Fargo
After a one-season hiatus, North Dakota State is headed back to Texas.
The Bison earned a dramatic victory against James Madison in the NCAA Division I Football
Championship Subdivision semifinals to advance to the national title game, which is scheduled for Jan. 8 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
The Bison (13-1) are making their ninth FCS title game appearances since 2011 after losing in the quarterfinals during last spring’s season, which was moved from
Saturday, Sept. 4, Fargodome
Attendance: 15,156
North Dakota State running back Dominic Gonnella rushed 135 yards and two touchdowns, including a 75-yard TD run to start the second half, to lead the Bison to a seasonopening victory against a Colonial Athletic Association opponent.
“I felt more comfortable, way more comfortable,” said Gonnella, in his second season in the Bison program. “Preparation was really good in fall camp.”
The Bison defense limited the Great Danes to 205 yards from scrimmage. Albany’s lone points came on a 67-yard pass play from
quarterback Jeff Undercuffler to wide receiver Roy Alexander with four seconds to play until halftime.
NDSU rushed for 259 yards on 43 attempts and Bison quarterback Quincy Patterson had his first start in the program. Patterson completed 12 of 16 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown.
“I was waiting for this from Day 1 when I touched foot in Fargo,” Gonnella said. “I couldn’t wait to play in a full dome, and it was everything I thought it would be and more. It was awesome.”
Saturday, Sept. 11, Fargodome
Attendance: 15,118
North Dakota State quarterback Quincy Patterson completed 4 of 5 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown and also rushed for 94 yards and a TD on four attempts. The Bison rushed for more than 450 yards in dominating the Beacons.
NDSU scored six touchdowns in the first half with each score covering at least 20 yards for a 43-point half. Bison running back Jalen Bussey had the longest scoring play with a 72-yard touchdown run for a 36-0 lead with 7 minutes, 3 seconds to play in the second quarter.
“I thought we played with really
good energy throughout the course of the game,” Bison head coach Matt Entz said. “That was the one thing I challenged our players with all week long. It had nothing to do with our opponent. It was everything had to do with us.”
The Bison limited Valparaiso to 185 yards on 64 plays.
“If we score touchdowns, we score touchdowns,” Patterson said. “If we win games and I don’t throw the ball much, and I don’t need to throw the ball much to win, that’s fine. Ultimately, if I need to throw the ball, I will be ready for that.”
Saturday, Sept. 18, Towson, Md.
Attendance: 9,109
North Dakota State wide receiver Christian Watson had a 67-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter and Towson was unable to slow a physical Bison running game. NDSU rushed for 328 yards on 46 attempts and cruised to a 28-point victory.
“There is no way for us to simulate their physicality with our roster currently,” Towson head coach Rob Ambrose said. “I told the guys in there, so the championship goes through this team whether you play them in Fargo, you play them here or you play them anywhere for that matter in the playoffs.”
Bison running back Dominic Gonnella rushed for 92 yards on 13 attempts, while TaMerik Williams added 79 rushing yards on six carries.
NDSU quarterback Quincy Patterson completed 6 of 11 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown with one interception.
“It’s an animal you can’t truly understand until you face it,” Ambrose said. “I got a locker room full of guys that know exactly who (former boxing champ) Mike Tyson is right now. I’m looking forward to playing them again already.”
The Bison limited Towson to 35 rushing yards on 30 attempts and the Tigers finished with 200 yards.
“It was disciplined, physicality is what we wanted,” Bison head coach Matt Entz said. “We wanted to win in every little thing we did, we wanted to out-physical a good Towson team. I feel for the most part, we were able to.”
the fall due to the coronavirus pandemic.
NDSU is set to face Montana State, which is led by former Bison player and assistant coach Brent Vigen, in the national title game. The Bison are 8-0 in their eight previous trips to Frisco, including a 28-20 victory against James Madison for the 2019 national
championship. NDSU has an FCS record eight national crowns.
Montana State (12-2) is playing in its first national championship game since 1984. The Bison earned a 42-14 victory against the Bobcats when the two teams played in the 2019 semifinals.
Here is a game-by-game glance at NDSU’s road to Frisco.
