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NDSU Notes | Western Illinois Notes

THIS WEEK:  Alone in second place in the Missouri Valley Football Conference after back-to-back road wins, North Dakota State (6-2, 4-1 MVFC) returns home to face Western Illinois (4-4, 3-2 MVFC) in the 42nd annual Harvest Bowl on Saturday, Nov. 7.  Game time is 2:30 p.m. at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome (18,700).
 
TELEVISION:   Live statewide coverage in HD begins at 2:30 p.m. on NBC North Dakota, ESPN3 and ESPN College Extra with Brian Shawn calling the play-by-play, Lee Timmerman color analyst, and Beth Hoole reporting from the sideline. A live video stream will be available to subscribers on GoBison.com/allaccess.
 
RADIO:  KFGO-AM 790 and Mix 101.9 FM of Fargo along with the Peterson Farms Seed Bison Radio Network will have live coverage beginning at 2 p.m.  KFGO's Scott Miller will describe the play-by-play with NDSU and Buffalo Bills Hall of Famer Phil Hansen as color analyst, commentary from KFGO's Jack Michaels, and NDSU's Jeremy Jorgenson reporting from the sideline.  A free audio stream will be available on GoBison.com/allaccess.
 
THE SERIES:  This is the seventh meeting between North Dakota State and Western Illinois.  The Bison lead the series 4-2 after last season's 17-10 come-from-behind victory in Macomb.  Western Illinois is 2-0 in Fargo with a 27-22 win in 2008 and a 28-16 victory in 2010.
 
LAST YEAR:  Running back John Crockett threw a touchdown pass and ran for another in the fourth quarter as North Dakota State survived its Missouri Valley Football Conference opener with a 17-10 victory at Western Illinois last year.  Crockett connected with quarterback Carson Wentz on a 16-yard pass to tie the game 10-10 with 11:17 to play, and the Bison got a three-and-out on defense before Crockett scored from seven yards out to cap a 10-play, 67-yard drive with 3:51 left.  Western Illinois reached the NDSU 36 before safety Christian Dudzik's pass breakup on fourth-and-3 stalled the drive, and the Bison kneeled twice to clinch the win.  NDSU outgained Western Illinois 405 to 321 but the Bison managed only 149 yards rushing and 3.6 yards per carry.  Crockett rushed 22 times for 79 yards, Wentz went 19-for-29 passing for 240 yards with one interception, and RJ Urzendowski caught seven passes for 114 yards.
 
HARVEST BOWL HISTORY:  This is the 41st game in 42 years of the the Harvest Bowl program, which celebrates excellence in agriculture, education and athletics.  NDSU is 36-2-2 all-time and has won five straight Harvest Bowl games including last year's 38-14 victory over Youngstown State.  The event began in 1974 with NDSU beating Wisconsin-Milwaukee 14-7.  The 1991 game with Nebraska-Omaha on Nov. 2 of that year was canceled due to a blizzard.
 
ABOUT THE HARVEST BOWL:  Fifteen scholarships will be awarded to outstanding NDSU male and female student-athletes during this year's Harvest Bowl festivities, and the program also recognizes the work of agriculturists in 53 counties in North Dakota and several in Minnesota.  A special agribusiness award goes to an individual who has a distinguished career in agriculture and business.  This year's award recipient is Lynden Johnson, a 1982 NDSU graduate and executive vice president of the Country Operations division of CHS Inc.
 
BISON TO WEAR HARVEST HELMET:  North Dakota State will wear a new, alternate green football helmet against Western Illinois.  The "harvest helmet" will be worn in combination with NDSU's yellow jersey and green pants.  The matte green helmet features the traditional Bison logo decal in yellow on both sides.  As a nod to NDSU's agricultural roots as the state's land-grant institution, the top of the helmet features a strip of yellow wheat spikes matching those in the university seal.  NDSU will still wear its traditional yellow helmet for most games, which has been the standard since the early 1960s.
 
