A game-by-game look back at NDSU’s journey to the FCS national championship game
The Bison are set to play in their 11th FCS championship game since 2011
BY ERIC PETERSON The Forum FARGO
North Dakota State needed a highlightreel touchdown catch from its star receiver and an epic performance from its veteran quarterback in the national semifinals.
The Cam Miller-toBryce Lance connection has the Bison headed back to Frisco, Texas, for an unprecedented 11th NCAA Division I FCS
national championship game since 2011. “I’m not ready to be done,” Miller said. Lance’s 10-yard TD reception with less than five minutes to play in the fourth quarter gave the Bison a 28-21 victory against rival South Dakota State on Saturday, Dec. 21, at the Fargodome.
Lance’s spectacular game-winning score was first ruled incomplete before a replay review reversed the call on the field.
“In that moment, in
that kind of game, that’s the best catch I’ve ever seen,” said NDSU head coach Tim Polasek.
The Jackrabbits were the two-time defending FCS national champions.
The Bison are looking to regain their throne. NDSU has a 9-1 record in their previous 10 championship games. NDSU (132) is slated to play Montana State (15-0) at 6 p.m. Jan. 6 at Toyota Stadium on ESPN.
The Bison have a 50-5 record in the FCS playoffs.
Miller has 44 wins as a starting QB, good for fourth place in FCS history behind NDSU’s Easton Stick (49), SDSU’s Mark Gronowski (49) and NDSU’s Brock Jensen (48). He is set to start in his third national title game.
“I don’t think we need to hide from that now anymore,” Polasek said. “I think Cam needed that for his legacy to be up there.”
Here’s a game-by-game glance at NDSU’s path to Frisco this season:
Thursday, Aug. 29, Boulder, Colorado
Attendance: 49,438
NDSU quarterback Cam Miller had a monster performance, completing 18 of 22 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 81 yards and two touchdowns on 16 attempts, but it wasn’t enough against a Big 12 Conference opponent.
GAME 1: COLORADO 31, BISON 26
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders completed 26 of 34 passes for 445 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter added seven catches for 132 yards and three TDs as the Buffaloes held off the Bison.
“Quite frankly, it’s just disappointing,” said Bison head coach Tim
Polasek after his first game as the program’s head coach. “We missed on a couple opportunities. We didn’t come over here and get dressed up for nothing.”
The Bison finished yards short of pulling off the stunner. Wide receiver Tyler Terhark caught a 49-yard heave from Miller, but was tackled at the Colorado
4-yard line as time expired.
“I wish we had practice tomorrow morning because our guys would get up and go to work,” Polasek said. “I’m telling you this staff is super excited. This will have nothing to do with the story that’s written in 2024. ... I’m so excited to be able to coach guys that’ll play that hard.”
GAME 2: BISON 52, TENNESSEE STATE 3
Saturday, Sept. 7, Fargodome
Attendance: 16,811
NDSU receiver Bryce Lance had a breakout game with seven catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Both scoring catches came in the first half as the Bison raced to a 35-0 halftime lead.
NDSU quarterback Cam Miller completed 14 of 18 passes for 181 yards and three touchdowns and also rushed for 41 yards and a TD on five attempts.
“Cam put me in a lot
of good situations,” Lance said.
Miller had 220 yards from scrimmage and scored all four of his touchdowns in the opening half.
“He’s just been sharp,” said Bison head coach Tim Polasek. “He’s playing at a really high level. He’s handling a lot right now and he’s doing well.”
Polasek earned his first career win as the program’s head coach.
“It sure feels like we’re a tight-knit group right now,” Polasek said. “It feels like a brotherhood.”
GAME 3: BISON 38, EAST TENNESSEE STATE 35
Saturday, Sept. 14, Johnson City, Tennessee
Attendance: 11,040
NDSU quarterback
Cam Miller scored on a 11-yard touchdown run with 50 seconds remaining as the Bison rallied for 15 points in the final two minutes to cap a dramatic comeback.
“We showed some great grit, resiliency, some playmaking at the end,” said Bison head coach Tim Polasek.
The Bison recovered an onside kick with 1 minute, 57 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to help fuel the improbable rally.