Saturday, Oct. 2, Grand Forks
Attendance: 12,846
North Dakota State quarterback Quincy Patterson scored on a 3-yard touchdown run with 1 minute, 13 seconds left in the fourth quarter that helped seal a Bison victory in the raucous Alerus Center. NDSU hadn’t played in Grand Forks since 2003 and hadn’t won there since 1997.
“It was a very hostile environment for us, but we love it, we embrace it every moment,” said Bison safety Dawson Weber, who had a key interception. “We talked about it for the past two weeks. We knew it was going to be crowded and went out there and had a blast.”
Patterson’s short TD run gave the Bison a 16-7 lead and capped a 58-yard drive that lasted eight plays. It was NDSU’s lone touchdown in the game as kicker Jake Reinholz booted three field goals of 45, 34 and
30 yards.
“At that point, it was all or nothing,” Patterson said. “I feel like that last drive everyone just kind of honed in and realized like, OK, we either score right now … or we’re going to lose. I feel like everybody took pride in that and we got it done.”
Neither team reached 300 yards of offense in a game primarily controlled by both defenses.
“We’re trying to play really disciplined, make sure everybody is doing their job, accomplishing their role within the defense,” Bison linebacker Jackson Hankey said. “Our defensive line does a really tremendous job. I’ve been so fortunate to play behind them for my career. They knock people off the line. They make it easy for us guys on the second level.”
North Dakota State’s Jayden Price and Jasir Cox celebrate a fourth-down stop against North Dakota at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks.
Saturday, Oct. 9, Fargodome
Attendance: 18,536
North Dakota State quarterback Quincy Patterson completed 11 of 21 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 60 yards and two TDs on 12 attempts to lead the team in rushing.
Bison wide receiver Christian Watson also had a stellar performance, catching five passes for 163 yards, including an 85-yard TD catch from Patterson in the first quarter.
“Super excited about the win, but what I’m even more excited about is
Saturday, Oct. 16, Normal, Ill.
Attendance: 12,416
North Dakota State stymied the Illinois State offense, limiting the Redbirds to 99 yards on 50 plays, including 59 rushing yards on 30 attempts.
“We just continue to get after the football,” Bison head coach Matt Entz said of his defense. “I thought we tackled really well. ... Then we came up with some critical turnovers.”
Bison quarterback Quincy Patterson completed 13 of 22 passes for 124 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Patterson also rushed
North Dakota State’s Kobe Johnson escapes for a 97-yard touchdown run against Indiana State at the Fargodome.
I’m not sure where the ceiling is for the group,” Bison head coach Matt Entz said. “We beat a good football team today and we’re here talking about things we can get better at.” Watson had all his receiving yards in the first half. Patterson had one touchdown pass and two TD runs after halftime to help the Bison pull away from the Panthers.
“It’s crazy seeing a tank back there at QB who can run it and launch it. It’s crazy,” Watson said of the 6-foot-3, 246-pound Patterson.
Saturday, Oct. 23, Fargodome
Attendance: 15,559
North Dakota State quarterback Cam Miller came on in relief of starter Quincy Patterson and Miller threw two fourth-quarter touchdowns to rally the Bison to victory. Miller completed 7 of 9 passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns.
“I just felt like we need a spark plug of some sort,” Bison head coach Matt Entz said of the move at QB. “Cam is playing his best football and I said that back in August when we made the decision to start Quincy.”
Miller threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to receiver Phoenix Sproles to tie the game at 20-20 with 13 minutes, 40 seconds to play in the fourth quarter. He added a 24-yard TD pass to receiver Christian Watson
for a 27-20 Bison lead with 4:57 remaining. NDSU scored the game’s final 14 points.
“I feel like every week I’ve been ready to go when my number’s been called,” said Miller, who entered the game late in the third quarter.
“When I didn’t get the job I just decided to tell myself that my time was going to come. It could be next week, it could be down the road in two years. But it came today and I felt like I was ready to go.”
The Bison rallied after trailing by as many as 10 points in the first half.
“Our back was against the wall and you saw us kind of rise up a little bit,” Entz said. “I wish we would start that stuff in the first quarter though.”
for 100 yards on 18 attempts to lead the team on the ground.