FRAZIER, DeLUCA, KELLY PLAYERS OF WEEK:  NDSU running back King Frazier was named Offensive Player of the Week, linebacker Nick DeLuca was named Defensive Player of the Week, and right guard Jeremy Kelly Offensive Lineman of the Week in the Missouri Valley Football Conference after last week's 35-29 win at Southern Illinois.  Frazier had runs of 41, 50 and 51 yards and finished with 16 carries for a career-high 177 yards and one touchdown.  DeLuca had a career-high 20 tackles including one for a loss and one pass breakup as NDSU limited the league's top-rated offense to a season-low 398 yards of total offense and 121 rushing yards.  It was the first career award for both players.  Kelly had nine knockdown blocks and a team-best 88 percent grade on technique without allowing a sack or quarterback hurry.
 
RUSHING ATTACK BREAKS OUT:  North Dakota State's rushing attack has exploded for 640 yards over the past two games, which is more than the previous four games combined.  NDSU ran for 243 yards on 57 carries at Indiana State—NDSU's most rushing attempts since 2008 at Illinois State.  The Bison followed that with a season-high 397 yards at Southern Illinois averaging 8.3 yards on 48 carries.  North Dakota State leads the Missouri Valley Football Conference in rushing offense averaging 219.6 yards over eight games.
 
100-YARD RUSHERS:  Redshirt freshman quarterback Easton Stick became the team's first 100-yard rusher of the year with 124 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries at Indiana State.  He followed that with 130 yards on 16 carries at Southern Illinois and is the first NDSU quarterback to have back-to-back 100-yard rushing games since October 1996 when Kevin Feeney rushed for 128 against South Dakota State and 145 against Minnesota State Mankato.  Running back King Frazier had a career-high 177 yards on 16 carries to give NDSU its first dual 100-yard rushers since last year's regular-season finale when John Crockett rushed for 168 and Carson Wentz rolled up 120 yards against Youngstown State.
 
SLOWING DOWN HIGH-POWERED OFFENSES:  North Dakota State's defense limited the top-rated offense in the Missouri Valley Football Conference to a season-low 398 yards of total offense and 121 rushing yards last week at Southern Illinois.  It was the second straight week NDSU has stymied a high-powered offense.  The Bison held an Indiana State team averaging 438 yards to just 201 yards of total offense.  Excluding an 81-yard TD run by quarterback Matt Adam, the Sycamores averaged just 2.4 yards on their other 50 offensive plays.
 
SMITH ACTIVE LEADER IN PASSES DEFENDED:  North Dakota State senior cornerback CJ Smith is the FCS active leader in career passes defended, which includes interceptions plus pass breakups.  Smith and New Hampshire's Casey DeAndrade are tied for the lead with 45 passes defended and rank 16th in in FCS history since 2000.  Smith tied a career high with three pass breakups in the win at Southern Illinois.
 
STICK NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:  Redshirt freshman quarterback Easton Stick made his first collegiate start Oct. 24 at Indiana State replacing senior Carson Wentz, who suffered a broken right wrist in the home loss to South Dakota.  Stick is NDSU's 10th new starting quarterback in 18 seasons since 1998, and he is the eighth to win his debut.  He was named Missouri Valley Football Conference Newcomer of the Week after running for 124 yards and two touchdowns and passing for 126 yards and one score in a 28-14 win at Indiana State.
 
VRAA SETS CAREER YARDS MARK:  Sixth-year wide receiver Zach Vraa broke the North Dakota State career record for receiving yards against South Dakota and the career receptions record against Northern Iowa.  He needs one touchdown to tie the school record of 26 set by Tim Strehlow from 1996-99.  Vraa is among the MVFC's top 10 in all three categories.  He has caught a pass in 48 of 51 career games.
            NDSU Career Receiving Yards
            1. 2746 - Zach Vraa, 2011-15 (51g)
            2. 2732 - Kole Heckendorf, 2005-08 (43g)
            3. 2544 - TR McDonald, 1990-93 (39g)

