No. 4 Dukes Best No. 1 NDSU to Punch Ticket to National Championship

Friday, December 16

Fargo, N.D.

7 p.m. ET

James Madison University

13-1

North Dakota State

12-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

James Madison

North Dakota State

No. 4 Dukes Best No. 1 NDSU to Punch Ticket to National Championship

12/16/2016 10:26:00 PM | Football

Box Score @JMUFootball Box Score Frisco Tickets ESPN Highlights ESPN Highlights Photo Gallery 1 Photo Gallery 2 Press Conference

FARGO, N.D. - Senior running back Khalid Abdullah ran for 180 yards on 23 carries on Friday night as No. 4 James Madison rolled to a 27-17 win over No. 1 North Dakota State to earn its first trip to the NCAA FCS National Championship since 2004.

The Dukes (13-1) racked up 445 yards of total offense against the Bison (12-2), who entered Friday's semifinal as the ninth-ranked defense in the country after surrendering just 310.2 yards per game up to this point.

Abdullah gouged NDSU for 7.8 yards per carry on the evening, rolling to a career-high 232 all-purpose yards. The senior pulled in a pair of catches for 51 yards, including a career-long 41-yard snag and a 10-yard touchdown with 6:51 left in the second quarter that put the Dukes up 17-0.

JMU continued its balanced offense, rushing for 203 yards and passing for 242 more, as junior quarterback Bryan Schor went 11-18 for 242 yards and three touchdowns. Junior wide receiver John Miller pulled in a pair of long catches that totaled 70 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown that sealed the contest at 27-17 with 6:59 to play.

The Dukes leaped out to a 17-0 lead in the first half, with Schor finding junior tight end Jonathan Kloosterman for a 14-yard score and Abdullah for a 10-yard strike, while sophomore kicker Tyler Gray added a 24-yard field goal.

NDSU used a score just before halftime to seize the momentum, adding a field goal and a touchdown in the third quarter to tie things at 17-17 with 5:53 to play in the period. Gray drilled a career-long 45-yard field goal to put the Dukes ahead to stay with 11:46 to play, with Schor's 25-yard strike to Miller providing the dagger.

JMU will face the winner of No. 2 Eastern Washington and Youngstown State in the FCS National Championship on Saturday, Jan. 7, at 12 p.m. The Eagles and Penguins will face each other in the other FCS Semifinal on Saturday, Dec. 17, at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets for the FCS National Championship Game in Frisco are on sale now at JMUTickets.com.

DUKES DOWN NO. 1!

James Madison upsets 5x-Champ North Dakota State to advance to the #FCSChamp. pic.twitter.com/hxDjF1Ztlr
— FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) December 17, 2016

QUOTING COACH HOUSTON
"Right now it is surreal. To be able to come into an environment like this and win a game is certainly something we talked and dreamed about. To be able to come in here and do it is a different thing. It is a credit to our players and coaches for believing and trusting each other and believing in the philosophy that we came in here trying to establish. It has resulted in one of the biggest wins in school history. I am very blessed to have a wonderful group of kids and a wonderful group of coaches."

PRESS CONFERENCE

END OF GAME VIDEO

The Dukes march on...#FCSChamp pic.twitter.com/udrAbhx0y7
— FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) December 17, 2016

DETHRONING THE CHAMPION
North Dakota State had won five consecutive NCAA FCS National Championships prior to JMU's semifinal victory. The Bison fell to 18-1 all-time at home in the FCS playoffs and had a streak of 22 consecutive playoff victories snapped. JMU also snapped NDSU's string of 45 straight wins against non-conference opponents at home, a streak dating back to 2003. JMU also became just the fourth top-10 team to win in the FargoDome in 20 tries all-time.

ESPN HIGHLIGHTS

NUMBERS

JMU matched the program record for wins by improving to 13-1. The 2004 national championship team finished 13-2.
JMU improved to 5-1 on the road in 2016, 5-0 against FCS opponents
NDSU trailed at the half for just the third time in the postseason in the last six years
JMU's 17-0 advantage was the largest deficit NDSU faced this season
JMU's 201 yards rushing were the most allowed by NDSU in the postseason since 2010

RECORD WATCH

With his 180 yards, Abdullah climbed into second on both the JMU season (1,708) and career (3,577) rushing lists
Abdullah's 231 all-purpose yards were a career high and elevated him to second on the JMU season chart with 1,891 as well as fourth on the career list with 3,986
The 23 carries for Abdullah pushed him into second in both season (272) and career (647) carries
The 242 passing yards by Schor moved him to second on the season chart with 2,890 and seventh on the career chart with 3,744
Schor moved into a tie for seventh in career completions with 281 and a tie for sixth in career passing touchdowns with 34
Schor climbed into second for season total offense with 3,433
Brandon Ravenel moved into ninth in season receiving yards with 720
Tyler Gray moved into a tie for fourth for season field goals with 14, including his career-long 45-yard boot to give JMU the lead
Dimitri Holloway's 16 tackles were a career high