Patterson’s 4-yard touchdown pass to receiver Christian Watson in the first quarter proved to be all the offense the Bison needed.
NDSU linebacker Jasir Cox had two interceptions to help bolster the strong defensive effort.
“Those were the plays we were waiting for him to make,” Entz said.
“He’s an experienced linebacker, he’s got a ton of reps under his belt.”
Saturday, Oct. 30, Fargodome
Attendance: 14,383
North Dakota State quarterback Cam Miller made his first start of the season and delivered with a stellar performance. The sophomore completed 10 of 14 passes for 179 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.
“We were going to leave the month of October with a bang and (need) to start moving and playing our best football in November,” Bison head coach Matt Entz said.
Bison running back Kobe Johnson had a 97-yard touchdown run, which was the longest run from scrimmage
in program history. He finished with 155 rushing yards on five attempts.
The Bison finished with 477 yards on 55 plays, averaging 8.7 yards per play. NDSU scored the game’s first 44 points before Indiana State scored on a safety with less than seven minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
“I just knew I needed to go out and execute for our team,” said Miller, who also rushed for 22 yards on four attempts. “I think we can win games with all three quarterbacks that we have.”
Saturday, Nov. 6, Brookings, S.D.
Attendance: 18,122
South Dakota State running back
Pierre Strong rushed for 156 yards and two touchdowns on 23 attempts and also threw an 11-yard TD pass on a fourth-down play to fuel the Jackrabbits to victory in a second consecutive Dakota Marker trophy game.
The All-American made his mark from the outset with a 75-yard TD run that gave SDSU a 7-0 lead less than 20 seconds into the first quarter.
“I feel like we got our swagger back,” Strong said.
The Jackrabbits scored the final 17 points of the half, including Strong’s TD pass that involved deception. On fourth-and-1 from the Bison 11-yard line, Jackrabbits quarterback Chris Oladokun was behind the center when the ball was snapped between his legs back to Strong in the backfield. Strong
then lofted a pass to tight end Tucker Kraft for an 11-yard TD catch and a 21-7 lead with 2 minutes, 17 seconds to play until halftime.
“We’ve had that play dialed up for a while,” said SDSU offensive lineman Aron Johnson.
Bison quarterback Cam Miller completed 15 of 22 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. He also rushed for 59 yards on 13 attempts, but it wasn’t enough as NDSU committed two turnovers and also roughed the punter to extend an SDSU touchdown drive.
“This one hurts quite a bit, but we have a lot of our goals ahead of us,” said Bison linebacker Jackson Hankey.
“We’re going to look forward. … We’ve got some things to improve.”
Saturday, Nov. 13, Youngstown, Ohio
Attendance: 8,307
North Dakota State rushed for 454 yards on 45 attempts, averaging 10.1 yards per carry, to overpower the Penguins at Stambaugh Stadium.
Running back TaMerik Williams had a breakout game, rushing for 137 yards and two touchdowns on 18 attempts.
“It’s definitely been a journey,” said Williams, who transferred to NDSU from SMU. “The biggest thing
Attendance: 16,252
North Dakota State scored 21 points in the first quarter and cruised to victory against the Coyotes to earn the Missouri Valley Football Conference championship outright. Bison wide receiver Phoenix Sproles helped spark that quick surge with a 75-yard touchdown catch that gave NDSU a 14-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game.
Bison quarterback Cam Miller completed 19 of 23 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown. NDSU rushed for 303 yards on 47 attempts in earning the MVFC’s automatic bid for the FCS playoffs.
“Our kids came ready to play today,” Bison head coach Matt Entz said. “I’m really excited with where we’re at right now.”
The contest was the final regularseason home game for 13 seniors, including offensive lineman Cordell Volson, who was playing in his 61st game for the Bison.
“This place is just so special to me,” Volson said. “It’s given me so much and to have the opportunity to maybe give back in a way, that was the biggest reason I came back to help these young guys and to keep the program moving in the right direction.”
for me has been
growth. I’ve been growing as a player, playing in games, getting a lot of experience under my belt. I love being here so far.”
