STATESBORO — Georgia Southern’s players haven’t done any finger pointing this week in an attempt to explain a lopsided semifinal playoff loss to North Dakota State a year ago.
After all, who would be immune?
The Eagles’ rushing offense struggled and lost three fumbles. The defense got pushed around, most notably on a game-changing 96-yard touchdown drive early in the third quarter. As a result, GSU lost 35-7.
Even GSU coach Jeff Monken wished he had a call back after asking his squad to fake a field goal at a critical juncture in the game.
The Eagles get a second chance against the Bison on Friday night when the teams meet again in the Fargodome for the right to play in the Football Championship Subdivision title game.
“It’s just a matter of making plays,” Monken said. “Whether we’ll be able to or not, we’ll find out Friday night.”
North Dakota State, the eventual national champion, made most of the plays a year ago. The Bison, who moved up from Division II in 2004, held Southern to 186 rushing yards — almost 150 yards under GSU’s season-rushing average.
NDSU coach Craig Bohl, who knows about the option after coaching defense at Nebraska, came in with a plan that worked to perfection.
The hosts used safety Colten Heagle in run support, shooting lanes, to disrupt the Eagles’ ground game.
Southern’s seven points were its fewest in a playoff game since a 16-7 loss to Delaware in 1997.
“It’s not that it’s a scheme we haven’t seen, but it’s a scheme that makes you earn everything you get,” GSU offensive coordinator Brent Davis said. “People throughout the (2012) season have tried to defend us like they did last year.”
Of course, it helps to have North Dakota State’s personnel. The Bison defense finished with six tackles for losses and three sacks. Heagle had 15 tackles, including nine solos.
“We didn’t get the people blocked we needed to,” Monken said. “Delaware did the same thing the year before (in a 27-10 semifinal loss).”
Eagles get outmuscled
Offensive difficulty was only compounded by Georgia Southern’s inability to slow down the Bison stampede.
North Dakota State went old school on the Eagles. The Bison’s powerful offensive line manhandled the defensive line, particularly in the second half.
It was evident early in the second half. GSU lost a fumble at the NDSU 4. But the Eagles’ defense couldn’t get a stop. The Bison went 96 yards in nine plays for a touchdown to pull ahead 20-7.
In the fourth quarter, NDSU had a nine-play, 92-yard drive.
“They were able to drive it and that was the difference in the game,” Southern defensive tackle Brent Russell said. “In the first half, we were able to hang with them, but in the second half they started to run the ball on us and that opened up the pass.”
The Bison ran for 314 yards and had three runners with 94 or more yards rushing.
Quarterback Brock Jensen engineered a low-risk offense, completing 10 of 15 passes for 137 yards. NDSU converted 7 of 11 third-down tries.
Gamble backfires
Monken didn’t wait long to try a few trick plays in hopes of jump-starting the offense. A shovel pass from punter Charlie Edwards to Johnathan Bryant gained 13 yards and a first down at the GSU 46 with the Eagles trailing 7-0 midway through the second quarter.
It kept alive a drive that ended with a Dominique Swope touchdown burst.
The roll of the dice came up snake eyes. Trailing 14-7, Southern marched to the NDSU 23 with just 10 seconds left. But on fourth down, instead of going for a 40-yard field goal, Monken called for another fake.
Edwards, the holder, caught the snap and threw into the end zone for John Douglas, a defensive end who was an eligible receiver on the play.
The Bison were ready, and the pass fell incomplete.
“When we trotted out there (for the field-goal try), they were in the look we wanted,” Monken said. “Then they called timeout and when we went back out there, they weren’t in that look. I still let (Edwards) run the fake, and I shouldn’t have.
“It was a momentum boost for them, to have possible points on the board and to stop us. Had it worked for us, it would have been a huge momentum boost for us. Sometimes you just take a shot.”
GEORGIA SOUTHERN AT NORTH DAKOTA STATE
Records: Georgia Southern (10-3, 6-2 Southern Conference); North Dakota State (12-1, 7-1 Missouri Valley Conference)
When: 8 p.m. Friday
Where: Fargodome, Fargo, N.D.
TV/radio: ESPN2/WZAT 102.1 FM in Savannah; WBMZ 103.7 FM in Statesboro
ON THE WEB
Go to savannahnow.com/sports for a video of GSU coach Jeff Monken talking about the Eagles’ upcoming game with North Dakota State.
Follow Donald Heath’s Tweets from the Georgia Southern game live in Fargo, North Dakota, on Friday and his Georgia Southern blog at at savannahnow.com.