GAME 4: BISON 41, TOWSON 24
Saturday, Sept. 21, Fargodome
Attendance: 17,185
Two freshmen shined for the Bison as the they earned a homecoming victory. True freshman Jackson Williams returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown, while redshirt freshman running back Marty Brown had a breakout game.
Brown rushed for 126 yards and three touchdowns on 24 attempts.
“He is a tough out,” said Bison head coach Tim Polasek. “I’m sensing a rhythm with him. The more pictures he gets the better he’ll be. I’m pleased with where he’s at and hopefully he can build on that.”
The Bison built a 21-point lead early in the third quarter before Towson rallied to within a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Brown scored on a 1-yard TD run with 1 minute, 4 seconds remaining in the fourth the seal the victory.
“Big ‘O’ has bailed us out the last couple weeks,” said NDSU linebacker Logan Kopp, referring to the Bison offense. “But I’m excited, our best football is ahead of us.”
GAME 5: BISON 42, ILLINOIS STATE 10
Saturday, Sept. 28, Normal, Illinois
Attendance: 11,687
NDSU quarterback Cam Miller completed 20 of 23 passes for 216 yards and three touchdowns, while the Bison rushed for more than 300 yards in a decisive road victory.
“He’s playing near perfect,” said Bison head coach Tim Polasek. “The way he’s been trained and the way the system is moving forward.”
Bison running back Marty Brown rushed for 100 yards and one touchdown on 17 attempts to lead the ground game. In contrast, the Bison limited Illinois State to eight rushing yards on 25 attempts.
“I didn’t see that game coming,” said Illinois State head coach Brock Spack. “By no means did I think we would rush for 200 yards like we did in the past couple of weeks but I thought we would have some success.”
NDSU senior defensive tackle Eli Mostaert had two sacks.
Alyssa Goelzer / Forum Communications Co.
North Dakota State’s Chris Harris celebrates his first career touchdown during their game against North Dakota on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, at the Fargodome.
East Tennessee State had a 35-23 lead late in the fourth quarter before the Bison rallied.
“Absolutely gut-wrenching,” said East Tennessee State head coach Tre Lamb. “Unacceptable. A lot of words can describe that, but I’m hurting. The team’s hurting. Had the No. 2 team in the country beat, let’s just flat-out call it what it was. ... I mean done, put a fork in them, the game’s over, and let them off the hook.” Miller completed 21 of 33 passes for 250 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 47 yards and two touchdowns on 15 attempts.
14, 2024.
GAME 6: BISON 41, NORTH DAKOTA 17
Saturday, Oct. 5, Fargodome
Attendance: 18,723
NDSU quarterback Cam Miller had a big performance, completing 13 of 19 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 39 yards and a touchdown on eight attempts.
“Today was a big deal,” said Bison head coach Tim Polasek. “You talk about whose dirt it is, and today it was our dirt.” Miller left the game in the third quarter with an ankle injury and didn’t return.
The Bison built a 38-10 lead after quarterback Cole Payton’s 33-yard TD pass to receiver Mekhi Collins with 3 minutes, 2 seconds remaining in the third quarter. That came one play after Miller left the game. NDSU scored the game’s first 14 points and never trailed. The Bison avenged a 25-point loss in Grand Forks from the previous season.
“We definitely had a chip on our shoulder,” said Bison safety Sam Jung. “That was definitely used as extra motivation coming into this game.”
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum
North Dakota State’s Bryce Lance smiles after a touchdown against Tennessee State on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, at the Fargodome.
David Samson / The Forum
North Dakota State quarterback Cam Miller scores the game-winning touchdown with 50 seconds remaining against East Tennessee State at William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium in Johnson City, Tennessee on Saturday, Sept.
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum North Dakota State’s Will Mostaert and Dylan Hendricks celebrate a play against Illinois State on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Illinois.
David Samson / The Forum
North Dakota State’s Cam Miller breaks away for a fourth quarter touchdown against Colorado at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado, on Thursday, August 29, 2024.
GAME 7: BISON 24, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 3
Saturday, Oct. 12, Carbondale, Illinois
Attendance: 9,610
The Bison defense limited the Salukis to 187 yards, including 35 rushing yards on 23 attempts.
Linebacker Logan Kopp led the team with seven tackles, including a sack.
