NDSU vs. FBS Opponents
Since beginning Division I play in 2004 at the Football Championship Subdivision level, North Dakota State has a 9-5 record against opponents from the Football Bowl Subdivision. Four of the five losses were by a combined 12 points.
The Bison won six straight FBS games from 2010 through 2016 against Kansas, Minnesota, Colorado State, Kansas State, Iowa State and 11th-ranked Iowa.
North Dakota State 29, Ball State 24
September 23, 2006 | Muncie, Indiana
North Dakota State scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to beat Ball State 29-24 in NDSU's first game against FBS competition.
Trailing 24-22 with less than two minutes remaining, Bison quarterback Steve Walker connected with Travis White on a 39-yard screen pass for the go-ahead score.
Walker threw three touchdown passes in the win and broke school records with 29 completions, 46 attempts and 451 passing yards to lead the Bison.
NDSU outgained Ball State 535-399 and were 2-for-2 on fourth down conversions.
Kole Heckendorf set a career high with seven receptions and White had 112 receiving yards to lead the Bison receivers. Kyle Steffes had 77 yards rushing on 18 attempts.
Safety Craig Dahl led the team with 11 tackles and defensive linemen Brian Dahl and Alex Kingsley each recorded a sack.
Game Recap | Box Score
Minnesota 10, North Dakota State 9
October 21, 2006 | Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minnesota blocked Shawn Bibeau's 42-yard field goal attempt as time ran out, helping the Gophers hold on for a 10-9 victory before a crowd of 62,845 at the Metrodome.
Bibeau made kicks of 30, 39 and 41 yards for the Bison, but his 21-yard try in the third quarter banged off the left upright.
Quarterback Steve Walker went 22-for-37 passing for 237 yards and one interception. Travis White made six catches for 82 yards and Kole Heckendorf had eight receptions for 96 yards. Kyle Steffes rushed for 138 yards on 29 carries.
NDSU made up for a disadvantage in speed and size with solid tackling. The Bison gave up only 99 yards on the ground and held a 380-249 advantage in total offense and 34:57 to 25:03 edge in time of possession.
Game Recap | Box Score
North Dakota State 44, Central Michigan 14
September 22, 2007 | Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Tyler Roehl rushed 30 times for 143 yards and three second-half touchdowns as North Dakota State ran away with a 44-14 victory over Central Michigan, the defending Mid-American Conference champions.
NDSU held a 436-311 advantage in total offense with zero turnovers and a lopsided 36:23 to 23:27 edge in time of possession. The Bison offensive line didn't allow a sack and only one CMU tackle for loss.
Quarterback Steve Walker went 25 of 30 passing for 261 yards with one touchdown to tight end Jerimiah Wurzbacher. Wide receiver Alex Belquist caught eight passes for 122 yards.
Defensively, the Bison held CMU to 2 of 11 on third down and 1 of 5 on fourth down. Joe Mays finished with 11 total tackles, Ramon Humber added nine tackles and Nick Schommer had eight. Mike Maresh and David Earl each recorded interceptions.
Game Recap | Box Score
North Dakota State 27, Minnesota 21
October 20, 2007 | Minneapolis, Minnesota
Tyler Roehl rushed for a school-record 263 yards and more than 30,000 NDSU fans roared their approval inside the Metrodome as the Bison overpowered Minnesota for a 27-21 victory.
Roehl's 77-yard touchdown run on NDSU's third offensive play set the tone for a Bison attack that outgained Minnesota 585 to 307 in total yards, including 394 yards on the ground.
Quarterback Steve Walker went 20 of 25 passing for 191 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, and linebacker Joe Mays led the Bison defense with nine tackles including two for lost yardage.
Tight end Thor Brown caught the go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter. The Bison got the ball back three plays later on Nate Agbetola's interception, and Shawn Bibeau's second field goal conversion of the day made it a six-point game.
Game Recap | Box Score
Wyoming 16, North Dakota State 13
September 13, 2008 | Laramie, Wyoming
Wyoming's Jake Scott kicked a 29-yard field goal with 4 seconds left to give the Cowboys a 16-13 victory over North Dakota State. The kick came after Wyoming's third interception of the game at the Bison 28-yard line with 1:28 left.
NDSU led 10-0 at halftime after holding Wyoming to just three first downs and 78 total yards, and the Bison extended their lead to 13-0 with a field goal on the opening drive of the second half.
Wyoming responded with its first touchdown in six quarters when Devon Scott scored on a 41-yard run, and Scott converted a pair of 28-yard field goals to tie the game.
North Dakota State held a 313 to 266 edge in total offense. Pat Paschall rushed 14 times for 71 yards, while Tyler Roehl left the game after only four yards on three carries.
Ramon Humber led the Bison defense with 11 tackles including seven solo stops and 1.5 sacks, Nick Schommer made a career-high 10 tackles, and Matthew Gratzek forced a fumble recovered by Darius Purcell.
