2021 NCAA FCS Championship Quarterfinal - North Dakota State vs Sam Houston State

and welcome to the lone star state here in huntsville texas bowers stadium north dakota state's in town for a rare road game in the fcs championship run sam houston the home team and they're going to try to work some magic in front of a capacity about 50 today almost 7 000 strong roy philpot tom luganville great that you could join us on this may sunday afternoon winner of this game will draw the winner the 3c james madison versus north dakota that game coming up later today six eastern on espn2 we've got some great matchups tommy today as we look ahead towards the rush game for north dakota state versus an improved and enhanced sam houston defensive front well you look at those numbers right there something's got to give right a week ago north dakota state rushes for an astounding 422 yards you're coming up against the sam houston defense that is so disruptive so explosive and they don't give up any any yards on the ground so you know what that tells me quarterbacks better step up today i don't know if north dakota state's gonna be able to run it the way they did a week ago north dakota state the bison out of fargo set to receive the football first christian watson drifts back deep calls for the fair catch and the bison will take over at their own 25 and our first look at the freshman signal caller making his second career start in cam miller lose yeah rare to see a freshman for the bison play under center you know generally you're behind at carson wentz an easton stick betray lance cam miller has been spoon fed throughout the course of this season and the coaches now trust him they trust him to run the offense make the decisions you see that stat line though roy six of 11 for 50 yards is not going to cut it in the fcs playoffs on the road today they've got to be better complementing their run game through the air under loop key the full back flanking the freshman cam miller in the backfield wants it in motion miller's gonna take off we expect we'll see a lot of this today he's brought down after a gain of three maybe four by markel perry you know you look at north dakota state you see the the bottom line score there and there's no number next to north dakota state there's no seed that man matt ends right there the head football coach has already won an fcs national championship in the 2019 season had a chance to play one game this last fall roy but this is uncharted waters on the road you're not the top seed you didn't have a buy in the first round it's a fresh world for the bison different world for all of us in 2021 second down in seven big number 44 rumbles his way ahead to the 30. it'll bring up third down and five to stop by joseph wallace [Music] now the buys in this season saw their 39-game win streak come to a close that was against southern illinois back in late february also lost their 32-game home winning streak at the fargo dome and the first time they haven't been seated in post-season play since 2010 it's been a while it's hard to even imagine it and again not only not seated but just not even being the number one seed which they've been so accustomed to do vanilla in the backfield on third and five miller wants to run it has to get to the 35 he will plus three and north dakota state with an initial first down i like the call here and one of the reasons cam miller became the quarterback is for this very reason he can run it he's an athlete he can make things happen with his legs and so far in the early going roy we're seeing a north dakota state offense that's spreading out this bearcat defense for sam houston and using the quarterback in the run game but let's see if they get back to more of their traditional downhill a gap run game that's really tailored to going great towards the teeth of that athletic defensive front for sam houston run game we don't look at a lot of that high formation this is what we see right there a gap between either side of the center vanella straight ahead bottled up driven down after a short gain braden clopton got there first it'll be second and ten oh roy when you look at this offense one of the things that's so difficult to defend with them it's not just their talent it's not just how well coached they are it's all of the different things they do there's so much to prepare for and it's all about formations shifts motions and personnel groupings they don't have a lot of plays but they got a ton of window dressing and a lot of eye candy to create problems for opposing defenses i love what you said this week it's like a cross between clemson and what it likes to do and wisconsin the power game the horizontal spread you out screen game they'll do it all yup little jump pass and the floater is caught ball pops out sam houston they recover outstanding field position for the bearcats jalen thomas able to wreak havoc and he's comes up with a football on the turf and a big early turnover for the bison huge turnover and bad news for north dakota state this has plagued them this now makes them i believe minus nine on the season in turnover margin that's unheard of for north dakota state and this is a heck of a play by cam miller here just to be able to get the ball off really nice job tight end such an important position in this uh offense but given one up there early with field position and you look at sam houston uh from a turnover perspective plus four on the year for the bearcats josh babich caught the pass it was poked out recovered by jalen thomas screen pass on first down and that's a deity first reception in a gain of six to stop by henke quarterback for sam houston eric schmidt southland conference player of the year the bearcats last season in the southland before they make the transition to the whack and you see his numbers a week ago probably not what we expected luke had a soft tissue issue in the in the in his back on his throwing shoulder side and it's really impeded his ability to follow through and be at his best in in terms of velocity and arm power when throwing the football and see if he's more healthy today that's a first down run for ramon jefferson the bearcats already in plus territory after the early turnover k.c keeler leads the charge and he has never lost a home playoff game in his career well why do you think he looks so young that guy that man 61 years old right there i still can't figure stop it he's 61 years old he's never lost a game that keeps you young in the first round he's had tremendous success here in huntsville jefferson plunges ahead and costner ching led the initial charge after gain of two no roy what's interesting about this matchup with these two teams is neither team sees somebody like the other team during the regular season you see the summary here of the year in the southland conference you don't see a team that's built like north dakota state within your conference and coach keeler mentioned really important to have that extra day have this game be on a sunday as opposed to a saturday just because there's so much to prepare for and it's unfamiliar territory schmidt off the back foot launches a pass noah smith has it that'll move the sticks once again gain of 12. nice little pitch and catch and sam houston doing exactly what they want to do where their strength is is on the perimeter their skill they want to spread out north dakota state horizontally get north dakota state defensively isolated in space and take little short pieces of the puzzle hopefully they turn into big gains towards the end zone good coverage the pass falls in complete chandler harbin the intended target second to ten coming up you know this is one of those situations in my opinion you get the early turnover you have plus territory you cannot afford not to capitalize on this drive this drive has to result i think it needs to result in a touchdown because you never know like a week ago north dakota state got down 14-0 to eastern washington next thing you know they rush for 400 yards and steamroll eastern washington so gotta get a touchdown here on this drive for samus bison showing pressure we'll drop back in coverage on the screen cody kress transfer from harvard a nifty move it'll be third and short so we're fairly certain he doesn't forget the plays right you would think so yeah right you think he's got that locked in you know they've got a wealth of receivers and they're not very big on the perimeter five nine five ten five eight but they can all make you miss and they can all extend the plays after the catch touchdown a week ago third down and four schmidt has a man pass is incomplete and kress got a couple of fingertips on it couldn't reel it in we'll make it fourth down and four decision time for casey keeler boy you just wish you could have come down with that one if you're crescent as i was talking about so important you're in the playoffs you're at home you have a play to be made right there opening drive you've just come off of a momentum shifter with the the game turnover obviously you've got to come away with points but the plus territory move here is to go for it jayden price in coverage 44 on fourth down this season jefferson in the backfield an enormous play early as they pass on the 41-yard field goal attempt schmidt to the air has a man wide open hazard has it jumped out of bounds it'll be first and goal and sam houston on the move ezra the transfer from howard 21 yards on the game there and look at the very bottom of your screen right here and he just runs a nice little outro i don't know what north dakota state's doing in the back end they're giving up that much of a cushion with four yards for the lion to gain and just pitch and catch if you're eric smith the quarterback for sam houston a way to extend the drive here getting inside the red zone more than four yields 21 yards schmidt on the ground bulldozed down quickly at the line of scrimmage he may have lost a couple of yards michael duchy laid the lumber you want to limit some of those hits on on eric schmidt just with the the soft tissue injury to he really kind of described it as being almost on his on his lat on his back below his shoulder and he takes a shot right here right below the right shoulder this is a kid roy that was a 4-4 legitimate speedster coming out of high school nobody recruited a big quarterback that's one of the reasons he ended up here with sam houston then play the drive jefferson sit down stop short of the six and mo stark got there that was eli mozart number 53 and mozart does a great job of playing with leverage low pad level working off the block to the play side gap and playing up field they're so well coached in every phase north dakota state every coach you talk about tells you look at this formation yeah offensive tackles all over the place they see kaler digging into his bag of tricks early on third and goal last two plays lost yardage screen nearly intercepted and north dakota state was ready and waiting spencer wagey i think they're going to call this a lateral roy let's see because the officials were having a bit of a discussion here the rolling on the field it's an incomplete pass okay fourth down jeff knight out of the c.a.a is our referee this afternoon very fortunate wagey right there he does a nice job it was almost as if he read the scouting report knew exactly what was coming big big goal line stand there for north dakota state bison defense has been legit as you would expect seth morgan on the field for a chip shot field goal 24 yard attempt 9 for 11 this season and he'll split the pipes our first score of the game sam houston strikes first and the bearcats lead it three nothing well these two teams extremely familiar with each other we go back north dakota state won that one 17-6 interception return and a punt return led the charge for the bison that day a couple of years later 2014 ndsu 35-3 victors over sam houston john crockett ran wild with a buck 66 and then would you know it four years ago 55-13 the double nickel on the board for the bison easton stick a future fifth round draft pick counted for four touchdowns and bruce anderson ran wild as well up at the fargo dome and look this is a series history it's been dominated by the bison no shame there they've virtually dominated everybody they face luke's yeah they certainly have and and and i will say having to go on the road again not having a buy not being the number one seed not having home field advantage throughout the playoffs sometimes that can be a good thing for a football program kind of press the reset button because guess what you win this much complacency can set in at some point or another watch it goes back eisen will get it at the 25. north dakota state's so dominant they've won eight in the last nine fcs championships nine consecutive trips to the semis awfully impressive and we said it earlier sam houston they've never lost a home playoff game someone's got to give today yeah and again i think it goes back to the two quarterbacks whether it's cam miller the true freshman eric schmidt for sam houston that we just saw had a nice opening series both of those guys were roughly 50 a week ago that's not good enough for fcs national championship level aspirations so one of these two quarterbacks has to emerge today jalen bussey on the field he'll get the handoff nearly fell down for a loss of a couple instead plunging forward and four maybe four and a half yards to tackle by trevor williams all five foot five of him i mean he he is a little a little water bug now and he is so explosive so sudden he makes you miss thank goodness he makes you miss because you don't want to take a lot of shots on that chassis halfway through first quarter second down and six for the bison good number of north dakota state fans made the trip down here at bowers stadium along the far side watson in motion and miller flings it and the pass ruled incomplete don't forget the ncaa fcs championship coverage continues next weekend the semifinals on the espn family of networks and also the espn apple for more information visit ncaa.com the home for all 90 ncaa championships 36 luke's what do you like well they're used to being in third and two and three with their run game generally being very very successful on early downs i'm not so sure that you don't move the pocket with the quarterback here give him a run pass option on the perimeter or utilize him again in the run game you've got no backs five wides top of the screen is the full back hunter lookie mize needs six to the air incomplete and batted away by zion mccallum who exited the quarterfinal game rather the first round game a week ago with an injury that's a big pbu there lose yeah this is against noah gindorff the big six foot six tight end and it's supposed to just be a back shoulder fade very very well covered in the back end right there and again you got length mccollum six foot four versus six foot six it's a good matchup on the inside and sam houston as advertised on defense so far first look at carrick wegner edser drifts back temperatures in the lower 80s no fair catch ezra tackled right at the 