# 2014 North Dakota State Bison football team

The 2014 North Dakota State Bison football team represented North Dakota State University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first year head coach Chris Klieman. The team played their 22nd season in the Fargodome. The Bison have been members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference since the 2008 season.
The Bison ended the season by winning their fourth consecutive NCAA Division I Football Championship, beating Illinois State 29–27 in the National Championship Game. North Dakota State became the first NCAA Division I football team to win four straight NCAA titles and the second of any NCAA division to win four straight. The other four time championship team was the Augustana College Vikings, the Division III champions in the 1983–1986 seasons. The season did however see the Bison's 33 game winning streak come to an end against the UNI Panthers on the road. That streak was the longest in FCS history and the 3rd longest over the last 50 years in all NCAA football history.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 30 | 11:00 am | at Iowa State* | No. 2 | Jack Trice StadiumAmes, IA | FS1 | W 34–14 | 54,800 |
| September 6 | 7:00 pm | at Weber State* | No. 1 | Stewart StadiumOgden, UT | NBC ND/ALT | W 24–7 | 14,577 |
| September 13 | 2:30 pm | Incarnate Word* | No. 1 | FargodomeFargo, ND (College GameDay) | NBC ND/ESPN3 | W 58–0 | 19,020 |
| September 20 | 2:30 pm | No. 4 Montana* | No. 1 | FargodomeFargo, ND | NBC ND/Midco SN/ESPN3 | W 22–10 | 18,890 |
| October 4 | 3:00 pm | at Western Illinois | No. 1 | Hanson FieldMacomb, IL | NBC ND/ESPN3 | W 17–10 | 5,111 |
| October 11 | 1:00 pm | No. 12 Southern Illinois | No. 1 | FargodomeFargo, ND | NBC ND/ESPN3 | W 38–10 | 19,034 |
| October 18 | 2:30 pm | No. 22 Indiana State | No. 1 | FargodomeFargo, ND | NBC ND/ESPN3 | W 34–17 | 18,477 |
| October 25 | 2:00 pm | at South Dakota | No. 1 | DakotaDomeVermillion, SD | NBC ND/Midco SN | W 47–7 | 9,823 |
| November 1 | 2:30 pm | No. 18 South Dakota State | No. 1 | FargodomeFargo, ND (Dakota Marker) | NBC ND/Midco SN/ESPN3 | W 37–17 | 18,832 |
| November 8 | 4:00 pm | at No. 19 Northern Iowa | No. 1 | UNI-DomeCedar Falls, IA | NBC ND | L 3–23 | 14,777 |
| November 15 | 2:00 pm | at Missouri State | No. 4 | Plaster Sports ComplexSpringfield, MO | NBC ND | W 45–10 | 4,597 |
| November 22 | 2:30 pm | No. 20 Youngstown State | No. 3 | FargodomeFargo, ND | NBC ND/ESPN3 | W 38–10 | 18,696 |
| December 6 | 2:30 pm | No. 14 South Dakota State | No. 2 | FargodomeFargo, ND (FCS Playoffs Second Round) | ESPN3 | W 27–24 | 18,113 |
| December 13 | 11:00 am | No. 6 Coastal Carolina | No. 2 | FargodomeFargo, ND (FCS Playoffs Quarterfinal) | ESPN | W 39–32 | 18,049 |
| December 19 | 7:00 pm | No. 19 Sam Houston State | No. 2 | FargodomeFargo, ND (FCS Playoffs Semifinal) | ESPN2 | W 35–3 | 18,025 |
| January 10, 2015 | 12:00 pm | vs. No. 7 Illinois State | No. 2 | Toyota StadiumFrisco, TX (FCS National Championship Game) | ESPN2 | W 29–27 | 20,918 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||
* Source: Schedule

