Media Tour In Big D Kicks Off NCAA Finals Hype
12/20/2012 6:49:00 AM | Football
COMPLETE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME EVENT INFORMATION
In approximately two weeks, both the top-seeded North Dakota State Bison and Sam Houston State Bearkats will meet here for the national title game of the Football Championship Subdivision.
Before getting their game plans in order for the title game rematch - North Dakota State defeated Sam Houston State 17-6 in the 2012 title game - Bearkats coach Willie Fritz and Bison coach Craig Bohl arrived at FC Dallas Stadium in Frisco on Wednesday to talk about the upcoming matchup between their respective squads.
"We had a great experience last year, obviously other than the final score of the game," Fritz told reporters. "I've got a tremendous amount of respect for coach Bohl and North Dakota State. I've been in a few of these situations before where you've had to mingle with the opposition prior to the game and it was really an outstanding situation with both teams.
"I think we share similar philosophies on how to run a football program on and off the field. We look forward to the game on January 5."
North Dakota State (13-1 overall) and Sam Houston (11-3) have taken different paths back to the championship game.
After a 1-2 start, including a conference-opening loss to Central Arkansas, the Bearkats had to win their next seven games just to become playoff eligible and did so with most of those victories against Southland Conference opponents by a wide margin. Even with three losses against its résumé, Sam Houston earned one of 10 at-large spots in the playoffs.
The Kats had to square off against the three champions of the Big Sky Conference. Sam Houston edged Cal Poly 18-16 in the second round, then cruised past No. 3 seed Montana State 34-16 on the road. Last week, the Bearkats jumped out to a 35-0 halftime advantage at No. 2 Eastern Washington, then held off the Eagles' furious rally to win 45-42.
Despite starting the season as the No. 2 team in the country and holding the top spot in the polls for most of the season, the Bison had to scratch and claw in the second half of the regular season to repeat as Missouri Valley Football Conference champs, winning four of their last five games by just one score.
It wasn't any easier in the playoffs. After dispatching conference rival South Dakota State 28-3 in the second round, North Dakota State had a couple of close calls. The Bison held off a tough Wofford squad for a 14-7 victory in the quarterfinals, then rallied in the final minutes to beat Georgia Southern 23-20 in last week's semifinals.
"It certainly was a different road than what we had last year when we kind of cruised through our playoff stretch before we got to Frisco," said Bohl, who was named as The Sports Network's Eddie Robinson Award winner for the FCS coach of the year on Monday.
"That was not the case this year," added the Bison coach. "We had very competitive games and went through a rigorous conference schedule. Once we got into the playoffs, things ratcheted up. We're certainly battle-tested - we're going to get a real test from Sam Houston. In the midst of all of that competition, we really appreciate the resiliency and the focus of our football team and the belief that they had in one another to achieve at a high level. A lot of character, a lot of fortitude and some excellent results."
Despite facing the Bison again for the national title, Fritz says his team won't be able to get another shot at last season's national title and have to remain focused on the Jan. 5 championship game.
"It's two new teams. A lot of the guys that played for them last year are not playing and the same thing with us," Fritz said. "It's two totally different teams. I've got a few new coaches than I had last year. Each team is its own team. You can't carry past successes or failures into the next year."
As the regular season was winding down and the Bison and the Kats were compiling impressive winning streaks, it became apparent, especially after the FCS playoff brackets were unveiled, that those two squads might eventually meet for the national championship again.
"What you saw was that the better teams kept on winning. The odds of two teams repeating like this are very remote. I think it's a real testament to the two programs," Bohl said.
"I knew there'd be a chance (at a rematch), but the way college football is it's very remote. I knew Sam Houston had played a very rigorous schedule and we did as well. Once you got to look at the final eight, you'd look and say that if we took care of our business who would come out on the other side? From my perspective, I thought Sam would be the team that would climb to the top."
From playing for so many consecutive weeks, both coaches said that the time off (three weeks between the FCS semifinals and the national championship game) could not have come at a better time.
"We've got quite a few guys banged up and hopefully they will come back and play for us in this game," Fritz said. "If we had played this next weekend, we would probably have five starters out. This gives us some time. It's kind of like a bowl game, but we'll be playing for much bigger stakes in this national championship."
Once they arrived at the Ron Mafrige Field House in the early morning hours Sunday following the semifinal victory at Eastern Washington, the Kats had a team meeting and the players were given a well-deserved break. While the coaches have been busy coming up with a plan for North Dakota State, the players received an extended holiday and won't have to report back until Dec. 26.
"We took some time off. We needed it. So when we got back, we finished with the team meeting and sent the guys on their way and they'll come back on the 26th," Fritz said.
"(My coaching staff) worked this week on recruiting and North Dakota State. We'll have a pretty good game plan in place by Friday. We're way behind in recruiting, which is OK. I'd rather be behind because of being in the playoffs than any other reason. It'll give us a chance to decompress and get ready to play North Dakota State."
The FCS national championship game will be held at FC Dallas Stadium on Jan. 5, 2013, and just like last year is expected to be played in front of more than 20,000 in attendance.
