North Dakota State vs Sam Houston State FCS Championship

[mgbison]

The only way SHSU has a chance is if they mix the pass and run. Their QB has to have a career day passing for them to win. We can shut down the run, and we will shut down the run. Once SHSU realizes they can't run on us, they are gonna have to pass. Then our front 7 will punish the QB.

After the QB is sick of getting hit, he's gonna panic and throw some stupid passes. Easy int for the defense.

Bison 34
shsu 14

[GrizFanStuckInUtah]

The only way SHSU has a chance is if they mix the pass and run. Their QB has to have a career day passing for them to win. We can shut down the run, and we will shut down the run. Once SHSU realizes they can't run on us, they are gonna have to pass. Then our front 7 will punish the QB.

After the QB is sick of getting hit, he's gonna panic and throw some stupid passes. Easy int for the defense.

Bison 34
shsu 14

There is no way UND scores that many on their defense. I am not sure that SHSU is gonna run it on you guys or not, but if anyone can, they will.

[AZGrizFan]

Man, if only they were at Wa/Griz.

Or showed up for 4 quarters. Weren't you the one questioning whether or not the Griz shut you down in the 2nd half? 3 points and 127 yards of offense. Just sayin'.

...and those three points were off a gift turnover inside the 15 yard line.

[htownbearkat]

Or showed up for 4 quarters. Weren't you the one questioning whether or not the Griz shut you down in the 2nd half? 3 points and 127 yards of offense. Just sayin'.

...and those three points were off a gift turnover inside the 15 yard line.

right, and the 6 we gave you in the 2nd weren't a gift?

[kalm]

...and those three points were off a gift turnover inside the 15 yard line.

right, and the 6 we gave you in the 2nd weren't a gift?

Which has absolutely nothing to do with your assertion that the Griz did not shutdown your Kats in the second half.

[htownbearkat]

right, and the 6 we gave you in the 2nd weren't a gift?

Which has absolutely nothing to do with your assertion that the Griz did not shutdown your Kats in the second half.

Yes, for alot of the 2nd half the Griz played some good Def. When it was crunch time though they folded like a cheap suit. Obviously they were gassed. They could not get a stop in 5+ min. 1st down after 1st down. I felt sorry for them when we went for it on 4th down on our own 47. Flanders rips off a 20 yrd run. It made me a sad panda, but only for a second.

[JBB]

Because it took an entire half to figure out the option, and during that half the Montana offense was making mistakes against a defense they were moving the ball on, brings you to the conclusion that

1) Montana coaches were slow in understanding and implementing the proper schemes and matchups. They pride themselves on "making adjustments", too bad they wait until the half. With the option no adjustments are going to be necessary for the BISON. NDSU is in possession of the greatest body of knowledge on option football ever assembled.

The nations greatest option football minds are readily available to the NDSU Football Conglomerate, among the nations oldest and most respected college football organizations.

2) If Montana could move the ball NDSU can too, without all the mistakes. The BISON have been one of the nations most disciplined teams all season. Few penalties, few turn overs, few missed opportunities. The BISON offense will have a real good day and it will probably turn out that the option is trying to keep pace, at least until they are reduced to passing and running a dive or two.

I was amazed, GSU never gave the option up even though it went no where all day.

[Winindy]

Griz played decent defense after the first quarter. But they couldn't stop Flanders when they needed to on 4th and 1. Sam Houston came up big when they needed it. End of game. Montana had their opportunity to win this thing, and they weren't able to take advantage unfortunately.

I can't wait to see this game in 2 and a half weeks. Montana v NDSU would have been a great one too. But the way NDSU shut down a good passing attack with Lehigh, a great running attack with GSU, the way Flanders ran all over Montana, the way MSU shut down Flanders and SHSU still ran all over them makes this thing crazy interesting.

Difference in this game will be NDSU's offense v SHSU's D. Which NDSU will show up for this thing? The one that stomped GSU or the one that scored 9 against Southern Illinois? Which SHSU D will show up, the one that held opponents to under 14 a game during the season, or is it the one that's giving up 23 in the playoffs?

Should be a great 60 minutes.

[rkwittem]

Once again, another thread has devolved into Griz v. whoever's left.

For those SHSU fans that are getting snippy, it's simple. You scored more points and won the game. No need to get so grouchy. All the Montana fans are saying is that once Montana got their bearings and made their adjustments, they were clearly the superior team. But they spotted you a 21 point lead and the Kats took advantage and held on. It's really that simple.