25 after a punt of 46 second possession for sam houston after this [Music] very much pay attention to paoletti he is a hammer as a backup quarterback for the blue hens meanwhile back in huntsville texas roy philpot tom luganville bearcats with their second possession leading north dakota state three nothing well jefferson has it on the quick toss and he's bottled up quickly logan mccormick got there first after gaining two so when you look at how this game is starting to kind of play out for north dakota state they want to run the ball right they want to maintain possession they want to beat you up their last drive lasted a total of 45 seconds punt that's not north dakota state football that's the recipes for success so sustaining drives right now for sam houston by getting their guys in space is critical time for schmidt heaves one deep has a man and a daggy sees that one paul right in front of him now two weeks from today we'll be crowning a champion the fcs coming your way the title affair on may 16th over on abc two eastern frisco texas and what a scene it will be and perhaps one of these two teams will have a chance to win a championship north dakota state of course has been there done that sam houston trying to do it for the first time and they've got third down and eight right here luke's [Applause] kyron jackson the running back and pass pro on that play the pass broken up and incomplete so at three and out for sam houston as courtney eubank swatted that one away again i think this is another attempt as we saw with it north dakota state did a back shoulder throw the ball's just thrown too far upfield too far to the inside if eric schmidt can get that ball to the back shoulder on the sideline side he's got himself a completion so kind of finding their way here a little bit two back-to-back series for both offenses under one minute matt mcroberts put it away as jaden price goes back for the bison [Music] a couple of quick possessions for both sides price with the crease and stopped that in his tracks one of 54 yards a return of four bison get it back as you take a look at the bell tower here on campus [Music] hey lance didn't play in a lot of games but i tell you what 28 touchdowns toss no picks luke's pretty impressive he's a protector of the football i think at the end of the day talk about managing the game well that means maintaining possession of the ball and does it as well as anybody short game for ganella to stop by williams surprised a lot of people when goodell announced straight lands as opposed to mack jones but i tell you what backing up jimmy garoppolo for a year there's some real value long term with lance in san fran yeah i think kyle shanahan and john lance are kind of trying to emulate what was done in kansas city with andy reid and patrick mahomes and alex smith listen jimmy garoppolo's problem isn't that he can't play it said he's had a hard time staying healthy if they can maintain his health for the year bring trey lance along have some bait and some movement on the trade circuit with garoppolo at some point and mold their young quarterback into a second or third year starter ndsu one first down on his first two possessions gonna be tough to get another one here as candela was sit down hard by jahari k that's a loss of three yeah jahari k he was a part of that movement to get bigger faster more explosive up front look at him coming from the bottom of your screen and he's unblocked off of the edge junior college player out of laney college in northern california they felt like they needed a little more maturity and some size i think that casey keeler the head coach he hit the nail on the head if we want to play for a national championship we need to be built like the james madison in the north dakota states and that started up front [Applause] raja nelson will set up shop top of your screen on third and long time for cam miller floats one and intercepted isaiah downs the hero a week ago as they held on against monmouth late at the goal line and a big pick here in our first quarter one thing you cannot do when you're throwing the out route to the far sideline is you cannot throw it behind the target and cam miller here one hitch balls out but he just doesn't throw it to the sideline and christian watson the intended target there gonna come downhill to the sideline but that's just a poor throw not necessarily a poor read and again look at the look at the turnover margin graphic this is astounding first of all 2017 to 2019 is unheard of that doesn't happen play action first down ezer has another first down for sam houston but the turnovers for the bison an enormous story this season it is and and again you know a couple of losses your minus nine turned it over twice today in the first quarter but again now the onus is on sam houston you cannot come away without at least getting a touchdown off of one of these two turnovers they've got to come up with seven in this drive after a gain of 15 jefferson the running back [Music] day in motion they'll go on the back side as a man threw that one out of bounds looking for ezra double coverage over there by the bison you know some of these weapons roy i'm a little bit surprised that they've tried to take as many shots as they have if you looked at the first two drives for sam houston really good with the bubble screen stuff really good with the quick screen the slant route get the ball out of eric schmidt's hand quick let the skill guys do what they do in space but the last drive and this one as well they've tried to take some shots downfield instead of just getting the ball out on the perimeter under four to go in our first quarter quick toss a wobbler and it's reeled in far side it'll bring up third down and short crest has it and he's been active in our first quarter and he's slow to get up if you recall he was the intended target on the shot to the end zone two series ago but it probably should have been a catch and when he came down he had aggravated himself and was slow to get up i don't know if this is something tied to that but good good to see sam houston again get the ball out underneath and let these guys make plays let's see if he ends up this ends up being a turf oh i don't know just land on the football i think it's more than getting the wind knocked out of you this is the way that first possession went when he went down in the end zone yeah he appears to be okay that's the good news sam houston needs more of 89. third down and four after the six yard gain we've seen casey keeler be very aggressive with the play calling in this situation what do you like here well they haven't really shown any consistency running the football and i don't i don't see that being an option here unless you're going to utilize quarterback run try and get one plus in the box and if north dakota state doesn't have the numbers in the box to defend quarterback run this is the big rpo team it's a big quarterback power quarterback counter team see if they utilize the quarterback's legs here nope [Applause] smith comes back yes schmidt straight ahead needed four he'll gain five and the drive continues i i think you need to see more of that because you've got to account for the extra guy and the extra guys the quarterback and they didn't have enough numbers in the box to defend this for the blockers that sam houston had and that's that that plus one component when your quarterbacks an athlete can run second trip into the red zone for the bearcats little shovel pass smith has it a little shake little bake stopped at the three maybe the two and sam houston on the move close to a gain of 10. i love this call you isolate the unblocked defender in that case logan mccormick excuse me i think it was picture wagey number 99 coming off the edge well he's in a conflict of assignment now right if i take the quarterback or do i take the back and number six smith he's a problem first and goal jefferson deep handoff towards the goal line did he get there [Music] they're going to stop him just short it'll be second and goal the half foot line what a statement this could be for sam houston early in this game to go up two scores against the defending champs yeah and to and to capitalize on a couple of gifts got three off of the first one the first turnover of the first series but it's got to come down to a touchdown right here and i think it's been a a wonderfully called offensive series let's see if they use the quarterback again here jefferson has five touchdowns on this season make it number six nine nothing bearcats and sam houston flexing in our first quarter [Music] 510 210 pounder he's kind of the the thunder to the lightning of number six noah smith and you know what i think this is this is a message to north dakota state's defensive front we're gonna line up and we're gonna we're gonna try and run it we're gonna see if you can match up with us usually it's always the other way around tables have turned it appears so far north dakota state they've won eight of the last nine championships sam houston state trying to win its first that pat was deflected but it still drips through and our new score 10 nothing bearcats in front of north dakota state again a lot of misdirection you see the the motion the shift the h back there number 16 slay coming across in motion and the ball goes back up to the right side and you only need a yard to go that's a lot of eye candy in the backfield for opposing defenses and again two turnovers north dakota state maybe more importantly plus territory on the recover of both of those turnovers for the sam houston offense to be on short field now you have the bumble recovery by jalen thomas the interception by isaiah downs bearcats cashed in for 10 early points 227 remaining here in our first quarter now the good news is if you're a fan of the bison this is exactly where you were about a week ago that news is you were playing at the dome this time you're on the road you're not in the comfort zone [Music] and watson kneel it down in the end zone sam houston's defense getting it done just like a week ago forcing turnovers offense cashing in they've got more turnovers right now than they have first downs if you can imagine that and and again the tight end costs one up an aggressive fly to the football sam houston defense and then a poor throw from cam miller the true freshman just got to settle down now gotta settle down for north dakota state north dakota state needs to get back to what they are it's a variety of formations personnel groupings motions and shifts and run the football hunter lucky hears you loud and clear couldn't find a rush lane stock stacked up and driven backwards he was lucky to get back to the line it was quentin brown with a hard collision now sam houston's defense luke's is known for making plays behind the line of scrimmage they have made a living in opponents backfields this season well they have and you see that number right there that's a little bit reflective of the conference they play in as well as far as not seeing a team that's going to attempt to run the football in the variety of ways that a north dakota state is dead miller's only completion resulting in a fumble he'll take off here reports ahead to the 32 will be third down and a long three for north dakota state that's a gain of seven so this is where north dakota state likes to be offensively you want to be in third and three or less but if you go back to last week at home versus eastern washington they're down 14 to nothing the next series right around this same time in the first quarter north dakota state started running the football and running the quarterback just saw another quarterback run see if we see the same formula continue to develop here on this drive the week it's been for matt ends in ndsu frey lance in the draft nationally televised game in the fcs playoffs miller [Music] tries to escape and he cannot he'll lose a couple of yards zion mccullum his second big play in this first quarter for sam houston yeah i i think i i think cam miller was a little too hesitant right that he should have stuck it in there and zion mccollum who at six foot four is a big long secondary player that can clearly come down and play near the box resulting in three straight drives without a first down for the north dakota state offense garrett wagner put it away hazard waves for the fair catch he'll make it at the 27. upon a 41 yards sam houston taking over again an interesting start in this contest north dakota state so dominant for so many years and now on the road in the playoffs for the first time since 2010 it's been a little bit of a different story thus far don't forget you can find out your favorite team schedule the sportscenter special nfl schedule release it's coming may 12 8 o'clock espn2 we look forward to that especially after this big weekend of the nfl draft how much fun was it to see goodell the bro hugs dapping it up on stage eric smith trying to do a little bit more and out in the flats has his man passes caught a gain of eight as chandler harvin grabbed it yeah this is the recipe you you take a team that's not accustomed to being on the road it's 85 degrees out you're a team that's you you've been in the state of texas you know the temperatures you know the wind you know the heat you are a skill-dominated team spread these guys out and force them to play in space on defense how about the bearcats playing in front of the home crowd good start 15 minutes in noah smith wants to keep it going into ndsu territory and another first down for the bearcats give him 17 on the final play of our first quarter i told you he's a problem that one right there noah smith he can change the game just a different type of pack than their other guy there in the backfield ramon jefferson all about turnovers roy and capitalizing on those turnovers the home team sam houston up 10 as the first quarter comes to an [Music] end kevin connors in studio delaware taking it to jacksonville state nolan henderson hooking up with gene coleman the bergen catholic alum inside the five yard line and then the blue hands punch it in from short distance 14 nothing delaware in front roy jc how about it delaware will face the winner of south dakota state southern illinois back in huntsville texas bearcats and north dakota state and sam houston with a 10-0 lead 15 minutes in he'll get the winner of james madison in north dakota if they can hold on here on this sun splash sunday first play of the second quarter and it's a screen shiley has it and a short pickup after the big gain by noah smith at the end of the first quarter i didn't think they were going to run another play they kind of snuck it in there and they gained 17 yards out of it yeah it was it was a nice little change of pace on some hurry up after the reception by schlei really unable to do much with it second down and ten total yards dominated by sam houston including those two turnovers force really been the key to their start today luke we actually got a pretty good crowd on hand yeah power stadium too which is great to see it certainly is smith sandwiched between a couple of bison defenders [Music] got there number 69 for ndsu no gain on the play uto with the stop third down and long coming up and there you see bowers stadium struck the back at 86. 