North Dakota State Athletics
10-1 , 4-0
South Dakota State
7-4 , 3-1
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Dakota State | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| North Dakota State | 10 | 0 | 21 | 10 | 41 |
Record Crowd Watches No. 4 North Dakota State Defeat SDSU 41-28 to Claim GWFC Title
11/18/2006 6:00:00 AM | Football
Travis White sealed the game and a Great West Football Conference title with an 84-yard punt return as North Dakota State defeated South Dakota State 41-28 Saturday.
A record crowd of 19,053 at the Fargodome was treated to a night of offensive fireworks, with the teams combining for more than 700 yards of total offense. There were four lead changes.
The Bison (10-1, 4-0 GWFC) rallied twice in the second half. They were clinging to a 31-28 lead when White broke several tackles en route to the clinching touchdown with 6:13 left.
Neither the No. 4 Bison nor No. 18 Jackrabbits are eligible for the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs.
Wide receiver John Majeski was the key to the Bison surge in the third quarter - as a rusher. He reeled off two long gains on end-around plays, one for 65 yards that led to a Tyler Roehl touchdown run and another for 45 yards and a score.
The latter run put the Bison ahead 24-21 late in the third quarter, the fourth lead change of the game. NDSU stretched that advantage to 31-21 with 15 seconds left in the quarter on a 41-yard touchdown pass from Steve Walker to Kole Heckendorf.
The Jackrabbits (7-4, 3-1 GWFC) responded quickly to start the fourth quarter, when quarterback Andy Kardoes hooked up with a wide-open Micah Johnson on a 60-yard touchdown pass. That pulled SDSU within 31-28 with 14:16 left.
The Bison defense held SDSU scoreless the rest of the way.
Shawn Bibeau kicked a pair of field goals for NDSU.
The Bison lead 10-0 in the first quarter on a 41-yard field goal by Bibeau and a 12-yard touchdown run by Kyle Steffes.
SDSU connected on two big pass plays to go ahead in the second quarter. A 51-yard pass from Kardoes to Chris Wagner set up a 1-yard scoring run by Anthony Watson, and 43-yard touchdown pass from Kardoes to Johnson made it 14-10 at half.
Team Stats
SDSU 0, NDSU 3
NDSU - Shawn Bibeau 41 yd field goal 9 plays, 57 yards, TOP 3:52
SDSU 0, NDSU 10
NDSU - Kyle Steffes 12 yd run (Shawn Bibeau kick), 4 plays, 34 yards, TOP 3:26
SDSU 7, NDSU 10
SDSU - Anthony Watson 1 yd run (Parker Douglass kick), 6 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:55
SDSU 14, NDSU 10
SDSU - Micah Johnson 43 yd pass from Andy Kardoes (Parker Douglass kick) 6 plays, 84 yards, TOP 2:39
SDSU 14, NDSU 17
NDSU - Tyler Roehl 1 yd run (Shawn Bibeau kick), 4 plays, 80 yards, TOP 1:57
SDSU 21, NDSU 17
SDSU - Anthony Watson 1 yd run (Parker Douglass kick), 12 plays, 81 yards, TOP 6:14
SDSU 21, NDSU 24
NDSU - John Majeski 45 yd run (Shawn Bibeau kick), 6 plays, 80 yards, TOP 3:11
SDSU 21, NDSU 31
NDSU - Kole Heckendorf 41 yd pass from Steve Walker (Shawn Bibeau kick) 2 plays, 50 yards, TOP 1:06
SDSU 28, NDSU 31
SDSU - Micah Johnson 59 yd pass from Andy Kardoes (Parker Douglass kick) 2 plays, 83 yards, TOP 0:59
SDSU 28, NDSU 38
NDSU - Travis White 84 yd punt return (Shawn Bibeau kick)
SDSU 28, NDSU 41
NDSU - Shawn Bibeau 38 yd field goal 4 plays, 4 yards, TOP 1:23
