North Dakota State welcomed the Murray State Racers to the Fargodome Saturday. The conference newcomers got the epitome of what the Missouri Valley Football Conference is as the Bison shut down the Racers to get to 6-2 on the season.
Cam Miller was once again sharp early as he drove the Bison offense 65 yards in five plays and he finished the drive himself as he scored the game’s first points on a rushing touchdown from 15 yards out to give the Bison an early 7-0 lead.
The Bison play their best ball from ahead as leading into this game NDSU was 5-0 when they scored first. Playing from ahead allows them to play with their ears pinned back and they play with a certain confidence that the defense quickly showed in 1st half as they routinely got Murray off the field in short order.
The Bison got the ball back following a punt and preceded to put on a clinic in efficient offense as they drove the ball 77 yards in 10 plays. Six passes and four runs got NDSU into the endzone again as Cam Miller a QB keeper into the endzone from nine yards out to push the Bison lead to 14.
The next play from Murray State was a disaster as quarterback DJ Williams threw a pass directly to NDSU linebacker Logan Kopp who set the Bison offense up at the Racer 29-yard line. They took advantage as Cam Miller hooked up Braylon Henderson four plays later to give NDSU a 21-0 lead.
The game slowed down dramatically after that as the first three possessions of the quarter resulted in no points. NDSU regained all momentum as on 3rd and 8 from the Murray State 15-yard line Cam Miller threw a ball only 6’7 Zach Mathis could catch as he outjumped the corner for another Bison touchdown to extend the NDSU lead to 28.
Murray State tacked on a late field goal to make the halftime score, 28-3 Bison.
The second half started the best way possible as they forced Murray to go three and out and on the punt perennial all-conference return man Jayden Price made the situation more dire for the Racers as Price ran the punt back 66 yards to make it 35-3 NDSU. The touchdown was Price’s 4th punt return touchdown which ties the NDSU record for the most in a career with former return ace Richard Lewis.
The rest of the game was pretty stale as each team kicked a field goal to make the final score, NDSU 38, Murray State 6.
NDSU’s “Code Green” defense was outstanding as Murray State did not get a first down until halfway through the second quarter. They forced six punts and only allowed 164 total yards. The Racers were a horrific 2-13 on 3rd down and only ran the ball for a total of 56 yards which comes out to only two yards a carry. They had quarterback DJ Williams totally confused as he only passed for 108 yards on 26 attempts, completing 15.
On the other hand Cam Miller’s offense was much better as they rolled up 377 yards of total offense. Miller was efficient as he was 18-24 passing for 192 yards and two touchdowns. Zach Mathis was the leading receiver with eight receptions for 74 yards and his leaping grab for a touchdown. The only problem for NDSU was its ground game as once again a running back did not run for over 100 yards. Cam Miller was the team’s leading rusher and he only ran for 55 yards but did find the endzone twice.
NDSU can now finally focus all attention on their arch-rival, the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State. The Jacks have won the last four meetings including the national championship rout in January. They were dominant last week against South Dakota and are the unanimous #1 team in FCS college football. This is a game that NDSU has to have in order to put all questions about them to bed as well as take all momentum with them into the postseason.
The Bison and Jacks meet at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota on Saturday November 4th, at 2 p.m on WDAY/ABC.