• Coach Grass NCAA Media Teleconference Transcript (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Saturday, January 9
NCAA Division I Football Championship Game (Frisco, Texas)
#1 Jacksonville State vs. #2 North Dakota State, 11:00 a.m. (ESPN2)
#2 North Dakota State Bison (12-2, 7-1 MVFC)
vs. #1 Jacksonville State Gamecocks (13-1, 8-0 OVC)
Saturday, Jan. 9 • 11:00 a.m. CT
Toyota Stadium (20,500) • Frisco, Texas
TV:...................................................................... ESPN2
Live Stats:...........................
http://on.ncaa.com/1U2Bo3U
Series Record:....................... Jacksonville State leads 2-0
Last Meeting:........ Jacksonville State won 21-17 (11/25/89)
Chris Klieman at North Dakota State:.............. 23-3 (2 yrs.)
Chris Klieman Overall:.................................. 30-10 (3 yrs.)
John Grass at Jacksonville State:................... 23-3 (2 yrs.)
John Grass Overall:................................................. same
North Dakota State Last Week:. W, 33-7 vs. #11 Richmond
Jacksonville State Last Week: W, 62-10 vs. #6 Sam Houston State
GAME NOTES: Jacksonville State and North Dakota State, the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams in the FCS, will meet on Saturday for the Division I National Championship. It marks the third all-time meeting between the schools with the two previous meetings won by Jacksonville State in the Division II Playoffs. The Gamecocks won 31-7 in the 1977 semifinals and 21-17 in the 1989 second round; both years JSU went on to be the national runners-up. JSU claimed one Division II national title (1992) before moving to Division I while NDSU won five D2 crowns before moving up where they have won the last four FCS National Championships. The game matches a pair of head coaches who have compiled identical 23-3 overall records in two years in the FCS, tied for the best-ever start by an FCS coach at this level.
SCOUTING NORTH DAKOTA STATE: North Dakota State has been a postseason juggernaut in compiling a 21-1 record in the last six FCS Playoffs including winning the last four titles. The team’s only loss came to Eastern Washington in overtime in 2010. The Bison have won eight-straight games entering the title contest since a rare home loss on Oct. 17 to South Dakota. In that game quarterback Carson Wentz, a potential first round NFL Draft Pick, suffered an injury and has not played since although his status for the title game is uncertain. In his six starts this season Wentz completed 63.7 percent of his passes for 1,454 yards and 16 touchdowns (against only two interceptions) and rushing for four more scores. In his place redshirt freshman Easton Stick has passed for 1,144 yards and 13 touchdowns (against only three picks) while also rushing for 498 yards and five additional touchdowns. Junior King Frazier went over 1,000 rushing yards for the season against Richmond; NDSU has now had at least one 1,000-yard rusher in each of the past 12 years and ranks 12th nationally in rushing offense (240.6 yards/game) and first in time of possession (36:20). The Bison have a stout defense that ranks No. 3 nationally in total defense (276.3 yards/game allowed) and sixth in scoring defense (15.7 points/game); that defense is led by junior linebacker Nick DeLuca (126 tackles) and sophomore defensive end Greg Menard (46 tackles, 13.5 TFL, 9.0 sacks,13 quarterback hurries). On special teams NDSU is first nationally in kick returns (29.45 yards/return).
SCOUTING JACKSONVILLE STATE: After playing in four National Championship games at the Division II level (including winning the 1992 title), Jacksonville State is playing for its first-ever Division I Championship. It marks the first time an OVC team has played for the National Championship since 1982. After topping rival Chattanooga for the second time this season in the second round of the playoffs the Gamecocks dispatched of the No. 2 ranked defense nationally in Charleston Southern (gaining 597 yards of total offense) and then the No. 1 ranked offense in the FCS in Sam Houston State (holding them to just 259 yards of offense). JSU has averaged 625 yards/game and 53.7 points/game in the playoffs including setting OVC Playoff scoring records in back-to-back weeks. Senior running back Troymaine Pope has rushed for 665 yards and eight touchdowns in three playoff games and needs just 29 yards to establish the OVC single-season rushing record (a mark that has been held since 1986). Junior quarterback Eli Jenkins, the FCS ADA National Quarterback of the Year, is 26-0 all-time in the regular season as a starter against non-FBS teams, has continued to succeed in the playoffs and is now 5-2 as a starter in the postseason. Jenkins is one of only two Division I players (FBS or FCS) with 2,700 passing and 1,000 rushing yards this season (Houston’s Greg Ward, Jr. is the other). This postseason he has run for 433 yards and six touchdowns and passed for 546 yards and three scores; his 3,804 yards of total offense this season is fourth in OVC single-season history (he ranks eighth in a career in the category). JSU has won 12-straight games and is looking to set the OVC record for victories in a season with a win on Saturday.
