NORTH DAKOTA STATE SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2022 ARIZONA BISON GAME DAY Presents ► When: 10 p.m. CST, Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Ariz. ► TV: FS1 ► Radio: 1660-AM, 107.9-FM
STARTERS
S T A N D I N G S
Eric Peterson The Forum Record: 2-0
Dom Izzo WDAY-TV Record: 2-0
NDSU has waited to unleash Hunter Luepke which will happen tonight The Bison defensive line will be tested to try and get to an elusive quarterback Special teams will decide this game, which favors the Wildcats right now UA 28 NDSU 24
Logan Campbell WDAY-TV Record: 2-0
T E A M S C H E D U L E S
S C H E D U L E
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D I A B L I T Z
BISON Mathis RUSHING No Yds Avg Long TD Hunter Luepke TK Marshall Kobe Johnson Cole Payton 68 57 55 50 9 7 8 1 6 9 7 1 47 19 23 26 2 1 0 1 PASSING Comp Att Yds Int TD Cam Miller 21 207 0 4 PROBABLE
Wildcats RUSHING No Yds Avg Long TD DJ Williams Michael Wiley Jonah Coleman 21 12 18 98 80 52 4 7 6 7 2 9 17 34 9 1 1 0 PASSING Comp Att Yds Int TD Jayden de Laura 45 80 519 4 5 BISON OFFENSE Pos No Name Ht Wt Yr WR LT LG C RG RT TE WR FB RB QB 0 70 66 72 63 73 87 11 44 4 7 Zach Mathis Cody Mauch Nash Jensen Jalen Sundell Jake Kubas Mason Miller Noah Gindorff Phoenix Sproles Hunter Luepke Kobe Johnson Cam Miller 6-6 6-6 6-4 6-5 6-4 6-6 6-6 6-0 6-1 5-9 6-1 205 303 329 294 304 296 268 188 236 188 208 Sr Sr Sr Sr Sr Jr Sr Sr Sr Sr Jr BISON DEFENSE Pos No Name Ht Wt Yr DE DT NG DE OLB MLB OLB CB SS 99 91 58 90 26 36 20 6 25 Spencer Waege Will Mostaert Javier Derritt Tony Pierce James Kaczor Nick Kubitz Julian Wlodarczyk Destin Talbert Michael Tutsie 6-5 6-2 6-1 6-1 6-0 6-2 6-3 6-0 5-11 282 260 279 242 215 225 207 187 189 Sr Jr Jr Sr Sr Jr Sr Sr Sr I swore after the 2016 win over Iowa that I would never again take NDSU lightly against a Power 5 FBS opponent I'm holding myself to that NDSU 23, UA 21 NDSU s FBS magic runs out against the Pac-12 Wildcats Arizona receiver Jacob Cowing is a difference maker UA 28 NDSU 21 NDSU’s defense will have trouble slowing Arizona’s offensive weapons UA 31, NDSU 21 Marshall de Laura Cowing RUNNING BACKS NDSU's top three backs Luepke, Johnson and Williams have barely broken a sweat in the first two games RECEIVERS Wildcats got one of the better transfer portal pick ups in the country with Texas El Paso receiver Jacob Cowing OFFENSIVE LINE M A T C H U P S P R E D I C T I O N S GAME DAY BREAKDOWN DEFENSIVE LINE Getting pressure on de Laura will be priority No 1 in order for the Bison to pull off a road FBS victory LINEBACKERS NDSU s best LB pass defender Cole Wisniewski, will not play after offseason Achilles surgery SECONDARY Not all on d-backs but Arizona s first two opponents completed 71% of their passing attempts NDSU's field goal unit has been undependable, not the best situation heading into an FBS game SPECIAL TEAMS RECEIVING Rec Yds Avg Long TD Jacob Cowing Dorian Singer Michael Wiley 15 9 7 190 96 72 12 7 10 7 10 3 38 24 16 5 0 0 7 7 8 7
N o r t h D a k o t a N o r t h D a k o t a S t a t e M i s s o u r i S t a t e Y o u n g s t o w n S t a t e S o u t h D a k o t a S t a t e I n d i a n a S t a t e I l l i n o i s S t a t e S o u t h e r n I l l i n o i s S o u t h D a k o t a W e s t e r n I l l i n o i s N o r t h e r n I o w a 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 1-1 2-0 2-0 2-0 1-1 1-1 1-1 0-2 0-2 0-2 0-2 Sept 10 Sept 17 Sept 24 Oct 1 Oct 8 Oct 15 Oct 29 Nov 5 N 12 North Carolina A&T at Arizona at South Dakota Youngstown State at Indiana State South Dakota State Illinois State at Western Illinois 43 3
