North Dakota State won its eighth FCS national championship in nine season and extended its outrageous win streak to 37 games thanks, in large part, to James Hendricks.
Sure, football is a team sport, but the Bison senior safety came up with two pivotal plays in the title game against James Madison on Saturday to help carry his team to victory.
At Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, the Dukes were down, 28-20, with the ball and 2:40 seconds left on the fourth-quarter clock. A pass interference call against North Dakota State put James Madison at 1st-and-goal on the three yard line with just eight seconds left in the game.
Enter Hendricks, who picked off quarterback Ben DiNucci on the goal line to essentially end the game and secure a third straight national championship for North Dakota State.
He returned the interception for 20 yards before hitting the ground, and with two seconds left, the Bison took a knee and that was it.
But the last-second interception was the second huge play of the game for Hendricks. Late in the second quarter, North Dakota State lined up to kick a 4th-and-8 field goal with the safety as the holder. Then on a perfectly executed trick play, Hendricks and the Bison pulled off the fake, and he ran it in for a 20-yard touchdown, giving his team a 21-10 halftime lead.
Despite his incredible performance, quarterback Trey Lance was named the game’s most outstanding player, completing 6-of-10 passes for 72 yards with 30 carries for 160 yards and one touchdown. The freshman passer didn’t throw an interception all season.
For the second consecutive season, North Dakota State finished undefeated (16-0) and hasn’t lost a game since November 2017.
