Game Notes: North Dakota State 17, Sam Houston State 6
2012 NCAA Division I Championship Game - Jan. 7, 2012
Game Notes: North Dakota State 17, Sam Houston State 6
General Notes...
The attendance for today's game was 20,586. The NCAA FCS
standard in 1995 occurred when 32,106 fans watched Montana defeat Marshall in
Huntington, W. Va.
The 2011 NCAA Division I Football Championship set a
tournament record for fan attendance with 256,384 (235,798 prior to title game)
in 2011. The previous attendance mark was 209,761 in 1994.
NDSU became the 21st different team to win a NCAA
Division I National Championship since subdivision play began in 1978. These
teams represent seven different conferences - Big Sky, Colonial Athletic,
Mid-Eastern Athletic, Missouri Valley, Ohio Valley, Southern, Southland, and
Division I independents. The Bison are the second MVC team to take all the
marbles after Southern Illinois in 1983.
NDSU now leads the three-game series between the teams
2-1 since they first met in 2007.
This is NDSU's ninth football national championship
either in NCAA Division II or Small College Division (wire service polls). It
also is the Bison's 21st overall NCAA team title and first in DI after
capturing Division II championships in football (eight), women's basketball
(five) and wrestling (four), and one each in men's cross country, softball and
women's indoor track and field. Sam Houston State's first national crown was a
shared NAIA football championship with Concordia, Minn., in 1964.
LB Travis Beck of NDSU was named Most Outstanding Player
of the 2011 championship after returning an interception 63 yards to set up the
icing touchdown, making seven total tackles (four unassisted) and 1.5 tackles
for losses.
Punters Matt Voigtlander of NDSU and SHSU's Matt Foster
combined for 17 punts and a 45.9 average as unyielding defenses limited the
offenses to 5-of-31 composite third down conversions (16 percent).
North Dakota State Notes...
Bison head coach Craig Bohl now stands 75-31 after his
ninth season as a college head coach - all at NDSU. He has been an assistant or
head coach in the college ranks for 28 seasons and returns to Texas where he
was defensive coordinator at Rice from 1989-93. He is 5-1 as head coach for
both seasons of the Bison's FCS postseason showings.
NDSU faced No. 1 for second straight season in NCAA FCS
playoffs. The Bison lost to Eastern Washington 38-31 in overtime in 2010
quarterfinals. NDSU also is 15-8 vs. nationally-ranked teams since 2006,
including 8-0 this season
The Bison are 5-1 in NCAA Division I football playoff
history and completed their second year of FCS appearances this season.
North Dakota State runs to 627-364-34 (.629 winning
percentage) over 115 seasons and 1,025 games.
NDSU has allowed just 23 points in the first quarter of
15 games and 34 third period markers over 15 contests after holding the
Bearkats scoreless in both quarters today. The Bison have scored 470 points
while surrendering 191 in 15 encounters.
North Dakota State did not have a takeaway in the 2011
opener against Lafayette and then has had one in each of the last 14 contests.
The Bison raised their interceptions' total to 20 for the campaign.
NDSU running backs Sam Ojuri (1,105 yards on 187 carries
with 11 TDs and DJ McNorton (1,020 yards on 197 carries and 13 scores) become
the first pair of 1,000-yard rushers in the same Bison backfield. McNorton is
the sixth in Bison career history with 574 career carries for 2,973 yards and
fell just 27 yards short of becoming the sixth running back in NDSU annals to
reach 3,000 yards.
Brock Jensen has added to his school the single-season
passing yards record with 219-of-326 for 2,524 yards with 13 TDs and four
interceptions. The previous mark was 2,327 yards set in 2007 by Steve Walker.
Jensen also closed in on the school single-season records for completions (220,
Tony Stauss, 2003) but missed by one connection.
Matt Voigtlander had a season-best 66-yard punt (previous
was 62 yards) in the first quarter.
Ryan Jastram tied the Bison's season record in the first
quarter with his 16th field goal of the season. That knotted him with Shawn
Bibeaux in 2006.
Warren Holloway became the second NDSU receiver to reach
the 1,000-yard season receiving mark and added to his season receptions mark
with two today for a total of 77. The other two individual marks in both
categories were by T.R. McDonald, who caught 69 passes for 1,181 yards (still
standing record) in 1993. Holloway stayed in fourth place in both school career
catches with 161 and in career receiving yards with 2,234 yards.
LB Chad Wilson had his fourth double-figure tackling
performance of the year and the sixth in his career. His career high is 12
prior to the title game, and he had 11 today. Preston Evans has been in double
figures for total stops twice this season and five career and had nine tackles
today.
LB Travis Beck had his first career pass interception and
returned it 63 yards (missing a TD by one yard) for the second-longest
interception return of the year for the Bison. The longest was 82 yards by
Bobby Ollman vs. Illinois State in Game 4.
Sam Houston State Notes...
Bearkats coach Willie Fritz is now 117-53 after his 15th
season as a college head coach at Central Missouri (1997-2009, 97-47 with a
NCAA Division II playoff appearance in 2002 at CMU and 20-6 in two seasons at
SHSU. Fritz has guided the Bearkats to four of their seven all-time NCAA
Division I playoff triumphs.