“Overall, our defense I thought was really good,” Bison head coach Tim Polasek said. “They showed a hardness versus the run and created a lot of negative plays.”
The Bison offense did enough against the
Salukis, who started true freshman quarterback Jake Curry. NDSU quarterback Cam Miller completed 18 of 24 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown. Marty Brown rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown on 20 attempts.
“A little bit up-anddown performance just a touch, it wasn’t perfect,” Polasek said. “Maybe that’s just a sign of how good we’ve been on offense in the previous weeks.”
North Dakota State’s Chris Harris grabs the Dakota Marker trophy after the win over South Dakota State on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at the Fargodome.
GAME 8: BISON 13, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 9
Saturday, Oct. 19, Fargodome
Attendance: 18,807
NDSU halted a fivegame losing streak against South Dakota State, winning the Dakota Marker game for the first time since the 2019 season. The Jackrabbits had won the previous four Marker games.
Senior receiver RaJa Nelson caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Cam Miller to give the Bison a 13-9 lead with 1 minute, 49 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
“All they did was just keep fighting,” Bison head coach Tim Polasek said. “As a Bison, you’re never out of the fight. There’s life lessons to be learned from that win.”
NDSU linebacker Logan Kopp intercepted SDSU quarterback Mark Gronowski at the Bison 38-yard line with one minute remaining to seal the victory. “It sucks the way that it finished, but we’ve got to just learn from it, we’ve got to grow from it, be better from it,” Gronowski said. “We’re going to see these guys again. I know that, sometime in the playoffs, but we’ve got to continue to get better.”
GAME 9: BISON 59, MURRAY STATE 6
Saturday, Oct. 26, Murray, Kentucky
Attendance: 6,133
NDSU receiver Bryce
Lance had three touchdown catches in the first half to fuel a 42-3 halftime lead as the Bison cruised past the Racers.
“I thought our guys made their minds up that we were going to start fast and make it important to play to our stan-
Bison quarterback Cam Miller completed 5 of 5 passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns. He didn’t play in the second half with NDSU building a sizable lead. Redshirt freshman running back Marty Brown rushed for 97 yards and three touchdowns on 13 attempts. Bison linebacker Enock Sibomana added a 34-yard interception
GAME 10: BISON 42, NORTHERN IOWA 19
Saturday, Nov. 2, Fargodome
Attendance: 14,528
NDSU senior TK Marshall returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, sparking a 28-point first half. The
Bison built a 35-3 lead early in the third quarter and cruised to victory.
“I think it was electric for everybody,” Marshall said. “That was a team effort.”
Running back Marty Brown rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown on 18 attempts. NDSU quarterback Cam Miller completed 17 of 20 passes for 216 yards and two touchdowns.
“We’re an improving team,” Bison head coach Tim Polasek said. “I think we’re a team on the rise. We have to continue to embrace that.”
GAME 11: BISON 59, MISSOURI STATE 21
David Samson / The Forum North Dakota State’s Barika Kpeenu breaks away for his second touchdown against Missouri State at the Fargodome on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.
Saturday, Nov. 16, Fargodome
Attendance: 14,679
NDSU scored the game’s first 28 points and cruised to victory against the Bears, who had won their first six Missouri Valley Football Conference games. Bison quarterback Cam Miller had four touchdown passes that all came in the first half.
NDSU earned at least a share of the MVFC title with the victory. The program’s previous conference crown came in 2021.
“It’s been too long, but
we don’t want to share it,” Miller said. “We want the conference title by ourselves.”
Bison running back Barika Kpeenu rushed for a career-high 169 yards with two touchdowns on 10 attempts. Marty Brown added 113 rushing yards and one TD on 14 carries. NDSU rushed for 364 yards on 38 attempts.
“You can’t come in (here) and start that way,” said Missouri State head coach Ryan Beard. “You have to have your best when you come to North Dakota State.”
GAME 12: SOUTH DAKOTA 29, BISON 28
Saturday, Nov. 23, Vermillion, South Dakota
Attendance: 9,062
South Dakota receiver
Javion Phelps caught a 25-yard touchdown pass with 12 seconds remaining as the Coyotes stunned NDSU with a late-game rally. USD scored 12 points in the final 3 minutes, 22 seconds to overcome a double-digit deficit.
