The Herd complete there non-conference sweep with rout over the Tigers
The NDSU football team finished non-conference play 3-0 after their 35-7 drubbing of Towson this past Saturday, Sept. 18. Ironically, this was the same final score as the National Championship game between the Bison and the Tigers back in 2013.
If this game had been played in the Fargodome, it’s safe to say there would have been a sea of bodies heading towards the exit at halftime.
Christian Watson and Quincey Patterson got the scoring going connection on a 67-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, and the Herd never looked back.
The Tigers could not stop the Bison ground game all day. NDSU gashed Towson to a tune of 328 yards on the ground. Patterson only threw 11 passes because the Herd took any and everything they wanted on the ground. A whopping nine different players carried the ball for the Bison on the day, with Dominic Gonnella leading the way with 92 yards.
Going for over 300 yards on the ground without having an individual go over 100 yards by themselves is very rare. This speaks not just to how dominant the Bison offensive line was, but how deep the Bison are at the running back position.
While the offense looked awesome, the Bison defense once again dominated. Through 12 quarters of football on the season, the Bison defense has allowed just 13 points. If the defense can carry on their stellar nonconference performance into Missouri Valley play, Quincey Patterson and the offense’s job becomes infinitely easier.
After outscoring Albany, Valparaiso and Towson a combined 127-13, the Bison get a well-earned break with a bye week this week before heading to the school up north to take on the Fighting Hawks.
The Fighting Hawks are coming off a nice nonconference run in their own league after blanking Drake 38-0 on Saturday. The trash talk in houses divided of UND and NDSU fans is sure to ramp up in the two weeks building up to the game.
Everyone remembers the massive buildup to last spring’s matchup between the rival schools. We were told that was finally going to be the time that the then second-ranked Fighting Hawks would finally stop being NDSU’s little brother when it comes to football. Then the game was played, and NDSU walked away with a 21-point victory, showing they are still North Dakota’s best college football team and program.
While the hype for the upcoming matchup in two weeks might not reach those levels, it’s certainly going to be a trendy water cooler discussion. After all, both teams are again ranked in the top-10 with legitimate hopes of winning the Missouri Valley and making deep playoff runs.