13
RECEIVING Rec Yds Avg Long TD Noah Gindorff Zach Mathis Hunter Luepke Braylon Henderson TK Marshall 3 2 2 2 1 44 71 22 17 15 14 7 35 5 11 0 8 5 15 0 1 2 1 0 0 24 40 151 13 15
E
pressure
on the kickers in this game The Bison are still trying to figure out who is the most reliable option UA 24, NDSU 21 10-11 a m CST: Bison Game Day pregame show with Dom Izzo Kyle Emanuel Logan Campbell and Jeff Kolpack on North Dakota statewide ABC network (WDAY-Fargo WDAZ-Grand Forks KBMY-Bismarck and Dickinson KMCY-Williston and Minot) 9:45 p m CST: Gate City Bison Social Media Flow on InForum com After game: Gate City Media Blog Postgame Show with Mike McFeely Dom Izzo and Jeff Kolpack on Inforum com Games Saturday Youngstown at Kentucky, 11 a m (SEC, ESPN+) SIU at Northwestern, 11 a m (Big Ten Network) Montana at Indiana State, noon Cal Poly at South Dakota 1 p m (Midco ESPN+) UND at Northern Arizona 3 p m (ESPN+) Southern Utah at Western Illinois 3 p m Sacramento St at UNI 4 p m (ESPN+) Missouri State at Arkansas 6 p m (ESPN+ SEC+) Butler at S D State 6 p m (Midco ESPN+) Eastern Ill at Illinois State 6:30 (ESPN+) NDSU at Arizona 10 p m (Fox Sports 1) Mike McFeely The Forum Record: 2-0 Sophomore Jayden de Laura was the Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Year last season at Washington State Opp Date Opponent UA Sept 3 Sept 10 Sept 17 Sept 24 Oct 1 Oct 8 Oct 15 Oct 29 Nov 5 Nov 12 Nov 19 Nov 25 at San Diego State Mississippi State North Dakota State at California Colorado Oregon at Washington USC at Utah at UCLA Washington State Arizona State 38 20 17 39 F2 | SPORTS | SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2022 | THE FORUM INFORUM.COM BISON GAME DAY NORTH DAKOTA STATE AT ARIZONA Start here. Thinking about a new JOB?
The
will be
MEMORABLE MAKE Trio kicks way into Bison football history
By Jeff Kolpack The Forum Fargo
The kick defied the laws of wind on a warm, sunny day in Iowa City, Iowa.
The flags on top of the goalposts at University of Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium were blowing west, but the football curved east about halfway between Cam Pedersen’s foot and the back of the end zone.
For the longest time on a play that happened so fast, it was debatable if it was going to be successful. Pedersen’s first thought after kicking it was that he hit it solid and figured it would sneak inside the upright because that’s what the ball was doing all day — moving from west to east. It was NDSU’s last game vs. an FBS opponent before facing Arizona on Saturday night at Arizona Stadium.
As the long snapper, James Fisher, in a rarity, didn’t have a defender immediately in front of him and the reason he figures is Iowa knew the penchant Fisher had for drawing roughing the snapper penalties. The Hawkeyes didn’t want to risk that.
So after snapping the ball to holder Cole Davis, Fisher held his ground and looked up at the ball sailing toward the right
upright.
“It was either right at the goalpost or just outside of it and it curved back in,” Fisher said. “Then you could really hear a pin drop with all of the Iowa fans and thousands of Bison fans who made that trip screaming and going crazy.”
As the holder, Davis had one job: catch Fisher’s snap and place it in perfect position for Pedersen’s foot. Davis’ primary thought while getting ready to do his job?