## Coaching staff

| Name | Position | Year at North Dakota State | Alma mater (Year) |
| Chris Klieman | Head coach | 4th | Northern Iowa (1990) |
| Matt Entz | Defensive coordinator Linebackers | 1st | Wayne State (NE) (1995) |
| Tim Polasek | Offensive coordinator Running backs | 8th | Concordia (WI) (2002) |
| Atif Austin | Special teams coordinator Wide receiver coach | 1st | Iowa State (2003) |
| Jamar Cain | Defensive ends coach | 1st | New Mexico State (2002) |
| Nick Goeser | Defensive tackles coach | 5th | Wisconsin–Eau Claire (2003) |
| Randy Hedberg | Quarterbacks coach | 1st | Minot State (1977) |
| Joe Klanderman | Defensive backs coach | 1st | Minnesota State Mankato (2001) |
| Conor Riley | Tight ends Running backs | 2nd | Nebraska–Omaha (2002) |
| Tyler Roehl | Director of football operations Equipment services | 1st | North Dakota State (2009) |
| Brian Gordon | Director of football operations Equipment services | 1st | South Florida (2002) |
| Jake Otten | Video coordinator | 1st | Cal Poly (2013) |

## Game summaries
### At Iowa State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #2 Bison | 0 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 34 |
| Cyclones | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |

### At Weber State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #1 Bison | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 24 |
| Wildcats | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |

### Incarnate Word

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| #1 Bison | 14 | 14 | 23 | 7 | 58 |

### Montana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #4 Grizzlies | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| #1 Bison | 6 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 22 |

### At Western Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #1 Bison | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 17 |
| Leathernecks | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |

### Southern Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #12 Salukis | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| #1 Bison | 3 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 38 |

### Indiana State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #22 Sycamores | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 17 |
| #1 Bison | 13 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 34 |

### At South Dakota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #1 Bison | 3 | 20 | 14 | 10 | 47 |
| Coyotes | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |

### South Dakota State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #18 Jackrabbits | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| #1 Bison | 0 | 6 | 14 | 17 | 37 |

### At Northern Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #1 Bison | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| #19 Panthers | 0 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 23 |

### At Missouri State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #4 Bison | 0 | 21 | 21 | 3 | 45 |
| Bears | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |

### Youngstown State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #20 Penguins | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| #3 Bison | 14 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 38 |

## FCS Playoffs
### Second Round–South Dakota State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #14 Jackrabbits | 0 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 24 |
| #2 Bison | 7 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 27 |
| Overall record | Previous meeting | Result |
| 58–40–5 | 11/1/2014 | NDSU, 37–17 |

### Quarterfinal–Coastal Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #6 Chanticleers | 10 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 32 |
| #2 Bison | 14 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 39 |
| Overall record | Previous meeting | Result |
| 1–0 | 2013 FCS Playoffs | NDSU, 48–14 |

### Semifinal–Sam Houston State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #19 Bearkats | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| #2 Bison | 7 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 35 |
| Overall record | Previous meeting | Result |
| 3–1 | 2012 FCS Playoffs | NDSU, 39–13 |

### Championship–Illinois State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #7 Redbirds | 7 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 27 |
| #2 Bison | 3 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 29 |
| Overall record | Previous meeting | Result |
| 6–2 | 2013 | NDSU, 28–10 |

## 2015 NFL draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL team |
| 5 | 153 (17) | Kyle Emanuel | Outside linebacker | San Diego Chargers |
| UFA | - | John Crockett | Running back | Green Bay Packers |

## Ranking movements

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Final |
| Sports Network | 2 (62) | 1 (93) | 1 (137) | 1 (146) | 1 (150) | 1 (153) | 1 (153) | 1 (156) | 1 (152) | 1 (157) | 1 (164) | 4 (19) | 3 (20) | 2 (39) | 1 (152) |
| Coaches | 1 (18) | 1 (24) | 1 (25) | 1 (25) | 1 (26) | 1 (26) | 1 (25) | 1 (26) | 1 (26) | 1 (26) | 1 (26) | 4 | 4 (1) | 3 (4) | 1 (25) |
| AP Poll | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | — | — | — |