bullsheet - 2012 Championship Edition

bull · Jan 3, 2013

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[FONT=&quot]No Dakota St vs Sam Houston St- Sat 1:00 ESPN 2

Forgive old bull for the sloppy cut and paste job. These articles are from The Sports Network and we'll start with the defending champs.

Breaking down North Dakota State [/FONT]

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[/FONT][FONT=&quot]North Dakota State defensive end Cole Jirik (93) chases Sam Houston
State quarterback Brian Bell in the 2011 FCS championship game. [/FONT]

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[TD="width: 460"] [FONT=&quot]Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Sam Houston State football coach Willie Fritz had just been asked about North Dakota State's pivotal fake punt in last season's NCAA Division I Football Championship Game.

He described the excellence of the third-quarter play, which helped set up the touchdown that gave NDSU the lead for good.

And then another concept dawned on Fritz.

"Shoot, I was trying to forget that," he thought aloud.

Unfortunately for opponents trying to solve North Dakota State, there's a lot to know about the defending national champion Bison.

They are a well-rounded, well-coached team, and they're about much more than their defense which has been the best in the FCS for two years running.

Coach Craig Bohl has his program on the doorstep of back-to-back national titles, which has been accomplished only five times since the playoff system began in 1978, and most recently by Appalachian State with three straight crowns from 2005-07.

North Dakota State will have to go through Sam Houston State for a second straight championship Saturday in Frisco, Texas. The Bison won last season's matchup, 17-6.

Here's a breakdown of North Dakota State (13-1):

OFFENSE

The Bison offense isn't flashy, and too often is overshadowed by its defensive counterparts, but the mold is cast at a championship-winning level.

"I think they do a great job of taking care of the football and time of possession," Bohl said. "We have been able to maintain long drives and have a good turnover margin, stay on the field. We have been able to control the football particularly when we get the lead and all those things to leverage our defense, and also it has put our offense in good position."

Consistency and familiarity boost the offense. Offensive coordinator Brent Vigen is the team's longest-tenured coach, now in his 15th season in the program, including his fourth directing the offense.

The Bison's average time of possession of 34 minutes, 39 seconds ranks No. 1 in the 122-team FCS. It stems out of their ability to hold onto the ball - only 14 turnovers in 14 games - a third-down conversion rate of 51.5 percent (102-of-198) and an even better 82.4 rate on fourth downs (14-of-17). [/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]North Dakota State Bison [/FONT]

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[TD] [FONT=&quot]Location:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Fargo, N.D.
Conference: Missouri Valley Football Conference
Enrollment: 14,443
Colors: Green and Yellow
Head Coach: Craig Bohl (88-32 in 10 seasons)
2011 Records: 13-1 overall, 7-1 Missouri Valley
NCAA Division I Championship Appearances: 3 (2010, 2011, 2012)
NCAA Division I Championship Game Appearances: Second (Defeated Sam Houston State, 17-6, in 2011)

2012 Schedule
Sept. 1 - W vs. Robert Morris, 52-0
Sept. 8 - W at Colorado State, 22-7
Sept. 22 - W vs. Prairie View A&M, 66-7
Sept. 29 - W at Northern Iowa, 33-21
Oct. 6 - W vs. Youngstown State, 48-7
Oct. 13 - L vs. Indiana State, 17-14
Oct. 20 - W at South Dakota, 54-0
Oct. 27 - W vs. Southern Illinois, 23-17
Nov. 3 - W at Missouri State, 21-17
Nov. 10 - W vs. South Dakota State, 20-17
Nov. 17 - W at Illinois State, 38-20
Dec. 1 - W vs. South Dakota State, 28-3
Dec. 8 - W vs. Wofford, 14-7
Dec. 14 - W vs. Georgia Southern, 23-20
Jan. 5 - at Sam Houston State, 1 p.m. ET [/FONT]
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Redshirt junior quarterback Brock Jensen will make his 37th career start on Saturday, including his 11th in the postseason. The good-sized signal-caller (6-foot-3, 224 pounds) sets the tone for the offense because he tends to be efficient in the team's bigger games.

