(STATS) – With top-ranked North Dakota State suggesting its FCS dynasty will continue this season, the 2018 Bison have drawn the most comparisons to the program’s 2013 squad.
That was the only unbeaten season (15-0) during an amazing run in which NDSU has won six of the seven FCS national championships and gone 103-8 since the start of the 2011 season.
This year’s team returned a similar type of experience and star power off a national title under coach Chris Klieman like it did in 2013 under Craig Bohl.
With an expected win at South Dakota on Saturday, the Bison would improve to 8-0 in moving past the halfway point of a potential perfect season. There’s still a long way to go, obviously, but their season has a similar feel and look to it.
A dynasty captures attention in any sport, but does it ever stop being a good thing? The playoffs could be the same old, same old in which the Bison won’t have to play outside the Fargodome through the national semifinals before moving on to the championship site in Frisco, Texas, which is basically Fargo South, as the Missouri Valley Football Conference power is unbeaten there.
The 2013 team won its postseason games by 31, 34, 38 and 28 points – pure domination – and this season there seems to be a growing gap between the Bison and the rest of the top contenders, of which there aren’t many that can likely beat them in the playoffs.
If a tired storyline is brewing, there’s probably a grace period this season. North Dakota State is trying to claim its seventh FCS title, which would break its tie with Georgia Southern for the most in history. Even casual college football fans could have interest in what is at stake come December and early January.
Nothing is a given because it only takes one bad day by the Bison for the dynasty to run smack into a roadblock, a la their loss to James Madison in the 2016 semifinals. Most times, though, the Bison have found the answers whenever threatened.
The question is, will North Dakota State even be threatened this season? If not, is that good for the FCS?