            NDSU Career Receiving TDs
            1. 26 - Tim Strehlow, 1996-99
            2. 25 - Zach Vraa, 2011-14
            3. 24 - Len Kretchman, 1985-88

            NDSU Career Receptions
            1. 183 - Zach Vraa, 2011-15
            2. 178 - Kole Heckendorf, 2005-08
            3. 163 - Travis White, 2002-06
 
BISON LEAD FCS IN TIME OF POSSESSION:  North Dakota State leads the nation in time of possession through the first eight games of the year and has only been out-clocked once in the last 24 games (South Dakota, 2015).  The Bison are averaging an FCS-best 36:34 over eight games.  NDSU also ranks third in third down conversion defense (27%), fourth in third down conversion percentage (52%), sixth in first downs allowed (112), and ninth in net punting (39.0).
 

	Opponent	Opp 3rd Down	NDSU TOP
	Montana	6-18	35:16
	Weber State	1-13	40:04
	North Dakota	2-13	36:36
	South Dakota State	2-15	39:19
	Northern Iowa	3-10	39:08
	South Dakota	8-13	29:52
	Indiana State	3-14	39:31
	Southern Illinois	5-16	32:42

 

LeCOMPTE LEADS FCS IN PUNTING:  All-America punter Ben LeCompte is first in the Football Championship Subdivision with a 46.5 average on 40 punts including a long of 73 in the Weber State game, 14 punts of 50-plus yards, and 16 downed inside the 20.  LeCompte ranks fourth in FCS history and is the MVFC leader in career punting average at 44.53.  The NDSU career record is Mike Dragosavich's 44.46 average from 2004-07.
            NCAA FCS Career Punting Leaders
            45.1 - Jonathan Plisco, Old Dominion (2009-12)
            44.8 - Mark Gould, Northern Arizona (2000-03)
            44.6 - Cory Carter, Texas Southern (2012-15)
            44.5 - Ben LeCompte, NDSU (2012-15)
            44.4 - Pumpy Tudors, Chattanooga (1989-91)
            44.3 - Eric Enderson, Delaware (2013-15)
 
WENTZ PLAYER OF THE WEEK:  Quarterback Carson Wentz was named Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Week after passing for four touchdowns in a 31-28 come-from-behind victory over Northern Iowa.  Wentz led the Bison on a 10-play, 79-yard drive in less than two minutes capped by an 18-yard touchdown pass to Darrius Shepherd with 35 seconds left.  Wentz connected with 11 different receivers and finished 26 of 40 (both career highs) for 335 yards, the fifth most passing yards in NDSU history.  His 40 attempts against UNI were the most by a Bison quarterback since 2009.  He set a school record with 143 passing attempts without an interception, passing the mark of 142 set by Brock Jensen in 2011.
 
26-GAME HOME STREAK ENDS:  North Dakota State's 26-game home winning streak was the longest active streak in Division I football when South Dakota ended it Oct. 17 with a 24-21 victory.  It was the longest home field streak in Missouri Valley Football Conference history, second longest in NDSU history, and eighth longest all-time in the Football Championship Subdivision.  Georgia Southern holds the top two FCS home win streaks at 39 and 38 games.  NDSU's longest home winning streak is 28 games from 1964-69 and longest home unbeaten streak is 35 games from 1964-71 (including 1970 season-opening tie with Eastern Michigan).
 
BEST DEFENSE IN 41 YEARS:  North Dakota State held North Dakota to 61 yards of total offense, which was the lowest output by an NDSU opponent in 41 years since allowing five yards in a 1974 home win over Morningside College.  The Bison did not allow a first down until less than five minutes remained in the third quarter and limited the UND offense to four yards rushing, the fewest since 2013 when NDSU held South Dakota State to minus-32 rushing in Brookings.  Harvey, N.D., native MJ Stumpf made a team-high six tackles for NDSU while the Bison posted eight tackles for loss including sacks by Jordan Champion, Brian Schaetz, Stanley Jones and Aaron Steidl.
 