50 or so capacity we were told and a good showing by the bearcats faithful for that long-awaited home contest against north dakota state big play here for the bison defense pocket is there for schmidt and now will take off lasso from behind did he get there no he did not fourth down and three for kc keeler i don't know if i like that spot either i maybe and and i understand it's where you initiate slide to see where he goes down and this where eric schmidt can be really dangerous again a 4-4 kid a lot of people recruited to play wide-out or safety they're one-for-one on fourth down today i think with the plus territory and the success that they have had spreading north dakota state you got to go for this i would i think they're in fourth down territory every time they plus supporting well here comes matt mcrobert and a bit of a surprise let's see if they try fake robert took his sweet time to try to pin ndsu deep in its own territory and he wills the ball spotted inside the 15. big possession for the bison here in huntsville after this [Music] well familiar territory for both of these schools as you go back to first round action a week ago eastern washington led by two scores in the fargo dome before ndsu really took control on the ground rushing for 371 yards after facing that deficit then sam houston defensively lights out before monmouth rallied late in the game and had a chance but couldn't pull it off k.c keeler knows that defense is legit maybe that's the reason he's playing the field position game early you may be right you know he's an offensive guy and they backed him up in the best field position for north dakota state and this game so far has been its own 26. but i think there's two ways of thinking about this big hole for luke that's a first down second of the game for the bison and he'll lay the lumber to mccollum at the end of that run and again as a big wide open hole [Music] and and they're just playing playing zone and cut to the backside again big fullback rummaging through there he's an endangered species but i think casey keeler i think they should have gone for it and put the put the pedal to the middle right but he might have been thinking hey we're dominating on defense if i pin them back we might even get better field position if we force another three and out and sorry you might have been thinking two series ahead but that that's backfired on him here after a gain of 18. nella stopped by joseph wallace after a short game it's just great to see a fullback on the depth chart coming into the game this week i mean we kind of applauded that with his coaching staff talking to him he should like i mean as kind of as a pre-wreck he should have to wear a neck roll if if you are if you're if you're a position that is literally dying on the vine you got to go all out and look the part he's got the towel on the back belt though i like that offset eye lucky the fullback protecting the backside of cam miller and the pass is going to be reeled in that's another first down jake lippy will move the chains for north dakota state and a big pitching catch for the bison that's a gator 14. see now this one you can get away with being high into the outside because there's no danger from a turnover perspective that's just a great effort play on a contested ball the ball came out clean and that's that's a confidence builder right there for cam miller he needed that to happen because to this point north dakota state's been abysmal in the passing game and this is getting to be what the first time where they may cross the 50-yard line in the game so far today here's bussey makes one man miss and he'll lose a yard second down and 11. now coming to you two weeks from today on abc it is the fcs championship we're looking forward to the frisco texas once again the home of the title affair 2 p.m eastern abc will we see one of these two teams in the lone star state trying to win the championship gonna be a lot of fun lose i love the fcs playoffs got a chance to take part in the scs playoffs although it was a bittersweet end to the eventual national champion montana grizzly lucky another big hole into sam houston territory it'll be third down and manageable that's a pickup of seven so one of the big differences you're seeing this week as opposed to last week because last week eastern washington's playing this north dakota state team that's got 22 personnel and 13 personnel and they're playing them with six men in the box it's impossible they cannot hold up half to hat sam houston state's more talented and more gifted up front and they're playing with better numbers which is why they're having success versus the run so far here in the first half third down and five [Music] lucky again powers his way ahead he's gonna be stopped about a yard short you gotta think that matt ends is gonna go for it here on fourth down yeah and you've got some momentum you need to swim momentum back to your sideline and give your kids some confidence [Music] i think you do go for it here your plus territory finally gonna get some momentum going here ndsu in search of a spark and the full back is on the field i told you earlier in the week i'm so excited to be able to say 13 personnel i might just say 14 just in case they get into it there's such a football nerd look at this i haven't seen that formation since 87. miller straight ahead needed a yard this one's going to come down to the spot early indication is he got it and i believe he did you love the two tight end set flanked on either hip of the quarterback just to push him that's the only reason they were there good play call i like it we had a funny conversation with tyler roll offensive play caller for ndsu and head coach matt edge and i said just brought up hunter lucky big number 44 just tries to push cam miller ahead there semantic coach it's just great to see a full back on the depth chart and as soon as i brought up his number and his name on our zoom tyler roll turns into arsenio hall with the fist pump and he's just going he's excited to talk about a big fullback miller's gonna keep it here and he'll gain two maybe three he was a fullback so you know he kind of you know the soft spot in his heart this is stuff though i think that they've got to continue to do with with cam miller he's the starting quarterback because he's a better athlete than zeb nolan okay so they can do more with him and they need to continue to do that get him settled down in the passing game but offset their inside run game with some quarterback run just to keep sam houston's defense aware that hey the quarterback could be a ball carrier at any time dad miller true freshman second career start his first start came in the playoffs last week this time with time sensing backside pressure miller escapes and makes something out of nothing and maybe a half yard pickup there is a flag on the field the first of this quarter-final match-up it's been a clean game i haven't had a lot of this we await work from jeff knight our referee in this one against the bison from north dakota and guilty party almost halfway through our second quarter how fast is this game moving along which is also surprising with you know back to back less than a minute drives in the first quarter for north dakota state a lot of clock stoppages but now they're starting to get back to doing what they do and let's run the football north dakota state a rare infraction [Music] average fewest the fcs in this spring season on second at 18 miller off the back foot flings it has a man double coverage and incomplete watson wants a penalty he will not get it cameron alexander there with blanket coverage deep down the field all right let's just take our big best skilled target put him one-on-one down the sideline let him go up and try and get it and safety comes off the hash and isaiah downs who actually won the game with an interception last week at home versus monmouth and it's just good coverage on the back end cameron alexander number 21. third and 18 miller's only completed two passes in six attempts let's see what north dakota state tries to dial up here canela in the backfield [Applause] and conservative play call 29 gets it and is tripped up back into plus territory stopped at the 42. what do you make of that i think you're going to see a team that loves to wear you down and play field position try to play field position right here the penalty on the holding call just absolutely killed this offense because it took some some air out of their sail but they're going to do they're going to pin it back here try and make sam houston earn it go the length of the field here's garrett wagner is ezra he's set to receive it for sam houston end over in and the wobbler carroms into the end zone sam houston with the football when we come back to huntsville texas kevin connors in studio coming up at the half trevor matic will join me we'll get the national champions thoughts on the bearcats performance thus far plus we'll preview the rest of a great college football playoff sunday including the nation's number one james madison in action and we'll check in on delaware jacksonville state strong start so far for the fighting blue hands all coming up roy when you join us at the hat kevin connor sounding a bit nervous after the latest acquisition by the new york jets in the quarterback position zach wilson may be unseating the current hierarchy in said division with the buffalo bills and josh allen luke do you hear it the disdain in his voice [Music] zach wilson going number two overall noah smith on the swing pass picks up two yards and ushered out of bounds quickly sam houston's never lost a game at home in the fcs playoffs north dakota state you probably know by now they're pretty good and they're trying to win another championship this year again outside of the comfort zone though and the comfort dome too you're on the road you're not the number one seed you didn't get a buy no home field advantage and casey keeler the head coach of sam houston is 28-0 as a head coach in the playoffs in the first round at home excuse me he won a national championship back in delaware schmidt drop at the 21. eli mostar it'll bring up third down along so the bison really need to stop here trying to close out this first half in strong fashion well that's the whole reason why they punted the football i think they were hoping to get you know a better return out of it and get you know pin it back inside the five inside the ten but it is the smart play they they know who they are what their identity is they're gonna play good hard-nosed football the thing that's interesting about both of these teams all right neither of them have formed well in third down and there have been no explosives really no explosives uh given up on either side of the ball hey luke he's 18-yard gallop was certainly explosive the fullback and on third and long that pass sales incomplete so the bison defense does its job ezra the intended target we'll see if ndsu can capitalize on pretty good field position eric schmidt here takes a shot the ball didn't look like it came out very clean his feet weren't underneath him he takes one right in the kitchen there looks like there was a bit of a miscommunication with the target on the outside you could see him kind of motioning maybe thought he went a little too deep game has had a throw back feel to it thus far fourth and eight approaching five to play in our first half pressure and it's blocked the bison got there and the ball sails through the end zone for his safety that's two on the board and that's one way to get back in and it's back to a one possession game no boy so you decide to run it on third and 18. you get seven you punt it you hold and then you get the special teams play when you need it most wow mccormick i think stuck yeah trio of bison look at those pick your poison look at those white jerseys hustling to the football man i'm telling you what you talk about a football team that plays hard it's well coached is disciplined great effort those are all starters now those aren't reserves and i know you've got scholarship limitations at the ncs level but their best players are playing in the kicking game at north dakota state logan mccormick and we talked with david braun this week about number 93 and he said you know what logan probably shouldn't be as good as he is he's only six two about 240 pounds in junior but don't tell him that he's mr hustle he gets after it every practice every game every day and you saw right there he's going to try to spur another comeback for the bison he's a tone setter he's the guy that when you have a thursday practice and you're just in helmets and he's acting like it's tuesday and everybody despises him he's the reason why this program is uh what it is he's running on 93 octane all the time man i've been sitting on that one all week that was good you're in post-season form right now by the way i'm digging it no this is post-post season we had bowl season now we got post post season oh don't forget now north dakota state will get the football after this free kick from the 20. so again still probably good field position plenty of time and some timeouts to work with [Music] watson get it back to the 33. and new life for cam miller that's a six yard return for christian watson and let's see what happens here now the ncaa fcs championship coverage yep it'll continue next weekend with the semifinals on the espn family networks also on the espn app for more information visit ncaa.com the home for all 90 ncaa championships ten to two in the bottom of the seventh inning right now two on this is you know i you want to sit here and say wow this is a really important drive for north dakota state i think it's a really important drive for the defense to get back on track for sam houston done such a nice job to this point they can't let momentum get away from him make the handoff to bossy miller tackled downstairs by markelle perry he lost two on the play luke's loses two on the play and there's a lot of orange jerseys in the box and a lot of orange jerseys doing two things playing lower than north dakota go to state's offensive line and penetrating gaps they're off the ball so explosive and so quickly that if you're not out of your stance man they're playing in your backfield three tfl so far for sam houston a rebuilt defensive front since their last meeting against the bison play action babbage no real estate drop down no gain on the play you know three tackles for lost 15 last week so this this is a group defensively very disciplined you know the thing that i loved and their defensive coordinator uh brought it up to us this week was don't worry about the name on their jersey don't worry about the colors don't worry about the national championships everyone worry about the play that is right in front of you and i think sam houston done a remarkable job of doing just that here in the first half ndsu