Sam Houston State's powerful offense sputtered at the worst possible time, costing the Bearkats a chance to win their first FCS title.
North Dakota State made the most of big plays by special teams and defense in a 17-6 victory Saturday in the championship game, when the top-seeded Bearkats failed to capitalize on some chances and looked nothing like the team that led the FCS in scoring this season.
"Obviously, we would have liked a better outcome. North Dakota State did a heck of a job," Bearkats center Travis Watson said. "Their defense played well and we really struggled."
Sam Houston (14-1) had its lowest-scoring game of the season, 33 points below its scoring average, and was denied an undefeated season. The Bearkats, who had rushed for 811 yards in their previous two playoffs games, had only 210 total yards in the Football Championship Subdivision championship game.
After halftime, North Dakota State quarterback Brock Jensen threw a touchdown pass right after a fake punt, then had a 1-yard keeper for another score after a long interception return.
The Bison (14-1) won the last of their five NCAA Division II national championship game victories in 1990, and claimed three other titles before the first championship game was played in 1973. This was their first title game since moving to the higher division in 2004.
"There was a real resolve and determination, especially by our seniors. We had a couple of tough years here," Bison coach Craig Bohl said. "Our guys wanted to make sure we returned Bison football to national prominence. It's not easy to do. I want to thank them because today we returned Bison football to national prominence."
Sam Houston State opened with its lowest-scoring half of the season, but led 6-3 after Craig Alaniz kicked two field goals in the final 2:18 of the first half. The Bearkats, who failed to convert two earlier turnovers into points, then didn't even score after halftime.
Alaniz kicked a 24-yard field goal to cap a 41-yard drive on which Tim Flanders had carries of 15, 13 and 10 yards before being stuffed for no gain and then a loss of 1 after Sam Houston got to the 6.
Flanders, who had 287 yards on 26 carries in the semifinal victory over Montana, ran 21 times for 84 yards in the finale. On a fourth-and-1 after North Dakota State's first touchdown, he was stuffed for no gain at the Bison 29.
After North Dakota State fumbled at its 41 midway through the first quarter, Flanders ran for 9 yards on the next play. But Sam Houston didn't gain another yard on that drive, with quarterback Brian Bell stopped on a fourth-and-1 keeper when he ran into a wall of defenders at the line and was unable to surge forward.
"They're very sound," Sanders said. "Their defense did a good job of taking away our option game."
North Dakota State wasn't much better on offense, with only nine first downs and 235 total yards. They didn't even have a first down on their last four possessions before halftime, and started the third quarter facing another fourth down.
That's when punter Matt Voigtlander, who also is listed as a running back, took off and ran 27 yards on fourth-and-4.
"We had not run a fake all year. It was something we kept in our hip pocket," Bohl said. "We needed to establish some momentum. We were disappointed we couldn't get a first down in a normal way. Things were right and our players executed a right idea."
Voigtlander made the call for the fake when he looked outside and saw a wide-open lane.
"As open as it was, just about anyone could have done what I did," he said.
On the next play, Jensen threw a screen pass to D.J. McNorton, who then ran straight up to the field for a 39-yard touchdown for a 10-6 lead.
"It was a momentum changer," Bearkats coach Willie Fritz said. "We're not a team that's used to playing from behind."
North Dakota State had only one more first down after that until starting at the 1 following linebacker Travis Beck's interception and 63-yard return. Beck picked off the underthrown pass by Brian Bell, who managed to keep Beck out of the end zone despite his desperate leap trying to score.
On the next play, Jensen plunged in for the touchdown with 8:45 left.
Jensen finished 10 of 20 for 120 yards passing with an interception. Bell threw two interceptions and completed 12 of 31 passes for 115 yards.
It is the fourth consecutive year with a first-time FBS champion.
A crowd of 20,586 packed the professional soccer stadium in the suburb north of Dallas. The crowd was split fairly evenly among fans from Sam Houston State, which has its campus about 200 miles south, and North Dakota State located more than 1,000 miles north.
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Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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