The 2020 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 that determined 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 ...

for the 2019 season. It was played 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 11, 2020, with kickoff at 12:00 p.m. EST (11:00 a.m. local CST), and television coverage on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. It was the culminating game of the 2019 FCS Playoffs.

Teams

The participants of the 2020 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game were the finalists of the 2019 FCS Playoffs—North Dakota State and James Madison—which began with a 24-team

bracket A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'r ...

. This was a rematch of the 2018 FCS Championship Game, won by North Dakota State, 17–13. Entering the game,

North Dakota State North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as th ...

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 ...

had won every FCS championship, with North Dakota State winning eight and James Madison winning one, since the 2010 Eastern Washington Eagles won the 2011 FCS Championship Game.

North Dakota State Bison

North Dakota State entered the game with a 15–0 record. They were 12–0 during the regular season, finishing atop the

Missouri Valley Football Conference The Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), formerly the Gateway Football Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivis ...

with an 8–0 conference record. The Bison received the top seed for the FCS playoffs, entitling them to a first-round bye. They then defeated Nicholls,

Illinois State Illinois State University (ISU) is a Public university, public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is reco ...

, and

Montana State Montana State University (MSU) is a public land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 68 fields, and doctoral degrees in 35 fiel ...

to reach the championship game. North Dakota entered the title match with a 36-game winning streak, having not lost since falling to

South Dakota State South Dakota State University is a public university, public Land-grant university, 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 ...

on November 4, 2017. This was North Dakota State's eighth FCS title game; they were 7–0 in prior championship game appearances, having won titles for the 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018 seasons. During the 2016 playoffs, they were denied a spot in the title game due to a semifinal loss to James Madison.

James Madison Dukes

James Madison entered the game with a 14–1 record. They were 11–1 during the regular season, finishing atop the

Colonial Athletic Association The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I whose full members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Most of its members are public universi ...

with an 8–0 conference record. Their only loss was to FBS program

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

, 20–13, on August 31. The Dukes received the second seed for the FCS playoffs, entitling them to a first-round bye. They then defeated

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

Northern Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

, and

Weber State Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History Weber State University was founded ...

to reach the championship game. This was James Madison's fourth FCS title game; they were 2–1 in prior championship game appearances, having won titles for the 2004 and 2016 seasons.

Game summary

Statistics

References

External links

Game statistics
at statbroadcast.com {{DEFAULTSORT:2020 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game

Championship Game In sport, a championship is a 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 system In this system ...

NCAA Division I Football Championship Games James Madison Dukes 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