Bison fans weren’t expecting high drama on Saturday. Then again, it is college football and there aren’t many teams that want to beat the Bison more than Mark Farley’s Northern Iowa Panthers.
But after 16 seconds, it was apparent that everyone’s fingernails were safe.
TK Marshall sprinted 100 yards with the opening kickoff as the top-ranked Bison cruised to their 9th straight win in a 42-19 victory on Saturday, Nov. 2.
The 9-1 Bison are now a perfect 6-0 in Missouri Valley Conference play and take a 9-0 record against FCS teams into next week’s bye.
It was another complete performance from Tim Polasek’s crew, as the NDSU offense piled up 189 rushing yards and 233 passing yards, while the defense did not allow the Panthers into the end zone until NDSU had a 35-3 lead.
After NDSU’s opening kick score, Northern Iowa showed it wasn’t going to fold up quickly. The Panthers went on a 12-play drive capped off by a 40-yard field goal and it was 7-3.
But the Bison would rally with the next 28 points. CharMar Brown carried the ball in from 5 yards out just before the quarter break and it was 14-3 NDSU after one.
The second quarter saw more of the same. NDSU capped off a 13-play, 94-yard drive with a pitch and catch of 14 yards from Cam Miller to Bryce Lance to make it 21-3, then Miller connected with Braylon Henderson from 15 yards with just under two minutes to go in the half, and NDSU had a 28-3 halftime lead.
The third quarter saw NDSU pull away as Barika Kpeenu toted the rock six yards for a 35-3 lead and the rout was on.
Northern Iowa scored a pair of touchdowns late in the third quarter to make it 35-19 after three, but Kpeenu removed all doubt with an 11 yard touchdown run to finish the scoring. The top-ranked Bison had their 9 th straight win in a 42-19 victory.
NEWS AND NOTES
NDSU quarterback Cam Miller finished 17 of 20 passing for 216 yards and two touchdowns. He set a new school record for consecutive pass attempts without an interception at 311, breaking the mark of 307 set by Trey Lance from 2018 to 2020.
Bison running back CharMar Brown had his third 100-yard rushing game with 18 carries for 124 yards and one score.
Linebacker Enock Sibomana was in on both goal-line stops for NDSU and finished with a team-high six tackles. NDSU safety Darius Givance and linebacker Nick Kubitz also had six tackles apiece.
The Bison, who entered the game leading the nation in turnover margin, recovered two more fumbles to move to plus-16 on the season. NDSU made nine tackles for loss.
– Courtesy NDSU Sports Information
NEXT UP FOR THE BISON
NDSU now gets two weeks to prepare for its next matchup, hosting conference foe Missouri State on Saturday, Nov. 16. It will be the final regular season home game for the Bison. The Bears are enjoying one of the best regular seasons in school history, coming in with a 7-2 record. MSU is coming off a 38-17 home win to Southern Illinois. The Bears began the season with back-to-back losses, 29-24 at Montana, who was ranked #3 at the time, and at FBS Ball State by a score of 42-34. Since then, the Bears have ripped off 7 straight wins, scoring 30 or more points in the last six games. MSU entered Saturday’s game with SIU ranked #17 in the FCS Coaches Poll.
The Bears have an excellent chance of winning again this week, as they travel to 1-8 Murray State.
The Bears (7-2, 5-0 MVFC) and the Bison are the only two unbeaten teams in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, and MSU is on its first seven-game win streak since 1990. The squad’s 5-0 start in league play is also MSU’s first since 1989.
2024 SCHEDULE
DATE OPPONENT RESULT W-L (CONF)
Thu, Aug 29 @ Colorado L 31-26 0-1 (0-0)
Sat, Sep 7 Vs Tennessee State W 52-3 1-1 (0-0)
Sat, Sep 14 @ East Tennessee State W 38-35 2-1 (0-0)
Sat, Sep 21 Vs Towson W 41-24 3-1 (0-0)
Sat, Sep 28 @ Illinois State W 42-10 4-1 (1-0)
Sat, Oct 5 Vs North Dakota W 41-17 5-1 (2-0)
Sat, Oct 12 @ Southern Illinois W 24-3 6-1 (3-0)
Sat, Oct 19 Vs South Dakota State W 13-9 7-1 (4-0)
Sat, Oct 26 @ Murray State W 59-6 8-1 (5-0)
Sat, Nov 2 Vs Northern Iowa W 42-19 9-1 (6-0)
DATE OPPONENT TIME
Sat, Nov 16 Vs Missouri State 2:30 PM
Sat, Nov 23 @ South Dakota 1:00 PM
Team First Place Votes Record Points Last Week
1 North Dakota State (24) 9-1 648 1
2 Montana State (2) 9-0 622 2
3 South Dakota State 7-2 599 3
4 UC Davis 8-1 568 4
5 South Dakota 6-2 523 5
6 Southeast Missouri State 8-1 493 6
7 Montana 7-2 484 8
8 UIW 7-2 452 10
9 Richmond 7-2 411 12
10 Rhode Island 8-1 372 14
11 Villanova 7-2 368 13
12 Idaho 6-3 357 11
13 Mercer 8-1 348 16
14 Tarleton State 7-2 320 7
15 Missouri State 7-2 274 17
16 ACU 6-3 249 18
17 Illinois State 6-3 224 19
18 Stony Brook 7-2 202 20
19 Central Arkansas 6-3 201 9
20 Jackson State 7-2 144 23
21 William & Mary 6-3 134 24
22 UT Martin 6-3 99 NR
23 North Dakota 5-4 83 15
24 Duquesne 6-2 71 NR
25 Harvard 6-1 27 NR