SHSU established a season record for victories at 14-1.
The previous mark was 11-3 in 2004.
The Bearkats continued their best two-year record in
school history with 20 wins in 26 contests since Aug. 2010.
SHSU is 7-5 in 12 all-time FCS postseason contests and
has 25 all-time wins over Top 25 FCS opponents at kickoff.
Sam Houston State is now 463-443-34 for a .511 winning
percentage over 940 games and 96 seasons.
The Bearkats had their previous-FCS-active-longest
winning streak ended at 16 games dating back to the final two contests of 2010.
SHSU closes 2011 with a 5-1 record against nationally
ranked FCS teams.
Sam Houston State ends the campaign with a school-record
42 turnovers gained - two today on a fumble and pass interception.
The Bearkats are in 16th place in season FCS team scoring
in a season since 1978 with 548 points.
Sam Houston State RB Tim Flanders established a Southland
Conference record with 1,684 yards rushing to break Claude Mathis' seasonal
mark of 1,593 yards at Southwest Texas State (now Texas State). Flanders also
missed his 15th 100-yard rushing game in 25 contests since 2010 by just 16 net
yards. The 2011 Southland Conference Player of the Year and All-America
selection scored 24 TDs this year (22 rushing, two receiving) for a school
season mark. He was coming off a school-record 287 yards rushing in Sam's NCAA
semifinal win over Montana in Huntsville. Flanders has led the SLC in
rushing both as a freshman (948 net yards) and in 2011 and already holds 12
game, season and career individual records.
SHSU outscored its opponents 180-37 in 15 contests after
the Bison tallied seven points in this afternoon's third stanza.
NDSU limited the Bearkats to six points in the first half
to top the fewest previously of eight by Sam against UTSA earlier this year.
Sam Houston State's fewest total offense yards in a game
was 313 yards in the opener against Western Illinois. The Bearkats ended the
tussle with 210 total offense yards today and a longest play from scrimmage of
36 yards on a Brian Bell to Richard Sincere pass and catch.
From Intercollegiate Football Researchers Association:
Previous National Championships by schools from two
current conferences of participating teams on 2012 Game
1970 Arkansas
State College Division Southland
1973 Louisiana
Tech NCAA II Southland
1974 Louisiana
Tech College Division Southland
1987 Northeast
Louisiana (now UL Monroe) NCAA 1-AA Southland
1989 Stephen F. Austin
vacated 2nd place Southland
1983 Southern
Illinois NCAA 1-AA
Missouri Valley
Both Teams in FCS for first time - Teams winning the
National Championship In first title game
1978 Florida A&M
35, Massachusetts 28
1979 Eastern Kentucky
30, Lehigh 7
1980 Boise State 31, Eastern Kentucky 29
1981 Idaho State 34, Eastern
Kentucky 23
1983 Southern
Illinois 43, Western Carolina 7
1984 Montana State 19,
Louisiana Tech 6
1985 Georgia Southern
44, Furman 42
1987 Louisiana-Monroe
43, Marshall 42
1991 Youngstown State
25, Marshall 17
1995 Montana 22,
Marshall 20
1998 Massachusetts 55,
Georgia Southern 43
2002 Western Kentucky
34, McNeese State 14
2004 James Madison 31,
Montana 21
2005 Appalachian
State 21, Northern Iowa 16
2008 Richmond 24, Montana
7
2009 Villanova 23, Montana
21
2010 Eastern
Washington 20, Delaware 19
2011 North
Dakota State 17, Sam Houston State 6
Pre-Bowl Rankings - Sam Houston State No. 1
Other final Regular Season No. 1s won title
1982 Eastern Kentucky
1989 Georgia Southern
1994 Youngstown State
2001 Montana
2006 Appalachian
State
2010 Eastern
Washington
North Dakota State No. 4/5
Other final Regular Season Nos. 4/5 to win National
Championships
1986 Georgia
Southern 4
2000 Georgia
Southern 5
2005 Appalachian
State 5
FCS Top 20 Scoring Seasons (Since 1978)
747
Georgia Southern, 1999
656
Marshall, 1996
654
Georgia Southern, 1998
652
Montana, 1995
640
Appalachian State, 2007
638
Montana, 1996
628
Mississippi Valley State, 1984
619
Georgia Southern, 1986
604
Marshall, 1992
593
Idaho, 1993
586
Florida A&M, 1998
584
Georgia Southern, 1989
583
Florida A&M, 1999
570
Delaware, 2000
564
Georgia Southern, 2004
560
Marshall, 1994
548 Sam
Houston State, 2011
546
Nevada, 1991
546 New
Hampshire, 2005
543
Delaware, 2007
Previous National Championships in Other Divisions/NAIA
1983 North Dakota
State
NCAA II
1985 North Dakota
State
NCAA II
1986 North Dakota
State
NCAA II
1988 North Dakota
State
NCAA II
1990 North Dakota
State
NCAA II
1965 North Dakota
State
College Division
1968 North Dakota
State
College Division
1969 North Dakota
State
College Division
1964 Sam Houston
State NAIA (tied with Concordia, Minn.)