It was an emotional day inside the Fargodome as 25 seniors heard their names called before their last regular season game inside a building where they have had so much success over the time they spent at NDSU. The 49th Harvest Bowl would feature a Bison team fresh off a much-needed bye week and looking for a share of their first conference championship since 2021. The opponent would be a team in transition from FCS to FBS who would love nothing more than to win a conference championship in its last season in the MVFC, Missouri State.
The Bears are headed to Conference USA next season, so not a lot of stock was put into them to start the season due to the transition and their ineligibility for the playoffs. Picked to finish ninth in the preseason poll, Missouri State did receive one of 44 possible first-place votes. Media members around the valley scoffed at the notion of Mo State even being competitive in its FCS swansong, but they have proven all doubters wrong. Following an 0-2 start, the Bears rattled off eight wins in a row thanks to the play of Minnesota transfer quarterback Jacob Clark and an offense that averaged over 36 points per game. The question was, could the Bears pull a massive upset and leave Fargo with a conference title? Or would “Code Green” rise up to the challenge?
NDSU won the toss, deferred, and then forced the Bear offense to go three and out. The Bison would only need two plays to find the endzone as Barika Kpeenu would take a handoff 52 yards to the house to lead 7-0. There was plenty of controversy on the score as there was a flag down on the field, and Kpeenu might have stepped out of bounds, but the flag was picked up, and Barika tightroped his way to the goalline.
On the very next play from scrimmage, Jacob Clark threw a swing pass to Jayden Becks, who was met by rising star Enock Sibomana, who rocked him, forced a fumble, and it was recovered by Marcus Sheppard for a huge first-quarter turnover. The Bison would work the ball down the Mo State three, where the Herd would face a fourth and goal. NDSU head coach Tim Polasek decided to challenge his offense and go for it to put the Bear offense in a deeper hole. Cam Miller and the offense would respond to their coaches’ challenge with a three-yard touchdown pass to Joe Stoffel to push the lead to 14.
The Bison would continue their first-quarter onslaught by flexing their muscles with a patented NDSU drive, 12 plays, 95 yards, over seven minutes off the clock, and seven points as Cam Miller would find Jackson Williams for a touchdown pass on 3rd and 20 to extend the lead to 21. The play was Williams’ first career receiving score.
The beginning of the second quarter was more of the same: following another Missouri State punt, NDSU continued its offensive domination with a nine-play, 80-yard drive and a Cam Miller fade route touchdown pass to Bryce Lance to put this game on blowout watch, 28-0. The score was Lance’s 10th on the season.
The Bears would fight back, as Jacardia Wright would find the endzone after a 10-play drive. Then Cam Miller would give them the ball back, as his first interception in 324 attempts led to more points. Mo State would go to their bag of tricks, as wide receiver Hunter Wood would find Jayden Becks for a 40-yard touchdown to get the Bears within 14.
NDSU would rebound from the momentum shift with an 11-play, 65-yard drive and another three-yard Joe Stoffel touchdown catch from Miller as the Bison would take a 35-14 lead into the halftime locker room.
The Herd received the second-half kickoff and hit a home run. CharMar Brown capped off a four-play, 75-yard drive with a 48-yard dash to push the lead to 42-14.
Missouri State would threaten on their first drive of the second half, but they wouldn’t score as they would end their 85-yard drive with a turnover on downs as Clark’s 4th and 8 pass was incomplete. The Bison continued to run roughshod over the Bears as Barika Kpeenu would add to his career day with a 49-yard touchdown to finish off an 85-yard drive in seven plays. The extra point by Griffin Crosa made him NDSU’s all-time leading scorer with 400 career points.
The Bears would march back down the field and Jacob Clark would finally throw a touchdown pass as he would find Jmariyae Lee for a two-yard touchdown pass.
NDSU would close the show with a 10-0 scoring run, as a 32-yard Griffin Crosa field goal, and a Nathan Hayes 27-yard touchdown pass to John Gores to put the finishing touches on a 59-21 win. The win gave the Bison at least a share of their 11th Missouri Valley Football Conference title in 16 years.
The Bison ran for 364 yards and had two 100-yard rushers, as Barika Kpeenu ran for 169 yards and two touchdowns, as well as CharMar Brown, who ran for 113 yards and a score. Cam Miller finally threw an intersection, but the rest of his afternoon was typical Miller, 17 of 24 passing for 155 yards and four touchdown passes.
“Code Green” held the Mo State offense to 21 points, 14 points under their season average, and held Jacardia Wright to 68 yards rushing on the day.
NDSU will look for the outright conference title and automatic bid next week as they head to Vermillion, South Dakota, to take on a top-five-ranked South Dakota Coyote team. The ‘Yotes’ only FCS loss is to South Dakota State, a game they lost in overtime. The Bison and Coyotes split their two meetings last season. USD won 24-19 in Fargo during the regular season, and the Bison would return the favor in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs, 45-17.
Kickoff between the Bison and Coyotes is set for 1 p.m. from the DakotaDome. The game can be seen on WDAY/ABC and ESPN+.