After Defeating the Hawkeyes, The Legend of North Dakota State Continues

The legend of North Dakota State continues. After five straight national championships, and four straight wins over power conference FBS teams, the Bison have their biggest win ever over a power conference team, stunning Iowa, 23-21, on a last-second field goal.

There were reasons to think the Bison's run of success might end against the Hawkeyes. Iowa was ranked 13th in the country, while NDSU's other FBS victims weren't exactly the creme de la Power Five creme. Those wins came against Minnesota, Iowa State, Iowa, and Kansas State. But this one is big-time.

Iowa has a senior quarterback and possibly its best offense of the past decade. The Hawkeyes have an All-American corner and a an All-Big Ten middle linebacker. They are (were?) favored to win the Big Ten West. Wisconsin couldn't beat Iowa at home last year. Neither could Nebraska. Michigan State barely eked out a win against the Hawkeyes at a neutral site. But NDSU did it—arguablyagainst a better Iowa team—and on the road, to boot.

Nothing about this game was a fluke, either. North Dakota State, and its 63 scholarship players—to Iowa's 85—dominated a Hawkeyes offensive line considered one of the nation's best. The Iowa run game—which trucked all over Miami (OH) and Iowa State—averaged a paltry 1.4 yards per rush. And even though the Hawkeyes have more depth, it was the Bison who refused to wear down, playing their best in the fourth quarter. NDSU bled the clock and out-rushed Iowa, 239-34, in a line that would be shocking in any FCS-FBS matchup, much less a matchup against a physical, top 15 team.

Ultimately, North Dakota State proved that it is a Big Ten team—and a damn good Big Ten team at that. And given how bad the Big Ten West is, NDSU might actually be the best team in that entire division—better than Iowa, Wisconsin, and Nebraska. Even after this loss, that isn't stopping people from picking Iowa to win the division.

@k_trahan Can I still say Iowa? How many B1G West teams are actually better than NDSU?
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) September 17, 2016

The Big Ten has decided that it will no longer schedule FCS teams, meaning we won't see another matchup like this one. We won't get to see the Bison beat up on Nebraska, or Wisconsin, or even try their hand against a truly elite team like Michigan or Ohio State.

But NDSU really doesn't have anything more to prove. This is already the greatest college football dynasty of all-time, and it proved that it can punch far above its weight—enough to take down a top 15 team.

Sure, NDSU is in the FCS, but that's just a title, and it's one that doesn't really fit.