FOURTH LARGEST CROWD:  The 111th matchup between longtime rivals North Dakota State and North Dakota attracted a crowd of 19,044 to Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome.  It was the fourth largest home crowd in NDSU history behind the 2013 homecoming game with Missouri State (19,108), the 2012 homecoming game with Youngstown State (19,065) and the 2006 season finale with South Dakota State for the Great West Football Conference championship (19,053).
 
FIRST HALF EXPLOSION:  North Dakota State rolled up 407 yards of total offense by halftime in the win over Weber State and went on to outgain the Wildcats by a 586-206 margin.  It was the most total offense by NDSU since a 2013 national quarterfinal win over Coastal Carolina when the Bison had 623 yards.  North Dakota State had nine different players combine to rush for 305 yards and quarterback Carson Wentz was 19 of 29 passing for 281 yards and three touchdowns.
 
BISON AT HOME:  North Dakota State is 43-4 at home since 2010.  The Bison have won 50 of the last 51 home games over non-conference opponents including 40 straight since a 2003 loss to UC Davis.  NDSU is 11-2 at home against Top 10 teams.
 
FOUR TRUE FRESHMAN:  North Dakota State has played four true freshmen this year.  Safety Robbie Grimsley, running back Bruce Anderson and wide receiver Dimitri Williams all played in the season opener at Montana.  Kicker Cam Pedersen traveled to Montana and made his debut in Week 2 against Weber State.
 
PEDERSEN SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF WEEK:  Freshman kicker Cam Pedersen was named Missouri Valley Football Conference Special Teams Player of the Week after converting all four PAT kicks and 28- and 49-yard field goals in the 34-9 win over North Dakota.  Pedersen, a recruited walk-on, is now 26 of 26 on PATs and 5 of 8 on field goals through seven games.  He traveled to the season-opener at Montana but did not play.
 
HAEG TWO-TIME MVFC LINEMAN OF THE WEEK:  Left tackle Joe Haeg was named Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week after the Weber State and South Dakota State games this year.  He led the Bison with 12 total knockdowns, nine pancakes and two decleaters against Weber State and graded out at 92 percent on technique.  He had eight knockdowns with two decleaters and a 94 percent grade on technique at South Dakota State.  Haeg has been named MVFC Offensive Lineman of the Week five times in his career.
 
BISON PICKED TO WIN; THREE ALL-MVFC:  NDSU was tabbed to win the Missouri Valley Football Conference crown with 32 of 40 first-place votes in a poll of the league's head coaches, media and sports information directors.  The Bison had fullback Andrew Bonnet, left tackle Joe Haeg and punter Ben LeCompte voted to the preseason all-conference team.  Quarterback Carson Wentz, tight end Luke Albers, long snapper James Fisher, offensive linemen Zack Johnson and Jeremy Kelly, and cornerback CJ Smith were honorable mention.
 
BISON LEAD FCS WITH FIVE STATS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS:  North Dakota State led the nation with five players selected to the STATS FCS Preseason All-America team.  Left tackle Joe Haeg and punter Ben LeCompte made the first team, fullback/tight end Andrew Bonnet and left guard Zack Johnson are on the second team, and long snapper James Fisher is on the third team.  The Missouri Valley Football Conference led the nation with 17 preseason All-Americans.
 
NDSU LEADS WITH FOUR ON FAB 50 LIST:  North Dakota State had a nation's best four players named to the College Sporting News Preseason Fab 50 FCS All-America Team and the Missouri Valley Football Conference led all conferences with 12 selections.  Quarterback Carson Wentz, fullback Andrew Bonnet, left tackle Joe Haeg and punter Ben LeCompte were NDSU's four honorees.  Wentz, Haeg and Bonnet all were named to the year-end Fab 50 All-America list last season.
 
