James Madison Ends North Dakota State's Run in FCS Semifinals, 27-17

Friday, December 16

Fargo, N.D.

6 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

12-2

James Madison

13-1

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
James Madison	7	10	0	10	27
North Dakota State	0	7	10	0	17

Photo by: Tim Sanger

James Madison Ends North Dakota State's Run in FCS Semifinals, 27-17

12/16/2016 10:20:00 PM | Football

Box Score

FARGO, N.D. - No. 1 seed North Dakota State's run of five straight NCAA Division I football national championships ended with a 27-17 loss to fourth-seeded James Madison in the FCS semifinals Friday, Dec. 16, before a crowd of 18,282 at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome.

JMU improved to 13-1 overall and advanced to the Jan. 7 championship game where the Dukes will face either Youngstown State or No. 2 seed Eastern Washington. NDSU finished 12-2 overall.

"I'm so proud of them. I'm proud to be the head football coach here," said NDSU head coach Chris Klieman. "I told the seniors, 'You're not defined by a moment, you're defined by your body of work, and that's the best body of work you'll ever see in college football history."

Khalid Abdullah rushed for 180 yards, the most by an NDSU opponent since the 2010 quarterfinal loss at Eastern Washington, and Bryan Schor went 11 of 18 passing for 242 yards and three touchdowns for JMU.

North Dakota State, which had averaged 300 yards rushing in its first two playoff games, turned in a season-low 132 yards led by Lance Dunn's 56 and King Frazier's 44. Quarterback Easton Stick was 19 of 38 passing for 216 yards.

JMU jumped out to a 17-0 lead midway through the second quarter before NDSU rallied back. Chase Morlock scored on a 3-yard run before halftime, Cam Pedersen kicked a 45-yard field goal to open the third quarter, and King Frazier scored on a 16-yard run to tie the game 17-17 with 5:53 left in the third quarter.

Robbie Grimsley picked off a JMU pass on the next drive, but the Bison stalled after three plays and then missed a 49-yard field goal attempt that would've given NDSU its first lead of the game.

The Dukes added a 45-yard Tyler Gray field goal and a 25-yard touchdown catch by John Miller to go ahead by two possessions with 6:59 to play.

The loss snapped NDSU's 22-game postseason winning streak. It was NDSU's first home playoff loss since the 1991 Division II first round.

"We made it to the semifinals with a lot of adversity and there was no pressure on these kids," Klieman said. "They teed it up and played every doggone game and battled. None of it was easy, but we had resolve and character unmatched in college football."