FRISCO, Texas (STATS) – As a freshman who was completing a redshirt season, linebacker Jabril Cox didn’t play in North Dakota State’s loss to James Madison in the 2016 FCS playoffs, yet he felt responsibility toward it.
The older players on the team made sure everybody felt something heading into the offseason.
“It didn’t matter if you played a little role or a large role in the loss to JMU, you were still held accountable,” said Cox, one of the top freshmen in the nation this season.
The 27-17 loss in the semifinals ended the Bison’s record run of five straight national championships, but they’ve worked their way back to another matchup with James Madison, the defending champ. On Saturday, the nation’s top two FCS programs – JMU is 14-0, NDSU 13-1 – will meet in one of the more anticipated finals in the 40-year history of the playoffs (noon ET, ESPN2).
The rematch at Toyota Stadium has been 55 weeks in the making. NDSU coach Chris Klieman’s company line is it’s a different season and the Bison don’t dwell on the past, but, make no mistake, the loss to James Madison has motivated his players in a way like never better.
“We didn’t go where we wanted to go last year, so it’s definitely stuck in our heads and kind of motivated us for this year,” senior linebacker Chris Board said Thursday at a media session following practice.
“I just kind of feel like we beat ourselves. Hats off to JMU, they’re a really good team, but I feel like we definitely beat ourselves, we should have been a lot more locked in. I feel like we’re definitely feeling really good about this game plan.”
Injuries caught up to NDSU by that fateful night in the Fargodome, but the Bison haven’t used that as an excuse. The Dukes were the better team, turning the tables on the Bison with an aggressive, physical style. They went on to whip Youngstown State in the title game as well – part of the 26-game winning streak they take into Saturday’s title game.
If the Bison can avenge that loss on Saturday, they would tie Georgia Southern for the all-time lead with six FCS titles.
“I just feel like the loss last year against JMU, we didn’t capitalize,” said Bruce Anderson, NDSU’s leading rusher. “We had some three-and-outs, we had some mistakes where we could have tweaked something, we could have been in different places better. Our scheme was good, but we didn’t execute to our highest ability and I feel like this year we’re going to be able to do that.”
Said senior tight end Connor Wentz: “I wasn’t mad about stuff that they did, it was things that we did (and) didn’t win the game because of. And that’s what really fueled me in the offseason, (like), ‘We have to get better at this.'”
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