North Dakota State was in unfamiliar territory Saturday as they were playing on Thanksgiving weekend for the first time since 2010. One thing NDSU is very familiar with is the FCS playoffs and they made a statement against Drake by scoring an unbelievable 66 unanswered points to advance to the 2nd round.
Thanksgiving provided an attendance problem for the Fargodome as the game’s attendance was only 7,798 which still led all other 1st round games in terms of attendance but pails in comparison to NDSU’s last first-round game back in 2010 Vs. Robert Morris as that game drew 12,202.
The fans that did attend got to see NDSU’s best performance of the season but it didn’t start great. The Bison have scored on their first possession in every game this season but that streak came to a halt as Cam Miller fumbled the first play from scrimmage that allowed Drake to put the first points on the scoreboard, a 30-yard field goal to put Drake on top 3-0.
NDSU quickly made up for the mistake by going on the attack as Cam Miller hooked up with Zach Mathis for a 34-yard pass play and then on the next play Cole Payton ran one in from 20 yards out to give NDSU a 7-3 lead.
“Code Green” gave the offense the ball back after a Cole Menz strip sack and a 23-yard return by Loshiaka Roques set up NDSU at the Drake 25-yard line. The Bison were back in the endzone five plays later as RaJa Nelson took an outside handoff to the endzone to increase the NDSU lead to 11.
Following a Drake punt on NDSU’s next possession Cam Miller showed off his arm talent as he threw a bullet to Eli Green to get NDSU into Drake territory. He then he threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to RaJa Nelson, giving NDSU an 18-point advantage.
Drake punted again giving NDSU the ball at their own 10 but that didn’t stop the green and yellow as the Bison went on a 12-play, 90-yard soul-crushing drive that ended in a four-yard TaMerik Williams touchdown run to put the Bison up 25.
The Bulldogs threatened at the end of the half by marching 8 plays and 67 yards down to the NDSU 8-yard line but the final play of the drive was not a touchdown but an interception by a toe-tapping Jayden Price to give the Bison an opportunity to score before halftime. NDSU did just that as they covered 80 yards in just four plays as Cam Miller capped off the drive by hitting Eli Green for a 34-yard touchdown to give the Bison a 35-3 halftime lead.
The 2nd half started slowly as Drake punted and NDSU tacked on a 31-yard field goal to increase the lead to 35. Then following a forced fumble by Sam Jung and toe tap recovery by Julian Wlodarczyk, NDSU was back in the endzone as Barika Kpeenu dashed in from 14 yards out to give the Bison a 42-point lead.
The 4th quarter was more of the same as Barika Kpeenu started the quarter by scoring from a yard out to give NDSU a 49-point lead. Later in the quarter, The Bison were across midfield but it was 4th and 15. Matt Entz had three options, field goal, punt, or go for it. Coach Entz chose door #3 and it paid off big time as Cole Payton scrambled for a 36-yard TD to push the Bison lead to 49.
Drake knowing the game was way out of hand decided to switch quarterbacks, the problem was backup QB Blake Ellingson couldn’t hold onto the ball as when he went back to pass near his own goal line, he attempted to throw a pass but it squirted loose before he could throw it and it wound up in the arms of Bison redshirt freshman Kelton McCaslin who ran it into the endzone to put a cherry on top of one of one of the largest blowouts in FCS playoff history as NDSU shook, rattled, and rolled Drake 66-3 to advance to the 2nd round.
The NDSU offense was clicking as they totaled 547 total yards, 27 first downs and over 33 minutes of possession time. The defense was also spectacular as they allowed only 177 total yards while forcing 5 turnovers and holding Drake to 3 of 13 on third down.
The Bison advance to the 2nd round of the playoffs to take on the Bobcats of Montana State. A win for NDSU would be the 46th playoff win in school history which would be the most by any school in FCS history.