The 2022 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

game played to determine a national champion in the

NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic ...

(FCS) for the 2021 FCS season. It was contested at Toyota Stadium in

Frisco, Texas Frisco is a city in Collin and Denton counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Its population was 200,509 at the 2 ...

, on January 8, 2022, with kickoff at 12:00 p.m. EST (11:00 a.m.

locally In mathematics, a mathematical object is said to satisfy a property locally, if the property is satisfied on some limited, immediate portions of the object (e.g., on some ''sufficiently small'' or ''arbitrarily small'' neighborhoods of points). P ...

) and televised on

ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially fo ...

. It was the culminating game of the 2021 FCS Playoffs.

Teams

The participants of the 2022 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game were the finalists of the 2021 FCS Playoffs.

North Dakota State Bison

North Dakota State finished their regular season with a 10–1 record (7–1 in conference), losing only to

South Dakota State South Dakota State University is a public land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest and most comprehensive university and the oldest continually-operating university in South Dakota. The ...

. The Bison were the second-seed in the tournament and received a first-round bye; they then defeated

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern United States, Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of th ...

East Tennessee State East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a Public university, public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. Although it is part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee, the university is governed by an instit ...

, and

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...

to reach the championship game. North Dakota State had previously won the FCS Championship Game eight times, most recently the January 2020 edition following the 2019 season.

Montana State Bobcats

Montana State finished their regular season with a 9–2 record (7–1 in conference), losing only to

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

(an FBS team) and

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

. The Bobcats were the eighth-seed in the tournament and received a first-round bye; they then defeated UT Martin,

Sam Houston State Sam Houston State University (SHSU or Sam) is a public university in Huntsville, Texas. It was founded in 1879 and is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools west of the Mississippi River and ...

, and

to reach the championship game. Montana State had previously played in one FCS Championship Game, winning against

Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activi ...

in the 1984 edition following the 1984 season, when the conference was still known as NCAA Division I-AA and the championship game was played in December.

Game summary

Montana State's starting quarterback, Tommy Mellott, sustained an ankle injury during the opening drive of the game and was sidelined for the remainder of the contest. North Dakota State scored four unanswered first-half touchdowns, taking a 28–0 lead en route to a 38–10 final and the program's ninth FCS title in 11 seasons. Fullback Hunter Luepke of North Dakota State rushed for three touchdowns and was named most valuable player.

Statistics

References

External links

Game statistics
at statbroadcast.com {{DEFAULTSORT:2022 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game

Championship Game In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match sy ...

NCAA Division I Football Championship Games Montana State Bobcats football games North Dakota State Bison football games American football in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Sports in Frisco, Texas NCAA Division I Football Championship Game NCAA Division I Football Championship Game