2013 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game

This article is about the FCS (Division I-AA) championship game. For the FBS (Division I-A) championship game, see 2013 BCS National Championship Game.

The 2013 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the North Dakota State Bison and the Sam Houston State Bearkats. It was played on January 5, 2013, at FC Dallas Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The culminating game of the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season, it was won by North Dakota State, 39–13.

2013 NCAA Division I Football Championship
FCS National Championship Game
North Dakota State Bison Sam Houston State Bearkats (13–1) (11–3) MVFC Southland 39 13 Head coach:  Craig Bohl Head coach:  Willie Fritz TSN Seed 1 1 TSN Seed 5 —
1 2 3 4 Total North Dakota State 3 7 15 14 39 Sam Houston State 0 10 0 3 13
Date	January 5, 2013
Season	2012
Stadium	FC Dallas Stadium[1]
Location	Frisco, Texas
MVP	Brock Jensen (QB, North Dakota State)[2]
Favorite	North Dakota State by 1.5[3]
Referee	Gregg Wilson (Big Sky)[1]
Attendance	21,411[1]
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN2[4]
Announcers	Dave Neal (play-by-play), Jay Walker (color), Cara Capuano (sideline)[4]
NCAA Division I Football Championship  < 2012 2014 >

With sponsorship by Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the game was officially known as the NCAA FCS Championship presented by Enterprise Rent-A-Car.^[4] The contest was a rematch of the prior season's championship game, which was also won by North Dakota State.

Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 2012 FCS Playoffs, which began with a 20-team bracket.

North Dakota State Bison

Main article: 2012 North Dakota State Bison football team

North Dakota State finished their regular season with a 10–1 record (7–1 in conference), including a win over Colorado State of the FBS. As the first-seed in the tournament, the Bison defeated South Dakota State, Wofford, and fifth-seed Georgia Southern to reach the final. This was North Dakota State's second appearance in an FCS/Division I-AA title game, having won the prior season's title game over Sam Houston State.

Sam Houston State Bearkats

Main article: 2012 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team

Sam Houston State finished their regular season with an 8–3 record (6–1 in conference). Two of their losses were to FBS teams; Baylor and Texas A&M. Unseeded in the tournament, the Bearkats defeated Cal Poly, third-seed Montana State, and second-seed Eastern Washington to reach the final. This was also Sam Houston State's second appearance in an FCS/Division I-AA championship game, having lost the prior season's title game to North Dakota State.

Game summary

Both teams scored a field goal and touchdown in the first half, for a 10–10 score at halftime. The Bearkats appeared to take the lead on a 41-yard run by Timothy Flanders early in the third quarter, but the score was negated by a holding penalty. The Bison went on to score four second-half touchdowns, while holding the Bearkats to a single field goal. The 39–13 final score gave the Bison their second FCS championship.^[5]

Scoring summary

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP NSDU SHSU 1 3:49 5 65 2:37 NDSU 32-yard field goal by Adam Keller 3 0 2 14:18 11 55 4:31 SHSU 38-yard field goal by Miguel Antonio 3 3 2 3:09 5 72 2:19 NDSU Brock Jensen 20-yard touchdown run, Keller kick good 10 3 2 0:33 9 75 2:36 SHSU K. J. Williams 1-yard touchdown reception from Brian Bell, Antonio kick good 10 10 3 8:30 10 60 4:29 NDSU Jensen 1-yard touchdown run, Keller kick good 17 10 3 2:08 6 65 2:41 NDSU Sam Ojuri 2-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass good (Keller to Mike Hardie) 25 10 4 13:20 10 50 3:48 SHSU 32-yard field goal by Antonio 25 13 4 10:13 6 65 3:07 NDSU Jensen 1-yard touchdown run, Keller kick good 32 13 4 6:00 4 30 2:11 NDSU Ojuri 11-yard touchdown run, Keller kick good 39 13 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 39 13

^[6]

Game statistics

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 1 Bison	3	7	15	14	39
Bearkats	0	10	0	3	13

Sam Houston State running back Timothy Flanders

Statistics	NDSU	SHSU
First downs	22	23
Plays–yards	62–441	73–391
Rushes–yards	45–300	38–116
Passing yards	141	275
Passing: comp–att–int	10–17–0	20–35–4
Time of possession	30:13	29:47

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
North Dakota State	Passing	Brock Jensen	9–16, 115 yds
	Rushing	Sam Ojuri	14 car, 92 yds, 2 TD
	Receiving	Kevin Vaadeland	2 rec, 34 yds
Sam Houston State	Passing	Brian Bell	19–33, 255 yds, 1 TD, 3 INT
	Rushing	Timothy Flanders	19 car, 53 yds
	Receiving	Richard Sincere	4 rec, 83 yds

^[7]

References

1. "Boxscore for Football vs Sam Houston State". gobison.com. January 5, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
2. "Outstanding players of FCS championship game". ESPN. AP. January 5, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
3. "Sam Houston State Bearkats @ North Dakota State Bison". vegasinsider.com. January 5, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
4. "College Football NCAA FCS Division I North Dakota State vs Sam Houston State". January 5, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2019 – via YouTube.
5. "Bison are back on top". The Boston Globe. AP. January 6, 2013. p. C13. Retrieved January 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
6. "North Dakota State vs. Sam Houston State - Play-By-Play". ESPN. January 5, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
7. "North Dakota State vs. Sam Houston State - Game Summary". ESPN. January 5, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2019.

Further reading

• "Bison Repeat as FCS National Champions with 39-13 Win Over Sam Houston State". gobison.com. January 5, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
• "North Dakota State 39 Sam Houston 13". gobearkats.com. January 5, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
• "Big Sky officials to work FCS title game". Missoulian. AP. January 4, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2019.

External links

• Box score at ESPN
• College Football NCAA FCS Division I North Dakota State vs Sam Houston State 01 05 2013 via YouTube