2015 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game
The 2015 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game that determined a national champion in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision for the 2014 season. It was played at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on January 10, 2015, with kickoff at 1:00 p.m. EST, and was the culminating game of the 2014 FCS Playoffs. With sponsorship by Northwestern Mutual, the game was officially known as the NCAA FCS Championship presented by Northwestern Mutual.[5]
2015 NCAA Division I Football Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||
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FCS National Championship Game | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Date | January 10, 2015 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Season | 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Stadium | Toyota Stadium[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Location | Frisco, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||||
MVP | Carson Wentz (QB, North Dakota State)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Favorite | North Dakota State by 6.5[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Referee | Eddy Shelton (Southland)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Attendance | 20,918[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
Network | ESPN2[4] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Announcers | Anish Shroff (play-by-play), Kelly Stouffer (color), Cara Capuano (sideline)[5] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Teams
The participants of the 2015 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game were the finalists of the 2014 FCS Playoffs, which began with a 24-team bracket. No. 2 seed North Dakota State and No. 5 seed Illinois State qualified for the final by winning their semifinal games.
North Dakota State Bison
Led by first-year head coach Chris Klieman, the Bison finished the regular season 11–1, 7–1 in MVFC play, to earn a conference co-championship (shared with Illinois State) and the No. 2 seed in the FCS Playoffs. North Dakota State defeated unseeded South Dakota State, No. 7 seed Coastal Carolina, and unseeded Sam Houston State to reach the final. The Bison entered the Championship game with a 3–0 record in previous FCS Championships, having won the last three straight.
Illinois State Redbirds
Led by sixth-year head coach Brock Spack, the Redbirds finished the regular season 10–1, 7–1 in MVFC play, to earn a conference co-championship (shared with North Dakota State) and the No. 5 seed in the FCS Playoffs. Illinois State defeated unseeded Northern Iowa, No. 4 seed Eastern Washington, and No. 1 seed New Hampshire to reach their first-ever final.
Game summary
Scoring summary
Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Game statistics
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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No. 2 Bison | 3 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 29 |
No. 5 Redbirds | 7 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 27 |
Statistics | NDSU | ILST |
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First downs | 22 | 16 |
Plays–yards | 72–452 | 50–424 |
Rushes–yards | 50–215 | 27–267 |
Passing yards | 237 | 157 |
Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 15–22–0 | 11–23–1 |
Time of possession | 37:15 | 22:45 |
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
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North Dakota State | Passing | Carson Wentz | 15/22, 237 yds, 1 TD |
Rushing | Carson Wentz | 16 car, 87 yds, 1 TD | |
Receiving | R. J. Urzendowski | 5 rec, 100 yds | |
Illinois State | Passing | Tre Roberson | 11/23, 157 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT |
Rushing | Tre Roberson | 11 car, 161 yds, 1 TD | |
Receiving | James O'Shaughnessy | 2 rec, 44 yds, 2 TD |
References
- "North Dakota State University Athletics - Boxscore for Football vs Illinois State on 1/10/2015". gobison.com. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
- "Outstanding players of FCS championship game". ESPN. AP. January 5, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
- "Illinois State Redbirds @ North Dakota State Bison". vegasinsider.com. January 10, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
- "On The Air". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. January 10, 2015. p. C2. Retrieved January 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
- "2014 FCS Championship North Dakota State vs Illinois State". January 10, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2019 – via YouTube.