FCS Playoffs

FIRST LOOK: Rematch between MSU, NDSU set in FCS semifinals

on

BOZEMAN, Montana — The rematch Montana State wanted is set. But the teams that will square off at the FargoDome on Saturday don’t look all that similar to the teams that played in the second round of the FCS playoffs 385 days ago.

Jeff Choate is still the head coach at Montana State. North Dakota State is now under the direction of Matt Entz, the defensive coordinator under Chris Klieman. NDSU’s previous head coach is now at Kansas State along with a big chunk of the Bison coaching staff.

Easton Stick, the all-time leader in wins by a quarterback in college football history with 49, is now with the Los Angeles Chargers. Wide receiver and former NDSU captain Darrius Shepherd is currently on the Green Bay Packers active roster.

Four-year starting safety Robbie Grimsley, All-American edge rusher Greg Menard and the explosive running back duo of Bruce Anderson and Lance Dunn are also no longer with the Bison.

Montana State was bruised and battered entering last year’s game against the Bison. Nose tackle Tucker Yates did not play the week before and wasn’t full strength in Fargo. MSU inside linebacker Grant Collins was playing with hardly a functioning shoulder. Fellow inside linebacker Josh Hill made his first appearance after missing 12 consecutive games due to off-season back surgery.

Defensive back Jalen Cole was out because of a head/neck injury suffered a few weeks earlier. Defensive end Bryce Sterk looked like a transformer with the amount of body armor and braces he had to wear.

And that’s only the beginning for a Bobcat roster that ran out of steam and motivation against NDSU last season in a 52-10 loss. That was NDSU’s first of four playoff victories last fall, another postseason push that helped the Bison win the FCS national title for the seventh time in eight seasons.

On Saturday in Fargo, NDSU hosts Montana State in the first semifinal appearance for the Bobcats since 1984. This year’s Bobcat team is the No. 5 team in the bracket, sporting an 11-3 record, a six-game winning streak and a revamped swagger spurred on by a much-improved and cohesive roster.

But Montana State head coach Jeff Choate said earlier this week that he thinks revenge is the worst motivation in sports. So these Bobcats will try to focus on these Bison.

Montana State running back Isaiah Ifanse (22) hits the second level vs. Austin Peay in 2019/by Brooks Nuanez

“Last year doesn’t matter for them and it doesn’t’ matter for us because you are not the team you were yesterday let alone a year ago,” Choate said. “We have to avoid having PTSD from our traumatic experience last year. But our guys have played a ton of football since them. We have played to a higher degree, we are more competitive, I think we are a better team overall. We are more well rounded. They are the same. What happened last year, throw it out the window.”

Montana State posted a historic win last weekend, defeating Austin Peay 24-10 in the quarterfinals to advance to the Final Four. The Bobcats allowed zero yards rushing and only 197 total yards against one of the hottest teams in the country.

That win sets up a rematch with a long-standing back-story. After MSU’s loss in Fargo last season, the program started using “#NeverAgain” on social media, referring to never wanting to lose in such a humiliating fashion.

Last December, NDSU rushed for 407 yards on just 44 rushes. Dunn rushed for 127 yards and four touchdowns on 11 carries. Anderson rushed for 118 yards and a touchdown. Ty Brooks rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown. All three 100-yard rushers occurred in the first half.

During its six-game winning streak, Montana State has given up a total of 357 rushing yards for an average of 59.5. UC Davis is the only team (157 yards in a 27-17 MSU win) surpassed 100 yards.

Montana State safety Brayden Konkol (41) hurries Austin Peay quarterback Javaughn Craig (3) in 2019/by Brooks Nuanez

North Dakota State extended its historic and simultaneously understated winning streak to 35 games. That number of consecutive wins ranks fifth in the history of Division I college football and is the longest in more than 60 years. But NDSU had a 33-game winning streak between 2012 and 2014. The team has been in the semifinals of this tournament nine years in a row. The Bison have won 126 of their last 134 games.

Yet that does not deter a Montana State team on its greatest run in a generation.

“I think our guys are still hungry and excited to play,” Choate said. “Christmas is all messed up, finals is all messed up but what do you guys want to do? You signed up to be college football players and here we are getting our chance to play our 15th game this year, almost an NFL season and that’s pretty cool.”

QUICK HITS

Location: Fargo, North Dakota

Nickname: Bison

Founded: 1890. The public university was founded as the North Dakota Agricultural College as the research land-grant university for the state of North Dakota. NDSU is a comprehensive doctoral research university with programs involved in very high research activity. NDSU offers 102 undergraduate majors, 170 undergraduate degree programs, 6 undergraduate certificate programs, 79 undergraduate minors, 81 master’s degree programs, 47 doctoral degree programs of study and 10 graduate certificate programs.