averaging third down at about eight so far today and that pass nowhere close raylen henderson the intended receiver three and out after forcing the safety getting the football back you look at what's happened so far today luke's not able to find that ground game just yet again i go back to the numbers a week ago eastern washington wasn't playing with the numbers enough numbers in the box to defend 22 and 13 personnel which heavy run formations sam houston has plenty of those guys within the box and the athletes to add to it wegner's been extremely busy on the road ndsu has failed to secure a first down on four of its first six possessions and a deep bomb dropped by wegner here desert lost the how lucky was sam houston to get that one back it was just laying out there almost knocked over almost came right out of my chair holy smokes cameron alexander recovered it loose yeah ezra don't be a hero now a hero hang on a 63-yard pot and whoa sam houston lucky to have the football [Music] it's been a different year in huntsville texas here home to sam houston the bearcats players have actually had to do their own laundry carry their pads to and from practice because the locker room and the end zone facility is currently being renovated to the tune of almost 12 million dollars the ron mafridge field house opening this july it's created some issues now but dividends to come later including dividends for the pope of huntsville who apparently is enjoying himself today he's got his congregation in check they're ready to roll bearcats take over deep in their own territory jefferson spins free and he's going to be brought back almost near the goal line and i tell you sam houston dodging bullets left and right these last two plays luke's that'll work for now whoa jefferson breaks out of the initial tackle there from braden thomas but now you start getting dangerous you can't play this game going backwards young man and that's one of those deals where jefferson is going to come to the sideline and casey keeler the head coach is going to say he's going to pat him right on the rear he's going to say nice job recovering don't ever do that again we were an inch away from the second safety of the first half right there on back-to-back plays wow [Music] after all that a gain of four schmidt's gonna run with it schmidt needed to get to the 17. he'll get there and then some lucia cox with a stop after a gain of nine so what happens with that is you empty the backfield and now they've done this twice with significant gains sooner or later north dakota state's going to say you know what we can't stretch a guy outside of the box we've got to keep him in the box to tackle the quarterback that's when you throw the football off of it playing a little numbers game closing out the second quarter here for sam houston you say post post season earlier post-post season that's what i'm hearing from me right now yep i'm with you i'm buying what you're selling sam houston methodical approach here with time winding down in our first half bearcats have all three timeouts to work with playing tucker the tfl for the bison against noah smith tucker big 92 again disruptive physical guy on the inside not much production coming from the offensive line on misdirection type stuff with their h-back number 16 because what's what's happening is the penetration is coming up to the h-back and the h-backs get knocked backward into the running back second down and 12. are you surprised with the conservative nature of this possession time winding down and an eight-point lead yes because of the field position they could buy some some breathing room i think you'd see him open it just a little bit more tucker again in on the stop third down and long we'll see the bison elect to use a timeout after the gain of two charge time out north dakota state right yes they will ten to two our score and what's amounted to an old school throwback defensive slugfest lose yeah you know and neither quarterback has gotten the hot hand yet and you know we saw last week both of these quarterbacks completed roughly 50 of their passes and in playoff football that's not going to be good enough the way this battle is happening in the trenches between these two teams that was the game within the game coming in one of these quarterbacks has to emerge to make some plays to win the game [Music] bison hoping to get a stop casey keeler wanted to apply some more pressure here and a big play coming up for number three the southland conference player of the year eric schmidt [Music] 10 for 17 for only 85 yards this afternoon and they've missed the explosive attempts they've made in the first half so far the misdirection of the backfield noah smith on the swing nowhere close to first down yardage and the bison defense gets the job done cox whose brother was just drafted yesterday 30 seconds second time out here well that's smart you take the time out here because if you don't sam houston's gonna run it down maybe even take a penalty just to punt it away take some time off the clock and limit north dakota state's options in their in their two-minute drill to close out the second quarter for just tuning in the big story going back to our first 15 minutes two turnovers forced by the bearcats d jalen thomas comes up with an early fumble recovery on the first completion of the afternoon by ndsu and then it was isaiah downs doing what isaiah downs loves to do and that sports turnovers with the one-handed interception that was a spectacular play made to undercut what was a very poorly thrown ball from cam miller cameron hearn on to punt this one away the snap bounces back there the last punt was blocked the only points of the afternoon for north dakota state here comes price off the bounce got one block and his stop dead in his tracks in the 35. zion mcauliffe with tackle after a punt of 45 yards and a return of five and ray guy getting it done i'll tell you what sam you said guy sam houston needs to get in the locker room if they had one now between fielding the punt and fumbling it almost turning it over on your own five then almost taking a safety on the very next play then botching a snap on a punt that could have been disastrous they just need this quarter to end hang on defense get in the locker room ndsu's kicker jake reinholds has a long of 42 this season i'm not so sure that 17 points may win this game this afternoon because both of these offenses kind of stuck in neutral and it's been a defense really for both sides that has been dominant thus far but i mean look at the defense for and what they've done for sam houston they forced a fumble a punt an interception three straight punts [Applause] after gain a four backside pressure miller nearly lost it jahari k again the double nickel in the backfield he's their best player along the front most difficult to handle off the edge but look at the explosiveness once again we talked about this early on they are more explosive and off the football and north dakota state doesn't have an answer right now they don't have the same level of body quickness and anticipation of the snap might be time for north dakota state that young freshman quarterback start changing up the snap count a little bit [Applause] third and 14 and it feels more like third and 28 [Applause] helmet flies off of a sam houston player man opening the same watson has it that's a first down for the bison six seconds remaining north dakota state with one timeout left we'll see if they use it here how big of a play was that at the end of the first half watson looked at him going up and getting it just making a play your best offensive weapon making a critical play at a critical time to give you a chance to come away with something north dakota state going into this timeout longest play of the game 35 yards six seconds remaining you know roy what did we say not 10 minutes ago as we started to enter into the second quarter there have been no explosive plays from either of these two teams finally you get one that flips field position get a little bit of momentum going that's a great play christian watkins watson two years ago had a phenomenal year and started reading his press clippings a little bit during the off season they had to reel him back in and now he's been refocused and getting back to being more of a team guy north dakota state had just 86 yards of total offense before that play they gained 35 there and here's jake reinhold's career long is 42 this attempt will be from 52. [Applause] try to isolate that's good for a kicker you get that one little free attempt at it a little bit on ford territory it's not a bad thing i'll tell you what i can't say enough about what matt ends the head coach at north dakota state and his staff did in managing that clock how they utilized their timeouts when they were still on defense right then they get the big throw down the middle of the field they call their third time out run their kicking team up on the field just really well executed the win will be at the back of reinholds what a shot of momentum this would be for the bison he can somehow get this one through the uprights career long is 42. needs 10 more than that right here center cut straight away and on the way missed it wide right and one second remaining in our first shaft it remains a one possession affair at ten to two she knows where they tried to ice him and he kicked it anyway and he hooked it left a little bit this time i think he just over compensated a little bit [Music] again not not in the uh not the dome we've got no elements got some wind kicking you see on the sideline well you wonder if that pass to watson will lift the confidence of cam miller the freshman making just his second career start going into the second half and they need a big half out of him i know it's on defense they they've got to get some one of these two teams better get some quarterback play in the second half because that's really gonna be the difference of the football that is the end of the first half bearcats set to receive the kickoff in our second half ten to two the score at halftime and we will touch base with north dakota state head coach matt ends and get his thoughts on the first 30 minutes of this one bad news is offense work in progress thus far the good news is special teams and the defense have kept the bison in this one on the road and a lot of football left to be played [Music] here in huntsville texas lose yeah there is and listen we've seen great defense as we thought we would see we've seen some sloppiness the turnover margin which has plagued in north dakota state all year long has continued to rear its ugly head today with two giveaways for the bison on offense in the first quarter now temperatures in the mid 80s were a long ways from the fargo dome as north dakota state on the road trying to win a game to get back to the semis for the tenth consecutive year and the head coach for the bison matt ends joins us right now coach bad news is offense seems to be a work in progress on the road good news is your defense and special teams have been electric what do you make of the first 30 minutes well if we don't turn the ball over it's probably zero zero right now you see the momentum that those takeaways can create for an offense and we just got to create some we don't have some consistency on the offensive side of the football we're doing okay on first down we're just getting in second and third longs what do you tell your freshman quarterback cam miller in his second career start [Music] he's got to just relax composure shoot everyone in that everyone in the locker room right now has his back i got his back all our coaches do he needs to he's been in state championship games this isn't any bigger this same field side same everything he'll be okay coach thanks for the time best of luck in the second half hey appreciate it guys thank you madden's head coach at ndsu as we step aside ten to two our score at halftime here in the lone star state very busy day in the fcs playoffs we'll send you back to the studio kevin connors has much more [Music] welcome back to huntsville texas halftime continues sam houston leading north dakota state by a score of 10 to 2 with tom loganville roy philpott joined now by the head coach of the sam houston bearcats k.c keeler and coach the good news is you got an eight-point advantage bad news is maybe it could be a little larger than that but what was your take from the first half yeah we have to stop the negative plays offensively you know if it's two or three that's fine we can't get those negative one two three fours those kind of things can't get behind the chains defense are playing lights out we're making the big plays gotta keep on doing that uh special teams are gonna become you know big i mean they got a piece of uh one of our field goals and they blocked the punt can't lose this game on teams what are you telling your quarterback aaron schmidt to start this third quarter coach [Music] yeah just do what you've been doing you know when it's not there pull it down um and when it's there let's let's not break let it rip you know let's not play afraid you know that's why we went forward on some fourth downs early on because the point differential i will probably kick a field goal uh to make it a two score game if i get that opportunity uh but early we want to be really aggressive and put some pressure on north dakota state casey appreciate the heads up there best of luck in the second half all right thanks guys jc keeler head coach of the bearcats and that defense luke's really was a story in our first two quarters today well there's no question and again so disruptive creating two turnovers within the first quarter and then offensively capitalizing with points that's just a poorly thrown ball and a great play a great play by isaiah downs who again last week won the game with an interception in the end zone to beat malmoth in the first round but it's been the front guys for sam houston uh there's no question gerard k trace mascara this group has been active disruptive and really north dakota state has had no consistent answers for how to move the football 121 yards of total offense for the bison 35 of those yards came on one play at the very end of the second quarter leading to the missed field goal from 52 yards out a good start for sam houston trying to hold serve at home and keep that undefeated playoff record intact here at bowers stadium they got two quarters left to see if they can beat the champs be the champs you got to beat the champs 30 minutes away are the bearcats temperatures in the mid 80s beautiful conditions here in the lone star state as this quarter final match up continues bearcats will get it to start our second half from their own 25-yard line i asked casey keeler about eric schmidt i'll ask you as well what do you need to see more of from the southland conference's player of the year i agree with the comments coach made in the sense that he looks like he's been a bit hesitant at times when it's there let it rip have confidence get the ball out don't hesitate be decisive and i i do