RETURNING 12 STARTERS:  North Dakota State returns 12 starters from last year's team that won a fourth straight FCS national championship and went 7-1 to claim a share of its fourth straight Missouri Valley Football Conference title.  NDSU returns eight starters on offense and four on defense.  In addition, all-conference left guard Zack Johnson is back from a knee injury that kept him out in 2014, and All-America punter Ben LeCompte is back after ranking second nationally in punting average last season.
 
VRAA GETS SIXTH SEASON:  All-conference wide receiver Zach Vraa is back for a sixth season after redshirting in 2010 and having his 2011 freshman season cut short with a broken collarbone in his first game.  He started in 11 of 13 games played as a sophomore in 2012 and had a record-setting junior year in 2013 when he finished 10th in the FCS with a school-record 1,191 yards (seventh in MVFC history) and was third nationally with a school-record 15 touchdowns (second in MVFC history).  Wide receiver Nate Moody is also returning for a fifth season after a knee injury early last year.
 
NEW-LOOK DEFENSE:  There will be plenty of new faces on the Bison defense as NDSU looks to replace two starting defensive ends, two outside linebackers and two safeties.  And junior middle linebacker Nick DeLuca started only five games down the stretch last year in place of injured Travis Beck.  NDSU does return experience at defensive end, where junior Brad Ambrosius and sophomores Greg Menard and Jarrod Tuszka were part of the regular rotation behind starters Mike Hardie and Buck Buchanan Award winner Kyle Emanuel.  At safety, two-time All-American Colten Heagle and 61-game starter Christian Dudzik are gone.  Sophomore Tre Dempsey was a regular part of the Bison nickel defense last year and other front-runners are special-teams standouts Chris Board and Andrew Smith.
 
SUCCESS VS. THE FBS:  North Dakota State has an 8-3 record against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents and has won five in a row against FBS foes since 2010 with wins at Kansas (6-3), Minnesota (37-24), Colorado State (22-7), Kansas State (24-21) and Iowa State (34-14).  NDSU is scheduled to play at Iowa next season and Oregon in 2020.
 
FOUR-PEATS:  North Dakota State earned a share of its fourth straight Missouri Valley Football Conference championship last year tying Illinois State with a 7-1 record in conference play.  NDSU was the second school in Valley Football history to win four straight league titles behind Northern Iowa's run of seven straight from 1990 to 1996.  NDSU was just the second team in NCAA history to win four straight national championships.  Augustana College of Rock Island, Ill., won four NCAA Division III titles from 1983-86.  Carroll College of Helena, Mont., won four straight NAIA championships from 2002-05.
 
KLIEMAN INKED THROUGH 2020 SEASON:  North Dakota State head coach Chris Klieman (Northern Iowa, 1992) accepted a two-year contract extension in the offseason that will keep him with the Bison until January 2021.  Klieman led the Bison to a 15-1 record, a fourth straight Missouri Valley Football Conference championship with a 7-1 mark, and an unprecedented fourth straight NCAA Division I FCS national title.
 
NDSU didn't skip a beat in Klieman's first year despite losing 23 seniors and welcoming seven new assistant coaches.  The Bison scored 34 unanswered points to beat Big 12 member Iowa State in the season opener as part of an FCS-record 33-game winning streak that extended into November.
 
North Dakota State went 9-1 against Top 25 competition and earned the No. 2 national seed for the FCS playoffs.  NDSU had nine players named All-America, including Buck Buchanan Award-winning defensive end Kyle Emanuel, and four Capital One Academic All-America® selections.  Klieman was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award and was named the Rawlings Football/American Football Monthly FCS Coach of the Year.
 
The head coach at Division III Loras College in 2005, Klieman came to NDSU from Northern Iowa in 2011 as the defensive backs coach and was the defensive coordinator in 2012 and 2013.  He also made coaching stops at Western Illinois (1994-96), Kansas (1997), Missouri State (1999) and Loras (2002-04).  He is a native of Waterloo, Iowa, and was a three-time all-conference defensive back at UNI from 1986-90.