Getty Image / iStockPhoto
The North Dakota State Bison won the FCS national championship on Monday with a 35-32 win over Montana State. The loss was the Bobcats’ only of the 2024-25 season.
The Bison, meanwhile, fell twice in the regular season before posting a spotless mark in the FCS playoffs. One of those setbacks came in the season opener at the hands of the Colorado Buffaloes.
The two schools kicked off the ’24 campaign with an exciting contest in Boulder. Prior to kickoff, many predicted an upset with a narrative floating of Deion Sanders’ bunch being overhyped.
The Bison came close, but they couldn’t squeak out a win. Colorado left with a 31-26 victory thanks to a big second half.
North Dakota State entered playing at a lower level of competition, but they were far from intimidated by the Buffs’ FBS standing. In fact, they led after the first 30 minutes of play.
Unfortunately, that lead evaporated after halftime as they were outscored 14-6. Despite those preseason upset picks, Colorado haters immediately tabbed the close call as a knock to the overall resume. As it turned out, it might’ve been one of the best wins on the Buffs’ schedule.
Colorado didn’t have a win over a ranked opponent this season. They missed out on their only two shots with losses to BYU and Kansas State.
In what was considered a down year for the Big 12, the win over North Dakota State was one of the more distinguished. That perception only grew when the Bison were crowned national champs.
North Dakota State won the FCS championship on a walk-off punt.
The Bison jumped out to an early 21-3 lead in the title bout before holding off a furious Montana State comeback effort. The Bobcats got the game to within three points late with hopes of getting the ball back for one final possession.
That never came to fruition. North Dakota State was able to bleed enough time from the clock to win on a walk-off punt.
North Dakota State wins the FCS national championship and it ends on a punt pic.twitter.com/Sihr2VqUAM
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) January 7, 2025
The championship win was North Dakota State’s 10th in the last 14 years. After the fact, many within the Colorado fanbase reminded followers of that season opening victory.
The Colorado Buffaloes can now claim a transitive property championship.
— SKOBUFFSMEMEZ (@SKOBUFFSMEMEZ) January 7, 2025
The Buffs picked up a transitive property title thanks to that Week 1 win over the Bison in Boulder. They’ll take it after failing to pick up any hardware of their own during the season.
A late loss to Kansas cost Colorado a chance at a Big 12 Championship appearance. The Buffs then failed to win their bowl game against conference rival BYU. They’ll now celebrate that win from late August as they head into the offseason.