FARGO, N.D. — North Dakota State quarterback Cam Miller connected with RaJa Nelson on two touchdown passes, including the game-winner from 20 yards out with 1 minute and 49 seconds remaining to lift the second-ranked Bison to a 13-9 victory over top-ranked South Dakota State Saturday night at the Fargodome.
The Bison improved to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. SDSU dropped to 5-2 on the season and 2-1 in league play.
NDSU’s game-winning drive covered 92 yards over 10 plays. Taking over at their own 8, Miller was perfect for the Bison on the march, completing all seven of his pass attempts for 76 yards , finding Nelson in the right corner of the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown. The two-point attempt failed, but still put SDSU in the position of needing a touchdown to take the lead.
The Jackrabbits, who worked the two-minute drive late in the first half to take a 9-7 halftime lead, moved the ball from their own 9 on the ensuing possession to the SDSU 47 before Mark Gronowski’s pass attempt over the middle intended for Griffin Wilde was intercepted at the Bison 38 by Logan Hofstedt.
Miller and Nelson hooked up for the first time midway through the second quarter on an 18-yard touchdown pass to finish off a 13-play, 69-yard drive.
SDSU responded with the final nine points of the half, starting with a 66-yard touchdown run by Chase Mason. The extra point was blocked.
Hunter Dustman’s 42-yard field goal on the final play of the second quarter ended a 15-play, 65-yard drive.
The Jackrabbits appeared on the verge of going up two scores before giving the ball back to NDSU late in the fourth quarter. Gronowski evaded pressure and heaved the ball deep down the right sideline inside the 5-yard line to a leaping Grahm Goering , who was ruled to have not secured the catch while being pushed out of bounds. SDSU’s10th penalty of the night further backed up the Jackrabbits, forcing SDSU to give the ball back by way of punt.
Most of the game belonged to the defenses in the second-lowest-scoring Dakota Marker game since the traveling trophy was conceived in 2004. SDSU limited NDSU to only 112 yards on the ground, with the Jackrabbits holding a 333-275 advantage in overall total offense.
The Jackrabbits’ two leading rushers were its quarterbacks as mason tallied 80 yards on only five carries and Gronowski racked up 77 yards on 13 attempts. Gronowski completed 17-of-29 passes for 118 yards with Wilde and Angel Johnson each catching four balls for 25 and 24 yards, respectively.
Miller ended the night 20-for-27 passing for 163 yards, with Nelson catching four passes for 48 yards. Chris Harris led Bison receivers with five catches for 41 yards, while Barika Kpeenu gained 35 yards on six carries to pace the NDSU rushing attack.
Graham Spalding registered a game-high 10 tackles for the jackrabbits, followed by eight from Colby Huerter. Oscar Benson and Luke Weerts each tallied eight stops for NDSU.
UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits will play their second consecutive nationally televised game as they return home to meet South Dakota in the Interstate Series on Oct. 26. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium with television coverage on ESPNU.
NOTES
- NDSU leads all-time series, 64-47-5 and now leads the Dakota Marker series, 11-10
- The Jackrabbits had their winning streak against FCS opponents come to an end at 32 games, as well as their league-tying 19-game MVFC win streak
- SDSU also had beaten 21 ranked FCS opponents in a row and lost for the first time as the No. 1 team since taking over the top spot for the first time in program history on Oct. 17, 2022
- Dustman’s field goal was the 44th of his career
- Attendance was 18,807