I for one don't expect the Bison to spot SHSU a big lead like Montana did and I think that more than a few Griz fans expect their last 3 quarters to be the template NDSU follows both offensively and defensively against Sam.

[kalm]

Once again, another thread has devolved into Griz v. whoever's left.

For those SHSU fans that are getting snippy, it's simple. You scored more points and won the game. No need to get so grouchy. All the Montana fans are saying is that once Montana got their bearings and made their adjustments, they were clearly the superior team. But they spotted you a 21 point lead and the Kats took advantage and held on. It's really that simple.

I for one don't expect the Bison to spot SHSU a big lead like Montana did and I think that more than a few Griz fans expect their last 3 quarters to be the template NDSU follows both offensively and defensively against Sam.

Yep

[Grizalltheway]

Once again, another thread has devolved into Griz v. whoever's left.

No shit, can we all just let that game go?? Dwelling on it is just making it more painful.

[JBB]

You can learn lessons on how to beat SHSU by watching the Montana/SHSU game. They did some things well sometimes.

If anyone is interested I have some early data making SHSU 4 pt favorites. This is a surprising situation and is the first time in over 16 weeks the key formulas have shown NDSU to be under!

This margin may be within the margin of error. I do know it is raw data without adjustment. At any rate its going to be close. The name of this game is the NDSU BISON Offense. A normal day is required.

[The_Fan]

L E T' S GO

N D S U !

[JohnStOnge]

I think thats an understatement. i know the 15 point victory vs Western Illinois by SHSU in the first game of the season had you scratching your head. Wondering your thoughts on the same team scoring 21 points on NDSU. Also please comment on the the Bearkats getting the ball back with 5 min to go. driving the ball down the griz throats works with how the griz shut us down in the 2nd half?

The thing that caught my attention most about the Western Illinois and Sam Houston State score wasn't how much Western Illinois scored, it was how much Sam Houston scored. The 20 points was the fewest points anybody scored against Western Illinois all year. A lot of MVC offenses did better against Western Illinois than Sam Houston did.

And that's consistent with a pattern that had been in place over recent years. The Southland in recent years has been characterized by weak defenses. That had been evidenced in the playoffs as well as in nonconference regular season play. So the scenario was consistent with one in which Sam Houston State had such good offensive numbers because it played in a league with weak defenses.

On the other matter: Before I'd looked at the Montana site drive chart but you can get the same numbers from the play by play at the Sam Houston site (http://www.gobearkats.com/ViewArticle.d ... =205348364" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ). Sam Houston State had 496 yards total offense but only 99 came after half time. You can get the second half yardage by adding up the drive distances in the play by play. Or you can go to the Montana site and use the drive chart. I

The last drive was clutch but until that drive started they had 47 yards and two first downs in the second half. As someone else noted, they recovered a fumble on the Montana 8 then gained zero yards and had to settle for a field goal for their only points of the half.

Even on the huge drive to run out the clock they had to get a 4th down conversion to do it. And on that play Montana's front won the line of scrimmage. The got push and moved the line of scrimmage. Flanders just made a great play by quickly jumping outside and a Montana linebacker who was unblocked took a bad angle. You can find the play on youtube and stop/start it to watch. The play was designed to go to the right a little but Sam Houston's line got no push and Montana had the play stopped up there.. The linebacker to the right took a step in that direction and about that time Flanders made his quick move to the left outside. The linebacker was unblocked but didn't quite get to the spot in time. He was very close. In fact I think he probably got a hand on Sanders. But not close enough.

They deserve a lot of credit for that one drive, especially given the game situation, but there's no question that they were generally pretty ineffective on offense for most of the second half after being unstoppable for most of the first half. Whether it was because Montana changed something in their scheme, the players got used to what Sam Houston was doing, or because Sam Houston just quit executing well I don't know. But for sure I don't think it was because Sam Houston took its foot off the gas because that would be nuts with a 14 point lead and a half to go. Plus the lead got down to 7 pretty quickly and Sam Houston still couldn't move the ball until that last drive.

[htownbearkat]

You can learn lessons on how to beat SHSU by watching the Montana/SHSU game. They did some things well sometimes.

If anyone is interested I have some early data making SHSU 4 pt favorites. This is a surprising situation and is the first time in over 16 weeks the key formulas have shown NDSU to be under!

