North Dakota State headed into Saturday’s game against Southern Illinois with a chip on its shoulder after the deflating loss to SDSU last week and needed a win to save its season and the possibility of a top-eight seed in the FCS playoffs. NDSU did both as they beat Southern Illinois in the 49th annual Harvest Bowl.
It was a special day at the Fargodome- senior day and the Harvest Bowl- meaning the Bison wear their gold jerseys and green helmets. NDSU has never lost in that combo and the Bison got off to a fast start.
Once again NDSU won the toss, took the ball, and scored a touchdown as Cam Miller capped off a seven-play, 75-yard drive with his 10th rushing touchdown to give the Bison the early seven-point lead.
SIU punched back by marching 65 yards in eleven plays, finished off by the Salukis leading rusher Ro Elliot finding paydirt from four yards out to tie the game.
Griffin Crosa had a miserable game against South Dakota State as he had three kicks blocked. He was much better in the first half against SIU as he connected on a pair of field goals to give NDSU a 13-7 lead. SIU would tack on a field goal of their own at the end of the half following a Jayden Price muffed punt to draw Southern Illinois to within three, 13-10 Bison at the break.
Those three points would be the last that SIU would score. The Saluki offense was horrific the entire 2nd half and NDSU took full advantage as the Bison scored on their first possession of the 2nd half. They covered 80 yards in eight plays and finally got a big run from TaMerik Williams as he scored a 34-yard rushing touchdown to put NDSU up double digits, 20-10.
In the 4th quarter, NDSU crushed the spirits of the Salukis by completing some big passes from Cam Miller to Eli Green on 3rd and 16 for 40 yards and RaJa Nelson for 21 yards to put the NDSU on the doorstep before TaMerik Williams powered it into the endzone to put NDSU up 27-10.
Later in the quarter, the Bison salted the game away with a short five-play, 31-yard drive, finished off by TK Marshall on a two-yard touchdown run to put the game away and to give NDSU a 34-10 lead.
The end of the game was eventful for a particular freshman cornerback, Najee Nelson. Nelson had a tackle and an acrobatic interception off of SIU backup Hunter Simmons to seal NDSU’s 7th win of the season, 34-10 over the Southern Illinois Salukis.
NDSU had a field day on the FCS’s 5th-ranked defense as they rolled up 449 yards of total offense. Cam Miller was his usual accurate self, 15 of 19 passing for 232 yards. The rushing attack was phenomenal as they rushed for 217 yards and four touchdowns.
Defensively “Code Green” turned in their best performance of the season as they held the SIU offense to 206 yards and 10 points. The Salukis were 4 of 13 on 3rd down and quarterback Nic Baker was off his mark only 12 of 17 passing for 114 yards.
The Bison are playing their best football of the season and it is coming at the right time but the road doesn’t get any easier. NDSU plays their regular season finale in Ceder Falls against a Northern Iowa team whose playoff chances are on life support after an embarrassing loss to Missouri State.
Kickoff between the Bison and Panthers is set for Saturday at 4 PM at the UNI-Dome in Ceder Falls, Iowa. The game can be seen on WDAY/ABC. If NDSU wins they will be 8-3 with a chance at a top-eight seed and a first-round bye.