The university also operates the state agricultural research extension centers spread across the state on over 18,488 acres.

Enrollment: 13,173 with an endowment of $206.7 million.

Stadium: The Bison have played in the Fargodome since it opened in 1993. It holds 18,700 for football games and over 19,000 including standing room only tickets. The Bison have only lost one playoff game in the history of the Fargodome. The tremendous crowd noise caused by the venue’s steel roof disrupts many opposing offenses and creates one of the best home field advantages in college football.

NDSU has averaged 17,361 in eight home games this season. The Bison are 82-6 at home since 2010. NDSU is 26-1 at home in the FCS playoffs and are riding the longest active home winning streak (27 straight games) in Division I. The last time the Bison lost to a non-conference Division I foe at home came in the semifinals of the 2016 playoffs to James Madison. That defeat was only the second FCS playoff loss in school history.

The Coach: Matt Entz, first year at North Dakota State. NDSU’s former defensive coordinator inherited the proverbial keys to the Cadillac when former head coach Chris Klieman left for Kansas State. Entz has a Missouri Valley Football Conference record 14 straight wins to begin his coaching career, breaking Klieman’s record of nine straight.

In his first season at the helm, Entz has led the Bison to eight wins over teams ranked in the FCS Top 25. He won American Football Coaches Association Region Four Coach of the Year honors and finished second in the Eddie Robinson Award voting for FCS National Coach of the Year after leading a team that lost 24 seniors and 15 starters to the No. 1 seed in the FCS Playoffs.

Entz started his coaching career as the defensive coordinator at Illinois College in 1998. He coached linebackers at Wayne State from 1999 until 2010 before moving to Winona State as the defensive coordinator in 2002. He held that position until moving to Northern Iowa as the defensive line coach in 2010 and the defensive coordinator at UNI in 2012.

Entz was the DC at Western Illinois in 2013 before joining Klieman’s staff as the defensive coordinator in 2014. He hails from Waterloo, Iowa, the same place where Klieman and former MSU, NDSU and current K-State offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham grew up.

PLAYERS TO WATCH – The Offense

Trey Lance, quarterback, 6-3, 221, redshirt freshman — Lance grew up about 45 minutes from South Dakota State’s campus in Marshall, Minnesota. But NDSU’s winning tradition lured him about 225 miles to Fargo instead.

Last season, he sat behind Stick, watching the gritty senior break the all-time record for wins in a career by a Division I quarterback with 49. Lance dressed for all 15 games but used his redshirt after appearing in just two games and throwing just one pass (against North Alabama).

This season, Lance has been on a tear from start to finish. He completed 10-of-11 passes for 185 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 116 yards on five carries and scoring twice in his first career start, a 57-10 win over Butler.

The former small-town two-sport (basketball) and two-way football star has continued his path as the most efficient quarterback in the FCS this season. He has completed 67 percent of his passes for 2,491 yards, 25 touchdowns and an unbelievable zero interceptions. He has not thrown a pick in 256 pass attempts and has not thrown for more than 31 times (against Missouri State).

Lance is also NDSU’s leading rusher. He has rushed for 870 yards on 128 carries (6.8 yards per carry). He has a season-high of 18 carries (for 76 yards) against South Dakota State and a season-high 95 yards (other than Butler) against North Dakota. He has scored 11 rushing touchdowns.

Last season, Choate prepared his defense to face Stick, a tough, competitive pro-style quarterback who still rushed for 2,523 yards and 41 touchdowns in his career.

From Brock Jensen to Carson Wentz to Stick and now Lance, the triggerman has not differed much in regard to leadership and production for NDSU.

“You don’t see much of a different,” Choate said. “The system is what it is. He steps up to the line, he checks to what he wants. If he sees pressure coming on one side, he’s going to check the run opposite. I’m sure Easton probably had a lot more latitude with that and maybe the box is a little bit tighter for Trey but again, there was a point in the season where he had more touchdown passes than completions. Wrap your head around that. He is a phenomenal player who has stepped in and not missed a beat.”

North Dakota State offensive line

Rather than list one of the three NDSU tailbacks with more than 600 yards rushing or one of the three receivers with at least 382 yards or at least 25 catches, we list the key players on one of the best offensive lines in the country.

