Game Day in the Southland: National Championship Game
No. 1 Seed Sam
Houston State vs. No. 2 Seed North Dakota State
Saturday,
Jan. 7, 2012 • 12:05 p.m., CST • ESPN2 & ESPN3.com
FC
Dallas Stadium • Frisco, Texas
Westwood One Radio
Series: Series Tied 1-1
Last Meeting: 2009, SHSU won
48-45
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Sam
Houston State
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Game
Notes
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North
Dakota State
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13-0,
7-0 Southland
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2011
Record
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13-1,
7-1 Missouri Valley
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W,
31-28 vs. Montana
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Last
Game
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W,
35-7 vs. Georgia Southern
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Willie
Fritz
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Coach
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Craig
Bohl
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Pittsburg
State '83
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Alma
Mater
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Nebraska,
'82
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156-57-1
/ 19th Season
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Career
Record
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74-31
/ 9th Season
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gobearkats.com
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Website
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gobison.com
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@bearkatsports
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Twitter
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@ndsuathletics
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Sam Houston State Notes: Sam Houston State
is making its first appearance in the championship game with a 14-0 record ...
the Bearkats have the longest win streak (16) in either Division I subdivision
and join LSU as the only unbeaten teams in Division I ... making its fifth
appearance in the Division I playoffs, Sam Houston followed a first-round bye
with wins over Stony Brook (34-27), Montana State (49-13) and Montana (31-28)
... the Bearkats, who won their fourth overall and first outright Southland
Conference title with a 7-0 record, are averaging 39.1 points and 421.6 yards
of offense per game, while allowing only 14.8 points and 283.1 yards per game
on defense ... the Bearkats lead the FCS in scoring offense and rush defense
(69.9) and rank second in scoring defense and turnover margin (+2.0 per game)
... QB Brian Bell has completed 61.8 percent of his passes (131-212) for 1,954
yards and 20 touchdowns ... the ground game is led by RB Tim Flanders, who ran
for a school record 287 yards in the semifinal win ... Flanders has scored 22
touchdowns and is averaging 111.4 yards per game and 5.6 yards per carry.
NORTH DAKOTA STATE Notes: North Dakota State
is in the Division I playoffs for the second consecutive season after reaching
the quarterfinals last year in its first playoff game at the Division I level
... NDSU, which is 13-1 overall and 7-1 in conference play, shared the Missouri
Valley Football Conference championship with Northern Iowa, but earned the
league's automatic bid by virtue beating the Panthers in October ... NDSU won
its first nine games of the season and brings a four-game wins streak into the
championship game ... NDSU's playoff wins have come against James Madison
(26-14), Lehigh (24-0) and Georgia Southern ... the Bison are averaging 32.4
points and 353.9 yards on offense per game and limiting opponents to an
FCS-best 13.2 points and 323.5 yards a game ... NDSU has a balanced offense,
averaging 177.4 rushing yards and 176.4 passing yards per game ... QB Brock
Jensen has completed 68.3 percent of his passes for 2,404 yards and 13 TDs ...
he has added eight rushing TDs but a bulk of the team's yards come from RBs Sam
Ojuri and D.J. McNorton who account for 152.5 of the team's rushing offense per
game.
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Sam
Houston State
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Team
Statistics
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North
Dakota State
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39.1
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Scoring
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32.4
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267.4
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Rushing
Offense
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177.4
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154.2
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Passing
Offense
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176.4
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421.6
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Total
Offense
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353.9
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14.8
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Opponent
Scoring
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13.2
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69.9
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Rushing
Defense
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120.4
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213.2
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Passing
Defense
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203.1
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283.1
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Total
Defense
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323.5
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Individual
Leaders
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Tim
Flanders (277-1,560; 22 TD)
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Rushing
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Sam
Ojuri (177-1,078; 11 TD)
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Brian
Bell (131-212-5; 1,954; 20 TD)
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Passing
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Brock
Jensen (209-306-3; 2,404; 13 TD)
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Torrance
Williams (30-397; 3 TD)
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Receiving
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Warren
Holloway (75-988; 8 TD)
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Darnell
Taylor (118T; 9.0 TFL; 3 Sacks)
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Tackles
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Chad
Williams (88T; 8.0 TFL; 3 Sacks)
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