(STATS) – Weight lifting is usually the last thing on a football player’s mind after an exhausting game.
But did it ever feel good for the No. 1 North Dakota State Bison to hoist the 78-pound Dakota Marker trophy after they edged No. 3 South Dakota State 21-17 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference on Saturday.
It just didn’t sit well with the Bison that their archrival claimed “The Rock” the last two regular season even though they won the meeting in between in the 2016 FCS playoffs and captured the 2017 national title last season.
“It was back and forth, like we thought it would be,” NDSU coach Chris Klieman said after his team improved to 4-0. “Guys had resolve in the fourth quarter. Good football team. We made a few plays late. Shoot, we’re 1-0 in the league and we move on.”
Here are some five points from the Bison’s win over SDSU (2-1):
– These teams are evenly matched. OK, big news, right? But the final statistics reflected the closeness: total plays, South Dakota State 56, North Dakota State 67; total yards, SDSU 357, NDSU 389; passing yards, SDSU 202, NDSU 182; and rushing yards, SDSU 155, NDSU 207. A playoff encore would be welcomed by many people.
– NSDU is making opponents pay for turnovers more than ever. The most important takeaway of the season was cornerback Jalen Allison’s interception of South Dakota State quarterback Taryn Christion in the Bison end zone when the Jackrabbits could have gone ahead by two touchdowns late in the first quarter. The Bison scored on their ensuing possession – their sixth touchdown off eight turnovers this season.
There was no escaping one storyline in the South Dakota State offseason – how would the Jackrabbits ever replace second-round NFL tight end Dallas Goedert and all-time leading receiver Jake Wieneke? Over and over it came up. The reason the Jackrabbits are so competitive with NDSU’s FCS dynasty is because they are an elite FCS program, not just a top team. They reload. Only the Bison and James Madison have been better the last two seasons.
The Bison play north-south in their power run game, but quarterback Easton Stick also plays that way in the passing game, often throwing down the middle of the field for key gains. In Saturday’s case, he threw there for two first-half touchdowns. Oh yes, his game-winning TD run early in the fourth quarter was a keeper up the middle.
NDSU finally heads to the road for the first time next Saturday, against another key rival, Northern Iowa, which hasn’t allowed a point in nine straight quarters. But with seven of the Bison’s 11 regular-season games at home, and only two outside a dome, they appear destined to gain one of the two top seeds in the playoffs, which would guarantee home games through the semifinals. Their 68-6 home record this decade includes a 21-1 mark in the playoffs.