The Bison don't have a high-powered passing attack (168.8 passing yards per game), but Jensen is a threat on quarterbacks draws (nine rushing touchdowns), which keeps opposing linebackers honest when they want to drop into pass coverage.

Although the Bison haven't quite replaced standout wide receiver Warren Holloway from last season's team, 5-7 Ryan Smith, 6-2 Zach Vraa and 6-1 Trevor Gebhart form a reliable trio of possession receivers. They have combined on 123 receptions and eight touchdowns.

Also, blocking tight ends Garrett Bruhn and Kevin Vaadeland have to be respected in goal line situations.

Of course, the Bison are a run-first offense behind the halfback platoon of starter Sam Ojuri (955 yards, 10 touchdowns, 73.5 ypg) and John Crockett (956 yards, nine touchdowns, 68.3 ypg), who are both closing in on 1,000-yard campaigns. Ojuri is the power back going off-tackle.

Up front, the starting offensive linemen average 6-3 1/2, 284 pounds, but they will be tested by Sam Houston State's veteran four-man front (which averages 6-1, 271) and aggressive style. In fact, the Bearkats rank second in the FCS in rushing defense.

Bison senior Joe Lund (6-2, 303) was recently named the FCS center of the year and fellow three-year starter Billy Turner (6-5 1/2, 300), the junior left tackle, is a first-team All-America selection. Right tackle Tyler Gimmestad (6-2, 298) is a veteran starter as well, and left guard Josh Colville (6-1 3/4, 279) and right tackle Joe Haeg (6-5 3/4, 280) are both redshirt freshmen.

The Bison average 32.6 points per game, tops in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. [/FONT]
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DEFENSE

First-year defensive coordinator Chris Klieman was smart enough not to change the 4-3 system after experiencing its fury as a former longtime assistant at Missouri Valley rival Northern Iowa and then as the Bison defensive backs coach on last season's national championship squad.

This season's unit is leading the FCS in scoring defense (11.4 ppg), total defense (223.3 ypg), pass defense (131 ypg) and first downs allowed (11.9 per game). The Bison also rank second nationally in defense third-down efficiency (28.07) and third in rushing yards (92.3 ypg).

The smothering unit is physical at the point of attack and has sure tacklers in one-on-one situations. The Bison allowed three touchdowns to Georgia Southern in semifinal-round win, but they have surrendered only seven touchdowns in seven postseason games (all wins) over the last two seasons.

Considering Sam Houston State's speed in the skills positions is exceptional, the Bison must avoid being fooled by backfield deception from the read option and "Wild Bearkat" formations.

Much of the Bearkats' success starts with running back Timothy Flanders, so the Bison want to keep him in check and force quarterback Brian Bell into third-and-long situations.

Defensive ends Cole Jirik and Kyle Emanuel will try to contain ball carriers to the inside, where middle linebackers Grant Olson (team-high 146 tackles, including a school-record 29 tackles in quarterfinal-round win over Wofford) and outside 'backers Travis Beck (93 tackles, four forced fumbles) and Carlton Littlejohn (75 tackle, four forced fumbles) clean up as the team's tackle leaders.

The Bison have big size on the defensive front with starting tackle Danny Luecke (6-5 1/4, 280) and nose guard Ryan Drevlow (6-4, 281).

Sam Houston State has surrendered only five sacks - the second fewest in the FCS - so the Bison, including sack leaders Jirik (7 1/2) and Littlejohn (4 1/2), should find it hard to put Bell on the ground. Jirik had one of the Bison's two sacks of Bell in last season's title game.

The pass defense is exceptional. All-America junior cornerback Marcus Williams shuts down his receiver, and has five interceptions and four pass breakups when quarterbacks try to throw his way.

Andre Martin, who played under Klieman at Northern Iowa before taking a post- graduate year at NDSU, starts at the other cornerback position. The safeties are Christian Dudzik and Bobby Ollman, while Brenden Pierre factors in as a nickle back.

