FARGO, N.D. - Hunter Luepke had 199 all-purpose yards and North Dakota State's defense got two late stops as No. 2-seeded Bison beat No. 3 seed James Madison 20-14 in the semifinals of the NCAA Division I Football Championship on Friday, Dec. 17, before a crowd of 16,550 at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome.

Cornerback Destin Talbert made a leaping one-handed interception in the end zone with 3:05 left in the game, and defensive linemen Javier Derritt and Logan McCormick combined for a sack and pass breakup on the final two plays of the game to send NDSU (13-1) to its ninth national championship game in 11 years.

James Madison (12-2) came back from a 13-0 deficit with a pair of third quarter touchdowns. Cole Johnson connected with Antwane Wells Jr. for a 13-yard score to cap a 13-play, 80-yard drive to open the second half, and Devin Ravenel caught a 4-yard TD pass with 1:26 late in the third to put the Dukes ahead 14-13.

Luepke accounted for 65 yards on the ensuing possession including a 35-yard pass from Cam Miller and a 4-yard rush before Miller hit Luepke with a 22-yard touchdown pass to put NDSU ahead 20-14 with 13:44 left in the game.

Luepke finished with a game-high 19 carries for 110 yards and made three receptions for 89 yards. He was the first player to lead the Bison in both rushing and receiving since Christian Watson did it in the 2019 semifinal win against Montana State.

NDSU quarterback Cam Miller went 10 of 19 passing for 165 yards and two touchdowns, the first coming on a 32-yard pass to Luepke that opened the scoring with 5:12 left in the first quarter. Jake Reinholz tacked on field goals of 43 and 20 yards in the second quarter to give the Bison a 13-0 lead by halftime.

JMU's Johnson went 25-for-34 passing for 210 yards with two TDs and two interceptions. Safety Dawson Weber made the first pick in the end zone to keep it a 10-0 game early in the second quarter.

Defensive end Tony Pierce had two of NDSU's four sacks as the Bison set a new school single-season record with 49 sacks, surpassing the mark of 47 set by the 1974 and 2018 Bison teams. Linebacker Jackson Hankey made a team-high eight tackles.

North Dakota State advanced to the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 8, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. NDSU will face the winner of the semifinal game featuring South Dakota State at No. 8 seed Montana State.