It’s difficult to envision a team that has won five FCS championships needing to make a statement in a conference game, but that is exactly the position the North Dakota State Bison found themselves in on Saturday.
Playing a light schedule against weaker opponents gave credence to skepticism regarding the Bison’s 5-0 start to their 2017 campaign. With the exception of Eastern Washington, 2017’s slate consisted of four teams with a combined record of 11-33 in the previous year.
The Bison put to rest any notion that their lead in the Missouri Valley Football Conference was a result of favorable matchups. Led by another sharp performance from quarterback Easton Stick and propelled by Cam Pedersen’s game winning 36-yard field goal in overtime, the Bison outlasted the No. 8 Penguins of Youngstown State, 27-24.
Having gone five games without being challenged by an opponent, the Bison found themselves in unfamiliar territory against the Penguins. NDSU had trailed for only 5 minutes and 38 seconds all season prior to the game.
Youngstown State opened the scoring on their first drive of the game, with an effective 11-play drive which resulted in a field goal. The Penguins limited the Bison to four plays on the ensuing drive and took a two score lead on their next possession. Quarterback Nathan Mays found Damoun Patterson for a 22-yard score to add to the Penguins’ lead.
The Bison responded on the following drive, as Stick connected with R.J. Urzendowski for a 16-yard touchdown, which put the visitor’s within three points. The catch was the only reception of the night for the senior.
The two sides exchanged five straight punts following the score, as YSU went three-and-out on three consecutive drives. The defensive struggle, which was anticipated, emerged in the second quarter, as both the Bison and Penguins had drives of negative yardage.
Nick DeLuca led the Bison with 10 solo tackles and 12 total tackles. Fellow linebacker Jabril Cox turned in the best game of his upstart career. The redshirt freshman recorded 7 solo tackles, 2 sacks, and 3 tackles for loss.
Neither team possessed the ball for more than five plays in the second quarter until the Bison drove 80 yards on 13 plays with 2:46 remaining in the half. Stick’s 59 yards rushing on the drive moved the Herd in a first-and-goal situation, but three incomplete passes at the Penguins’ two-yard line forced NDSU to settle for a field goal.
The Penguins scored on their first drive of the second half, as Mays hit Kevin Rader for a 29-yard touchdown. NDSU responded immediately, however, to draw even. The Bison ran eight consecutive running plays with Stick, Anderson and Dunn before Stick hit tight end Nate Jenson on a seam route for six.
Stick’s biggest play of the night came on the first play of the fourth quarter. The junior signal caller kept the ball himself and dashed up the middle for an 80-yard touchdown, the longest carry of his career. Stick led all ball carriers for the Bison with 172 yards on 11 carries. He also added 113 yards in the air on 11 of 20 passing.
NDSU appeared positioned to hang on for the victory, but Youngstown State pieced together a 90-yard drive to tie the score with 77 seconds left. Mays found Patterson for 35 yards and rushed for 36 himself two plays later to get the Penguins to the fringe of the red zone. A pass interference penalty on cornerback Jalen Allison gave YSU first-and-goal. Running back Tevin McCaster then scored from the 1-yard line to tie the score.
The Bison had the opportunity to get into field goal range before the end of regulation, but were unable to do so, sending the game to overtime.
The Penguins received the ball first in overtime. Cox’s 5-yard tackle for loss halted YSU, forcing them to attempt a field goal. Zak Kennedy knocked the 39-yard attempt wide right, allowing the Bison to win the game with just a field goal of the own. Pedersen banged the game winner through the uprights to lift the Bison to a pivotal conference win.
“I thought that was two excellent football teams, but we got the stop when we needed it,” head coach Chris Klieman remarked after the game. “Cam Pedersen’s made some big kicks for us, and that was another big one. I know we have great fight. You don’t win as many games as we have and not have great fight, great character (and) unbelievable senior leadership.”
The No. 2 ranked Bison pushed their conference record to 3-0, keeping them tied atop the Missouri Valley with No. 4 South Dakota. Youngstown State meanwhile dropped their second straight conference game on a last-second field goal, falling to 1-2 in conference.
Saturday’s win was crucial for NDSU because it was the first of a six-game gauntlet against top class opponents. Four of the Herd’s five remaining opponents are ranked, although that figures to increase due to Northern Iowa’s upset of South Dakota State over the weekend.
With more than half of the regular season completed and the race for the top of the Missouri Valley beginning to take shape, it’s become clear: schedule be damned, the 6-0 Bison are coming for the crown.