The defense has had to overcome season-ending knee injuries to two starters, defensive tackle Leevon Perry and safety Coulton Heagle, so the unit isn't quite as strong as the one on last season's championship team.

Sam Houston State's offense, Bohl said, "is different (from last season). They have a different play-caller, and their quarterback is throwing the ball significantly better. And so they have got a lot more threats.

"Last year, while they threw the ball some, they were not near as effective as what they are this year and so that's going to really stress our defense."

SPECIAL TEAMS

Excellent special teams have been a staple with North Dakota State during the past three seasons (don't forget the 2010 team made a run to the FCS quarterfinals before last season's breakout campaign).

The kicking game could have been a weakness this season because the Bison had to replace their place-kicker and punter after last season. But, oh, have the two new starters responded successfully.

Sophomore Adam Keller has converted 17-of-22 field goal attempts for a 77.3 success rate. The All-Missouri Valley kicker has a long of 49 yards, although he is only 2-of-6 from distances of at least 40 yards.

Redshirt freshman Ben LeCompte is averaging nearly 43.3 yards per punt, ranking No. 2 in the Missouri Valley and No. 10 in the FCS. He's also getting decent hang time as the Bison rank 12th nationally in net punting.

Williams is one of the more feared kickoff returners in the FCS, with a return for a touchdown in each of the past two seasons. He's averaging 27.5 yards on kickoff returns this season, which ranks ninth in the FCS.

Smith is the main punt returner for a third straight season and has scored off one return this season. Smith, Dudzik and Williams each has a punt return of at least 64 yards this season.

The coverage teams allow 20.9 yards on kickoff returns and 6.2 yards on punt returns - both respectable numbers.

X-FACTORS

Tight game, comfortable lead, playing from behind, North Dakota State doesn't seem fazed by whatever situation is at hand.

Incredibly, the Bison have won their last 14 games against nationally ranked FCS opponents, including Sam Houston State in last season's national title game. In addition, they have beaten an FBS opponent on the road in each of the past three seasons.

Executing plays on Saturday is one thing, but the Bison will be at ease when they step onto the FC Dallas Stadium turf before another sellout crowd. That's invaluable when a team is shooting for back-to-back national championships.

Also, there's no underestimating the in-game coaching ability of Bohl and his assistant coaches. They make good halftime adjustments, having surrendered only 58 points (out of 160) in the second half of 14 games. The Bison have a 27-2 record since the start of the 2011 season. [/FONT]
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bull · Jan 3, 2013

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Any time there's a rematch between two heavyweight teams, especially those who already played for a championship the year before, everyone expects an even better contest. That's just human nature.

But before one starts wishing for a better performance than last year's 17-6 slugfest - in which Sam Houston State totaled 210 yards and North Dakota State 235 yards - let's just pump the brakes a little bit.

"I've said this before and I'll say it again," SHSU coach Willie Fritz said. "I think that Coach (Craig) Bohl (of North Dakota State) and I share similar philosophies on how to run a football program, and sometimes it's not glamorous. I know some people like those teams that throw the ball 50, 60, 70 times a game. That's not how we do it. They kind of look at the two teams that are playing for the FBS national championship and seems like they have the same type of formula."

There's no denying that fans, players and coaches alike expect another defensive battle. Or maybe, people expect a battle like that of what the statistics say, one of the top-ranked NDSU defense versus the high-scoring, explosive Sam Houston offense.

Then again, maybe not.

"Anybody that's still playing now is pretty darned solid," Fritz said. "You know, I really got a lot of respect for our defense, obviously. You look at stats and two of the teams we play are in the top three in FBS football in total offense, in Baylor and Texas A&M. So that also kind of plays into the statistics, as well. So, no, it's not going to be just Sam Houston's offense or North Dakota State's defense. It's going to be their team versus the Sam Houston team."

Build it up however you wish, as a potential FCS instant classic, a battle between two of the FCS' top head coaches, or a battle between one team searching to join the ranks of rare, FCS repeat glory, or one team searching to make its own history. Either way, the preparation and focus for the game probably started long ago.

