R.J. Urzendowski’s 12-yard touchdown reception with 54 seconds remaining propelled second-seeded North Dakota State to a 27-24 victory over South Dakota State in the second round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs Saturday.
The three-time defending national champion Bison improved to 12-1 overall and will host seventh-seeded Coastal Carolina (S.C.) in quarterfinal action next weekend. SDSU ended its season with a 9-5 overall record in making its third consecutive postseason appearance.
NDSU’s game-winning drive after the Jackrabbits grabbed a 24-20 lead with three minutes, 18 seconds remaining on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Austin Sumner to Jake Wieneke. That capped a nine-play, 65-yard drive in which the Jackrabbits converted on fourth-and-3 from the Bison 32 on a 4-yard run by Zach Zenner.
Zenner, who became the first player in FCS history to top the 2,000-yard mark in three consecutive seasons during the game, scored a pair of second-quarter touchdowns to pull the Jackrabbits even after falling behind 14-0. Zenner’s first touchdown run covered 17 yards at the 8:48 mark of the second quarter, while his second score was a 4-yard run three minutes later that followed an 80-yard punt return by Je Ryan Butler to the NDSU 11.
SDSU made it 17 straight points on its opening drive of the second half, taking its first lead at 17-14 on a 33-yard field goal by Justin Syrovatka with 6:43 remaining in the third quarter.
Adam Keller knotted the game at 17-all with a 42-yard field goal in the final minute of the third quarter, then gave NDSU a momentary 20-17 lead with a 29-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter.
Urzendowski put NDSU on the board on its first drive of the game, hauling in a 27-yard pass touchdown from Carson Wentz. Wentz upped the Bison lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter as he broke loose on a scramble for a 27-yard touchdown run.
The winning Bison drive appeared on the verge of being stalled by a holding penalty, but Wentz completed passes of 19 and 29 yards to Carey Woods and Urzendowski before a pass interference penalty against the Jackrabbits gave NDSU first and goal at the SDSU 7.
After a false start penalty moved the ball back to the 12, Wentz found Urzendowski in the back left corner of the end zone for the game-winner.
SDSU’s last-ditch effort to either tie or win the game fell short as a Sumner pass on first down was intercepted by Tre Dempsey at the Jackrabbit 25. The Bison picked up a first down behind the running of John Crockett to run out the clock.
Urzendowski finished the game with four catches for 109 yards, while Wentz completed 14-of-25 passes for 235 yards. Crockett gained 102 yards on 23 carries.
NDSU held a 416-275 advantage in total offense.
Zenner fell 12 yards short in his bid to become the FCS career rushing leader, finishing the game with 133 yards on 32 carries. He finished third in FCS career rushing with 6,548, trailing all-time leader Adrian Peterson of Georgia Southern with 6,559 yards and Sacramento State’s Charles Roberts at 6,553 yards.
Sumner completed 13-of-22 passes for 132 yards in his final start. Trevor Wesley led Jackrabbit receivers with four catches for 28 yards.
T.J. Lally paced the Jackrabbit defense with a game-high 14 tackles. Jesse Bobbit and J.R. Plote added 11 and 10 tackles, respectively. Carlton Littlejohn led NDSU with 11 tackles.
