North Dakota State Athletics
3-0 , 0-0
Southeast Missouri State
1-2 , 0-0
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southeast Mo. St. | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| North Dakota St. | 14 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 41 |
Bison Top Southeast Missouri State 41-14 to Claim 200th Fargodome Win
9/13/2025 7:25:00 PM | Football
Payton finished 16 of 23 passing for 348 yards and threw four touchdowns in the first half. He added 11 carries for 53 yards and one second-half rushing touchdown for the Bison (3-0), who won their 200th home game since beginning play in the Fargodome in the 1993 season.
Bryce Lance made four receptions for a career-high 159 yards including a 75-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter to break a 7-7 tie. Lance caught the pass near the line of scrimmage and used a block from wide receiver Logan Conklin to reach the sideline and outran two defenders to the goal line.
RaJa Nelson had four catches for 41 yards including TD passes of 15 and 5 yards, and Mekhi Collins hauled in a 28-yard touchdown pass as the Bison opened up a 31-14 halftime lead. NDSU's Barika Kpeenu led all rushers with 14 carries for 84 yards.
Nathaniel Staehling made a team-high seven tackles, Donovan Woolen had six tackles including two tackles for loss and one of NDSU's four sacks, and Jaquise Alexander had two tackles to go with his second career interception.
NDSU had a 562 to 217 advantage in total yards with SEMO getting 65 of those yards on a touchdown pass from Jax Leatherwood to Kalvin Gilbert on the Redhawks' opening drive. Leatherwood finished 12 of 23 passing for 145 yards.
North Dakota State is off until Saturday, Sept. 27, when the Bison open Missouri Valley Football Conference play against South Dakota in the annual homecoming game scheduled for 1 p.m. at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome.
Team Stats
SEM 0, NDS 7
NDS - Nelson,RaJa 15 yd pass from Payton,Cole (Ozick,Eli kick) 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:45
SEM 7, NDS 7
SEM - Gilbert,Kalvin 65 yd pass from Leatherwood,Jax (Keller,Justin kick) 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:38
SEM 7, NDS 14
NDS - Lance,Bryce 75 yd pass from Payton,Cole (Ozick,Eli kick) 2 plays, 79 yards, TOP 00:46
SEM 7, NDS 17
NDS - Ozick,Eli 43 yd field goal 5 plays, 41 yards, TOP 02:40
SEM 7, NDS 24
NDS - Collins,Mekhi 28 yd pass from Payton,Cole (Ozick,Eli kick) 4 plays, 86 yards, TOP 02:09
SEM 14, NDS 24
SEM - Brown,Payton 1 yd run (Keller,Justin kick), 13 plays, 81 yards, TOP 05:55
SEM 14, NDS 31
NDS - Nelson,RaJa 5 yd pass from Payton,Cole (Ozick,Eli kick) 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 04:13
SEM 14, NDS 34
NDS - Ozick,Eli 43 yd field goal 6 plays, 41 yards, TOP 02:08
SEM 14, NDS 41
NDS - Payton,Cole 1 yd run (Ozick,Eli kick), 7 plays, 93 yards, TOP 03:39
