The time has come for the FCS Championship game in Frisco, TX. This year's championship game will consist of two teams from the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Illinois State Redbirds and the North Dakota State Bison will go head-to-head on January 10th to see who will reign supreme. These two teams did not play each other earlier this season so this will be like a conference championship game as well as a national championship game. With both teams being very similar on both sides of the ball this should be a very good game with a lot of back-and-forth scoring.
The Illinois State Redbirds are making their ever appearance in an FCS Championship game. The Redbirds have been very hot during the playoffs and have shown that they can compete with the best in the FCS. The Redbirds defeated their MVFC foe Northern Iowa by 20 points in the 2nd round, then they beat a very good Eastern Washington team by 13 points in the quarterfinals, and made a 15-0 comeback run against #1 New Hampshire in the semifinals. Illinois State has a very good offense, but they are going against one of the best defensive teams in the FCS,
Indiana transfer Tre Roberson has passed for 3,064 yards, is 4th in average passing yards, 27 passing touchdowns, and is 4th in passing efficiency. The Redbirds running back, Marshaun Coprich is leading the FCS in rushing touchdowns (27) and rushing yards (2,168). He is second in yards per game with 154.9 yards. These two guys are they key to Illinois State's victory over the Bison. That will be a pretty task against one of the best defenses in the FCS.
The North Dakota State Bison are looking for their 4th straight National Championship. The Bison also started the playoffs with a victory over a conference rival in South Dakota State, The Bison were tested pretty good, but came away with a close win against the Jackrabbitts. Then they took on Coastal Carolina and their high powered offense. The Bison did come away with the victory, but it was a close one winning by 7. In the semifinals the Bison met the cinderella team on the playoffs in Sam Houston State, but the Bison showed them why they are the three-time national champions and defeated them 35-3. The Bison are on point and are ready to take home another championship back to Fargo.
North Dakota State has the 3rd best overall defense in the FCS. They only allow 13.2 points per game, which is 2nd best in the FCS. The Bison has the 5th best rushing defense in the FCS, and they will need that defense to show up against Coprich, who is arguably the best running back in the FCS. The Bison are 3rd in passing efficiency defense. They will be put to the test against Tre Roberson and the Redbirds. North Dakota State will have to watch their penalties to help secure their chances of winning. The Bison have 21 more penalties in the year than the Redbirds do. They are going to need to play smarter and watch their penalties.
This is one of those games were the irresistible force meets the immovable object. Two of the best teams in the FCS both with their own specialty. The Redbirds clearly have the better offense while the Bison have the better defense. Besides having a great defense the Bison have another thing going for them, experience. This is the fourth straight trip to the championship game for the Bison. The Bison are working on becoming a dynasty, you could argue that they are already at that status. The Bison are going to show it on the field. I'm not taking anything away from the Redbirds. They are an amazing offensive machine, but this is their first trip to the big game, and I don't know how they will handle it. North Dakota State has been here and know how to prepare for this game. This is going to be a really enjoyable game to watch. It should be the kind of game you would expect a national championship game to be. I think it will close all the way to the end, and if North Dakota State can keep their penalties down then they will come away with a fourth straight national championship. I think North Dakota State wins this game by 2 points with a score of 27-25.
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