Finally!
Those words were shouted from the top of the Fargodome to the playing floor on Saturday, as NDSU came from behind to top #1 South Dakota State 13-9 on Saturday, Oct. 19. The Bison had lost five straight to South Dakota State but hoisted the Dakota Marker as the clock struck zero and a sellout crowd, well most of it anyway, cheered the team that won its seventh game of the season.
The Bison closed strong on both sides of the ball. Raja Nelson caught a 20-yard TD pass from Cam Miller, his second scoring grab of the day, with 1:49 to play, and Logan Kopp sealed the deal with an interception in the game’s closing seconds.
NDSU moves to 7-1 on the season while the Jackrabbits dropped to 5-2. The win also gives NDSU the inside track to the Missouri Valley Football Conference title. The Bison now stand 4-0 in conference play with two of their final three conference games scheduled for the Fargodome. SDSU drops to 2-1 in league play.
The matchup of 1 vs. 2 in the national rankings lived up to the billing. The game was a defensive struggle from the opening minutes as neither team dented the scoreboard in the first quarter. The Bison opened the scoring early in the second quarter as Miller hit Nelson, from 18 yards, for the first of his two receiving scores, and NDSU was on top 7-0.
The lead lasted only 1:20, as South Dakota State countered with a designed quarterback run from backup signal caller Chase Mason, and 66 yards later the Jacks were on the board. But NDSU responded with a massive play on the extra point, as Kody Huisman blocked the kick, and a valuable point was saved. The blocked kick would prove to be a huge storyline in the game’s final minutes.
The Jacks would put another 3 on the board just before halftime as Hunter Dustman booted one through from 42 yards as the time ran out in the first half, and it was 9-7 at the intermission. NDSU missed a 48-yard field goal on the opening drive of the third quarter and the teams traded punts for the next seven possessions. In the end, the third quarter went scoreless and so did most of the fourth, before the drive that Bison fans will talk about for years. Miller, the senior quarterback, led the Bison on a 92-yard drive that notched the game winning score.
Miller connected on all 7 of his passes, on the drive, and with just under two minutes to play, the team’s undisputed leader dropped back and lofted a high arcing pass to the end zone from 20 yards where Nelson made the contested catch. The point after was good and with 1:49 to play, all that remained for the Bison was for the “Code Green” defense to make one last stop.
The feat would not be easy against SDSU wingman Mark Gronowski, the reigning FCS Player of the Year, but because of that costly missed extra point in the first half, the Jacks would need a touchdown; a field goal would not suffice.
SDSU started the drive at its own 9-yard line with 1:45 on the clock. It only took 35 seconds for Gronowski to lead the Jacks to midfield. Bison fans were chewing their fingernails and crossing their fingers, but junior linebacker Logan Kopp had plans to give them a massive celebration. Kopp, in man-to man coverage, cut in front of an SDSU receiver at the NDSU 38 and made a diving interception to clinch the win. Bedlam ensued in the Fargodome, and NDSU had done it. The Bison offense kneeled out the clock and NDSU claimed its first Dakota Marker win since 2019.
The 13-9 final score ended South Dakota State’s recent dominance of the Bison, and once again put NDSU on the top of the FCS world, if only for one week.
NOTEBOOK
This was the first nationally televised Dakota Marker game. It aired on ESPN2 before a sellout crowd of 18,807.
With the win, NDSU claims an 11-10 lead in the Dakota Marker series which began in 2004 when the teams moved to the FCS.
The loss ended several SDSU winning streaks. The Jacks had won 32 consecutive FCS games, and 19 straight regular season conference games dating back to late in the 2021 season, matching the league record set by North Dakota State from 2017-20. SDSU also sees its reign at the top of the FCS National Rankings come to an end after top billing in 29 consecutive polls.
