James Madison 28, Youngstown St. 14.
FRISCO, Texas -- James Madison still had one more game after dethroning the five-time defending champs in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision.
Now the Dukes have their second national title.
The team that knocked off North Dakota State in the semifinals won the FCS Championship Game Saturday. Khalid Abdullah ran for 101 yards and two touchdowns after two early touchdown passes by Bryan Schor as the Dukes beat Youngstown State 28-14.
"A lot of the country probably thought when we beat North Dakota State that we'd have a really great chance to win the championship," Schor said. "Something we really focused on the whole week ... we have got to earn the right to win it, and that's something we came out and I think we did today."
Schor threw two touchdown passes in the first 5 1/2 minutes Saturday, the first after James Madison blocked a punt and the other after a shanked kick set the Dukes up at midfield.
"We didn't start the way we wanted and got behind the eight-ball," Youngstown State Coach Bo Pelini said. "The way we started didn't help."
The Dukes won their other championship in 2004, the only other time they made it to the title game.
"It means everything," Abdullah said of winning the championship. "It just means that all the dreams and goals we had as a team came to fruition."
Abdullah finished the season with a school-record 1,809 yards rushing and an FBS-best 22 touchdowns.
The four-time champion Penguins (12-4), who finished their second season under Pelini, the Youngstown native who coached at Nebraska in 2008-2014, made it to the title game for the first time since 1999. Their four titles came during the 1990s under Jim Tressel, who is now the school's president after winning a national championship as head coach at Ohio State in 2002.
Only Georgia Southern (six) and North Dakota State (five) have more FCS titles than Youngstown State.
Abdullah's 1-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter made it 21-0. He added a 2-yard score early in the third quarter, capping a drive set up by Curtis Oliver's crazy interception after a pass that was deflected at the line ricocheted off the receiver's toe without hitting the ground.
"At the beginning of the year, every college football program has this goal," first-year James Madison Coach Mike Houston said. "The great thing about tournament play is, it's not up to a vote system or anything like that. You go out there and play it out on the field."
The Penguins couldn't overcome their own mistakes. The punting problems early put them in a two-touchdown hole, and their third possession ended with a botched snap on a field goal attempt. Turnovers on their only two possessions in the third quarter took away any chance of a comeback.
James Madison's defense was dominating again, totaling five sacks and forcing two turnovers (seven in the postseason). An interception upped their FCS-best total to 21.
Youngstown State came in averaging 258 rushing yards per game, but had only 21 yards on 31 carries Saturday.
James Madison tight end Jonathan Kloosterman had a 14-yard touchdown catch less than 3 minutes into the game. It was his fifth touchdown on six catches in four playoff games after he had only two touchdowns in the regular season.
"I have such great talent around me, and people tend to forget about me in the red zone," Kloosterman said.
Youngstown State senior defensive ends Derek Rivers and Avery Moss both had a sack. The Penguins set a school record with 49 sacks, led by Rivers' 15 and Moss' 11.
"The emotion I have now is not because of the outcome of the game, it's because my last time playing with these guys in that locker room," said Rivers, who finished with 41 career sacks. "I wouldn't trade the season we had for anything."
Sports on 01/08/2017