SPRINGFIELD, Mo.--Running back Tyler Roehl rushed for 188 yards and two touchdowns and defensive end Joe Lardinois returned a fumble for a score as No. 25-ranked North Dakota State University defeated Missouri State University 48-27 in a Missouri Valley Football Conference game played on a cold and blustery Saturday, Nov. 15, at Plaster Field.

North Dakota State (4-3 Valley Football, 6-4) is scheduled to close out the regular season against South Dakota State (5-2 Valley Football, 6-5) in the battle for the Dakota Marker at 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, in the Fargodome. The Jackrabbits lost 38-35 to No. 9/10-ranked Southern Illinois in Carbondale.

The Bison exploded for 21 third quarter points to break a 13-13 halftime deadlock and outscored host Missouri State 35-14 in the second half.

NDSU free safety Nick Schommer made an acrobatic interception of a Cody Kirby pass at the Bears 30-yard line to set up the first TD. Roehl covered the final 11 yards in the drive including a 6-yard scoring run. It was Schommer's third interception of the season and 13th of his career. He is tied for third all-time at NDSU with Wayne Schluchter (1978-81).

The Bison defense came up large on the next MSU drive. Defensive end Nick Compton sacked Kirby and forced a fumble that was gobbled up by Lardinois, who raced 17 yards into the end zone to extend the North Dakota State lead to 27-13 with 7:48 left in the third quarter.

Kirby scored on a 1-yard TD run on fourth down that brought Missouri State within 27-20 with 1:26 remaining.

North Dakota State kept the pressure on. D.J. McNorton returned the ensuing kickoff 28 yards. Nick Mertens hooked up with Kole Heckendorf on a 44-yard pass play. Two plays later Mertens completed a 12-yard TD pass to Thor Brown. Mertens completed 8 of 10 passes for 108 yards.

An interception and fumble stopped NDSU's first two drives in the fourth quarter. The second turnover led to a Kirby to Chris Geiz 15-yard touchdown pass that cut the Bison lead to 34-27 with 7:50 left to play.

North Dakota State answered quickly, 18-seconds to be exact. Roehl took the handoff and raced 80 yards for the TD to build the cushion back up to 41-27. The Bison received a 1-yard touchdown run from Matt Voigtlander to close out the scoring with 1:19 left to play.

Roehl, who had 21 carries for the 188 yards, went over the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season. He has 1,020 yards entering the SDSU game. It was the sixth straight season that a Bison running back has gained over 1,000 yards.

Roehl moved past Paul Hatchett, Doug Lloyd and Kevin Feeney on the NDSU all-time rushing charts. He has 2,479 yards and 34 TDs on 376 carries over 42 career games. Roehl went over 100 yards for the sixth time this season and 12th time in his career.

North Dakota State's defense recorded a season-high eight sacks during the game led by two each from defensive tackle Matthew Gratzek, defensive tackle Matt Phillips and Compton. The Bison came up with 14 tackles for loss with Compton tallying three.

Linebackers Mike Maresh and Matt Anderson each made a game-high 11 tackles as Missouri State ran 76 plays and held the ball for 35-minutes, 45-seconds. Anderson had a career-high with the effort, while Maresh matched his career best and recorded the fourth double-figure tackle game of his career. 

Kirby completed 15 of 28 passes for 217 yards, one interception and one TD. He gained 71 yards rushing, but lost 75 to finish with a minus 4 on 23 attempts. Clay Harbor caught eight passes for 113 yards.

 North Dakota State held a 462-299 advantage in total offense including 356 yards rushing on 37 attempts. The Bison overcame three fumbles lost and one interception. Shawn Bibeau connected on a pair of field goals of 29 and 23 yards, and all six extra points.

NDSU improved to 13-3 in the month of November under the direction of head coach Craig Bohl.