No. 5 North Dakota State Rumbles Past No. 9 Cal Poly 51-14 to Stay Perfect in GWFC

Saturday, November 11

Fargo, N.D.

1 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

9-1 , 3-0

Cal Poly

6-4 , 2-2

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Cal Poly	14	0	0	0	14
North Dakota State	0	28	16	7	51

No. 5 North Dakota State Rumbles Past No. 9 Cal Poly 51-14 to Stay Perfect in GWFC

11/11/2006 6:00:00 AM | Football

Box Score

Quarterback Steve Walker threw for three touchdowns and the offense rolled up over 400 yards as North Dakota State defeated Cal Poly 51-14 in a Great West Football Conference game played Saturday, Nov. 11, before a Harvest Bowl crowd of 14,706 in the Fargodome. The Bison improved to 29-1-2 in the Harvest Bowl.

North Dakota State is scheduled to close out the season against South Dakota State (7-3, 3-0 GWFC) at 6 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 18, at the Fargodome in the battle for for the conference title and the Dakota Marker. Both teams are tied for first place in league play with 3-0 records. SDSU defeated Southern Utah 31-21 in Cedar City on Saturday. NDSU will play for its first conference title since 1994 when the program was a member of the North Central Conference.

The No. 5 Bison (9-1, 3-0 GWFC) scored 51 unanswered points in a matchup of Top 10 Division I-AA teams after spotting the No. 9 Mustangs a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. The 51 points are the most scored by an NDSU team in Great West Football Conference play. The Bison had scored only 16 points in the previous two meetings with Cal Poly.

NDSU held the ball for more than 13 minutes in the second quarter and scored four times to take a 28-14 halftime lead. After the first quarter, Cal Poly failed to register a first down until the final minute of play. The Bison defense was led by the eight tackles of linebacker Joe Mays and six from defensive tackle Justin Frick.

Cal Poly was held to 168 yards of total offense by the Bison, which also forced a pair of turnovers. NDSU cornerback Richard Bowman recorded his first career interception in the second quarter, while Mike Brower recovered a fumble on a kickoff.

Walker completed 13 of 16 passes for 142 yards and the three scores. He capped the 28-point second-quarter barrage with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Jerimiah Wurzbacher with 39 seconds left in the first half. Walker broke the NDSU records for career touchdown passes and completions during the game.

Kyle Steffes and Pete Blincoe combined for more than 200 yards rushing for the Bison. Steffes rushed 25 times for 127 yards, breaking the 100-yard barrier for the 20th time in his career and eighth time this season. Blincoe rushed 11 times for 109 yards and two TDs.

Cal Poly (6-4, 2-2) took the opening kickoff and marched 77 yards in eight plays, capped by a 7-yard scoring pass from Matt Brennan to Justin Belcher. The Mustangs made it 14-0 on a 2-yard run by James Noble, following a fumble recovery by Adam Torosian at the NDSU 25.

The Bison came alive with an 11-play, 84-yard drive, the last 10 yards on a run by Steffes to make it 14-7 at 13:22 of the second quarter. That was followed by a 14-yard touchdown pass from Walker to Kole Heckendorf, a 10-yard scoring run by Blincoe, and the 2-yard TD toss to Wurzbacher. Heckendorf caught six passes for 71 yards.

A 65-yard touchdown run by Blincoe on the opening drive of the second half gave NDSU a 34-14 lead.