Sleepless in Sacramento: Bison Swat Hornets 31-10

2007: That was the last time North Dakota State football visited the state of California. That was when the Steve Walker-Tyler Roehl-led Bison faced Cal Poly and overcame a 19-point fourth-quarter deficit to shock the upset-minded Mustangs, 31-28, thanks to an 80-yard bomb from Walker to Kole Heckendorf.

No such theatrics were needed on Saturday night at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento as NDSU used a 28-point first half to pull away from Sacramento State, 31-10, and head into the bye week 4-0.

The Bison and Hornets are FBS brothers in arms as the newest schools in the top division of college football; however, the Bison were determined to be the big brother from the first drive of the game. NDSU would waste no time, as they covered 75 yards in just five plays.

Nathan Hayes ' propensity to throw the deep ball was evident throughout the night, and his seventh touchdown pass would be no different as he found a wide-open Jackson Williams for a 33-yard touchdown, and the Bison jumped in front early. The touchdown was the first of the season for Williams and 33 of his 133 yards on the night.

Sac State would start this game shorthanded as starting quarterback Carson Conklin would miss his second straight start with a wrist injury, so Jackson Sharman would take his place. Sharman started this game shorthanded on the scoreboard as well as with his team already trailing by seven; it would get worse.

Sharman would find leading receiver Matt Coleman for a first down before giving the ball to running back Jamar Curtis. The Hornets' top back would take a handoff up the middle, bounce it outside, and then Gavin Sell would strip Curtis, and the ball rolled toward the sideline. Ray James would dive for the football and bat the ball towards the Hornets' goal line to keep it in play long enough for Darius Givance to scoop it and score it from 24 yards out to put the home team in a 14-point hole.

NDSU would close the first quarter by cashing in with Myles "Money" Mitchell as he would take a handoff nine yards to the end zone to cap off a short four-play, 49-yard drive, and the Bison held a 21-0 lead after one. The first quarter was owned by the Bison as they outgained the Hornets, 194-27, and Sac State ran just 14 plays during the opening stanza.

The one area that the Bison have been inconsistent with is the ground game, as the offensive line has failed to get a push up front at times. However, in the first half vs. Sacramento State, the run game produced not one but two rushing touchdowns as DJ Scott would break a tackle, keep his feet, and score from 42 yards out.

Sac State would answer with a 26-yard field goal from Grant Meadors, and NDSU took a 28-3 halftime lead.

The second half would be a slog, as neither team scored in the third quarter, and most of the national TV audience probably went to bed by the time Drew Klein kept his perfect streak alive with field goals as he hit a 29-yard chip shot to give the Bison a 31-3 lead as the clock struck midnight Central.

The Hornets would wait until the fourth quarter to score their first touchdown on ESPN as QB Jackson Sharman would complete a touchdown pass late to Onterrio Smith Jr. to make it 31-10, and Sac State would threaten late, but freshman corner Deron Russell would intercept Sharman at the two-yard line to end the threat and end the game.

NDSU coasted to the finish line for the second straight week but, unlike last week, won comfortably to stay unbeaten. The Bison join a team you may have heard of, the Trojans of Southern California, as the only schools to be 4-0 in FBS football this season.

Nathan Hayes and the offense racked up 362 yards of total offense in the win. QB1 was 14-of-24 passing for 210 yards and a touchdown pass, while his counterpart, Jackson Sharman, was 25-of-41 passing for 238 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions.

The difference between the two teams was on the ground as Sac State rushed for 161 yards through their first two games against FBS opponents. The Hornets ran for just 90 against the Bison defense, while NDSU ran for 152 yards. DJ Scott led the Bison with 80 yards rushing and a touchdown.

Sacramento State Head Coach Alonzo Carter said after the loss, "When you get down 28-3 to a good football team like that, you want to see what we look like. I'm pretty sharp with math. They end up with 31 points. We end up with 10. That's a 7-3 second half. And they played they guys the whole game. 7-3 second half, but you can't spot them 28 points."

Bison Head Coach Tim Polasek was happy with his team's fast start and how his team handled a second straight late-night kickoff. "We got some things accomplished today that we wanted to emphasize: a fast start, handling the trip, start fast and come out on the attack."

NDSU now heads into the bye week with a chance to get healthy before Wyoming visits the Fargodome for homecoming, but the Bison will have some work to do with the rushing attack, as NDSU is running for just 160 yards per game, which puts them tied for 67th in the FBS in rushing yards per game.

Another uncharacteristic thing that NDSU will have to clean up is the second halves of games, as the Bison have been outscored in the second half 26-13 over their last two games, and they have been very conservative with playcalling to shorten the game and get out of town with the win.

The Bison have two weeks to prep for a sold-out homecoming game with the Wyoming Cowboys for their Mountain West home opener. Kickoff between the Bison and the Cowboys is set for 2:30 p.m. at the Fargodome on October 3. The game is being televised on The CW and listened to on Bison 1660.