"There are a lot of festivities that are for the student-athlete, and so we want to make sure that we are focused on the game plan at hand before we are able to get down there," Bohl said. "Because once you get down there, between different luncheons and pictures and press conferences and other activities, there's really not near as much time to really get focused on the game."

Here's a breakdown of Sam Houston State (11-3):

OFFENSE

Offensively, Sam Houston State has been one of the most dangerous units in the FCS over the last two years. At the start of this season, however, the Bearkats had to adjust to new offensive coordinator Doug Ruse.

After a slow start, Ruse quickly ignited the offense, utilizing a triple- option-esque, pistol-style formation. During a crucial seven-game win streak in the regular season, the Bearkats scored 41 points or more in each victory. They enter the national title game averaging 463 yards per game and 41.9 points per game.

"We've got almost a new offensive staff," Fritz said. "My offensive coordinator and two of my assistants that were here last year did a great job for us. They took new positions. So when I look to hire a replacement, I wanted to find somebody that had some option background and did things similar to what we did. But also, we wanted to try to improve our passing attack.

"Last season, we were a very efficient passing attack, but we got into some 3rd-and-long situations and 2nd-and-long and people knew we had to throw the ball and we had some difficulties. I was lucky to hire Doug Ruse, he was at Western Illinois University, I watched him firsthand in 2010 take it to us."

Everything the Bearkats do offensively begins first with quarterback Brian Bell and running back Timothy Flanders.

Bell, who is the program's all-time winningest starting quarterback with a career record of 30-7, has certainly thrived with another year of experience under his belt. The junior has passed for 2,460 yards and 24 touchdowns - versus just seven interceptions - and completed 61.6 percent of his throws in 14 games this season. He's also rushed for 354 yards and six touchdowns.

Even more scary? Take away the contests versus FBS Baylor and Texas A&M and he's thrown 22 TDs with just four interceptions against FCS opponents this season.

Flanders, a consensus All-America back, has rushed for 100 yards or more in 10 of the Bearkats' 14 games this season and averages 113 rushing yards per contest. He's totaled 1,589 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns on the ground. Plus, the junior ranks second in the FCS in active career rushing touchdowns with 52. When Flanders starts to find a groove, the rest of the offense is nearly impossible to slow down.

"When Tim gets going, that opens up our whole offense," Fritz said. "He's had another great year for us. And you know, that's a huge part of our offense. When you can throw the ball, we are going to have to throw it on first down as well, and there are going to have to be situations in which run down and they're playing the run and packing the box. Have to be able to spread 'em out and throw it as well. They both complement each other without question."

Other playmakers who can't be overlooked include Richard Sincere, Trey Diller and Chance Nelson. Sincere must be accounted for when running the "Wildcat" package in the backfield. He's rushed for 574 yards and five touchdowns in 14 games this season.

Diller and Nelson are easily Bell's primary receiving weapons and although they average 62 and 47 receiving yards per game, respectively, both strike for big plays. In 14 games, Diller has hauled in 58 catches for 881 yards and four touchdowns and averages 15.2 yards per catch compared to Nelson's 662 receiving yards, nine touchdowns and breakaway 20.1-yards-per-catch average.

Fifth-year senior offensive tackle Kaleb Hopson anchors an offensive line which has allowed just five sacks on Bell this season. Hopson enters the title game with 48 career starts for an offense which holds onto the ball for 34 minutes per game, good for the No. 4 ranking in the FCS.

