North Dakota State Athletics
9-3 , 5-3
Drake
8-4 , 8-0
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drake | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| North Dakota St. | 14 | 21 | 10 | 21 | 66 |
Bison Blast Bulldogs in First Round of FCS Playoffs, 66-3
11/25/2023 9:05:00 PM | Football
North Dakota State (9-3) advanced to the second round and will face No. 6 seed Montana State (8-3) at 1 p.m. MST next Saturday, Dec. 2, at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman. Drake, champion of the Pioneer Football League, had an eight-game winning streak snapped and finished its season 8-4 overall.
Eli Green led nine Bison receivers with three catches for 91 yards including a 34-yard touchdown, and RaJa Nelson had two catches for 51 yards with a 40-yard TD. Miller finished 10 of 11 passing and added 62 yards in the running game as the Bison rolled up 318 yards and averaged 6.2 yards per carry.
Payton scored on runs of 20 and 36 yards, Nelson scored twice in the game including a 5-yard rushing TD, TaMerik Williams scored on a 4-yard run, and Barika Kpeenu added 14-yard and 1-yard TD runs.
The NDSU defense forced five turnovers. Kole Menz forced a fumble, Sam Jung had a forced fumble and interception, Jayden Price intercepted a pass, Loshiaka Roques and Julian Wlodarczyk each recovered fumbles, and Kelton McCaslin had a 5-yard fumble return for a touchdown.
Drake had the early momentum after forcing a fumble on the first play from scrimmage. Miller rushed for 15 yards before Jacob Thompson punched out the football and Tyler Radocha recovered to give the Bulldogs the ball at midfield. After runs of 11 and 22 yards, three plays later Drake settled for a 30-yard field goal.
NDSU scored touchdowns on its next five possessions and led 35-3 at halftime. The 66 total points was an NDSU postseason record, surpassing the 55 points scored against Sam Houston State in the 2017 FCS semifinals.
Team Stats
DRA 3, NDS 0
DRA - Dunning,Shane 30 yd field goal 6 plays, 37 yards, TOP 02:18
DRA 3, NDS 7
NDS - Payton,Cole 20 yd run (Crosa,Griffin kick), 5 plays, 65 yards, TOP 02:24
DRA 3, NDS 14
NDS - Nelson,RaJa 5 yd run (Crosa,Griffin kick), 5 plays, 25 yards, TOP 02:19
DRA 3, NDS 21
NDS - Nelson,RaJa 40 yd pass from Miller,Cam (Crosa,Griffin kick) 4 plays, 77 yards, TOP 01:58
DRA 3, NDS 28
NDS - Williams,TaMerik 4 yd run (Crosa,Griffin kick), 12 plays, 90 yards, TOP 07:11
DRA 3, NDS 35
NDS - Green,Eli 34 yd pass from Miller,Cam (Crosa,Griffin kick) 4 plays, 80 yards, TOP 00:34
DRA 3, NDS 38
NDS - Crosa,Griffin 31 yd field goal 8 plays, 26 yards, TOP 04:11
DRA 3, NDS 45
NDS - Kpeenu,Barika 14 yd run (Crosa,Griffin kick), 7 plays, 48 yards, TOP 04:14
DRA 3, NDS 52
NDS - Kpeenu,Barika 1 yd run (Crosa,Griffin kick), 9 plays, 63 yards, TOP 05:45
DRA 3, NDS 59
NDS - Payton,Cole 36 yd run (Crosa,Griffin kick), 6 plays, 64 yards, TOP 03:12
DRA 3, NDS 66
NDS - McCaslin,Kelton 5 yd fumble recovery (Crosa,Griffin kick)