Game Recap | Box Score
Iowa State 34, North Dakota State 17
September 3, 2009 | Ames, Iowa
Austen Arnaud threw for 227 yards and two touchdowns, both to Marquis Hamilton, and Iowa State beat North Dakota State 34-17.
NDSU got as close as 24-17 midway through the third quarter before Iowa State pulled away. Grant Mahoney hit a career-long 50-yard field goal and Arnaud found Hamilton for a 42-yard touchdown pass with 9:58 left to make it 34-17.
Pat Paschall rushed for a career-high 146 yards and a touchdown for the Bison. Preston Evans led the NDSU defense with 11 tackles.
Iowa State looked as though it might put away the pesky Bison early in the third quarter. Hamilton raced through the North Dakota State secondary for a 39-yard TD reception off a quick slant route, putting the Cyclones ahead 24-10.
The Bison answered in impressive fashion, driving 73 yards in 10 plays as Nick Mertens found Matt Veldman for a 15-yard TD pass to cut it to 24-17.
Game Recap | Box Score
North Dakota State 6, Kansas 3
September 4, 2010 | Lawrence, Kansas
Ryan Jastram converted field goals from 44 and 32 yards to lift North Dakota State to a 6-3 win over Big 12 member Kansas.
Kansas had a 187-88 advantage in total yards through two quarters, but the Jayhawks converted just 2-of-8 opportunities on third down and it was a 3-3 game at the break.
The Bison had a chance to take the lead in the second quarter after Mike Sigers blocked a punt that put NDSU at the Kansas 10. A third down pass by Jose Mohler was intercepted in the end zone.
Kansas had three turnovers to negate a 293-168 edge in total offense.
Chad Willson led the Bison with 12 tackles, Preston Evans had 10 tackles with a forced fumble, and Coulter Boyer made six stops including 2.0 sacks plus a fumble recovery.
Game Recap | Box Score
North Dakota State 37, Minnesota 24
September 24, 2011 | Minneapolis, Minnesota
Marcus Williams had two defensive touchdowns to spark North Dakota State to a 37-24 victory over Minnesota. It was NDSU's second win in five years over the Gophers.
Williams, who played at Hopkins High School in the Twin Cities, returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown to seal the game.
On the final play of the first half, teammate Colten Heagle picked off MarQueis Gray's risky pass and tossed the ball back to Williams as he was taken down. Williams raced 52 more yards to put the Bison ahead 28-14 at the break.
NDSU scored touchdowns on drives of 65, 83 and 71 yards in the first half before the highlight-reel play by Heagle and Williams as time expired.
Even when the Bison finally faced their first fourth down, with 6:25 left in the third quarter, Ryan Jastram kicked a 49-yard field goal with room to spare to stretch the lead to 31-14.
DJ McNorton rushed 13 times for 92 yards for NDSU, and Brock Jensen completed 16 of 21 passes for 197 yards - plus 37 yards rushing and a score on six scrambles.
Game Recap | Box Score
North Dakota State 22, Colorado State 7
September 8, 2012 | Fort Collins, Colorado
Sam Ojuri scored two touchdowns and Marcus Williams had a big day on defense and special teams as North Dakota State beat Colorado State 22-7.
Ojuri had a 6-yard TD scamper in the first quarter and scored another on a 10-yard screen pass. Williams accumulated 135 yards on five returns and also had an interception -- all in the first half.
The Bison dominated time of possession by nearly 20 minutes and outgained the Rams by 123 yards, a figure that was more lopsided until a last-minute drive by the Rams that was halted when NDSU recovered a fumble.
Quarterback Brock Jensen completed 17 of 28 passes for 178 yards and also ran for 42 yards. The Bison converted 12 third downs, ran 81 offensive plays and held the ball for 39:52.
NDSU's defense had four sacks, held Colorado State to 1 of 10 on third down, and scored on Cole Jirik's safety late in the first quarter to give the Bison a 9-7 lead.
Game Recap | Box Score | Highlights
North Dakota State 24, Kansas State 21
August 30, 2013 | Manhattan, Kansas
Brock Jensen 's 1-yard touchdown run with 28 seconds left capped an 80-yard drive to lift North Dakota State to a 24-21 win over defending Big 12 champion Kansas State.
NDSU trailed 21-7 late in the third quarter when Kevin Vaadeland caught a 9-yard pass from Jensen to cap a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive. Adam Keller booted a 41-yard field goal with 12 seconds left in the quarter to close within 21-17.
Kansas State had a 10-play drive stall early in the fourth when Danny Luecke and Carlton Littlejohn had a pair of tackles for loss and Kyle Emanuel forced a punt with a sack on third down.
Jensen connected with Derrick Lang for 11 yards on third-and-11 to extend the next possession, and also found Zach Vraa for catches of eight and seven yards on a pair of third downs, the latter taking the Bison to the Kansas State 7-yard line.