think he needs to use his athleticism but i think a little bit of that comes from play calling too let's design some things that get him involved either on the perimeter they've done it with the quarterback draw um but i think we can see more from him as an athlete not just as a passer six carries 22 yards for schmidt in the first half ramon jefferson in the backfield only had 12 yards we'll try to add that total here and he will a nifty jump cut and a gain of nine on first down for ramon jefferson the redshirt junior out of the bronx see this is just five blockers with four guys in the box and a sixth guy comes down and jefferson number four breaks the tackle and extends to play that's a numbers game so you you like that when you see five in the box then you've got a half for a hat and you've got a run call your quarterback's sticking to that call officially gain of eight first possession of our second half quarterfinals of the fcs playoffs on the screen noah smith with a crease and a big gain a first down for sam houston ushered out just short of the 45 that's a pickup of 11. i love the design of this play you got everybody condensed there in the box okay you get the ball on the perimeter you got three on two all right you got three orange jerseys on two white jerseys and a guy in number six that is so difficult to handle in space and noah smith smith was third team all southland conference i want to see the guys that finish ahead of him in that tally because he's been electric today in limited carries ramon jefferson and his momentum stopped in the backfield lane tucker eventually able to get him down number 92 for a loss of one that's another tfl yeah and we've seen the tfl's come when sam houston is going side to side east to west in their run game haven't seen as much of it like we saw in that first play of of of the series where they had a numbers advantage in the box and they just ran it on the inside zone last play taking a long time to develop second down and 10. their cats undefeated the number two seed the fcs playoffs here in 2021. jefferson with the screen stopped at the 49. brendan cook got there it'll be third down and five [Music] the first big play of our third quarter a one possession game sam houston trying to unseat the defending champion north dakota state bison so this has been the down where we've seen them really spread out north dakota state i'm third and five plus all right and they've motioned the back out of the backfield let's see if they end up doing the same thing here catch just one of seven on third down but schmidt has completed eight of his last nine passes wants to run it here and he'll pick up the first down into plus territory he gallops in and keep the drive alive what did coach casey keeler say in your interview hey if it's not there tuck the ball down use your athleticism and run didn't like what he saw he immediately tucks and protects that football breaks a tackle falls forward i mean those are the types of players you need from your quarterback pull the trigger if it's there if it's not use your feet what did schmidt tell us this week in our zoom call with him earlier in the week he said i've got a middle clock in my head and that time it went off he took off and it results in a first down so after only the second third down conversion jefferson sandwiched between a couple of defenders at the 39 maybe the 38 it was hanky and wisniewski stopped them after a gain of six so a couple of things that are impressive so far with this start you know you always hear coaches say that first series in the third quarter is so important for either team whether you're on offense or defense but you've got the clock running they have not thrown the ball to the perimeter outside of one screen so they're utilizing clock they're spreading north dakota state out and they're getting their athletes in space tyron jackson will get a touch and through the a gap he'll rumble close to a first down bring up third down and a short one after pickup of three so again further evidence that sam houston needs to stay away from the long developing east-west run game and get into their one back 11 person a one-back one tight end or even 10 personnel and just run the inside zone that's when they've been at their best in the run game did i say post post season i'm gonna say it again in the second half it's there for you it's there for you right now i'm impressed i like what i'm hearing opening possession of the third quarter jefferson straight behind schmidt and the pistol schmidt gave him a pat as he handed the football off and i don't think he got there stop at the line it'll be fourth down and we'll see if casey keeler wants to be aggressive here sounded like in our interview doesn't really want to be that aggressive here in the third quarter see how close this is on the line to gain and that's just north dakota state with better pad level overpowering at the point of attack and they're nowhere close there their cats gonna go for it gotta go here to start the second half smith down behind schmidt and the timeout called by sam houston see that's first charge timeout sam houston media step aside as well five minutes into our second half big fourth down coming up [Music] ndsu one of the top fcs programs in the country one of the top college football programs in the nation in the ninth straight fcs semifinals they've won eight of the last nine titles sam houston's never lost a playoff game at home a big fourth down coming up to start our third quarter smith in the backfield bearcats need a yard a little confusion no they'll pitch it out there smith has it drive continues shoved out of bounds and some nifty play calling by ryan carney right there luke's yeah i really like the play selection because you take your athletic quarterback and eric smith and you put him on the perimeter where if he doesn't like the throw his four-four speed can tuck it and run and then what do you do you isolate your best target in space and noah smith get him as the first option for the quarterback well designed well executed and what an important and important conversion for this offense schmidt now 15 of 22 for a buck 22 also 30 yards on the ground here comes some more funk offense a couple of offensive tackles at the top of your screen and a flag on the field just our second penalty we've seen this afternoon and here's jeff knight false start offense number 16 five-yard penalty first down with schleie the guilty party the tight end isaac schleich tomorrow they're going to watch tape on this and those offensive line we're going to see see we were lined up at whiteout we didn't flinch we knew what we were doing as wide receivers tenth play of the drive coming up [Music] see this guy right here that's six be interesting to see what they do with him out of the backfield on first down it's opening the seam that pass batted away and for a moment it looked like north dakota state may be able to come up with it destin talbert got a big ball on it i think i think he had noah smith down the middle of the field and if he if he glances he's got a touchdown over the top because he had noah smith number six lined up against the middle linebacker for north dakota state that's a mismatch he was right in the same i was following him as soon as you said it so after converting the fourth and short now second and 15. play clock winding down make the option pitch quarterback keeper [Music] coxswain works combined to make the stop after gain of six here's this previous pledge you look out of the backfield and if he glances right here he's got a touchdown down the middle of the field but then don't you love that last call right there again isolating the defender by choosing not to block it right so now he's in a conflict of assignment do i take the quarterback do i take the pitch back that time a nice little token faked by schmidt and again using his athleticism to make the play boy he wishes he would have that one back he had a touchdown that was lost on that previous play bearcats are within the range of seth morgan along a 44 this season schmidt fires smith has it smith towards the end zone smith with a touchdown from sam houston an enormous opening possession for the bearcats to start our second half from 23 yards out noah smith reaches peter [Music] i remember when i talked about number six being isolated on a linebacker and what a mismatch that would be in space and you're gonna see him right here now that is number 31 right there all right that is cole wisniewski what's next excuse me now watch this ball get snapped he's now isolated we'll take a look after this kick [Applause] seth morgan's extra point is good luke's on the telly when we come back it's 17-2 sophomore out of houston noah smith extending sam houston's lead to 17-2 luke's yeah and again he's a match-up nightmare you're going to see him right here in the backfield then number 31 wisneski he has no business being in space so you see this route's going to come here and then go inside he gets him to shuffle here watch what happens when he gets isolated one on one that's just a mismatch and you're not going to be able to number one cover it and you're not going to be able to chase it down either really well executed play offensively angle route works to perfection for noah smith and now an enormous possession coming up for ndsu foreign territory trailing by two scorers on the road in postseason play bison on the road the fcs playoffs for the first time since 2010 today watson would increase and he's going to try to change things and he will off to the races and the special teams for the bison respond a 94-yard kick return for a touchdown and a brand new game once again lose [Music] my goodness [Music] talk about being able to what's the saying drive a mack truck through that hole there's no doubt about it [Music] let's just see how fast you can run once he broke through that initial coverage every point scored today by ndsu coming courtesy of special teams and listen they need it any way they can get it right now what a response and how quickly you can swing momentum back with a big play not only to flip field position to put points on the board sam houston just getting caught with a lack of lane integrity in their kickoff coverage unit creating a huge gap for the best skilled offensive player on north dakota state's roster in watson christian watson first team all missouri valley football conference and the valley certainly flexing in post-season play so far this season starting today coming in at 4-1 record a lot of people thinking the 16 teams that were picked up five from the valley maybe perhaps too many and that has proven not to be the case and now ndsu on the road staying alive against sam houston this has been an entertaining and intriguing start in huntsville you know it's going to be interesting all right you you give up the points in the kicking game but your defense hasn't been on the field so they're going to be rested you just came off of a tremendous offensive uh first opening act to kick off the third quarter so you feel pretty good that rio offense is in control of this game we'll just drive the sucker right down there again and pop it in the end zone let's see if they can do it [Music] garrett wegner said to kick things away for ndsu after the kick return for a touchdown cameron alexander back for sam houston and now mccollum takes it inside his own 10 and 23. spun down at the 33s we send you back to kevin connors in studio yeah and roy jacksonville state quarterback zion webb suffered a lower body injury third stringer chance newman is on and here it's the fourth string quarterback aaron graham 74 yards on the opening play of the second half on down to the one uriah west punched it in from a yard out delaware is driving but the lead's been cut in half 14-7 you just never know a fourth team quarterback finding a way to get it done luke's how about it at the scs level you don't have 85 scholarships let alone enough quarterbacks he's tom logan bill i'm roy philpott schmidt lost the football that's about the fourth time today we've seen sam houston lose control for a second and still find a way to recover it outside of that block button this ball just slips out of his hand and he he's getting ready to unleash this football the ball is going to be out they're throwing a quick screen you see all the offensive line releasing downfield might have been a big hit or two because that ball was coming out they were ready to roll on the underneath screen i don't know that he could have gotten it past the outstretched arms of brendan cook but he wanted to go long smith in the backfield on second and 16. and all of a sudden the bison seem to have uncle bo on their side shovel pass smith third and long coming up well this week's sunday night baseball matchup features two nle's powers bryce harper in the phillies host francisco lindor and the match at seven eastern coverage begins after our game here on espn with baseball tonight sunday night countdown price harper okay after taking a 96 mile an hour theater to the face ouch two nights ago and uh hey that's a tough dude always must see television third down and 13. so is this here in the quarterfinals of the fcs championship schmidt needs 13. pass batted down and a three and out force by the bison defense spencer wagey in a 6-5 frame applying the pressure loops yeah and to be honest with you it might be at best that this ball got batted down because you got see right there number three zooming in with 30 extra i think it's pachama might have stepped right in front of that ball if it hadn't had enough zip on it again uncle moe residing on the north dakota state sideline right now three minutes of real time ago we're thinking sam houston is getting ready to run away with this thing instead north dakota state with possession and a chance to tie it up perhaps they can get things going more special teams wizardry and look at this north dakota state far sideline brandon henderson unbelievable [Music] second special teams touchdown and as many touches for the bison if you can't create points on defense and you're not able to score points on offense there's a reason there's a third portion of this game wow 46-yard punt but a 76-yard return listen i mean [Music] if this is the way it has to be what do great teams do they find ways to win and it's not always going to be pretty it's not always going to be perfect you go for two here is it too early it depends on what the car tells you i think now they're going with kicking yep they're going to go ahead and now they're going to go ahead and go for them too here miller back on the field ganella the running back miller off the back foot end zone and we're tied at 17. watson who else a big play machine in a black punt for a safety kick return for a touchdown a punt return for another score and the two-point play and somehow someway the bison are in it and we're tied in the third quarter nice play here by cam miller who's really struggled in the passing game showing some patience and getting the ball again to christian watson their