Fargo, N.D. — It was real fun while it lasted for Indiana State’s football team.
For a fleeting period in the second quarter, anything seemed possible for the Sycamores. ISU had momentum, it kept North Dakota State from scoring a touchdown on five consecutive drives, and the Sycamores moved the ball with consistency it hadn’t showed all season.
Most important, it did it all when it mattered … with the game tied or with NDSU up by a mere field goal.
ISU’s play even forced NDSU’s fervent crowd of 16,211 into silence, and then, NDSU fans did the unthinkable … they booed their beloved Bison.
It didn’t last, NDSU went on to a 34-7 victory on Saturday, but ISU took another step in the right direction as it showed more pluck than it has in any other game this season.
“In an environment like this, you have to come out and play football, there’s just no acception,” ISU quarterback Ryan Roberts said. “We came out and gave effort and it got us going. We got a taste of [momentum], we got a small dose of it, now we want the rest of it.”
To wit, ISU (0-9, 0-5 MVFC) had the total yardage advantage at halftime for only the second time this season and the first time in memory for a Missouri Valley Football Conference game. ISU gradually wore down in the second half, but for most of the contest, the Sycamores played with intensity that showed they’re sick and tired of being sick and tired, though it’s improved play couldn’t prevent the nation’s longest losing streak from reaching 23 losses.
“It’s progress and our attitude is solid. For a team to be [0-9] and have the attitude they have and be able to fight every weekend, there’s a lot of people who give in given that situation, but they believe in each other,” ISU coach Trent Miles said.
ISU stopped the Bison on its four first half drives that started from beyond midfield, but ISU was undermined by turnovers and ill-timed penalties -- the yardage on five of NDSU’s six scoring drives were 24, 20, 30, 15 and 23 yards.
“I can’t wait to see the drive chart,” said Miles, before he was able to see the final statistics. “You can let a good football team start drives where they did.”
NDSU scored 10 points off of ISU turnovers late in the first half to build a 20-7 halftime lead. ISU stopped NDSU’s opening second half drive, but ISU’s Rod Hardy roughed the passer on 3rd-and-10, and given a first down gift, NDSU would eventually score. ISU was hit three other times with personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct penalites.
“We’re getting better, but we’re still doing things to kill ourselves,” Miles said. “The progress
One week after ISU was more effective throwing the ball, its offense had more luck on the ground. Antoine Brown had a career-high 70 rushing yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Ryan Roberts had 42 rushing yards and completed 9 of 15 passes, albeit for only 41 yards.
It looked bleak for ISU at the start. ISU went nowhere on its first drive, punter Gabe Mullane shanked a punt and a personal foul helped NDSU start a drive at its own 24-yard line. The Bison quickly cashed in with a 5-yard Tyler Roehl touchdown run.
ISU gave a hint it would avoid an expected road blowout when it stopped NDSU for a three-and-out on the Bison’s next drive. ISU got the ball back and summarily went backwards eight yards, but a NDSU personal foul bailed the Sycamores out.
After that, ISU transformed. Roberts got loose for a 16-yard run, Brown spun out of trouble at the scrimmage line for a 17-yard scamper to put ISU in the red zone, and then Brown finished it with a 19-yard run up the middle for a game-tying touchdown.
“We had a good run, another good run, and Antoine had a great run. The offensive line was opening holes, and it’s not hard to run through holes like that,” Roberts said.
After that, ISU held firm. NDSU (5-4, 3-3) took the lead on a field goal at the start of the second quarter, but it was a 10-7 game with two minutes to go in the first half. Perhaps most remarkable for the Sycamores was that NDSU, one of the best running teams in the Valley, had only 70 rushing yards at halftime. ISU did that without starting linebacker and leading tackler Jayden Everett, who couldn’t go after suffering a late-week knee injury.
“All week it was beaten into our heads that they were a real physical team. We wanted to challenge that. We came out real hard,” said ISU linebacker Quinton Scott, who had 16 tackles.
Alas, ISU handed the momentum back to the Bison. On a third-and-long play from midfield, Roberts overshot his receiver and it was intercepted by NDSU’s Cyrus Lemon. ISU appeared to stop Lemon at midfield, spinning him 360 degrees on a hit, but in a spectacular save, Lemon landed on his feet and got 15 more yards to get it to the ISU 30-yard line. NDSU quarterback Nick Mertens found Alex Belquist for a 15-yard touchdown to make it 17-7.
On ISU’s next drive, Brown had enough yardage for a first down, but coughed the ball up, and NDSU recovered at the ISU 37. NDSU was able to get a field goal right before the halftime gun as the Bison enjoyed a 20-7 lead, that frankly, kind of flattered them.
“Kudos to Indiana State’s coaching staff. They’re playing a lot of young players and they’re getting better and better. They’re improving and we could have played better too,” NDSU coach Craig Bohl said.
NDSU was stopped again on its opening drive of the second half, but Hardy’s penalty gave the Bison a second chance. NDSU didn’t squander it, as Jordan Schultenover capped off a 7 minute, 55 second drive with a 13-yard reverse to put the Bison up 27-7. ISU’s offense struggled in the second half, getting just three first downs (one on a fake punt), and NDSU tacked a fourth quarter touchdown to finish the scoring.
ISU stays on the road next week as it travels to struggling Youngstown State. The Penguins (2-8) have lost six in a row, though YSU lost by just one to Northern Iowa on Oct. 25 and by 10 against Illinois State on Saturday.
North Dakota State 34,
Indiana State 7
Indiana St. 7 0 0 0 — 7
N. Dakota St. 7 13 7 7 — 34
NDSt—Roehl 5 run (Bibeau kick), 11:34 1Q
InSt—A.Brown 19 run (Martinez kick), 4:28 1Q
NDSt—FG Bibeau 34, 13:28 2Q
NDSt—Belquist 15 pass from Mertens (Bibeau kick), 1:20 2Q
NDSt—FG Bibeau 39, :03 2Q
NDSt—Schultenover 5 run (Bibeau kick), 7:05 3Q
NDSt—Jangula 4 pass from Mertens (Bibeau kick), 14:56 4Q
A—16,211.
ISU NDSt
First downs 11 16
Rushes-yards 43-103 36-149
Passing 40 98
Comp-Att-Int 9-15-1 11-23-0
Return Yards 10 81
Punts-Avg. 8-38.3 5-34.0
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-0
Penalties-Yards 6-67 3-30
Time of Possession 33:08 26:52
Individual stats
RUSHING — Indiana St., A.Brown 11-70, Roberts 17-42, Millington 1-8, Lough 4-7, J.Jones 1-5, Ta.Johnson 1-1, Team 1-(minus 3), Mullane 1-(minus 12), Gates 6-(minus 15). N. Dakota St., Roehl 20-102, Voigtlander 5-24, Paschall 7-19, Schultenover 0-5, Mertens 3-4, Team 1-(minus 5).
PASSING — Indiana St., Roberts 9-15-1-40. N. Dakota St., Mertens 9-20-0-82, T.Jackson 2-3-0-16.
RECEIVING — Indiana St., Gates 4-11, J.Jones 2-21, Gray 1-4, A.Brown 1-3, Kent 1-1. N. Dakota St., Belquist 4-54, Jangula 2-13, Veldman 1-11, Roehl 1-6, Hines 1-5, Paschall 1-5, Wurzbacher 1-4.
College
ISU football shows pluck in loss to NDSU
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