Seventh Heaven indeed...once again the Bison head to Frisco and take care of business. This time beating a very game Eastern Washington team 38-24. No it wasn't an instant classic or even an above average game, but it was still a solid Championship game that was a fitting end to a season that had always been NDSU v the Field. The field came up short in this one and while they may have closed the gap a little, there is a still a wide margin between NDSU and the rest of the FCS.
There will be a longer discussion about the Bison Dynasty (probably the best ever) but when you think of how sustained this run has been it's just incredible to think about. Take this postseason for an example...the Bison were down for less than 5 min in all four games and maybe with the exception on the craziness of the 3rd quarter in the championship game there was no real threat of someone actually taking control of a game. Here is the best stat that shows just how good the run of the Bison has been...here are the records of some of the other FCS powerhouses over the years. The Bison are 7-0 in championship games; the other schools with the most all-time appearances are Georgia Southern at 6-2, Youngstown State 4-3, Montana 2-5 and Marshall 2-4. Only other team with more than one championship appearance without a loss...App St at 3-0.
It is one of the most dominant runs ever...onto the recap
No. 1 North Dakota State 38 - No. 3 Eastern Washington 24
There will be a longer discussion about the Bison Dynasty (probably the best ever) but when you think of how sustained this run has been it's just incredible to think about. Take this postseason for an example...the Bison were down for less than 5 min in all four games and maybe with the exception on the craziness of the 3rd quarter in the championship game there was no real threat of someone actually taking control of a game. Here is the best stat that shows just how good the run of the Bison has been...here are the records of some of the other FCS powerhouses over the years. The Bison are 7-0 in championship games; the other schools with the most all-time appearances are Georgia Southern at 6-2, Youngstown State 4-3, Montana 2-5 and Marshall 2-4. Only other team with more than one championship appearance without a loss...App St at 3-0.
It is one of the most dominant runs ever...onto the recap
No. 1 North Dakota State 38 - No. 3 Eastern Washington 24
- One of the keys I talked about before the game was how would the Bison handle the Eagle spread offense and in particular Eric Barriere. Well, Barriere had it rough, the running game outside of the 75 yard Sam McPherson run was never really a huge factor which limited the playmaking ability of Barriere as he never looked comfortable throwing the ball. He also had two terrible INTs and did not throw a touchdown. Yes Eastern Washington did get over 350 total yards of offense but take away the run and a couple of big pass plays and that number shrinks to less than 250
- It was a super crazy third quarter that could have made the game a lot tighter if a few more plays went EWU's way. Coming out of the half, with the ball and momentum, Eastern had a chance to make things so much more interesting but the second of the two Barriere picks started a fun exchange of haymakers. In the first 13 plays of the second half the game featured three turnovers, three touchdowns, the longest passing play of the year for the Bison and took up less than five minutes of the clock. The exchange ended with the Bison landing the last haymaker and establishing a two-touchdown lead that would end up being the final margin.
- Easton Stick is just an incredible quarterback. What he accomplished over his career is amazing. With the win, he became the all-time winningest QB in FCS history picking up his 49 win and passing former Bison QB Brock Jensen (just another sign of how damn good the program has been this decade). And man did he get his last win in style...running for 121 yards and three TDs while tossing another 198 and his fourth TD. And could you have a more signature moment with him galloping those 46 yards on the last third down that sealed the game? Just a perfect ending to his career (he was MOP of the game as well) and the other 23 seniors
- Something I didn't talk about during the preview but it is worth noting now...time of possession and how NDSU absolutely owned it. 40 minutes and 5 seconds, that is how long the Bison had the ball. They also went and incredible 11 for 17 on 3rd down. Whether or not you score, that will wear down the best of defenses and the Eagles were no exception. The Bison ran the ball 54 times for 290 yards and even though the Eagles D made plays, they didn't make them when they counted
So that's it...another season down. It was a weird and crazy season, although in the end we got what we kinda expected at the beginning with the Bison winning the title. Yea we thought the field had a better chance but the king rose above them all again. But as we enter the offseason, there is a lot of change with a lot of programs. Throughout the next few weeks, I will be talking about them here and finally getting a podcast going cause it's just easier to talk about some of the stuff instead of writing. 2018 has been fun but it has officially ended...kinda makes me sad, I had fun talking about it. But like I said, I will be recapping some of the top stories and maybe handing out some "awards" and also looking at the ever-changing landscape that is FCS football
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