The statistical battle was fairly even. SDSU outgained NDSU 333 to 275, and won the rushing battle 215 to 112, but NDSU passed for 163 yards to SDSU’s 118. South Dakota State hurt itself with 10 penalties for 89 yards compared to NDSU’s five for 38. Each team had 17 first downs and both teams were roughly 50% in third down conversions. The time of possession battle was won by NDSU, 31:37 to 28:23.
The difference in this game was the Bison defense, which has improved steadily throughout the season. NDSU held the most decorated quarterback in the FCS to just 118 yards, and a 59% completion rate, as the Jacks averaged less than 4 yards per attempt. In the second half, Gronowski only completed 6 of 15 passes for 55 yards, and turned the ball over on that interception that ended the game. In its last four games, NDSU is giving up just 9.75 points per game, and has allowed just 12 total points in its last two contests.
Cam Miller, on the other side, only passed for 163 yards but completed 74% of his passes and was clutch on the winning drive, going 7-for-7 for 74 yards and the winning touchdown.
Nelson had four catches for 48 yards and Chris Harris grabbed a team-high five receptions for 41 yards.
Hillsboro ND product Oscar Benson joined Luke Weerts with eight tackles apiece to lead the NDSU defense. Eli Mostaert had seven stops and Kopp finished with 4 tackles and that sparkling interception to seal the win.
NEXT UP FOR THE BISON
NDSU travels to take on conference-newcomer Murray State on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Racers have struggled in the powerful Missouri Valley Football Conference and are winless in four conference tries. MSU has lost four straight overall and is 1-6 on the season with its only win coming at home to winless Mississippi Valley State. In their two games against top 10 FCS opponents, the Racers lost 72-35 at UND and 59-0 at home to South Dakota.
FCS COACHES POLL – October 21, 2024
TEAM FIRST PLACE VOTES RECORD POINTS PREVIOUS
1 North Dakota St. (24) 7-1 648 2
2 Montana St. (2) 8-0 614 3
3 South Dakota St. 5-2 590 1
4 South Dakota 6-1 581 4
5 UC Davis 7-1 542 6
6 Southeast Missouri St. 7-1 502 8
7 North Dakota 5-2 476 10
8 Tarleton St. 6-1 472 9
9 Montana 5-2 409 11
10 Central Arkansas 5-2 366 12
11 UIW 5-2 350 13
12 Idaho 5-3 327 14
13 Richmond 5-2 308 15
14 Villanova 5-2 301 5
15 William & Mary 5-2 285 16
16 Rhode Island 6-1 262 17
17 Mercer 6-1 261 7
18 Missouri St. 5-2 201 20
19 ACU 5-3 192 21t
20 Illinois St. 5-3 147 23
21 North Carolina Central 5-2 131 21t
22 Dartmouth 5-0 110 24
23 Jackson St. 5-2 82 25
24 Stony Brook 5-2 49 NR
25 Chattanooga 4-3 40 NR
SCHEDULE
Thu, Aug 29 @ Colorado L 31-26 0-1 (0-0) Henderson 72
Sat, Sep 7 Vs Tennessee State W 52-3 1-1 (0-0) Lance 106
Sat, Sep 14 @ East Tennessee State W 38-35 2-1 (0-0) Collins 67
Sat, Sep 21 Vs Towson W 41-24 3-1 (0-0) Lance 63
Sat, Sep 28 @ Illinois State W 42-10 4-1 (1-0) Lance 65
Sat, Oct 5 Vs North Dakota W 41-17 5-1 (2-0) Lance 50
Sat, Oct 12 @ Southern Illinois W 24-3 6-1 (3-0) Lance 63
Sat, Oct 19 Vs South Dakota State W 13-9 7-1 (4-0) Nelson 48
DATE OPPONENT TIME
Sat, Oct 26 @ Murray State 1:00 PM
Sat, Nov 2 Vs Northern Iowa 2:30 PM
Sat, Nov 16 Vs Missouri State 2:30 PM
Sat, Nov 23 @ South Dakota 1:00 PM
This article was written by Flag Family Media’s Steve Hallstrom.