best player just come off of a kickoff return for a touchdown and wow how this thing has quickly turned i mean didn't it seem like it was 30 seconds ago that sam houston just came out of the locker room and went right down the field on north dakota state unbelievable turn of events you said in the first half to be the man you got to beat the man the defending champs are the bison going back two years ago they've won eight of the last nine and they will not go quietly into that still night this evening in huntsville texas [Music] first it was christian watson then braylon henderson and here's the memo written to the bearcats moving forward you probably don't want to kick to either one of those guys again i mean watson made it look easily easy rather and braylon henderson did as well luke's yeah and this was a lack of execution in cover not from an effort or a tackling standpoint but an assignment standpoint in the kickoff coverage unit for sam houston and this was very well blocked and watch how decisive henderson is once he catches us he catches it and go get a feel now don't dance find your crease and go all that happening in under two minutes two special team scores in less than two minutes and a two-point conversion to get ndsu to 17 points i don't know that's happened in the history of college football before and it may never happen again as mozart makes the stop what feels like a brand new contest here in the quarterfinals certainly breathe new life into that sideline for north dakota state we're seeing a lot of smiles there weren't many smiles for the first two and a half quarters of this game see if the defense can come up with another stop hey you know what football in may not such a bad deal we're finding out today schmidt low third down [Music] you may want to be careful right here we talked about uncle mo on the side of the bison and for k.c keeler the way this thing has gone here in the last couple of minutes they want to be careful third and eight yeah i think that previous down i would have loved to have seen them utilize quarterback run they got to do more with eric schmidt's athleticism on early downs to avoid these third and eight pluses four man front offensive line stays put a little trickeration nothing doing slide brought down it'll be fourth down in three and out for sam houston's offense loops [Music] yeah this is we got an injured bearcat on the field there 66. gary patton walk off under his own power that's a good sign surprise we haven't seen more cramping up today it's 85 degrees humidity starting to rise a little bit casey keeler said we wish we could play this game tomorrow it's supposed to be about 91 just north of houston in huntsville i feel like the last two series offensively that sam houston kind of got away from what they featured in that opening drive which was get the ball up quick run inside zone spread everybody out and we haven't seen any of that on the previous two series as far as a sampling of play calls and back to back three and outs and that initial possession of the third quarter feels like it was played about two years ago now that was after that 12-play 75-yard scoring round let's see and they try to play this one is henderson watch it bounce again and this time a short punt by design the bison will take over looking to grab their first lead after a 42-yard punt conners in studio check out what just happened in jacksonville delaware leading jacksonville state 14-7 nolan henderson scrambling ducking out of bounds markell benton unloads flags everywhere benton has been ejected obviously a penalty delaware settles for a field goal on the drive roy at 17-7 on the espn f [Music] how about that turn of events back here in huntsville texas we're tied at 17 third quarter winner of this game will get the winner of james madison and north dakota the game coming up later today on espn2 at six eastern time logan bill roy phil brand new game is watson with a hot hand [Applause] on the jet sweep action will be brought down after a loss of one and by the way jahari k number 55 for sam houston first team all southland conference performer was carted off the field a few moments ago put into an ambulance according to our people there on site at huntsville so that clearly a loss and bigger picture hopefully jahari is okay but it appeared as if something had happened that required him utilizing oxygen and he is no longer on the field obviously on second and eleven miller picked off intercepted tristan mccollum second of this spring season and another huge turnover in favor of the bearcats i was just gonna say to harry k not being on the field has a significant impact because he is a havoc reeker and in this particular instance cam miller had plenty of time here but what does he do he under throws the ball and throws it so it dies and doesn't finish in front of the target he did the exact same thing on the first quarter turnover where he threw the out route back to the inside and is in his ball at intermediate levels doesn't finish for him it just dies on him and what a great defensive play to get some momentum back to the sideline of the orange three turnovers a day for the bison that's been a theme in this spring season schmidt play action smith big play first down plus territory and smith keeps rumbling along it's a gain of 16 yards loose i love the screen game casey keeler and his offensive staff do such a good job with some misdirection and then they're just little dumb balls it's almost like their shovel pass and we actually have seen that where they've isolated an unblocked defensive end and the quarterbacks either kept it or pitched it underneath as we got an uninjured bison down on the field javier darrett red shirt freshman he may be cramping up a little bit 85 degrees humidity levels starting to go on the rise a little bit six to 279 pounds and a reminder for you we have a moment tomorrow 7 30 eastern 4 30 pacific on espn2 espn deportes and also espn plus will have the first ever marvel inspired presentation of an nba game the warriors and the pelicans this telecast will integrate elements from the original marvel story and include the iconic heroes black panther iron man black widow and captain america will be 3d virtual effects custom graphic graphics and animations and the traditional telecast also available on espn but you gotta check this version out 7 30 eastern coming up tomorrow espn2 espn cortez and espn plus now the good news is derrick off the turf and appears to be okay first down and 10 from the 38s [Music] under five to play in the third quarter screen pass ezra north dakota state had that one defended beautifully and ezra just falls down that's gonna be a loss of a couple i mean if he just falls down at the first attempt to tackle he gains three yards there instead he loses three um and again this is the game plan yeah i spoke on the last drive that that first drive of the third quarter for sam houston it was all this stuff they went right down the field the last two drives they got away from some of this stuff but they they've got to continue to utilize their athletes in space and isolate the defenders for north dakota state here schmidt will roll the pocket out against the grain heaves one deep had a man in that pass incomplete and harvin wanted to know what happened there because he was wide open underneath the pressure was coming in hot and heavy button michael buto number 69 or schmidt to get rid of it early all of a sudden third and 13 on a drive that was just humming right along for sam houston that's right and what were they the last time they had to punt it they were third and eight listen there's all kinds of x's and o's and there's all kinds of coaching decisions that you can make if you pull out that play sheet there ain't many success stories for third and twelve third and 13. empty backfield you wonder if this will be a quarterback draw no they'll set up the tunnel screen d bois not today picks up maybe a yard it'll be fourth down and long and tony pierce sniffed that one out yeah yeah don't you just love when you watch this team on defense in north dakota state you watch them run to the football you watch them tackle you see them leverage the ball i mean this is a team that is so well coached yes they've got good players obviously they've got and they've developed players as good as anybody in all of college football regardless of level but when you're an effort football team that is what gets everybody's attention because effort requires no talent none so there's no excuse no excuses says luke's braelyn henderson no excuse kind of afternoon for him this punt it across the plane it's going to be close one way or another and initial indications are oh they're able to keep it out of the end zone that was close ball's going to be spotted at the three dom logan bill tell me what you see here oh let's see the ball crossed the plane [Music] doesn't matter where the defender is at that point yeah i think that that's a good call by the officiating crew that angle's not ideal but again in order to look at that or potentially overturn it there's got to be indisputable video evidence to contradict the call in the field jalen may mays drifted back about a yard and a half deep trying to swat it out of there [Music] here's jeff knight illegal formation kicking team that penalty is declined first down why would you decline the penalty against the kicking team when you're pinned deep would you want to make him kick it again well i i don't know why they've done that but right now sam houston correction the five-yard penalty will be added to the touchdown first down at the 25-yard line so they called it a touchback it's not down at the three and that starts to explain it with the penalty yardage added on well i was gonna say casey keith the head coach in sami houston right now probably going that's fine we haven't covered very well let's just go ahead great point let's just go ahead and get our defense on the field so that's the net including the penalty in the punt of 15 yards that's a win for ndsu yeah it is and and now again getting back to that loss of jahari k the defensive end 55 how do you come up with some manufactured pass rush and disruptiveness without him and don't kid yourself north dakota state knows their best player in the front for sam houston is out our guy had speed of our statistician today with the stat of all stats in this second half you ready for this flag on the field north dakota state in the second half negative one yard of total offense and yet the bison have scored 15 points to tie it up at 17. what are we doing what a time to be alive football in may that's why you shouldn't call special teams special it's called to kick inside defense number 94 five yard penalty first down javon leon sophomore out of houston moving into that first team spot with johari k out make it first and five under three to play in a very entertaining third quarter and let's see bison have a big play in him somewhere on offense minus one yard 15 points that's like some kind of equation in high school i could never figure out lucky big fullback first down williams ushered him out of bounds and lucky he's running out of bounds just like he was still on the field that's a gate of 10. we need a we need a neck roll on that kid's stat look at the big fella turning the corner [Music] we talked with tyler roll about number 44 and he said you know he don't say two words since he's been on campus that's what he said verbatim as a coach you don't need to say anything else he said we saw him at camp we didn't know what position he was going to play but you were going to take him we were going to take him because he was just downright piling like okay that's what a fullback should be plus your neck roll absolutely but again isn't he a reflection of that program chemistry of the program the culture of the program effort toughness discipline being well coached player development and what you know what impresses me the most about this program is they've had every opportunity especially over the last five to six to seven years to deviate from their recipe because now you have access to better players right you're in the limelight you could very easily step away from what got you to this point and they never have they've never made reaches that's important bussy deep handoff driven backwards on second and eight lucky to get back to the line quentin brown the man stop right there at the line oh five foot five 161 versus a big fella there and quentin brown who clocks in at 2 15. in a word ouch big play for the bison sixth stop for brown and do you trust your freshman quarterback cam miller miller nelson has it raja nelson needs to make a man miss he cannot he'll be stopped just short fourth and one what a fantastic defensive play by braden clopton 36 there a few other orange jerseys i mean that thing looks like it's a catch split the defenders at least gain an extra yard and they make this tackle in space after the catch so impressive luke's they're going gonna go for it on fourth down you like this call here in the third quarter i i don't like it from a field position standpoint i prefer to be in plush territory [Applause] you got number 44 back there all 245 pounds of them and the timeout's going to be called let's charge timeout sam houston 30 seconds knows that uncle moe teetering on both sides of the line of scrimmage right now who wants momentum to start our fourth quarter which begins in just 12 seconds of game time and casey keeler pondering just about everything that's transpired here in the last 15 minutes oh yeah and that is houston's second time out of the half you know they're they're running out of timeouts and i think they called one there because i don't think they felt like they had the personnel on the field to defend the two tight end set the north dakota state had on offense again this could be a smoke screen this could be let's just see how disciplined you are sam houston or are you going to jump on the hard count give us a freebie are you actually going to run a play you're in the playoffs it's late in the year you're about to enter the fourth quarter who's got the mental discipline and toughness when you're tired bison looking like they're gonna go for it three tight ends on the field there it is the thirteen personnel bill he's waiting for it looky will he get the call no miller pulls it out first down north dakota state big play at the end of the third and the freshman coming up clutch right there loops i think we got a flag here as well might be a dead ball foul and if so they could add 15 yards personal foul at the end of this what a big sequence this could potentially be jeff knight what do you got the play resulted in the first down after the play on sportsmail like conducted [Music] 15 yard penalty one of the tackle spots today costly in fraction there lose yeah and again an unnecessary one yeah and listen i the umpires all over it they're on top of it and again just you know keeping the praises of this football team's toughness and discipline and playing smart and that's just not a