Bison Make College Football History With 5th Straight FCS Championship

FRISCO, Texas - North Dakota State scored on its first four possessions and rolled to a 37-10 victory over No. 1 seed Jacksonville State in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game before a record crowd of 21,836 at Toyota Stadium on Saturday, Jan. 9.

No. 3-seeded North Dakota State finished its season 13-2 overall and became the first team in college football history to win five straight national championships.  It was the 13th national title in school history.

Senior Carson Wentz returned as the starting quarterback for NDSU after missing more than two months with a wrist injury, and he finished 16-of-29 passing for 197 yards, as well as adding 79 rushing yards on nine carries. He accounted for three touchdowns -- two rushing and one passing.

Cam Pedersen's 29-yard field goal capped a 15-play, 63-yard drive to open the game, and the Bison held the ball for more than 20 minutes in the first half en route to a 24-point halftime lead.

Andrew Bonnet caught an eight-yard touchdown pass from Wentz to make it 10-0, Wentz scored on an 11-yard run, and King Frazier scored from the 1 to put the Bison ahead 24-0 midway through the second quarter.

Jacksonville State (13-2) put 10 points on the scoreboard in the third quarter, but NDSU responded with two more Pedersen field goals and another rushing TD by Wentz to keep the game out of reach.

The Gamecocks averaged 529 yards of offense per game and 625 yards per game in the playoffs, but the Bison defense limited JSU to 204 yards on Saturday. Junior linebacker Nick DeLuca racked up nine tackles, an interception and a forced fumble for NDSU. Senior cornerback Jordan Champion registered his first career interception in the fourth quarter.

Frazier carried 22 times for 69 yards. Sophomore RJ Urzendowski had 56 yards on five catches, and redshirt freshman Darrius Shepherd made four receptions for 71 yards.

NDSU recorded 40:51 in time of possession, a category in which it led the nation for the season.