.

It’s the FCS title game’s second year in a row at Pizza Hut Park after a long run in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Last year, Eastern Washington defeated Delaware, 20-19.

Jensen is known more as a game-manager for NDSU, but his arm has made strides in the semifinals game by completing 10 of his 13 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown. His legs did the work on his second touchdown, however, as Jensen broke out a 55-yard run to increase his rushing yardage to 86 yards on just five carries.

The NDSU defense deserves quite a bit of credit, too, as they’ve caused Jaybo Shaw and the Georgia Southern offense to just seven points. Georgia Southern has converted on just three of 11 third-down conversions and and turned the ball over twice.

Holloway has two touchdown, one rushing and one receiving, and North Dakota State leads Georgia Southern, 14-7, at halftime. Holloway, a senior wide receiver, caught his touchdown pass in the first quarter, and ran a touchdown in from 17 yards out in the second period.

Georgia Southern has tried to keep pace with its running game, but the Eagles aren’t doing much on a per-play basis. Georgia Southern has 115 yards on the ground — 64 of those yards and a rushing touchdown have come from Dominique Swope — but they have required 29 carries to get that yardage.

The NDSU Bison are out to a good start in their quest to make the FCS championship game against Sam Houston State. North Dakota State took advantage of its home field advantage at the Fargo Dome, scoring in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead over Georgia Southern.

The Bison offense wasn’t spectacular as they were forced to punt on their first two drives, but the North Dakota State defense allowed its offense to prove that the third time is the charm. Senior linebacker Chad Wilson recovered a fumble by way of a busted play in the Georgia Southern backfield and NDSU’s offense was able to capitalize on the turnover rather quickly.

After battling through the FCS playoff bracket, Sam Houston State has three weeks to rest and get healthy before taking the field one last time this season. The Bearkats remained perfect on the year with a 31-28 win over Montana on Friday night in the FCS semifinals, and will face the winner of Saturday’s matchup between Georgia Southern and North Dakota State.

The FCS Championship is a ways off, though. It will be played at a neutral site, in Frisco, Texas, on Jan. 7, giving both teams three weeks to prepare. The championship game is a bit of a curveball, as the rest of the playoff rounds were played one week after another, all the way through the semifinals.

A berth in the FCS title game is on the line Saturday when the North Dakota State Bison and Georgia Southern Eagles meet in the semis.

Both teams spent time as the top-ranked team in the nation, and since the loss that knocked them out of the top spot, neither has lost to FCS competition. Last week, Georgia Southern dominated time of possession in defeating Maine, 35-23. North Dakota State posted its first shutout as an FCS program, knocking out Patriot League champion Lehigh, 24-0.