SATURDAY'S SCORES
#2 North Dakota State 37,
#1 Jacksonville State 10 (Frisco, Texas)
#2 NORTH DAKOTA STATE 37, #1 JACKSONVILLE STATE 10
FRISCO, Texas - Jacksonville State saw its 12-game winning streak and hopes of a national championship come to an end with a 37-10 loss to North Dakota State at Toyota Stadium on Saturday in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game.
The Gamecocks (13-2), who were the first OVC team to play for a national title since 1982, fell behind 24-0 at halftime as North Dakota State (13-2) claimed its fifth-straight FCS National Championship. The Bison controlled the time of possession and finished the game with 379 yards of total offense compared to just 204 for JSU.
JSU senior running back Troymaine Pope established a new OVC single-season rushing record finishing the season with 1,788 yards after gaining 31 on Saturday. Pope broke the record previously established by Akron's Mike Clark in 1986.
FCS Quarterback of the Year Eli Jenkins rushed for a team-high 88 yards and the team's lone touchdown but struggled in completing just 7-of-20 passes, was intercepted twice and fumbled twice. Despite the struggles Jenkins capped a fantastic junior year with 3,949 yards of total offense, No. 2 in OVC single-season history (trailing only Jimmy Garoppolo's 5,112 yards in 2013). Jenkins has 8,357 total yards for his career, a mark that is now No. 7 in OVC career history.
North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz was named MVP of the game after completing 16-of-29 passes for 197 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 79 yards and two additional scores. Wentz, a projected high NFL Draft Pick, was seeing his first game action since October after suffering a mid-season injury.
NDSU is now 71-5 over the last five seasons.
The 13 wins by Jacksonville State this season tied the OVC single-season record.