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[TD="class: tsncolumnINFOBOXheadline, width: 430, align: center"] Sam Houston State Bearkats [/TD]
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[TD="class: tsncolumnINFOBOXcopy, width: 430, align: left"] Location: Huntsville, Texas
Conference: Southland Conference
Enrollment: 17,612
Colors: Orange and White
Head Coach: Willie Fritz (31-9 in three seasons at Sam Houston State; 167-61-1 in 19 overall seasons)
2011 Records: 11-3 overall, 6-1 Southland
NCAA Division I Championship Appearances: 6 (1986, 1991, 2001, 2004, 2011, 2012)
NCAA Division I Championship Game Appearances: Second (Lost to North Dakota State, 17-6, in 2011)
2012 Schedule:
Sept. 8 - W vs. Incarnate Word, 54-7
Sept. 15 - L at Baylor, 48-23
Sept. 22 - L at Central Arkansas, 24-20
Sept. 27 - W at Texas Southern, 50-6
Oct. 6 - W vs. Stephen F. Austin, 51-43
Oct. 13 - W at Nicholls, 41-0
Oct. 20 - W vs. McNeese State, 45-10
Oct. 27 - W at Lamar, 56-7
Nov. 3 - W vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 70-0
Nov. 10 - W at Northwestern State, 52-17
Nov. 17 - L at Texas A&M, 47-28
Dec. 1 - W vs. Cal Poly, 18-16
Dec. 7 - W at Montana State, 34-16
Dec. 15 - W at Eastern Wash, 45-42
Jan. 5 - vs. North Dakota State, 1 p.m. ET [/TD]
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DEFENSE

Probably the best news for Sam Houston State's defense entering the title game is that it faces a Bison team which gets all the press and all the attention on defense.

Few realize the SHSU defense ranks better against the run than NDSU, allowing 84.1 rushing yards per game. Only four opponents have rushed for over 100 yards - two of those were Texas A&M and Baylor, and the other were FCS Southeastern Louisiana - in a 70-0 blowout - and triple option Cal Poly. The unit has been so stout against the run that it has allowed a total of seven rushing touchdowns, and only two of those came versus FCS competition.

Darnell Taylor, a hard-hitting safety who took home the Southland Conference defensive player of the year award for the second consecutive season, has registered 100 tackles, including 68 solo, in 14 games. His twin brother, Darius, a linebacker in the 4-2-5 unit, leads the team with 16 tackles for loss and eight sacks.

"We are a pressure team, we get a lot of people in the box," Fritz said about his blitz-heavy attitude. "We are going to try to make it play action and throw the ball deep and throw some fader routes and get some 2nd-and-10s and get you out of here, how you really want to call the game. That's what we do and we have personnel that we are able to do it."

The linebacker corps and secondary in general is very athletic. Jesse Beauchamp (92 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, four sacks) seems to be in on just about every play with Darius. Meanwhile, cornerbacks Dax Swanson, Robert Shaw and Bookie Snead can cover receivers like white on rice. Together, the three upperclassmen have accounted for 12 of the team's 18 interceptions this season, each with four interceptions.

The Bearkats have success versus the run game and up front because the secondary is known for tough "bump and run" coverage and its ability to match the height and speed of the receivers they cover.

The Bearkats allow 20.2 points per game and 325.8 yards per contest.

The defensive line might not have any absolute studs, but the unit knows how to play collectively. Up front, many key players rotate and stay fresh, such as J.T. Cleveland, Gary Lorance, Jarrett Brown, Andrew Weaver and Preston Sanders. Sam Houston ranks third in the FCS in third down efficiency at 28.28 percent, partly thanks to the defensive line's ability to shut down the run and force difficult down-and-distance situations.

"Much has been talked about their offense and defensively you've got a lot of skill guys," Bohl said. "You've got an All-American safety who is at the point of attack. Great tackling group; I don't know if we played a better tackling defense all year long; I know we haven't. A lot of speed on defense, a lot of times that's big plays and structurally the guys are in the right spot."

Lorance and Cleveland have accounted for 21.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks this season, and Swanson now holds the school record for career interceptions with 14.

SPECIAL TEAMS

As is the case in most championship games, special teams could play a huge role for the Bearkats. When it comes to the game of field position and getting points when needed, Sam Houston State has to feel good about its place-kicker, Miguel Antonio, and punter, Matt Foster.

Antonio, a senior, has converted 18-of-22 field goal attempts for an 81.8 success rate. He's also been very reliable with extra points, connecting on 72-of-73 attempts this season. Antonio is accurate from short and medium length, including 8-of-10 from distances of 20 to 29 yards and 6-of-7 from 30 to 39 yards.

