This coming Saturday the 9th of January 2016 we have the FCS – NCAA Division Final Champions Game with the 12-2 No. 3 North Dakota State Bison playing the 13-1 No. 1 Jacksonville State Gamecocks with the game being played at the Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas with kick-off scheduled for 12:05 PM ET and seen on ESPN2.
Presently there are no early odds listed for this game at the time of the writing. The Semifinals turned out to be 2 games that were very lopsided, and now the FCS Finals will bring us what should be an exciting Championship game this coming Saturday. The Bison’s are seeking the 5th consecutive FCS Title, and now many thing they should move on to the FBS.
The Bison will be playing the N. 1 Gamecocks whose only loss came in their 2nd game of the season the Tigers of Auburn 20-27. Yes, this is the Gamecocks 1st FCS Title game since their beginning. On the other side the Bison by winning this game could become the 1st in the history of the NCAA to win 5 consecutive FCS Titles.
The Bison team won its 19th consecutive playoff game with a win over Richmond 33-7 and their star QB K. Lauletta. The Bison defense held QB Lauletta of just 172 yards in the game and a 46 % completion rate with 1 interception.
The Bison defense this season has been their strength, and the unsung hero is their QB E. Stick, a freshman who replaced the injured QB C. Wentz. QB Stick passed for 144 yards each game and 13 touchdowns with 3 interceptions while he had a 62.2% completion rate. After he started at QB the Bison went 8-0 after starting the season at 4-2 under QB Wentz.
In this game the Bison need their offense and QB Stick to build up points since the Gamecocks in their last 9 games have scored at least 40 points and in their semifinal game the Gamecocks beat Sam Houston State scoring 62 points. The Bison will also need to slow down the Gamecocks QB E. Jenkins who presents a dual threat has he has rushed for 1000 plus yard and passed for 2,502 yards and accumulated 35 touchdowns for the season.
The Gamecocks QB Jenkins a junior redshirt had a great season and one who ranks among the best in that schools history. He is also assisted in their running game by RB T. Pope who in that semifinal game ran for 2 touchdowns and rushed for 182 yards, while on the season he scored 19 touchdowns and rushed for a total yardage of 1,758.
Before the semifinals the Gamecocks were thought to be the early favorite to win this final game by a big margin on the scoreboard. But with both these teams playing supreme football, this game will draw a lot of fan and spectator attention with a division that has always kept the fans in consideration when it comes to the playoffs.
The online sportsbook prediction for this FCS Championship game is that the Jacksonville State Gamecocks prove to be too much offensively for the Bison’s of North Dakota State and the Gamecocks win the game , the Title and end the hopes of a 5th straight title by the North Dakota State Bison.