FARGO, N.D.--D.J. McNorton ran 27 times for 110 yards and a TD and caught two passes for 110 yards and a score as North Dakota State beat Robert Morris 43-17 Saturday, Nov. 27, 2010, before a Fargodome crowd of 12,202 in the first round of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs.
Brock Jensen threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score as for the Bison (8-4), who play at Montana State (9-2) at 1 p.m. (Central) Saturday, Dec. 4, in Bozeman.
Robert Morris (8-3), making its first appearance in the FCS playoffs, led 7-6 at halftime before Jensen, a redshirt freshman, hit on a pair of scoring passes in the third quarter.
Jensen tossed a 32-yard touchdown pass to Warren Holloway on third-and-12 and a short middle screen that McNorton took 49 yards for a score to put the Bison ahead 20-7.
Jensen was 10-for-24 for an NDSU playoff-record 229 yards and the Bison rolled up 482 yards of total offense. The old record was 206 yards set by Bruce Grasamke in the 1969 Camelia Bowl.
McNorton reached 100 yards for the seventh time over the past nine games for NDSU.
Myles Russ ran 27 times for 117 yards and two touchdowns for the Colonials. Russ scored from nine yards out and Greg Langer hit a 46-field goal with 12:05 left to cut the Bison lead to 20-17 with 12:05 left in the fourth quarter.
Jensen scored from five yards out to cap a six-play, 84-yard drive to put NDSU ahead 27-17 with 8:57 left. That march was highlighted by a 61-yard screen pass reception by McNorton.
Following a muffed kickoff return, defensive tackle Matthew Gratzek recorded a safety to extend the advantage to 29-17 just 14-seconds later. McNorton scampered in from 12 yards out to up the lead to 36-17 with 6:24 remaining.
Cornerback Josh Gatlin's team-high fourth interception set up the final TD of the game, a 28-yard run from Mike Sigers with 5:31 left.
Freshman linebacker Grant Olson led the Bison with 11 tackles in his first career start. NDSU recorded 11.5 tackles for loss led by Olson's three, and defensive end Coulter Boyer had five quarterback hurries and a pair of pass breakups. Bobby Ollman and Brandon Jemison each had fumble recoveries.
Ryan Jastram connected on two field goals including a career long of 51 yards with 1:51 left in the first half. It was the eighth time a NDSU kicker has hit from 50 yards or better and first since Shawn Bibeau's 51-yarder at Western Illinois in 2007.
BISON NOTES: North Dakota State improved to 31-12 in NCAA playoffs and 36-13 in all postseason games with the win over Robert Morris -- the program's first-ever NCAA Division I FCS playoff appearance. It was the first posteason win since Nov. 25, 2000, when the Bison won 43-21 at Nebraska-Omaha in the NCAA Division II quarterfinals.
North Dakota State head coach Craig Bohl notched win No. 60 in his career. He is one of three NDSU coaches to reach the milestone, joining Ron Erhardt (61) and Rocky Hager (91).