“It’s really disappointing at the end of the game,” Bison head coach Tim Polasek said. “It was a championship game.
Conference crown with South Dakota and South Dakota State due to the loss in the final game of the regular season.
“A championship game should come down to the wire and this one did,” Coyotes head coach Bob Nielson said.
The game-winning touchdown came after a Bison sack. The Coyotes had no timeouts and Phelps broke wide open after USD hurried to regroup and run a play with the game clock dwindling.
“Guys got up, guys got
believe we’ll do
The Bison rallied from an early 14-0 deficit before building a 28-17 lead with less than five minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
“Our bounce back, I
our guys are going to be tested,” Polasek said. “Now we’ve got a new season with the playoffs.”
David Samson / The Forum
David Samson / The Forum
North Dakota State’s TK Marshall heads upfield on his 100-yard kickoff return against Northern Iowa on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, at the Fargodome.
that, but
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum
South Dakota’s Aidan Bouman throws a pass against North Dakota State on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, South Dakota.
Home Tur f. Home Team.
FCS SECOND ROUND: BISON 51, ABILENE CHRISTIAN 31
Saturday, Dec. 7, Fargodome
Attendance: 10,373
True freshman Jackson Williams sparked the Bison with a 100-yard kickoff return in the second quarter with his team facing a 14-point deficit. That special teams jolt helped fuel a string of 31 consecutive NDSU points.
“We never looked back from that moment,” Bison head coach Tim Polasek said. “Jackson has been unbelievable.”
NDSU quarterback Cam Miller completed 20 of 29 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns. Bison linebacker Logan Kopp added a 31-yard interception return for a TD in the fourth quarter. Abilene Christian built
a 17-3 lead before Williams answered with his 100 yard return for a score with 10 minutes, 24 seconds to play in the first half.
“We’ve been so good on kickoff cover all year, that was just kind of a shock,” Abilene Christian head coach Keith Patterson said. “It just kind of took the wind out of our sails.”
FCS SEMIFINALS: BISON 28, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 21
Saturday, Dec. 21, Fargodome
Attendance: 17,849
NDSU knocked off twotime defending Division I FCS national champion South Dakota State in dramatic fashion. Bison receiver Bryce Lance’s one-handed 10-yard touchdown catch with 4 minutes, 2 seconds remaining was the difference.
“That was an unbelievable football game,” said Bison head coach Tim
Polasek. Lance finished with six catches for 125 yards and three touchdowns. NDSU quarterback Cam Miller completed 13 of 19 passes for 179 yards and three TDs. He also rushed for 93 yards and a score on 15 attempts in his final college game in the Fargodome.
“Final game in the Fargodome, it doesn’t get any better than that,” Miller said.
FCS QUARTERFINALS: BISON 31, MERCER 7
Saturday, Dec. 14, Fargodome
Attendance: 10,353
NDSU receiver Bryce Lance caught two touchdown passes less than six minutes into the game to build an early 14-point lead. NDSU’s defense did the rest, limiting the Bears to 195 yards.
“The fast start was good for us just for us to
play loose,” Bison head coach Tim Polasek said. Mercer finished with eight first downs. Bison
cornerback Anthony Chidemo-Alfaro had an interception and NDSU had five sacks.
“We were flying around with a lot of energy,” added Bison linebacker Logan Kopp. Bison receiver Mekhi
Collins had a big game with four catches for 119 yards. Bryce Lance added five catches for 73 yards and two touchdowns.
“North Dakota State is an amazing football program,” said Mercer senior safety Myles Redding, who finished with two interceptions. “They don’t make many mistakes.”
North Dakota State coaches Carlton Littlejohn and Grant Olson lead the victory cheers in the Bison locker room after the win over South Dakota State during the NCAA FCS semifinals on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. David Samson / The Forum
David Samson / The Forum
North Dakota State’s Anthony Chideme-Alfaro (24) celebrates his interception against Mercer during the NCAA FCS quarterfinals at the Fargodome on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024.
David Samson / The Forum
North Dakota State’s Jackson Williams breaks free on a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Abilene Christian at the Fargodome on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024.
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