Photo special to Bison Illustrated
Welcome to the countdown to Frisco! Starting Christmas Day with a “The Twelve Days of Christmas” theme, we’ll feature a Bison football player per day who had a memorable FCS Championship game. Join us as we countdown these remarkable memories and get ready for the big game Jan. 6!
Read previous parts of Bison Illustrated‘s “Twelve Days To Frisco ????” here.
BUY ONE, GET ONE SUBSCRIPTION
Bison Illustrated is offering a special buy one, give one offer. If you buy a subscription to Bison Illustrated, you can give a subscription for FREE to anyone in the United States. Plus, anyone who subscribes will be entered for a chance to win a signed Carson Wentz copy of Bison Illustrated. Subscribe at BisonIllustrated.com/Subscribe today before it’s too late!
Travis Beck
It was a poetic finish to a fairytale run. NDSU, six years removed from entering Division I, clinched its first FCS title after a North Dakota born and bred freshman made the play of a lifetime.
With the Bison nursing a 10-6 lead, Sam Houston State quarterback Brian Bell dropped back to pass on third-and-long. The Bearkats explosive quarterback threw over the middle at the NDSU 36. Munich, North Dakota, native Travis Beck had undercut the route, stepped in front of Bell’s pass, secured his first career interception and raced down the sidelines.
As fast you could say, “unhitch the trailer!” Beck soared trough the air toward the pylon. He broke the end zone plane successful but stepped out at the five.
However, the image of this moment will never be forgotten for Bison fans who lived through the Division I transition. With one masterful read and interception by a small-town North Dakota linebacker, any doubt that making the jump was a mistake vanished. NDSU would become a force to be reckoned with in Division I from that day forward.