This margin may be within the margin of error. I do know it is raw data without adjustment. At any rate its going to be close. The name of this game is the NDSU BISON Offense. A normal day is required.

I had it at about 3 or 3.5 n favor of the bearkats. Not surprised that you find it surprising though. SHSU was picked 4th in the SLC this year. If you look from the perspective of book makers though it makes since. The run that the Bearkats have been on in conjunction with the quasi home-field advantage it adds up. Should be a great game.

[JohnStOnge]

Definitely nothing to do with the Bearkats. Total freak of nature that a team full of underclassmen picked 4th in the SLC...

You may be interested in the Football Gameplan 2011 Southland Conference Preview They picked Sam Houston State to win the Southland. Said they had the best running backs, the best offensive line, the best defensive line, the best special teams, and were tied with McNeese for the best secondary. Also picked Central Arkansas second.

[youtube][/youtube]

[htownbearkat]

I think thats an understatement. i know the 15 point victory vs Western Illinois by SHSU in the first game of the season had you scratching your head. Wondering your thoughts on the same team scoring 21 points on NDSU. Also please comment on the the Bearkats getting the ball back with 5 min to go. driving the ball down the griz throats works with how the griz shut us down in the 2nd half?

The thing that caught my attention most about the Western Illinois and Sam Houston State score wasn't how much Western Illinois scored, it was how much Sam Houston scored. The 20 points was the fewest points anybody scored against Western Illinois all year. A lot of MVC offenses did better against Western Illinois than Sam Houston did.

And that's consistent with a pattern that had been in place over recent years. The Southland in recent years has been characterized by weak defenses. That had been evidenced in the playoffs as well as in nonconference regular season play. So the scenario was consistent with one in which Sam Houston State had such good offensive numbers because it played in a league with weak defenses.

On the other matter: Before I'd looked at the Montana site drive chart but you can get the same numbers from the play by play at the Sam Houston site (http://www.gobearkats.com/ViewArticle.d ... =205348364" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ). Sam Houston State had 496 yards total offense but only 99 came after half time. You can get the second half yardage by adding up the drive distances in the play by play. Or you can go to the Montana site and use the drive chart. I

The last drive was clutch but until that drive started they had 47 yards and two first downs in the second half. As someone else noted, they recovered a fumble on the Montana 8 then gained zero yards and had to settle for a field goal for their only points of the half.

Even on the huge drive to run out the clock they had to get a 4th down conversion to do it. And on that play Montana's front won the line of scrimmage. The got push and moved the line of scrimmage. Flanders just made a great play by quickly jumping outside and a Montana linebacker who was unblocked took a bad angle. You can find the play on youtube and stop/start it to watch. The play was designed to go to the right a little but Sam Houston's line got no push and Montana had the play stopped up there.. The linebacker to the right took a step in that direction and about that time Flanders made his quick move to the left outside. The linebacker was unblocked but didn't quite get to the spot in time. He was very close. In fact I think he probably got a hand on Sanders. But not close enough.

They deserve a lot of credit for that one drive, especially given the game situation, but there's no question that they were generally pretty ineffective on offense for most of the second half after being unstoppable for most of the first half. Whether it was because Montana changed something in their scheme, the players got used to what Sam Houston was doing, or because Sam Houston just quit executing well I don't know. But for sure I don't think it was because Sam Houston took its foot off the gas because that would be nuts with a 14 point lead and a half to go. Plus the lead got down to 7 pretty quickly and Sam Houston still couldn't move the ball until that last drive.

Thanks for replying. I guess ill have to wait until Jan 8th (depending on the results) for you to finally give credit where credit is due. Ive followed your comment through the playoffs and you give great analysis, but you have just been wrong where the bearkats are concerned. Its sad that your only offer of a bad game is a 21-6 victory in the first game of the season.
I love how you broke down the 4th down play, it seems to really pain you that we got that first down. I think it was the third of the drive. The momentum was totally in the favor of the Griz when we got the ball (thats why they punted). That was a drive of a champion, against a Griz team that had no quit. That is where the game was going to be won or lost and the 4th down play was incredible. It was far from the only one in that series. The Griz had no answer when it was crunch time.
Coach Fritz is amazing and has been able to adapt different game plans for each situation. Just look at the differences in who carried the load in the 2 Montana games. Cant wait for jan 7. Cant wait for the Bearkats to make it 17 wins in a row.

[JohnStOnge]

Its sad that your only offer of a bad game is a 21-6 victory in the first game of the season.