Bison running back TK Marshall added 146 rushing yards on three attempts, including an 84-yard TD run with less than two minutes remaining. NDSU, which had five
touchdowns that covered at least 49 yards, earned a share of the Missouri Valley Football Conference championship.
“We made this game a big deal,” Bison head coach Matt Entz said. “There was some more riding on it. To be able to get a share of the conference title, we weren’t picked to be here.”
Cam Miller completed 10 of 14 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns, including a 71-yard TD pass to Bison wide receiver Christian Watson.
“I thought we played free from concern about making mistakes. It’s not always going to be perfect,” Entz said. “We got better. We got our confidence back a little bit, not that we lacked it.”
North Dakota State wide receiver Phoenix Sproles breaks away from South Dakota’s Elijah Reed on a 75-yard touchdown reception at the Fargodome.
David Samson / The Forum
Saturday, Dec. 4, Fargodome
Attendance: 12,557
North Dakota State rushed for 389 yards on 62 attempts to power past the Salukis. Bison running back TaMerik Williams fueled the ground game, rushing for 112 yards and two touchdowns on 17 attempts. Backup quarterback Quincy Patterson rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.
It marked the third consecutive game the Bison rushed for more than 300 yards.
“We’re a line-of-scrimmage football team and we want to run the football and if we can keep on running it, we’re going to do it,” said Bison head coach Matt Entz.
NDSU avenged a 38-14 road loss against the Salukis last February, a setback that ended an FCS-record 39-game winning streak. The Bison scored the final 28 points in their decisive second-round victory.
“That’s an old-fashioned North Dakota State butt-whipping,” said Southern Illinois head coach Nick Hill.
Saturday, Dec. 11, Fargodome
Attendance: 11,794
The Bison defense shut down East Tennessee State running back Quay Holmes, a top-three finalist for the Walter Payton Award, which is given to the top offensive player in the FCS. Holmes rushed for 35 yards on 14 attempts, well below his season average.
Holmes had more than 1,500 rushing yards through 12 games.
“We challenged our kids,” said Bison head coach Matt Entz. “Anytime there’s a player of that caliber that’s coming into the Fargodome it doesn’t take much to motivate our players. They want to play against the best players in the
country, too.”
NDSU running back TaMerik Williams rushed for 91 yards and two touchdowns on 15 attempts to help the Bison advance to the semifinals for the 10th time in the past 11 seasons. NDSU was in the FCS quarterfinals for a 12th consecutive season.
“We’re going to have to improve because from here on out everyone is pretty dang good,” Entz said. “We need to play better. ... I just think we need to crank it up a little bit. I didn’t see the same zest in our kids at the start of it that I did maybe the last three weeks.”
Friday, Dec. 17, Fargodome Attendance: 16,550
North Dakota State defensive back Destin Talbert had a spectacular one-handed interception with a shade more than three minutes to play in the fourth quarter to help the Bison earn a dramatic victory against the Dukes.
“Anytime the ball comes my way, I’m excited for that,” Talbert said. “All that came through my head was it had to come with me one way or the other and it came with me in a spectacular fashion, so I feel crazy right now.”
NDSU advanced to the FCS title game for the ninth time in the past 11 seasons. The Bison earned their third consecutive playoff victory against the Dukes, including wins in the 2017 and 2019 FCS title games. James Madison knocked off NDSU in the 2016 semifinals. The Dukes are the only team to knock off the Bison in a playoff game in the Fargodome. NDSU has a 31-1 record in the FCS playoffs in the dome.
“That’s a tough one,” Dukes head coach Curt Cignetti said. “It was a great football game, two really good teams and I give them a lot of credit. They made the one more play than we did.”
Bison fullback Hunter Luepke powered the offense, rushing for 110 yards on 19 attempts and also caught three passes for 89 yards and two touchdowns. His 22-yard TD catch, which proved to be the game winner, gave NDSU a 20-14 lead with 13 minutes, 44 seconds to play in the fourth quarter.
“He’s probably the best athlete on the team,” said NDSU quarterback Cam Miller. “I don’t think anybody compares to Luepke as an overall athlete and I’ve been saying that since I got here.”
