The FCS National Championship will be an all-Missouri Valley affair.
North Dakota State punched the first ticket Friday night with a 35-3 win over Sam Houston State, taking a 7-3 halftime lead and exploding from there. The Bison will play for their fourth straight national championship - and three of them could come at the expense of Sam Houston State after beating the Bearkats in the 2011 and 2012 championship games.
On Saturday, Illinois State booked its ticket to the championship in epic fashion. The Redbirds trailed top-seeded New Hampshire 18-6 through three quarters, but notched touchdowns in successive drives - traveling 173 yards in 19 plays - to take a 21-18 lead.
New Hampshire had one chance to tie or take the lead, but its eight-play, 29-yard drive was halted at the Illinois State 46 when Sean Goldrich's 4th-and-3 pass to Kyon Taylor was stopped for no gain. Illinois State consumed the game's final four minutes and eight seconds to punch its first ticket to the FCS title game. Quarterback Tre Robertsoncarried the Redbirds, completing 18-of-31 passes for 278 yards while also leading the club with 12 carries for 95 yards and a touchdown. His prolific effort overcame a lost fumble at the New Hampshire goal line in the first half.
Illinois State (13-1) and North Dakota State (14-1) finished the regular season as co-champions of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They did not meet in the regular season, and each suffered its lone loss on the road to Northern Iowa. Illinois State avenged its loss to the Panthers with a 41-21 win in a second-round playoff game on Dec. 6.
A win by North Dakota State will make the Bison the first FCS team to win four straight national titles since the subdivision was formed in 1978. Appalachian State also claimed three straight national titles from 2005-07.
The FCS National Championship will be held Saturday, Jan. 10 in Frisco, Texas (1 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
Congratulations to North Dakota State's Chris Klieman and Illinois State's Brock Spack for reaching their first FCS title games as head coaches.