FCS Championship Game: An Unforgettable Bison Memory
By Kyle Roth
Columnist
College Sports Journal
FRISCO, TX. — Almost four years ago, a younger, more uncertain version of myself was just a wide-eyed freshman on a charter bus with the Gold Star Pep Band on our way to Minneapolis, MN, traveling to play at the NCAA Basketball Championship Tournament's first-round match up between the third-seeded Kansas Jayhawks and the little ol' North Dakota State Bison.
That game ended in a 10-point heartbreaker to the defending national champs.
After the initial disappointment faded, I thought fondly of that game and at the time considered the possibility that it may have been the single most profound sporting experience of my college career.
Boy, was I wrong.
As I stood among the roughly thousand-or-more Bison fans that crowded the field at Pizza Hut Park once the FCS Championship game had ticked away, I knew I'd been mistaken, and gladly so.
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An FCS Championship That A Punter Could Love
By Chuck Burton
Publisher/Managing Editor
College Sports Journal
FRISCO, TX. — In a dozen years of watching NCAA Division I Championship Football games, I've seen a lot of matchups dominated by defensive linemen and incredible offensive talents.
I've even seen entire teams be dominated from start to finish.
Saturday was the first time, however, I've ever seen a Football Championship Subdivision title game dominated by a punter.
In a game that was supposed to be a matchup between the Bison's No. 1 defense and the Bearkat's No. 1 offense, it was North Dakota State punter Matt Voigtlander who stole the show in front of a vocal, sellout crowd in Frisco, Texas.
FCS Championship Preview: The Bearkat's "Hogs" vs. the Bison's "Dogs"
By Chuck Burton
Publisher/Managing Editor
College Sports Journal
FRISCO, TX. — The FCS National Championship game between Sam Houston State and North Dakota State could be visualized as a battle between Bearkats and Bison, the respective teams' mascots.
When it comes to predicting who the national champions will be on Saturday, however, two different sorts of animals might leap to mind: hogs, and dogs.
For Sam Houston State, the Bearkats' offensive linemen, their "Hogs", will be facing North Dakota State's "Big Dogs" of the Bison's defensive front. It's the winner of this epic trench battle that will most likely be the next NCAA football national champions.
Read more: FCS Championship Preview: The Bearkat's "Hogs" vs. the Bison's "Dogs"
North Dakota State Makes The Plays for a 17-6 Championship Win Over SHSU
By David Coulson
Executive Editor
College Sporting News
FRISCO, TX. — North Dakota State took its place among some of the greatest defensive performers in Football Championship Subdivision history on Saturday afternoon, grinding out a 17-6 victory over previously-unbeaten Sam Houston State in the NCAA Division Football Championship game.
The Bison (14-1) allowed just 13 points in their final three playoff games, stifling powerful offenses from Lehigh, Georgia Southern and SHSU to win their first FCS crown.
One special play on special teams and another on defense in the second half pulled NDSU from a 6-3 halftime deficit to the title on a day where both offenses struggled.
Read more: North Dakota State Makes The Plays for a 17-6 Championship Win Over SHSU
Ten Years Of Championship Memories In FCS
By David Coulson
Executive Editor
College Sports Journal
PHILADELPHIA, PA. — Two years ago, I will never forget watching Villanova's team buses pull into their parking spots at Chattanooga's Finley Stadium.
The Wildcats had a Tigger-like bounce to their steps as they paraded onto the field for media day. You could sense the joy of their accomplishment and a childlike love of the game that you don't often see these days in college football.
Players like tackle Ben Ijalana and Matt Szczur may be belong to teams like the Indianapolis Colts in the NFL and the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball now, but I guarantee you that Ijalana and Szczur will never forget their championship experience, which concluded with a 23-21 victory over Montana in 2009.
Thursday was media day in Frisco, TX. as two more teams had the opportunity to live out the start of their championship-week dreams.
