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 4 th 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.
Senior Quarterback Aidan Bouman, setting out to lead a game-winning score, hit a series of passes to set the Coyotes up in NDSU territory before the Bison brought pressure and landed a sack and a loss of nine yards back to the NDSU 25-yard line.
Rushing up to the line, Bouman snapped the ball, and rather than spiking it to kill the clock, found an uncovered receiver near the goal line, who dashed into the end zone for
the game-winning score with 12 seconds left.
The result meant NDSU, South Dakota, and South Dakota state all won a share of the conference title, but SDSU got the nod as the league's automatic qualifier for the FCS playoffs based on tiebreaker criteria, which went to highest Sagarin rating.
NDSU and USD both knew they were headed for the playoffs, the question was what seed they would get.
All 3 teams had been ranked in the top four, so selection Sunday promised to have plenty of drama. You could have made a case for any of the three to end up in any of the spots two through four, as NDSU had beaten SDSU but not USD. USD had beaten NDSU but not SDSU. SDSU had lost to NDSU but had beaten South Dakota.
So, they waited.
The weekend that started with a crushing “how did that happen” loss ended up as good as NDSU could have hoped. The Bison landed that coveted two-seed with South Dakota State claiming the three and USD ending at four.
The 10-2 Bison will have a first-round bye in FCS Playoffs and will then face the winner of the ASUN-WAC Champion #15 Abilene Christian Wildcats and the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks. That game is scheduled for Saturday, November 30 at 2:00 PM on ESPN+.
The second-round game at the Fargodome is scheduled for December 7 at 2:00 PM on ESPN+.
The Bison will have home field advantage through the semifinals. Montana State, champions of the Big Sky Conference, will also not need to leave home until Frisco, as the Bobcats claimed the top seed with a 12-0 record and an FBS win at New Mexico.
NEWS AND NOTES
Montana State head coach Brent Vigen is a former NDSU player and assistant coach who was the offensive coordinator for the first three national championships that were won by NDSU.
Tickets for the NDSU’s first home playoff game are on sale now. Sideline seats are $45 with end zone at $35. Student tickets are $7. Current season ticket holders have until 5 p.m. on Dec. 3 to claim their seats.
The FCS Championship has been dominated since 2011 by NDSU and SDSU, which have combined to win 12 of the last 13 national titles. The Jackrabbits have won the last two.
If the higher-seeded teams win through the first 3 rounds, it would set up a phenomenal semifinal weekend as #1 Montana State would host #4 South Dakota and #2 NDSU would host #2 South Dakota State. NDSU beat SDSU earlier this season in Fargo, by a 13-9 score.
Four teams from the Missouri Valley Football Conference made the tournament including the #3 South Dakota State Jackrabbits, the #4 South Dakota Coyotes, and the #12 Illinois State Redbirds. The Missouri Valley has won 11 of the last 13 FCS Championships.
The FCS Championship Game is scheduled for Monday, January 6 at 6:00 on ESPN.
NDSU’s loss at USD was the first loss of the season to an FCS team. NDSU lost 31-26 at FBS Colorado on opening night and had run off 10 straight wins since. Colorado continues to have an excellent season despite dropping a game to Kansas over the weekend. The 8-3 Buffaloes are tied for first in the Big 12 Conference with one more game this weekend at home to Oklahoma State. The Buffs are favored by the oddsmakers as a 16-point favorite.
2024 SCHEDULE
DATE OPPONENT RESULT W-L (CONF)
Thu, Aug 29 @ Colorado L31-26 0-1 (0-0)
Sat, Sep 7 Vs Tennessee State W52-3 1-1 (0-0)
Sat, Sep 14 @ East Tennessee State W38-35 2-1 (0-0)
Sat, Sep 21 Vs Towson W41-24 3-1 (0-0)
Sat, Sep 28 @ Illinois State W42-10 4-1 (1-0)
Sat, Oct 5 Vs North Dakota W41-17 5-1 (2-0)
Sat, Oct 12 @ Southern Illinois W24-3 6-1 (3-0)
Sat, Oct 19 Vs South Dakota State W13-9 7-1 (4-0)
Sat, Oct 26 @ Murray State W59-6 8-1 (5-0)
Sat, Nov 2 Vs Northern Iowa W42-19 9-1 (6-0)
Sat, Nov 16 Vs Missouri State W59-21 10-1 (7-0)
Sat, Nov 23 @ South Dakota L29-28 10-2 (7-1) Nelson 48
FCS PLAYOFFS
Sat, Dec 7 TBD 2 P.M.
FCS PLAYOFF BRACKET
2024-ncaa-division-i-football-bracket-first-round