North Dakota State offensive lineman Cordell Volson (67) and Zach Johnson (68)/by NDSU Athletics

Anchored by junior All-American tackles and bolstered by All-American guard Zack Johnson (the group’s lone senior), North Dakota State’s offensive line is peerless. Junior left tackle Dylan Radunsz, a 6-foot-6, 298-pounder is in his second year as a starter.

The 6-foot-6, 316-pound Johnson started 30 straight games at right tackle, earning All-American honors last season. He’s an All-American at left guard this season.

Junior right tackle Cordell Volson (6-6, 309), Johnson and Radunz have all already earned All-American nods. Junior center Karson Schoening (6-5, 303) was an All-Missouri Valley Football Conference selection. Sophomore right guard Nash Jensen (6-4, 326) rounds out the starting lineup.

“What do you want to say? This is a 14-0 team, one of the only undefeated teams at any level in the country,” Choate said. “They are one of the best rushing offenses in the country, have four guys with more than 600 yards rushing, average 6.5 yards per carry. Their offensive line has three first-team All-Missouri Valley players.

“It doesn’t matter who the coaches is, who the quarterback is, as long as they have that offensive line, they are going to be pretty good.”

Running backs

North Dakota State running back Ty Brooks/by NDSU Athletics

The multiple-back system has been commonplace at North Dakota State the last few seasons and this year is no different.

Ty Brooks, Adam Cofield and Kobe Johnson have all rushed for more than 600 yards this season. Those three and Lance make up the only quartet in college football with at least 600 yards each.

Those four have led the charge for a rushing attack that has piled up 4,002 yards and 43 touchdowns this season. NDSU is rushing for 286 yards per game and averaging 6.3 yards per carry.

Brooks has only officially started four games yet leads the Bison with 902 yards on 124 carries (7.3 yards per carry). He has scored five touchdowns. Cofield has officially started 10 games, rushing for 719 yards on a team-high 151 carries (4.8 yards per carry) and is tied with Lance for the team lead with 11 touchdowns. Johnson has rushed for 611 yards on just 83 carries (74 yards per carry) and has scored four touchdowns.

THE DEFENSE — Players to Watch

Jabril Cox, outside linebacker, 6-3, 233, junior — Last season when previewing MSU’s matchup at NDSU, Choate said he felt Cox could play anywhere in the country.

“Notre Dame, USC, Washington…anywhere,” Choate said.

Now that Cox is a junior, he’s even more difficult to prepare for. As a sophomore, Cox earned Missouri Valley Defensive Player of the Year and finished fourth in the voting for the Buck Buchanan Award.

This week, Choate continued expressing high esteem for Cox.

“The Cox kid, No. 42, he probably should’ve just gone to the draft last year so we didn’t have to play him again,” Choate said.

Cox has started 35 consecutive games and counting. This season, the first-team All-Missouri Valley selection has 78 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. He also has an interception.

“He has NFL prototypical size, speed, strength and he has great instincts,” Choate said. “You don’t seen many guys at our level that are that 6-2, 230-pound guy who runs the way he does. I mean, that’s usually a guy who should be playing in the Big XII. You look at his numbers, his size, his height…the measurables add up to him being a next-level type of player.”

Derrek Tuszka, defensive end, 6-5, 246, senior — The Missouri Valley Defensive Player of the Year is “one of the better players we will see all year,” Choate said.

Tuszka’s production backs that up. He ranke third in the MVFC in sacks (11.5) and tackles for loss (16.5) this season, blossoming in his first year as NDSU’s premier pass rusher. He piled up 15 sacks in spot action over the last two seasons leading up to this year.

He is one of the leaders on a defensive unit Choate calls “suffocating”, a defense that is allowing less than 12 points per game. NDSU is giving up 133 yards rushing and 133 yards passing to rank fourth in the FCS in total defense at 266.6 yards per game.  

James Hendricks, free safety, 6-1, 206, senior — Hendricks’ career at NDSU is a microcosm of the program as a whole.

He came to North Dakota State as a quarterback from Bemidji, Minnesota. He was NDSU’s third-string quarterback as a redshirt freshman. As a sophomore, he was also NDSU’s third quarterback while also playing 15 games on the defensive side, including making starts at strong safety and also playing linebacker. He intercepted four passes in his first five games playing defense.

Last season, he blossomed into an all-league talent, earning second-team All-Missouri Valley honors as a junior. He led NDSU with 14 passes broken up and intercepted a total of five passes, including two in the playoffs.

This season, Hendricks earned first-team All-MVFC honors after notching 53 tackles, two tackles for loss and intercepting four passes. He has 13 interceptions and 138 tackles in his career.

Photos by North Dakota State Athletics, or noted. All Rights Reserved.

About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

Recommended for you