It was more than that. First of all there's a context of recent Southland champions getting forcefully ejected from the playoffs even when they've been dominant in league play. Western Illinois was not the only game. Sam Houston State was not all that impressive in non conference play during the regular season. Undefeated but not all that impressive. It was a weak non conference schedule. Then they had that first round game with Stony Brook. I don't think there's a single person on this board who is not a Sam Houston State or Stony Brook fan who doesn't think Stony Brook was an "easy" first draw that a team truely good enough to be a #1 seed should handle a whole lot more easily than that. At that point it was very reasonable to think they were over-rated.

The first really impressive non conference performance by Sam Houston State this season was the Montana State game.

[htownbearkat]

Its sad that your only offer of a bad game is a 21-6 victory in the first game of the season.

It was more than that. First of all there's a context of recent Southland champions getting forcefully ejected from the playoffs even when they've been dominant in league play. Western Illinois was not the only game. Sam Houston State was not all that impressive in non conference play during the regular season. Undefeated but not all that impressive. It was a weak non conference schedule. Then they had that first round game with Stony Brook. I don't think there's a single person on this board who is not a Sam Houston State or Stony Brook fan who doesn't think Stony Brook was an "easy" first draw that a team truely good enough to be a #1 seed should handle a whole lot more easily than that. At that point it was very reasonable to think they were over-rated.

The first really impressive non conference performance by Sam Houston State this season was the Montana State game.

The MSU game was an anomaly and the griz were the better team despite the score and the one sided penalty yardage in the griz favor.
and if we complete the perfect season, will you still wonder why the Stoney brook game was close? I know its been a tuff row to hoe for the Cowbays of late but, it is possible for a team from the SLC to be great.

[JohnStOnge]

[quote]Thanks for replying. I guess ill have to wait until Jan 8th (depending on the results) for you to finally give credit where credit is due.[quote]

I have already given them credit a number of times. I gave them credit for being extremely impressive against Montana State. I gave them credit for "making hay whlie the sun shone" by scoring points when their offense was humming against Montana so that when their offense stopped humming they had a big enough cushion to hold Montana off. I gave them credit for making a clutch drive to run out the clock against Montana when they really needed to. And I give them credit for reaching the championship game.

I really don't know what to think for the championship game. If you'd have asked me before the playoffs started if Sam Houston State would be likely to beat North Dakota State I'd have said "no.". If you'd have asked me after the Sam Houston State/ Stony Brook playoff game I'd have said "no." But starting with the Montana State game Sam Houston State has been very impressive. Less so in the Montana game because that was definitely a game in which their offense lost its magic for most of the second half and they let a 28-7 lead turn into a 31-28 nailbiter until Flanders made that 4th down play. But still impressive. So now I"d say we'll see what happens.

[JohnStOnge]

if we complete the perfect season, will you still wonder why the Stoney brook game was close?

Yes. One would not expect a team that goes on to win the national championship to struggle with Stony Brook.

[lakesbison]

Ndsu rolls our players are working out, film study, then weekend off

Shsu has had a full week,off.

Nuff said.

[htownbearkat]

Thanks for replying. I guess ill have to wait until Jan 8th (depending on the results) for you to finally give credit where credit is due.

[JBB]

You can learn lessons on how to beat SHSU by watching the Montana/SHSU game. They did some things well sometimes.

If anyone is interested I have some early data making SHSU 4 pt favorites. This is a surprising situation and is the first time in over 16 weeks the key formulas have shown NDSU to be under!

This margin may be within the margin of error. I do know it is raw data without adjustment. At any rate its going to be close. The name of this game is the NDSU BISON Offense. A normal day is required.

I had it at about 3 or 3.5 n favor of the bearkats. Not surprised that you find it surprising though. SHSU was picked 4th in the SLC this year. If you look from the perspective of book makers though it makes since. The run that the Bearkats have been on in conjunction with the quasi home-field advantage it adds up. Should be a great game.

Actually my indicators have the margin < 4 as well, but that is before any adjustment for conference streangth. SHSU has had a much easier time of it in the Southland which, according to my calculations, has inflated their numbers. In the final analysis things could change and the 4 pt spread in favor of SHSU could easily disappear. Stay tuned....

[JBB]

Sagarin has NDSU ranked above SHSU by little over a point. SHSU comes in at the level of UNI. The BISON may be the highest ranked team SHSU has played to date.