FRISCO, Texas – Chris Klieman and Easton Stick enjoyed a perfect ending to their time with the North Dakota State University football program by adding another national championship to the dynasty’s pile.
Stick ran for three touchdowns and threw for two more as the Bison beat Eastern Washington 38-24 Saturday for their record-breaking seventh Football Championship Subdivision title. It was their fourth in five years with Klieman as head coach, and now the 51-year-old will take over at Kansas State after being hired by the Football Bowl Subdivision program last month.
“It was a special journey – 15-0, end it with a national championship. The story’s complete,” said Klieman, who was 69-6 as NDSU’s head coach and was part of all of those titles, with three coming with him as defensive coordinator. “That’s something that movies are made out of, dreams are made out of, books are written about.”
NDSU (15-0) has won all of its FCS national titles over the past eight seasons, and now Matt Entz, the team’s defensive coordinator the past five, takes over as head coach.
Stick, who succeeded Carson Wentz as NDSU’s starting quarterback, passed for 198 yards and ran for 121 in his 49th victory to become the all-time wins leader among FCS quarterbacks. The senior holds school records for total yards (11,216), passing yards (8,693) and total touchdowns (129 – 88 passing, 41 rushing).
“This place is special,” Stick said. “Quarterback’s a unique position. You’re only as good as players you’re surrounded with. I’m so thankful for every guy I played with, because as a freshman you come in and you just want to be a part of it.”
Eastern Washington (12-3) got to within 17-10 with a 2-yard touchdown on a fake field goal in the final minute of the first half. Holder and backup quarterback Gunner Talkington took the snap and was still on his knee when he shuffled the ball to a sweeping Jayce Gilder, who dived into the end zone.
The second half began with the teams combining for three turnovers and three long touchdowns in less than 4 1/2 minutes. All of the scores, including Stick’s passes of 23 and 78 yards to Darrius Shepherd, came in a span of four plays and 68 seconds.
“A five-minute frenzy,” Eagles coach Aaron Best said.
Sam McPherson had a 75-yard touchdown run on Eastern Washington’s only play between Stick’s two scoring passes.
“It was so back and forth. It was pretty crazy,” McPherson said. “It was wild for sure. It definitely got us up, got us down.”
There were interceptions on consecutive plays before the Eagles turned it over again when Talkington, playing with starter Eric Barriere out a series while his throwing hand was examined, fumbled when being sacked by Stanley Jones. That set up the 23-yard pass Stick threw to Shepherd beyond the reach of three defenders.
Eastern Washington finished with eight penalties for 60 yards. Those penalties hurt more than that because three of them in the first half wiped out big plays – two on their opening nine-play drive, when the Eagles had a pass play inside the 10 wiped out and a third-and-9 run erased by another penalty.
“They weren’t the 10-yard variety,” Best said. “They were 50 because we had gained 40.”
The Bison had been tied with the six FCS (formerly Division I-AA) titles Georgia Southern won before it moved to the FBS. Klieman matched the four FCS titles won by Jim Tressel as coach of Youngstown State before he won a national title with FBS program Ohio State.
The Eagles were in the title game for the first time since winning their only championship eight years ago.