He ranks ninth in the FCS and first on his team in scoring with nine points per game, just one year after he lost the starting job and missed 7-of-12 field goal attempts.

"The biggest thing I've seen this year (with Antonio) is confidence in himself," special teams coach Robby Discher told the Houston Chronicle. "This year, he knows he's going to make it. He has that look in his eye that gives (the coaches) confidence and gives his teammates confidence in him. He truly thinks he's a good kicker, and he is a good kicker."

Diller handles both punt return and kick return duties, and although he has not scored a special teams touchdown this season, the senior has been effective. He has 32 punt returns for 354 yards, an average of 11 yards per return. On kick returns, he's brought back 20 for 468 yards - with a long of 59 - for an average of 23 yards per return.

Senior "punter from down under" Matt Foster, from Melbourne, Australia, ranks 12th in the FCS with a 43.2-yard average. The oldest player on the team at 26, Foster has 16 boots of 50-plus yards, only four touchbacks and 19 of his punts have been downed inside the 20-yard line. None of his punts has been blocked this season.

The Bearkats have been solid against punt return yardage defense, allowing a stingy 5.3 yards per return and Antonio has 29 touchbacks on kickoffs and opponents average 17.8 yards per kickoff return, good for No. 20 in the FCS.

X-FACTORS

Revenge, another year of experience at key positions and surviving an absolutely brutal schedule has fueled Sam Houston State further than any pre-game speech.

As if losing last year's national title in the team's home state of Texas wasn't enough motivation - and the fact that Sam Houston was shut down, didn't score an offensive touchdown and totaled just 210 yards - just being able to make it through a stifling schedule would have been impressive.

This season, SHSU returned 15 players on offense and defense who each have 20 or more career starts and it brought back some of the most important pieces of the puzzle. Guys like Weaver, the Taylor twins, Bell and Flanders, who helped guide the team through a regular-season schedule with eight road games and just three home contests, plus two FBS games versus top-notch opponents.

And it's been the way the group has dealt with adversity this season which has made this second straight national title game run even more remarkable.

Make no mistake, North Dakota State's defense presents an extremely difficult task for the Sam Houston State offense. However, all the Bearkats have heard in the weeks leading up to the rematch has been about the Bison defense and how few teams rarely has success against the group and how it shut them down last season.

If Sam Houston gives up any yards, it cannot come on the ground. It must come through the air. The Bearkats needs to make NDSU quarterback Brock Jensen beat them with his arm, and not with the team's physical, grinding run attack.

Expect Fritz to have some tricks saved up his sleeve after the Bison faked a punt last year, giving them all the momentum and, eventually, the key to victory.

scdoggy · Jan 3, 2013

I look forward to these threads like a kid looks forward to Chuck E Cheeze parties. Good shit Bull

bull · Jan 3, 2013

I'll be back later today or tomorrow with my own take on the game.
Right now defending champ NDakota St is favored by 1 1/2 on 5Dimes.

For either side the juice is -115.

Dollaz · Jan 3, 2013

GL Bull. I lean toward payback.

Muletime · Jan 3, 2013

Good stuff bull. Love your insights on these games!

Monger · Jan 3, 2013

On SHSU ml. GL bull.

RetroVK · Jan 3, 2013

Can't wait for thoughts bull. gl

bloodhound · Jan 3, 2013

I was hoping that U were going to find a winner here in this one. I will wait on ur call but lean towards Bearkats with a good O and a Great D and closer to home
GL MrBull

bull · Jan 3, 2013

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oNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w

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ontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w

ontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--> Quite frankly, I’ll be honest with you. Before the playoffs began, I didn’t think either team would be here. No Dakota State would fall to Old Dominion or Georgia So, and Sam Houston would not make it past three Big Sky opponents, two of them on the road. I was wrong and here they are.

The defending champion Bison are a well rounded team with a Crimson Tide type defense. It’s that defense which got them here. Their one regular season loss was an in-conference game at Indiana State, a very good team but one that did not make the playoffs. Score was 17-14 or thereabouts. The I St Sycamores rolled up 12 first downs and 197 total yards in that game. But they were plus three in turnovers, two of them pick sixes.