The trio had practiced the teamwork of the field goal so many times and this was just another time to make it work. When Pedersen kicked it, Davis saw a ball that was moving in and out on its way to the goalpost.
“At first it looked like it was going in just inside the right upright and then it went back out a little bit,” Davis said. “And then finally skirted in at the end.”
After that, Davis and Pedersen both have the same memory of the celebration. They don’t have much of one, with both using the phrase “kind of a blackout.”
Davis remembers Pedersen running and jumping and himself running after his kicker. The entire Bison sideline sprinted onto the field. NDSU head coach Chris Klieman quickly jogged to
midfield looking for Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz.
“Just kind of chaos ensued,” Davis said. “I remember screaming and yelling so much I actually almost threw up.”
A bit later, the Bison players ran over to a corner of Kinnick Stadium where most of the NDSU fans had gathered. One of the biggest field goals in Bison football history had the college football world buzzing that afternoon.
Iowa came in ranked No. 11 in the top 25 poll.
“It’s crazy to think I was part of that, but it was completely a team effort to get to that position,” said Pedersen, currently living in the Denver area and preparing to start a law career. “I was fortunate to be the guy to have a chance to put the ball through the goalposts.”
Said Davis: “It’s cool for all the guys who were part of such a significant play in NDSU history and for me, obviously it’s amazing. Maybe the hold seems like an insignificant part of the play, but for me personally, it’s one of the highlights of my sports career being out there for that play. However you contributed to that game and to the team, I think it was really
special for all of us.”
Davis is still working for Carson Wentz’s AO1 Foundation based in Indianapolis. Fisher is living in Atlanta these days and that story resurfaces from time to time if he’s wearing an NDSU shirt and he runs into Iowa fans.
“They all remember that very well,” Fisher said.
What most people don’t remember is the Bison defensive stand that allowed them to get the ball back and have a chance. The Bison drove 80 yards in 15 plays, taking 8:39 off the clock to pull within 21-20 on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Easton Stick to running back Chase Morlock.
But Stick’s twopoint conversion pass failed and NDSU trailed by a point with just under four minutes remaining.
Starting at its own 32-yard line, two runs by Iowa’s Leshun Daniels lost 1 yard, making it third-and-11. NDSU head coach Matt Entz, then the Bison defensive coordinator, remembers linebackers MJ Stumpf and Nick DeLuca making big plays on those runs.
Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard was sacked for a 9-yard loss forcing a punt.
“There was more of a mental error offensiveline wise,” Entz said this week. “It was three
really good plays in a row. Our kids played unbelievably hard and just continued to give us opportunities to be successful.”
The Bison, after the Iowa punt, took over at their 34-yard line with 1:53 remaining in the game. Stick ran 29 yards on the first play to the Hawkeyes 37-yard line. That was followed by a 10-yard pass from Stick to wide receiver RJ Urzendowski.
Meanwhile, on the sideline, Fisher and Pedersen were doing their usual stayingready routine, with Pedersen kicking a few into a portable net. Davis, as the backup quarterback, was hanging with the Bison offense on the sideline.
NDSU ran two plays for 7 yards and called time out with five seconds left. Pedersen developed a reputation for maintaining his cool in his career.
“I don’t remember specifically seeing
what he looked like, but I think there was a confidence there because Cam has always been a super calm dude,” Fisher said.
The previous year, Pedersen kicked a 40-yard field goal in the fourth quarter at Youngstown State in a game the Bison eventually won by three points. In 2017, his 36-yard field goal in overtime won the game against the Penguins.
“I think I was focusing on that (Iowa) kick like any other kick and just trying to keep the routine the same,” Pedersen said. “That’s the biggest thing, you want everything to be the same. You want the routine to be the same and just treat it like any other time you’ve done it because I’ve kicked a million footballs. Just staying within myself is the biggest thing.”
Readers can reach Forum reporter Jeff Kolpack at jkolpack@forumcomm.com. Twitter @KolpackInForum
BISON GAME DAY NORTH DAKOTA STATE AT ARIZONA inforum.com the forum | Saturday, September 17, 2022 | SPORTS | F3
Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor
Cam Pedersen, left, of North Dakota State watches his game-winning field goal against Iowa during their football game Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016, in Iowa City, Iowa.
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