smart play there for mason miller tied at 17. crunch time has arrived in huntsville texas we've got special teams touchdowns special team safeties pick your poison christian watson getting it done for the bison raylen henderson the perfect turn for a score in north dakota state the defending champs they've got a chance on the road for the first time in post-season play in 11 years [Music] football in may where else would you rather be than bowers stadium huntsville texas 5 000 strong on hand we've got a great atmosphere for a tie game in the fcs quarterfinals sam houston state once led 17-2 how did that happen you tell me special teams magic yeah the kicking game is is really been the reason why this thing is tied up and sam houston's they've got some weaknesses in their cover teams both punt and uh and kickoff and north dakota state's taking advantage of it bison with the football 15 to play on the road jet sweep christian watson had a touchdown in the third quarter kick return from 94 yards out you know by now bearcats have never lost a playoff game at home north dakota state a dynasty and one of the top college football programs in the country trying to make the semis for the 10th consecutive season they got a chance right now luke's no question about it he's going to say when when was the last time that north dakota state has actually played a game in the sun i mean we never think about it had to put eye black on their kids to be able to deal with glare i mean this is this is uncharted waters for this program being on the road not being a number one seed not having home field advantage not having a buy to get healthy matt entz trying to win an fcs championship once again and by the way that contest heads your way two weeks from today may 16th on abc the fcs championship in frisco texas as quentin brown requires a little assistance get off the field two o'clock eastern we'll kick things off it'll be the bison going for nine of the last 10 or will it be sam houston trying to win its first national championship the fcs level the eye black see it's there but i got the locker room this morning what is this stuff for [Laughter] we used to being at home what are we doing so after the run by watson for six second down and four eisen not led in this game first row game of the playoffs since 2010. miller ball pops out they're going to rule that an incomplete pass and that was close that was really close braylon henderson the intended receiver casey keeler thought it went either laterally or perhaps backwards and the whistles came out pretty early there and i think he's also curious whether or not he actually made a throw here the rolling on the field of nicole pass is under further review that's close that is close that ball came back with the motion of his arm and then the helmet hit his arm makes you wonder if the helmet hitting the forearm from isaiah downs 13 is what propelled the ball forward so was it really a throw or a ball coming out of his hand due to the contact [Music] you're looking for indisputable video evidence the famed words that live forever and ever when it comes to booth reviews i don't know if that's what we saw there but certainly it's a bang bang play with the original call in the field being an incomplete pass here's a look from behind i mean here here's the issue is it's almost impossible to determine in slow motion which is why the incomplete call in real time was the correct one oh boy so what you're determining there in my opinion is that the elbow or the wrist go forward so the elbow comes back what went first the elbow forward or the wrist zoom in on it i don't know if there's enough evidence there to overturn that and it certainly isn't in danger of being a lateral that we do know well after this all concludes i would agree with you incomplete pass let's go on to the next down that notwithstanding was a fantastic defensive play by sam houston and in particular isaiah downs they they had ken miller cornered isaiah downs came in to hit him he's made so many big plays in this run for sam houston to an undefeated mark this year game clinching interception last week against monmouth 21-15 monmouth driving down the field fourth the goal picked off the quarterback had a one-handed interception earlier today you look at cam miller five for 12 72 yards second career start this one coming on the road two picks and you wonder just thinking out loud for a second can you win a game like this against undefeated sam houston with a quarterback that's really yet to create that big play either on the ground or through the air at some point in this fourth quarter number seven for ndsu is going to have to do something perhaps to try to win it well could you there's two questions there could you get out of this game and win it as we get the review call here after further review the ruling on the field is confirmed and complete pass i think that's wise based off of of the video evidence that that was before so can you get out of this game with a win yeah you probably can as long as he doesn't just royally screw it up but can you win a national championship being -10 in turnover margin with a true freshman quarterback completing 50 percent of his passes the answer is no and james mattis of madison south dakota jack rabbits he had everybody better for the top miller on kill midfield and a big play on third and four will keep the drive alive for north dakota state and number seven on the ground picks up 10 yards [Music] man they almost stunted right there into this quarterback draw it happened so fast the defender for sam houston markell perry number 33 he ran right by the quarterback and you see miller wincing in pain right as he was helped up only the eighth first down of the contest for ndsu in sam houston territory lucky well he tried to rip the football loose that's not gonna be easy to do versus six one two fifty and that's a gain of seven more yards well that that injury to cam miller if if that is something that impedes his ability as a runner that takes away a dimension of this offense looky again right at the line to gain and i think that's why tyler roll the offensive coordinators getting right back to their offset power eye a gap downfield run game let this let our quarterback kind of work the paint out see how he is run the football with clearly the best drive of the game so far for north dakota state as far as consistency moving the football forward third down and short 11th play of the drive for ndsu and some confusion for the bison and a timeout's gonna have to be called here they're having to call a timeout because they may have broke the huddle with 12 people which should have been a penalty as we saw a player for north dakota state run off here catch with just one timeout remaining [Music] see what this veteran officiating crew determines matt ends wants an explanation as well hard to read joe knight's lips there give us the indication at some point that's what they're trying to determine in a timeout step aside as well just under 13 to go in huntsville we got a tie game in the fcs quarters [Music] back in huntsville texas 17 up north dakota state sam houston it wasn't a matter of there being it wasn't a matter of there being 12 men on the field if you freeze it right here there's actually 11 men on the field the problem is [Applause] one of them's running off they end up having 10 on the field and so they call timeout sam houston and casey keeler the head coach they're screaming for breaking the huddle with 12 men on the field which would have been a penalty so i think the officials needed that break to work that through a charge time off north dakota state no foul and that was my next question did they charge the bison with a timeout because that is critical in a tie game in the quarterfinals of the fcs championship the answer is yes they did after all of that it's third and one dominant candela held in check so far [Music] and i believe he has enough to keep the drive going [Music] i'm sorry isn't there something about that play that just scares you the momentum of the player approaching the line of scrimmage the ball going towards him with some force oh you gotta have some focus some eyes and some hand-eye coordination on that one nella needed one he gains two north dakota state continues to run the football on first down best drive of the day for the bison offense lukey you know he required shoulder surgery not that long ago he'll pick up a yard here and tyler roll we spoke with him this week about his fullback his toughness unquestioned he has really been a leader for us on the field away from it especially during the pandemic but lucy just has a way of putting this offense on his back at times and there you see tyler roll see the scruff there the team made a bet with him said you got to shave your beard were able to hold the football for 35 plus minutes against monmouth they did he wasn't happy about it second down and nine miller to the air back foot toss passes caught first down cole jacob with the grab to be honest with you that's his best throw of the day on time accurate decisive balls out you can't cover that right there that that's pitch and catch it's the first couple of periods in practice you're developing that timing with your target takes one right in the kitchen for the true freshman stand and deliver yeah the kitchen has been a painful room to be in today that was leon that applied at late pressure so after a gain of 13 north dakota state looking for its first lead of the afternoon on the road bussy tripped up falls down i mean just to have an opportunity secure the lead in the fourth quarter given what's happened offensively today for ndsu is simply amazing special teams and defense big reason why obviously well and it's interesting too from a kicking game standpoint with the score being 17-17 somebody's gonna have to make a play in the kicking you're you're gonna have to return something for points maybe get a block create a long field goal 15th play of the drive and it's play action for cam miller he wants to run it has some green against the grain it'll be third down and short miller good decision right there luke's really good decision and you know this is one of the reasons why he ended up winning the job away from the iowa state transfer zeb nolan is they spoon fed him the offense and once they felt like they could trust him they knew they had a better athlete as an option to run and create and really extend plays instead of that being a potential six yard loss he got a positive play because of the quarterback's ability to run devon leon slow to get up for sam houston we're back with the final 10 minutes after this [Music] tom logan bill roy philpot bearcats defense living up to their expectations coming in luke you look at the numbers 2.9 yards per rusher right there the takeaways red zone tds not there problem is with special teams special teams and if you remember early in the first quarter i talked about capitalizing on turnovers but capitalizing with touchdowns and they weren't able to do that all for the first turnover only settled for three points lucky and brozio in the backfield brozio will serve as a lead blocker lupke powers his way and that should be enough to move the chains and it is and old 44 is going to tell you about it as well the bread and butter of their offense again i feel like he is he's the reflection of the program as a whole what they're about and what are they doing when they need the hard yard what are they doing when they've got to rely on somebody who do they go to tim old school throwback kind of off slugfest kind of contest here in the fcs quarters [Music] luke he wants it again and he'll get it into the boundary tripped up and a short gain on first down this drive now approaching nine minutes in length loops well it's approaching nine minutes and what's really hurting sam houston right now is not only is their best defensive front player in jahari k out devon leon who is his reserve on the same side also out so they're down from a personnel standpoint and north dakota state i guarantee you those coaches are up in the booth and they're saying guys no 55 no 94. line up let's run it down their throat and wear down this defensive front that's depleted right now and leon actually just checked back in so a boost perhaps for sam houston miller goes down and driven down quickly by trevor williams actually i think that's markel perry 33 off the edge catching that right [Music] yep third down and 12 6 tfl for sam houston today [Applause] how aggressive do you get right here with a freshman signal calling well if i think you if you're gonna use him get him out on the perimeter so he's got a run pass option if not just run it feel like you're going to settle for three good place kicker for the end zone there's a man pass broken up boy watson got a couple of finger tips on it cameron alexander with a play of the day for the sam houston defense [Music] really good playing the football without disrupting the receiver's ability to go up and get the football as well with that hand right there on the back shoulder but it's light see it's light you're not shoving you're not extending showing anything to the official really well played 33-yard field goal attempt from jake reinhold smith from 52 at the end of the first half and straight away he pounds it home north dakota state with its first lead of the afternoon on the road in huntsville 20-17 [Music] well the dynasty in fargo north dakota the fargo dome what a home field advantage in ndsu has been incredible over the last 10 to 12 years 37 and 2 mark in postseason play in the fcs playoffs 11 straight trips to the quarters question about it nine straight to the semis eight of the last nine national championships of course they are the defending champs and those eight titles representing the most in fcs history tom lugenville roy philpott how about a 20-play 65-yard drive that spanned almost 10 minutes loose not a typo there folks now it's interesting too because you hear coaches when they talk about field position and pinning an offense back let's see if they can go the length of the field you know the longer the drive goes the more opportunities there are for them to make a mistake they're not going to be patient enough they're going to get greedy they just went 20 plays without really making any errors to stop that drive almost impossible alexander grabs it very busy afternoon of fcs playoff action for more on that we send you back to the studio and kevin connors indeed roy and a look at tommy schuster a couple of td passes a week ago in the win over missouri state sent for a tremendous clash north dakota james madison top of the hour on espn2 right now on the espn app delaware continues to lead jacksonville state roy 17-7. what an exciting afternoon of playoff football on the first sunday in may 8 11 to go sam houston facing its first deficit here in the quarters ezra there's a flag on the field makes one man miss and will check the infraction [Music] he knows a receiver downfield oh wow that's number 52 penalty replay first down colby