The herd traveled to the country’s first state to take on the blue hens
NDSU football was on the east coast this past weekend taking on the Delaware Fighting Blue Hens. Even with a rough start the Bison trampled over the hens in a 47-22 victory.
It was a long trip for the first true road game of the season for the young team. The game took place in Newark, Delaware, 1,400 miles away (that’s 400 miles further than Frisco). A decent crowd of 14,489 showed to the newly renovated Delaware Stadium, including a section of dedicated Bison fans that made the trip with the team.
The game itself opened very poorly for the herd. The Bison received the ball, and after a quick 3 and out, Delaware blocked Garret Wegner’s punt. The ball then proceeded to bounce out of the back of the endzone giving Delaware a 2-0 lead.
Things turned around after NDSU safety Michael Tutsie intercepted Delaware on their next possession. This was Tutsie’s third pick in the past two games. The Bison followed the turnover with a 1-yard Kobe Johnson touchdown to go up 7-2.
One more three and out for the Hens and a Bison field goal made it 10-2. Delaware finally answered NDSU back with a field goal of their own. The Delaware cheers wouldn’t last long though. Trey Lance finished an eight play, 75-yard drive with a 24-yard passing touchdown to Adam Cofield.
After a few three and outs, NDSU was on the roll again and marched their way all the way to the five-yard line. Delaware put up a big defensive stop though, and the Bison were forced to settle for three
The Herd’s scoring wouldn’t stop there. Before the end of the half with 30 seconds on the clock, Lance connected with Ben Ellefson for a five-yard touchdown making it 27-5.
The second half opened with more of the same. Delaware received and went 3 and out. Then NDSU came rolling in with a 9-play drive ending with Lance’s third touchdown on the day, this one to Noah Gindorff.
Delaware finally was able to put some more points on the board getting 3 with another Jake Roth field goal. The half ended with the Hens having less than 100 total offensive yards and zero third down conversions.
The trend quickly changed though, and the firework show began. Delaware cruised down the field and got their first touchdown of the game on a 7-yard pass between QB, Nolan Henderson, and Gene Colman II. That paired with a successful two-point conversion made it 33-16 Delaware.
NDSU responded with a touchdown of their own after Adam Cofield ran it from 10 yards out. The Hens weren’t done yet and marched down for another 7 points. This time on a big 44-yard pass to Chichi Amachi.
The Herd couldn’t let the Hens get the final score though and got one more touchdown in before the final whistle. With 1:46 left on the clock, Saybein Clark ran it in from 20 yards. Clark was one of eight Bison players to score points that day.
The Herd also had 10 different receivers get their hands on the ball throughout the game. NDSU’s total offensive yards was 490. Trey Lance contributed 195 of those in the air while true freshman, Kobe Johnson, rushed for 101 yards on just 11 carries.
This was NDSU’s 24th consecutive win, putting them up to third all time. They will be trying to keep the streak alive this Saturday when they play UC Davis at the Fargodome.