Comeback Falls Just Short As JMU Drops 28-20 Decision To NDSU In National Title Game
Rob Washburn
Box Score
FRISCO, Texas (January 11, 2020) – A dramatic fourth-quarter comeback fell just short as #2 James Madison dropped a 28-20 decision to #1 North Dakota State in the FCS National Championship game before a standing-room only crowd of 17,866 at Toyota Stadium.
The Dukes (14-2), who were making third appearance in the national title game in the past four years, had their 14-game winning streak come to an end, while the Bison completed a perfect 16-0 campaign and claimed their eighth national championship in nine years.
JMU trailed 28-13 early in the fourth quarter, but a 35-yard punt return by D’Angelo Amos gave the Dukes possession at the NDSU 46-yard line with just under 12 minutes to go. Seven consecutive running plays pushed JMU into the red zone, and quarterback Ben DiNucci was able to keep the drive alive with a 6-yard run on fourth down. Two plays later, DiNucci found Riley Stapleton on a 5-yard scoring pass to bring the Dukes within 28-20 with 6:55 remaining.
The Dukes’ defense was able to stop the Bison on fourth down on the ensuing possession and they took over on their own 36-yard line with 2:51 on the clock. JMU methodically made its way down the field, and a 22-yard pass from DiNucci to Riley Stapleton followed by a pair of NDSU penalties moved the ball to the Bison 3-yard line with eight seconds left. However, a pass lofted to the corner of the end zone was picked off by NDSU’s James Hendricks to end the game.
DiNucci finished 22-of-33 passing for 204 yards and two TD’s, with the majority of his completions going to brothers Riley (10 rec., 100 yds., 2 TD’s) and Dylan Stapleton (6 rec., 66 yards). Percy Agyei-Obese ran for a team-high 73 yards on 18 carries, while Latrele Palmer picked up 44 yards on eight carries in the second half.
Linebacker Dimitri Holloway recorded a team-high nine tackles for a Dukes’ defense that held NDSU to just seven points and 131 total yards in the second half. All-America defensive ends John Daka (8 tackles, 1.5 TFL) and Ron’Dell Carter (7 tackles, 1.5 TFL) also had strong outings.
NDSU got a sensational performance from freshman quarterback Trey Lance, who rushed for a team-high 166 yards and a TD on 30 carries and also passed for 72 yards. Lance, who received the Walter Payton Award as the top offensive player in FCS football this season, was chosen as the game’s Most Outstanding Performer.
JMU set the tone early, opening the game with a 17-play, 86-yard scoring drive to take a 7-0 advantage. DiNucci was a perfect 5-for-5 for 41 yards on the drive, capped by a 5-yard strike to Riley Stapleton for the touchdown. The Dukes controlled the ball for 7:33, with Agyei-Obese running eight times for 32 yards.
NDSU answered quickly on its first possession, going 70 yards to tie the contest at 7-7. Lance’s 32-yard scramble on third down was the big play on the drive, which ended with a 1-yard scoring run by Adam Cofield with 3:30 to go in the first quarter.
The Bison moved on top, 14-7, on the opening play of the second quarter when receiver Phoenix Sproles took an end around, faked a reverse, and sprinted 38 yards down the left sideline for a score.
JMU drove inside the red zone on its ensuing possession and trimmed the deficit to 14-10 on Ethan Ratke’s 29-yard field goal with 9:37 remaining. However, NDSU responded once again, as Hendricks ran 20 yards for a TD on a fake field goal with 3:47 to play that extended the Bison lead to 21-10 at halftime.
After forcing a three-and-out on NDSU’s first possession of the second half, JMU was able to drive inside the Bison 10-yard line before getting a 27-yard field goal by Ratke that made it 21-13 midway through the third period.
Lance came up big again on the first play of the fourth quarter, breaking loose up the middle on a 3
rd-and-23 play for a 44-yard TD run that put the Bison ahead 28-13. NDSU finished with 281 yards rushing against a Dukes’ defense that hadn’t allowed more than 118 yards to an opponent all year.