In their opening playoff win, NDSU beat fellow Missouri Valley playmate So Dakota St 28-3, with SDSU piling up 10 first downs and 207 total yards. Next came Wofford, a team with a powerful ground attack. The Terriers won the yardage battle with 262 yards rushing, but lost on the scoreboard 14-7. The lone touchdown for Wofford was a 35 yard pick six. Then in the exciting semi-final, Georgia So outgained NDSU 430-276 and that included an uncharacteristic 159 yards on 5 for 9 passing. But the scoreboard read 23-20 in favor of the Bison. A missed field goal hurt GS, who were unable in their last 4 or 5 possessions to add to a game-long lead and put the game away. When the chips are down , the Bison defense gets the job done.

Sam Houston appears the team with the more powerful offense but have had a few instances where they encountered late trouble. They lost three games, two of them to Baylor and Texas A & M. Their one conference loss was at Central Arkansas, a team that also made the playoffs and lost a close fought contest at Georgia So. Sam Houston had a 20-10 4[SUP]th[/SUP] quarter lead against CAU but bowed to two touchdowns the home team scored in the last 3 ½ minutes.. The FBS losses were clear cut but very respectable. Sam Houston was able to score points but couldn’t hold the opponent off the scoreboard.

After a narrow win over Cal Poly in their playoff opener, the Bearkats went northwest to Montana St and Eastern Washington. In a game I watched with mild shock, they easily dispatched the Bobcats 34-16. Yards gained favored SMSU 458-292; in first downs it was 22-12 and time of possession was 36:00 to 24:00. The semi-final at Eastern Washington was one of the most memorable games I have seen. SHSU totally dominated the first half and led 35-0. As dominant as SHSU were in the first half, EWU were perhaps even more so in the second. Encouraged by the home crowd, the Eagles did everything right, and I had to wonder what these guys had to eat at halftime. But the Bearkats did hang on when they had to. The final score was 45-42. The stats were very close – something like diff 1 in FDs and diff 20 in total yards. The first half was all rushing by the winners; the second half was all passing by the losers.

That’s my preview of this game, and I wish I knew who the winner will be. I’m not a bet-the-farm guy so that is not an issue with me. But don’t bet the farm on this one. Please. The road wins by SHSU tip the scale for me in this one. NDSU has had all 3 playoff wins at home, an advantage they rightfully earned – but would they have beaten Wofford and Georgia So on the road.? I’m guessing that the Bearkat defense can contain the Bison offense just enough – maybe get a pick six (?)_ and the Bearkat offense can do just enough against the truly great Bison defense.
Sam Houston +1

bull · Jan 3, 2013

dollaz, monger, mr hound - glad we see this one alike.

doggy - always good to have you reading the bullsheet and contributing your priceless witticisms

mule - hope we can get this one done.

GL all

bull · Jan 3, 2013

VK - Thanks for the good wishes. I miss your threads.

P-Unit · Jan 3, 2013

I grew up going to NDSU games as a kid with my old man when they played outside in blizzards. some of my best memories.

Go Herd...

Timh · Jan 5, 2013

Bull great thread as always and appreciate your keen insight on FCS. I have a lean to the under in this one and think the side is really difficult to predict. BOL and congrats on a very fine year.

bull · Jan 5, 2013

Timh said:
Bull great thread as always and appreciate your keen insight on FCS. I have a lean to the under in this one and think the side is really difficult to predict. BOL and congrats on a very fine year.

I agree Tim. I always lose at totals, hence the play.
GL

bloodhound · Jan 5, 2013

MrBull, Once again I would like to Thank U for the time and effort that u have put into this FCS thread. I know how hard it to get adequate info to cap the game. As u know, I have followed 90% of ur plays and thankfully up nicely because of it.
Hopefully we get to do this again net yr.

GL Sir Bull

Schrute · Jan 5, 2013

Thanks for your time and effort again this year

Gonna miss the sheet for the next 8.5 months

bullsheet - 2012 Championship Edition

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