Frisco, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - North Dakota State and Illinois State are likely seeing a lot of similarities in the other as they prepare for the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game on Saturday.
The co-champions of the Missouri Valley Football Conference figure to make the championship game at Toyota Stadium a physical affair. Both will try to win the line of scrimmage and force the other into mistakes.
North Dakota State is seeking an unprecedented fourth straight FCS national title. Illinois State will appear in the final for the first time.
The season statistics of the two finalists:
NORTH DAKOTA STATE (14-1)
TEAM STATISTICS
(NDSU, OPPONENTS)
SCORING: 498, 198
Points Per Game: 33.2, 13.2
Points Off Turnovers: 110, 23
FIRST DOWNS: 321, 222
Rushing: 165, 102
Passing: 136, 104
Penalty: 20, 16
RUSHING YARDAGE: 3,549, 1,739
Yards Gained Rushing: 3,736, 2,119
Yards Lost Rushing: 187, 380
Rushing Attempts: 669, 493
Average Per Rush: 5.3, 3.5
Average Per Game: 236.6, 115.9
TDs Rushing: 33, 13
PASSING YARDAGE: 2,915, 2,323
Comp-Att-Int: 216-342-10, 226-423-18
Average Per Pass: 8.5, 5.5
Average Per Catch: 13.5, 10.3
Average Per Game: 194.3, 154.9
TDs Passing: 25, 8
TOTAL OFFENSE: 6,464, 4,062
Total Plays: 1,011, 916
Average Per Play: 6.4, 4.4
Average Per Game: 430.9, 270.8
KICK RETURNS: Number-Yards: 31-601, 50-1,006
PUNT RETURNS: Number-Yards: 26-250, 17-180
INT RETURNS: Number-Yards: 18-242, 10-80
KICK RETURN AVERAGE: 19.4, 20.1
PUNT RETURN AVERAGE: 9.6, 10.6
INT RETURN AVERAGE: 13.4, 8.0
FUMBLES-LOST: 14-5, 24-9
PENALTIES-Yards: 91-746, 72-598
Average Per Game: 49.7, 39.9
PUNTS-Yards: 57-2,558, 86-3,660
Average Per Punt: 44.9, 42.6
Net Punt Average: 38.6, 38.7
KICKOFFS-Yards: 98-6,086, 48-2,900
Average Per Kick: 62.1, 60.4
Net Kick Average: 41.6, 40.1
TIME OF POSSESSION/Game: 33:51, 26:09
3RD-DOWN Conversions: 97/198, 66/211
3rd-Down Pct: .490, .313
4TH-DOWN Conversions: 5/9, 15/32
4th-Down Pct: .555, .469
SACKS BY-Yards: 42-272, 16-88
MISC YARDS: 0, -1
TOUCHDOWNS SCORED: 60, 23
FIELD GOALS-ATTEMPTS: 26-31, 13-18
ON-SIDE KICKS: 0-0, 0-2
RED-ZONE SCORES: 55-63 (.873), 26-31 (.838)
RED-ZONE TOUCHDOWNS: 39-63 (.619), 16-31 (.516)
PAT-ATTEMPTS: 58-59 (.983), 21-21 (1.000)
ILLINOIS STATE (13-1)
TEAM STATISTICS
(ISU, OPPONENTS)
SCORING: 547, 293
Points Per Game: 39.1, 20.9
Points Off Turnovers: 246, 165
FIRST DOWNS: 321, 243
Rushing: 161, 96
Passing; 137, 125
Penalty: 23, 22
RUSHING YARDAGE: 3,352, 1,581
Yards Gained Rushing: 3,624, 1,969
Yards Lost Rushing: 272, 388
Rushing Attempts: 608, 486
Average Per Rush: 5.5, 3.3
Average Per Game: 239.4, 112.9
TDs Rushing: 40, 17
PASSING YARDAGE: 3,178, 3,118
Comp-Att-Int: 204-349-10, 247-461-18
Average Per Pass: 9.1, 6.8
Average Per Catch: 15.6, 12.6
Average Per Game: 227.0, 222.7
TDs Passing: 29, 18
TOTAL OFFENSE: 6,530, 4,699
Total Plays: 957, 947
Average Per Play: 6.8, 5.0
Average Per Game: 466.4, 335.6
KICK RETURNS: Number-Yards: 46-986, 66-1,270
PUNT RETURNS: Number-Yards: 23-112, 21-182
INT RETURNS: Number-Yards: 18-221, 10-88
KICK RETURN AVERAGE: 21.4, 19.2
PUNT RETURN AVERAGE: 4.9, 8.7
INT RETURN AVERAGE: 12.3, 8.8
FUMBLES-LOST: 21-13, 16-8
PENALTIES-Yards: 70-610, 81-781
Average Per Game: 43.6, 55.8
PUNTS-Yards: 59-2,386, 85-3,257
Average Per Punt: 40.4, 38.3
Net Punt Average: 35.3, 35.4
KICKOFFS-Yards: 99-5,579, 60-3,190
Average Per Kick: 56.4, 53.2
Net Kick Average: 37.7, 34.2
TIME OF POSSESSION/Game: 31:58, 28:02
3RD-DOWN Conversions: 96/189, 73/210
3rd-Down Pct: .508, .348
4TH-DOWN Conversions: 8/11, 9/24
4th-Down Pct: .727, .375
SACKS BY-Yards: 40-215, 21-130
MISC YARDS: 0, 12
TOUCHDOWNS SCORED: 72, 38
FIELD GOALS-ATTEMPTS: 14-19, 10-14
ON-SIDE KICKS: 0-0, 1-3
RED-ZONE SCORES: 47-60 (.783), 31-40 (.775)
RED-ZONE TOUCHDOWNS: 36-60 (.600), 21-40 (.525)
PAT-ATTEMPTS: 67-70 (.957), 27-29 (.931)
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