North Dakota State rolls past Towson for third straight title

FRISCO, Texas

Three years after winning only one game, Towson came up one victory short of a national championship.

Like everybody else this season, the Tigers couldn’t beat North Dakota State.

“We lost the day, but we won the year,” fifth-year coach Rob Ambrose said. “It goes back farther than three ago.

“It was blowout losses, and then it was three-point losses and four-point losses to nationally ranked teams. We’ve been building this since Day 1 and the construction project is not over. We’re not there yet, but we’re certainly getting there.”

Brock Jensen and the Bison got their perfect ending, capping a 15-0 season Saturday with a 35-7 victory for their third consecutive FCS championship. It was coach Craig Bohl’s final game at the school.

Terrance West ran 3 yards on the final play of the first quarter for Towson’s only touchdown, his 41st TD rushing and 42nd overall this season. He finished with 22 carries for 99 yards, pushing his season total to 2,509 — the most ever by an FCS player.

Towson (13-3) was lined up for what would have been a go-ahead field goal in the second quarter, but D.J. Soven’s 41-yard attempt was blocked. The ball was scooped up by Kyle Emanuel and returned 59 yards to the 5. That set up Ryan Smith’s TD run on the next play that made it 14-7, and was the first of three consecutive possessions when the Bison scored touchdowns.

“A legitimate 10-point swing,” Ambrose said. “We made a mistake, and they made us pay for it.”

The Tigers, the first school to play in championship games at the FCS and NCAA Division III levels, were held to their lowest scoring total since a 28-3 loss at Maryland four games into the 2011 season.

Towson played without cornerback Jordan Love and tight end James Oboh after the senior starters were suspended for unspecified violations of NCAA rules.