North Dakota State’s ball-control offense scored the final 36 points of the game, ending South Dakota State’s season with a 36-10 victory Saturday in the Football Championship Subdivision quarterfinals at the Fargodome.
Top-seeded NDSU, the five-time defending FCS champion, improved to 12-1 and moves on to face James Madison in semifinal action next weekend. The eighth-seeded Jackrabbits had their season come to a close with a 9-4 overall record.
The Jackrabbits built an early 10-0 lead by scoring on their first two possessions. SDSU took the opening kickoff and moved down the field with relative ease. A 27-yard run by Kyle Paris gave SDSU the ball at the Bison 1 after the initial ruling of a touchdown was overturned by replay review. A false start penalty backed up the Jackrabbits five yards, but SDSU used some trickery as Brady Mengarelli scored on an inside handoff after lining up directly behind the right side of the line.
Following an NDSU punt on the first possession of the game, the Jackrabbits put together another seven-play scoring drive which covered 71 yards before a 34-yard field goal by Chase Vinatieri. Taryn Christion, who was 8-of-9 passing in the first half, connected with Jake Wieneke for 44 yards to set up the score.
The momentum began to shift in NDSU’s favor as the Bison quickly responded with a 49-yard touchdown run by Lance Dunn after a penalty for ineligible man down field negated a touchdown a few plays earlier. It was all Bison after that.
