Steve Walker threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Kole Heckendorf with 7 seconds left to cap a dramatic rally and lift fourth-ranked North Dakota State over 14th-ranked Sam Houston State 41-38 on Sept. 15. The game was played before 18,961 fans at the Fargodome. It was NDSU's third straight sellout.

The Bison went 54 yards in just 19 seconds for the winning score, after the Bearkats went ahead on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Rhett Bomar to Darnell Jones with 26 seconds left.

Walker tossed five touchdown passes for the Bison (2-0). He tied a school single-game record previously set by Tony Stauss against South Dakota in 2003.

The Bearkats (2-1) lost despite 495 yards of total offense, all but 34 from Bomar. The Sam Houston State quarterback threw four touchdown passes including a pair to Justin Wells of 5 and 55 yards. Catron Houston also caught a 5 yard scoring pass. Houston caught eight passes for 85 yards.

A 75-yard touchdown pass from Walker to Jerimiah Wurzbacher gave NDSU a 34-21 lead late in the third quarter. The Bearkats scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.

Bomar, a transfer from Oklahoma, finished with 461 yards of total offense. He completed 36 of 61 passes for 358 yards. He ran 17 times for 103 yards. Bomar directed an efficient Bearkat offense, hitting on 11 of 20 third down tries and both fourth down conversions. Sam Houston State held a 32:46 to 27:14 advantage in time of possession.

Walker completed 18 of 26 passes for 295 yards. He completed passes to seven different receivers. Wurzbacher hauled in a career-high five passes for 121 yards. Heckendorf snared seven for 103 yards and a pair of TDs to move to No. 4 all-time in receptions (100) at NDSU. Jordan Schultenover recorded his first collegiate TD reception for six yards.

NDSU's Shawn Bibeau hit a pair of field goals including a career best 47-yarder in the third quarter. Sam Houston State's Taylor Wilkins connected on all three field goal attempts including a career long of 40 yards in the first quarter. Bison punter Mike Dragosavich punted three times for an average of 51.3 including a 70-yard effort -- the second longest of his career.

While the teams combined for 79 points and 909 yards of total offense, the defenses had their moments. North Dakota State's Ramon Humber, David Earl and John Richardson each had 10 tackles. Humber and Earl each had seven solos, while Earl recorded his first career interception. Byran Richmond led the Bearkats with a game-high 11 tackles, while Carlton Cobey had six tackles including 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble.

North Dakota State is scheduled to play Central Michigan (1-2) at 2:30 p.m. (Central time) Saturday, Sept. 22, in Mount Pleasant, Mich. The Chippewas lost at Purdue 45-22 on Saturday. Sam Houston State has next weekend off before playing at Oklahoma State on Sept. 29.