thomas cost his team a first down and they'll back him up a couple of more number 52 the senior that's tough to do that ball was out so quickly he must have just free released and ran straight downfield pressure mounting time ticking away sam houston's never lost a playoff game at home north dakota state a rare road trip in post-season play buys in the defending champs here's jefferson on first and 15. and tucked down quickly by mostar that was eli mostar the redshirt freshman for minnesota and it's a gain of three that's been sam houston's best offensive approach to run the ball stay out of the uh 12 personnel get into the one back run it when you've got a light box and then throw the quick game when they've tried to do the misdirection and the long developing run game north dakota state has had plenty of tackles for loss and strung the ball out this is their best offensive personnel group to take on let's go to state right here four wides empty the backfield on the ship smith has it across the middle sent backwards by hankey that'll bring up third down but much more manageable after facing that first in 15 right after the penalty [Music] that would have hurried up to the line of scrimmage gone four wides or no backs again and ran a play keep north dakota state's personnel on the field catch him off guard that would have been a great opportunity that was lost right there for the same houston offense after the 10th reception by smith third in short sam houston just won first down on its last three touches and smith i don't know luke's i don't know he was brought down quickly needed a yard and let's check where this ball is going to be spotted but here's the issue again the 11 personnel more bodies in the box right there your hvac doesn't block anybody okay and you end up you know they gave him a spot and i'm really surprised that that's the approach if you're gonna run it there stay in your spread look may end up giving them that that is a very generous spot had to reach the 38s and that was a break for the bearcats there's another one falling backwards as cody kress check that it was chandler harvin that's a gain of 10 and he was sitting right on his backside to make the catch that falls out he's falling over listen you often hear a guy you're going to throw to the sideline your safest throw is low into the outside that's exactly what ended up happening that's one way to do it 5 30 remaining dei's been held in check two in orange jefferson has been as well more laundry thrown near the 48 will check the penalty after a loss of one north dakota state just kind of took the air out of this game with that 20-play possession offense number 76 10-yard penalty you can see right there the tug of the jersey and you get the nice flailing arms from lane tucker lane did a great job with that absolutely but again the longer developing play with more bodies within the box has not benefited this sam houston run game north dakota state wants you to do that what they don't want you to do is spread the field horizontally and isolate them in space remember the bearcats ii utilized two timeouts already a little bit of a reverse his way down the near side and he'll be ruled out at the 48. so we mentioned his name a few minutes ago the speedster won a couple of state championships four by 100 track playing texas high school football and also on the track team 10 yard gain there will be second and 10 after the penalty schmidt with time paves it deep incomplete contact with courtney eubanks otherwise the coverage is outstanding so you got to make a choice on that throw that's got to either be up and over the top or a back shoulder you can't throw that one ball you have a one ball two ball of three ball in terms of layers but one ball is a laser can't throw that to the inside and expect that to be successful luke's you think about going forward if you get some yards here on fourth down because you're starting to run out of time with only one timeout left well that's right there's not much of a sense of urgency with the approach right now it's time for eric schmidt to make a play he has got to make a play right now in the passing game pressure up the middle deep toss real dead inside the tent did he get a foot in he comes up clutch once again the second time on this possession new life for sam houston oh it's time to make a play for eric schmidt and what a play did he make look at where this ball is thrown fantastic over the shoulder focus and a wonderfully thrown football earlier on the previous play i said there's a one ball a two ball and a three ball that time he got some arc throw a three ball up over the top and dropped it right in the basket today longest play from scrimmage of the game 47 yards it's first down in goal [Music] schleie it out all kinds of zest on it almost fought that one off he catches it second and goal coming up wait luke you look at that play call there a lot happening field goal with tide obviously looking for the touchdown here under four to play five in the box this is a definite rundown opportunity schmidt gonna take off inside the five for the touchdown you caught it schmidt responds sam houston back in front [Music] that's the plus one run game why is it plus one because the quarterback gives you a one-man advantage by being the runner so it looks like you got five offensive linemen to block five in the box you really got six because your running back becomes your lead blocker excellent play call set up by the formation to spread out north dakota state and now you've got a numbers advantage in the box which is why it's so critical for your quarterback to be a good athlete eric schmidt with a touchdown pass and a touchdown run he said we've overcome everything that's been thrown our way and he's doing it now we are back in huntsville texas and the bearcats feeling blessed on a sunday afternoon back in front 24 to 20. tom luganville roy philpott third down and 10 moments ago ife adeyey second big play of this drive 47 yards longest play from scrimmage for sam houston than the touchdown by the southland conference player of the year i just i love the play selection they're on the goal line that's good coaching from the booth relaying down to the field hey we formation them like this these are our options in the run pass game and we're going to have a numbers advantage [Music] [Applause] the north dakota state bison defending national champions on the road in postseason play the first time since 2010. we all wondered all those years what would it look like you don't have the protection of the fargo dome they find a way to survive in advance got three minutes and 39 seconds give us the answer to that question [Music] the championship pedigree of the bison head coach matt ins on display right here and right now sam houston undefeated at home all time in postseason north dakota state you know and once again sam houston and that man right there casey keeler 28-0 in home playoff games as a head coach they are at home in huntsville texas today trying to hang on and now a true freshman at quarterback with a tremendous lineage for north dakota state over the years under center it's his opportunity in the playoffs come out to drive last drive took 20 plays resulting in a field goal dominic ganella over the left tackle ahead to the 30 that's a gain of five and a good start [Music] don't forget baseball tonight coming up as soon as we're done here in huntsville all gets underway with sunday night countdown billy's and matt's first pitch seven eastern north dakota state's gotta start getting into some [Applause] some sense of urgency in their demeanor eyes and have two timeouts to work with under three to go miller pressure stays alive they'll live to see third down a heads-up play by the first year quarterback i had to play i think they were lucky too not to get a false start on their left guard it was close but yeah good good job evading throwing it away live to play the next down you have two downs to pick up the first here you almost have to because they're running low on timeouts [Music] two remaining actually for north dakota state but they're hurting themselves with the time they're taking obviously with the incomplete pass that doesn't matter there but on third down the pump fake the pass broken up trevor williams they call him t well he's made so many plays a former walk-on for sam houston and he was so excited to get a home playoff game this week again throws it to the inside you can't do that when you're throwing the ball to the wide sideline [Applause] and it all comes down to this bowers stadium electric remember the last time that north dakota state decided to punt it here it paid off for them on defense it doesn't look like they're taking that approach here it's gonna have to be a big play bearcats rush four miller's gonna heave one deep double coverage watson flag on the field on what would have been a really difficult catch to make in north dakota state perhaps with new life and p.i coming against sam houston in all likelihood pass interference defense number 12 15 yard penalty automatic first down [Music] they're going to call that on cameron alexander 21 i believe if he doesn't grab his left arm or excuse me if he doesn't grab with his left arm the right arm of watson right where the side judge is right behind him probably not calls i thought that was just a little tussling amongst football players falls at the 45 canela ahead to the 50 into sam houston territory plenty of time on the clock two timeouts to work with and that's six more for number 29. now we got to start getting into a little there we go now we're gonna call it a little bit quicker and shuffle the personnel in and out from the sideline keep in mind there's not a lot of games like this that north dakota state plays in where they're not ahead they're not ahead by a couple of scores miller made one man miss and then falls down it'll be third and two we tried to cut and plant there and the turf just wouldn't hold him interesting how quarterback run has been a problem for both of these defenses when they get out flanked and don't have enough bodies within the box you go back to last week and sam houston's defense held on for dear life against monmouth he's taking too much time [Music] methodical in the approach here for the bison ganella breaks free dominic first down and 10 for north dakota state he stopped inside the 25 markel perry by a shoestring oh that's that's for tackling that time by isaiah downs number 13 who's had a great day but missed an opportunity there 22-yard rush for ganella his longest of the afternoon longest run of the game for north dakota state fullback time luke tripped up by joseph wallace 112 remaining two timeouts left for the bison and still in no hurry here luke's yeah this is really surprising and not only in no hurry they're huddling field goal does you no good obviously trailing by four you need a touch the more they let this wind down the more every single throw is going to become a low percentage throw to the end zone miller flings it passes caught watson can he get out of bounds yes upend it just short of the line to gain it'll be third and two once again box stops with 39 ticks remaining thank goodness he got out of bounds or north dakota state would be in big trouble see out route right here and watson it's a really good tackle by isaiah downs who missed the tackle on the previous play to stop the run lucci still got the two timeouts here [Applause] pressure mounting crunch time has arrived in huntsville sam houston thinking about the semis they need to stop to get there [Music] and bearcats how much fun has this been what a wild second half in the champs on the ropes but the two timeouts remaining north dakota state can still use the middle of the field you still have options at this point you have all you have options and they don't all have to be in the end zone work the field you've got the timeouts to your point between the numbers between the hashes that young man right there as a true freshman has an opportunity here for the sake of his teammates right to show he understands the moment all right he understands the situation where you are on the field what can not happen right can't sack you can't make stupid plays you can't make negative plays baseball tonight heads your way as soon as we're done in huntsville billy's mets seven eastern first pitch we've got some business to take care of in the meantime third and short dominic danella no miller lost the football gets it back bison have to utilize a timeout and disaster for ndsu like that you can't do that second charge timeout north dakota state 30 second timeout [Music] wow [Music] coming out of that mess right there [Music] as he's riding the running back just isn't able to secure the footballs he's gotta sam houston defender bearing down on him [Music] board down and six is the dynasty coming to an end right here eight of the last nine national championships one of the top programs in america regardless of division fans have made the track down from fargo and bowers stadium comes to life once [Applause] again [Applause] christian watson in the slot number one here's miller the freshman end zone incomplete sam houston is gonna hold on the bearcats survive at home [Applause] see noah gindorff right here and i mean you got to at least give him a [Applause] put the ball chance a spot where you have an opportunity for your target to catch and it seemed like guindon had a hard time getting out of his break detaching from the coverage [Applause] bison with one timeout left we'll see if they try to use one here [Applause] and we always wonder north dakota state on the road could they do it well in 2021 we finally discover at least in this instance they cannot as sam houston secures its first victory over the bison since way back in 2009 luke's and what a win for head coach kc keeler trying to rebuild and rebrand this thing after the last meeting against the bison four years ago and he goes 29-0 at home in the playoffs as a head coach at the scs playoff level and listen that man right there said we had to go back to the drawing board when i was at delaware we were bigger stronger faster we needed to build this football team in the trenches that was capable of competing with a north dakota state or james madison what do they do they beat north dakota state today to advance and you know what what did we say one of the quarterbacks has to make a play and on the last drive of the game eric schmidt for sam houston made the play 24-20 our final score in huntsville texas what a game it was eric schmidt found a way with a td toss and a run what proved to be the game-winner just moments ago for head coach k.c keeler and the sam houston bearcats sam houston survives north dakota state eliminated stay tuned coming up next baseball tonight gentlemen take it away

Channel: Wally the Bronco Too

Views: 27,439

Rating: 4.9030304 out of 5

Keywords: 2021 NCAA FCS Championship Quarterfinal, North Dakota State, Sam Houston State

Id: dk_kde_gBcU

Length: 140min 20sec (8420 seconds)

Published: Mon May 03 2021