Coyotes Upset No. 2 Bison 24-21 for First Win in Fargo Since 1978

Saturday, October 17

Fargo, N.D.

2:30 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

4-2 , 2-1

South Dakota

3-3 , 1-2

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
South Dakota	0	14	0	10	24
North Dakota State	14	7	0	0	21

Photo by: Tyler Ingham

Coyotes Upset No. 2 Bison 24-21 for First Win in Fargo Since 1978

10/17/2015 6:00:00 PM | Football

Box Score

FARGO, N.D. - Miles Bergner kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired to give South Dakota a 24-21 victory over No. 2-ranked North Dakota State on Saturday, Oct. 17, and send the Coyotes home with their first win in Fargo since 1978.

South Dakota (3-3, 1-2 MVFC) ended its 14-game losing streak in Missouri Valley Football Conference play, and snapped North Dakota State's 26-game home winning streak at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome, which was a conference record and the longest active streak in Division I.

The Coyotes tied the game 21-21 with 4:47 left in regulation when a 15-play, 72-yard scoring drive ended on Drew Potter's eight-yard touchdown reception, and USD got a three-and-out on the ensuing NDSU possession to get the ball back with 3:20 left.

USD marched 55 yards in nine plays on the final drive with quarterback Ryan Saeger converting a pair of third downs on the ground. He got five yards on a third-and-5 with 30 seconds left, and the Coyotes ran one play to the NDSU 16 before draining the clock to 3 seconds and calling timeout.

Bergner, who entered the game 4 of 10 on field goals and had missed from 47 yards earlier in the game, connected on the game-winner after one timeout by NDSU (4-2, 2-1 MVFC). He is now 4 of 5 on the season from 30-39 yards.

South Dakota converted 8 of 13 third downs and held the ball for 30:08 including a decisive 10:43 in the fourth quarter. The Coyotes were the first team in 22 games to hold the ball longer than NDSU, which entered as the FCS leader in time of possession averaging 38:04.

Saeger was 12 of 20 passing for 202 yards and two touchdowns while rushing 16 times for 92 yards and a touchdown. USD running back Trevor Bouma ran 20 times for 94 yards.

USD outgained NDSU 395-320 and held the Bison to 125 yards rushing. King Frazier had 39 yards, Chase Morlock ran for 36 and Bruce Anderson had 34 yards and a touchdown.

NDSU quarterback Carson Wentz was 16 of 28 passing for 195 yards and two touchdowns. Zach Vraa caught three passes for 35 yards and became NDSU's all-time leader in receiving yards now with 2,738. He passed the mark of 2,732 set by Kole Heckendorf from 2005-08.

Anderson's two-yard run capped a seven-play, 66-yard scoring drive on NDSU's first possession and the Bison led 14-0 late in the first quarter when Darrius Shepherd hauled in a 37-yard touchdown pass.

USD scored on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter to tie the game. Brandt Van Roekel caught an eight-yard TD pass, and Saeger scored on a one-yard run two plays after a 73-yard run-after-catch to Bouma put the Coyotes on the NDSU 8.

Bison middle linebacker Nick DeLuca, who made a career-high 12 tackles in his first collegiate start last year at South Dakota, led all players with a career-high 15 tackles. Strong safety Chris Board made 11 stops for the Bison, and defensive end Greg Menard had six tackles including a sack and forced fumble to go along with two quarterback hurries.

North Dakota State is on the road for its next two games. The Bison are at Indiana State next Saturday, Oct. 24, on ESPN3 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference Game of the Week. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. ET at Memorial Stadium in Terre Haute, Ind.