NDSU called its first timeout of the half to stop the clock with 42 seconds left and Jensen ran for six yards to the 1 on the next play. The Bison called their second timeout with 32 seconds to go and Jensen ran over a defender Into the end zone on the next play for NDSU's first lead since the second quarter.
Game Recap | Box Score | Highlights
North Dakota State 34, Iowa State 14
August 30, 2014 | Ames, Iowa
John Crockett rushed for 139 yards and three touchdowns to power North Dakota State past Iowa State in the first game under new NDSU head coach Chris Klieman.
Carson Wentz was 18 of 28 passing for 204 yards in his first career start for NDSU, which scored 34 unanswered points to beat its fifth straight FBS opponent.
Wentz completed passes to eight different players with wide receiver Zach Vraa making eight catches for 96 yards and tight end Kevin Vaadeland totaling four catches for 48 yards.
Crockett's 80-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter cut Iowa State's lead to 14-7. Wentz hit Vraa on a 44-yard pass to set up Crockett's 1-yard TD run that tied the game, and NDSU's Adam Keller kicked a 19-yard field goal to take a 17-14 halftime lead.
The Bison, with an entirely new offensive line, rolled up 506 total yards of offense to Iowa State's 253 and held an advantage in time of possession 35:47 to 24:13.
Defensive end Kyle Emanuel led NDSU with nine total tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble. Colten Heagle had eight tackles and an interception, and Christian Dudzik made six stops plus a 28-yard interception return.
Game Recap | Box Score | Highlights | Photos
North Dakota State 23, No. 13/11 Iowa 21
September 17, 2016 | Iowa City, Iowa
Cam Pedersen kicked a 37-yard field goal with no time remaining to lift North Dakota State to its sixth straight FBS victory 23-21 over the 11th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes.
North Dakota State got the ball on its own 34-yard line with 1:53 left in the game after holding Iowa to a three-and-out. Quarterback Easton Stick rushed for 29 yards on the first play and the Bison advanced to the Iowa 20 before calling a timeout with 5 seconds to go.
Pedersen, who missed from 50 yards earlier in the game, delivered the game-winner just inside the right upright as time expired and NDSU stormed the field to celebrate in front of 70,585 at Kinnick Stadium. It was the largest crowd to see a Bison football game.
NDSU pulled within 21-20 after a 15-play, 80-yard drive that took up 8:39 of the fourth quarter. Chase Morlock caught a 7-yard touchdown pass and the Bison had a two-point conversion broken up.
Iowa faced a third-and-11 on its final possession before safety Robbie Grimsley sacked CJ Beathard for a loss of 10 and forced a punt.
North Dakota State outgained Iowa 363 to 231 in total yardage and held the ball for 36:40. NDSU rushed for 203 yards in the second half while holding Iowa to just 59 total yards after halftime. The Hawkeyes rushed 34 times for just 25 yards in the game.
Game Recap | Box Score | Highlights | Photos
Arizona 31, North Dakota State 28
September 17, 2022 | Tucson, Arizona
Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura passed for 229 yards including the go-ahead touchdown with 4:53 left and the Wildcats held on to beat North Dakota State 31-28.
North Dakota State fullback Hunter Luepke rushed 18 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns and added three receptions for 65 yards and one score. The Bison rushed for 283 yards and averaged 6.3 yards per carry.
Trailing 17-14 at halftime, NDSU's running game took over in the second half. The Bison went 76 yards in six plays on their second possession of the third quarter with TaMerik Williams breaking a 34-yard run followed by Dominic Gonnella's 19-yard carry to set up Luepke's 6-yard score to give NDSU its first lead of the night.
NDSU went ahead 28-24 with 2:07 left in the third quarter when Luepke broke out of a pile of tacklers for a 38-yard touchdown.
Arizona missed a 43-yard field goal attempt on its next drive, but the Bison couldn't convert a fourth-and-2 at the Arizona 23. The Wildcats went 78 yards in 10 plays for the eventual winning score.
Game Recap | Box Score | Photos
Colorado 31, North Dakota State 26
August 29, 2024 | Boulder, Colorado
Bison quarterback Cam Miller completed a 49-yard pass to Tyler Terhark on the final play of the game, but the last-second heave came up four yards short of a game-winning touchdown.
Miller finished 18-for-22 passing for 277 yards and one touchdown through the air. He also led the Bison with 81 rushing yards and added two touchdowns on the ground.
Miller found Joe Stoffel for a 7-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and ran in a 7-yard score himself in the second quarter. With a pair of field goals from Griffin Crosa, the Bison led 20-17 at halftime.
Colorado outscored the Bison 14-6 in the second half with Travis Hunter's second and third TD receptions of the game. Miller scored on a 20-yard scamper with 2:19 remaining in the game to pull NDSU within five at 31-26.
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders was 26-of-34 for 445 passing yards and four touchdowns.
