NDSU Football drops heartbreaker at South Dakota, gets #2 seed for FCS Playoffs
Steve Hallstrom
Special to The Farmer
The weekend finished better than it started for the NDSU Football Team, which dropped a stunner at South Dakota, but was rewarded for its strong overall season with a #2 seed in the FCS Playoffs.
First, the USD game.
NDSU had a 28-17 lead with 4:10 to play in the game, but a series of defensive breakdowns cost NDSU dearly as the Coyotes stormed back with a pair of late touchdown passes to shock NDSU 29-28.
USD started quickly with a pair of Travis Theis rushing scores, building a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter. The Bison would rally, outscoring USD 28-3 over the next two quarters, forging what seemed to be an insurmountable lead. But sports are sports, and kids are human, and a victory that looked sure became a loss that had the Bison frustrated and looking for answers.
NDSU had many stars on this day, but the start of the game left much to be desired from both offense and defense. The Bison went three-and-out on their first three possessions, before getting their feet under them. They followed four straight punts with four straight touchdown drives. The first 2 drew NDSU even at halftime as Quarterback Cam Miller connected with Braylon Henderson on a 23-yard touchdown pass and then NDSU kicked its hurry-up offense in gear, scoring on a CharMar Brown 3-yard run with just 26 seconds left in the half to tie the game 14-all at intermission.
NDSU may have had its issues moving the football early in the game, but its two second-half scoring drives were something for a museum. The first one was a 10-play, 80 yard drive, capped off by a short Cam Miller TD run, and the second was a “suck the life out of you” drive that covered 99 yards in 20 plays that took almost 11 minutes off the clock. Brown finished the drive with a one-yard plunge for his second score of the day, and with 4:10 left to play, NDSU had a 28-17 lead and Bison fans were starting to celebrate.
The Coyotes, to their credit, never quit. They converted on a 4th and 10 play, hitting a long pass over the top of the Bison defense for 31 yards, and then hit the end zone on a 40-yard bomb when another USD receiver got past the NDSU defense.
NDSU needed to get a pair of first downs to run out the clock, but the Bison could only get one. USD got the ball back with 1:20 left and no time outs.
For the full story, visit www.watfordcitynd.com and subscribe to the McKenzie County Farmer today!