North Dakota State had not played a game inside the FargoDome since last November as the Bison had played their last four games on the road, but it was time for the Herd to return home and face a new opponent: the Tennessee State Tigers. Tim Polasek’s first two games as Bison head coach have been quite interesting as he faced Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders in the opener. On Saturday, he faced the 1995 Heisman trophy winner and 4x all-pro running back Eddie George. The former Titans’ team had put up 41 points en route to a win over Mississippi Valley State in week one, but now his team was facing an FCS giant on the road.
The Bison returned to their roots to open the game as they won the toss and elected to defer and give Tiger quarterback Draylen Ellis the ball first. TSU punted on its first possession and Cam Miller and the offense took over on their 19-yard line. The Bison then went on a patented 77-yard drive that Miller finished off himself when he took a QB draw 24 yards to put the Herd up 7-0. Following a short four-play series from the Tiger offense, the Bison only needed six plays on the next drive as a 69-yard drive ended with Cam Miller firing a 14-yard touchdown pass to Bryce Lance to put the Bison up 14 in quarter one; the touchdown was Lance’s first collegiate score.
The second quarter started with a bang for the NDSU special teams as walk-on receiver John Gores muffed, recovered, and tip-toed his way to a 67-yard punt return that set up the Bison at the TSU 23-yard line. The Bison would only need four plays to get back in the endzone as highly touted redshirt freshman running back CharMar Brown fought his way to paydirt from three yards out to grow the NDSU lead to 21. The man they call “Marty” also scored his first collegiate touchdown on the play. Six minutes later, the Bison were back in the endzone as John Gores capped off an eight-play, 76-yard drive with a 15-touchdown reception from Cam Miller to give the #2 team in FCS a 28-point lead. For the third drive in a row, the man who scored the touchdown recorded his first at the college level as Gores’s first score is just a continuation of a unique journey from Shanley High School to an undersized walk-on to a guy who could become a big part of the offense. Late in the half, the Bison went on an eight-play, 60-yard drive in just one minute as Bryce Lance showed why he is the #1 receiver in the offense as he made an NFL-type touchdown catch in the right corner of the endzone, getting two feet in bounds and maintaining possession to record his second touchdown of the half and push the Bison lead to 35-0 at halftime.
NDSU special teams came to light in the 3rd quarter as after each team punted on its first drives off the second half; the Bison called upon redshirt freshman kicker Eli Ozick to attempt a 51-yard field goal. Ozick has a cannon for a leg and he showed it on this attempt as he nailed his first career field goal to give NDSU a 38-0 lead. The 51-yard field goal was the longest made by the Bison since 2016 when Cam Pederson made a 52-yard kick at the end of the first half against Charleston Southern.
In the 4th quarter, the Bison wrapped up their stomping of the Tigers with two young guys scoring their first career touchdowns. Mekhi Collins scored on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Cole Payton to put the Bison up 45. Soon after that score, third-string QB Nathan Hayes took a designed run 51 yards to the endzone to put NDSU up 52-0. Cam Miller later joked on X, “12 might be the fastest in the QB room.” The Tigers would score a late field goal, but North Dakota State showed why they are the #2 team in the country, beating the Tennessee State Tigers 52-3. The Bison racked up 436 yards of total offense while only allowing 200 yards and forcing three turnovers. Cam Miller was once again efficient as he was 14 of 18 passing for 181 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for another score. Bryce Lance had his breakout game, catching seven balls for 106 yards and two scores.
The second-ranked Bison will be on the road next week to take on the East Tennessee State Buccanneers. NDSU last faced ETSU in the 2021 quarterfinals, a game that the Bison won 27-3. Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. from Bank of Tennessee Field at William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium in Johnson City, Tennessee. The game can be seen on WDAY/ABC.