Fargo

North Dakota State quarterback Cam Miller was a rock when he had to be there Saturday night. After years of frustration, the Bison senior quarterback finally got his hands on the Dakota Marker, 75 pounds of quartzite lifted from his shoulders, including four losses to South Dakota State.

This wasn’t dancing to “You Gotta Play in Texas” in an FCS semifinal win over Gate City Bank at the Fargodome, but it was close. The 13-9 win over SDSU ended five straight losses to the Jackets.

“There was a lot of emotion, I came late to the party (by getting the Marker), but it was great,” Miller said.

“This win is huge for his legacy,” said NDSU head coach Tim Polasek. “Cam is a fighter. There are life lessons to be learned from that victory, you never lose it.”

The Bison trailed SDSU by two points heading into the final quarter. Explosive game anyone?

At the time, NDSU’s longest gain of anything was 18 yards, a touchdown pass from Miller to RaJa Nelson in the first half. Moving the Jackrabbits’ defensive line was like moving Mount Rushmore.

Rare was NDSU’s offensive line. There were no holes, the occasional seam, but no holes in the SDSU armor. Bison running backs rarely saw the secondary.

But there was still one chance left, even though it felt like that line from the movie ‘Dumb and Dumber’: So you’re saying there’s a chance.

“Cam asked for the ball at the end,” Polasek said.

The Bison got the ball on their own 8-yard line after an SDSU punt with 7:14 left. A 13-yard completion to Braylon Henderson got them out of the shadows of the end zone. A 14-yarder from Mekhi Collins reached midfield with just under four minutes remaining.

David Samson/The Forum

A scrambling Miller hit Chris Harris 17 yards to the SDSU 32 with 2:35 left, Miller’s most athletic play of the drive. TK Marshall ran to the 22 for another 10.

With 1:49 remaining, Miller’s perfect pass to Nelson in the corner of the end zone gave the Bison a 13-9 lead, with the two-point conversion failing.

“When we get out of the huddle, we practice that day in and day out,” Nelson said. “We saw the coverage, we knew what it was and took advantage of our opportunity.”

It was a Walter Payton Award throw of sorts, as Bison quarterbacks have done over the years.

“I grew up playing all sports with him,” said SDSU linebacker Adam Bock, a high school teammate of Miller’s. “He’s a competitor, the way he’s grown over the years, he’s a phenomenal player. But hopefully it won’t be the last time we see them.”

Trey Lance stood on the sideline, with his Dallas Cowboys on a bye. He did that frequently during his time with the Bison. Lance was under center the last time the Bison won the Marker in 2019.

Still, there was still 1:49 left for SDSU quarterback Mark Gronowski.

But Bison linebacker Logan Kopp picked him off with 1:00 to go and the Marker returned to Fargo.

“I was just trying to get to my man Griffin Wilde and Kopp ended up making a great play and a great catch,” Gronowski said.

Anna Paige / The Forum

NDSU won despite not really having a rushing attack. In 2022, the last time they played in Fargo, SDSU defeated the Bison by 100 yards on the ground, 207-107. The five-game rushing averages for both teams were an SDSU advantage of 225.6 to 137.8. That didn’t change much in this rematch.

For the sixth straight game in the series, the Bison running backs were bottled up. Last year, TaMerik Williams was the top running back gainer for the Bison with 33 yards in the 33-16 SDSU win in Brookings.

Marty Brown was certainly close at halftime, which ended with the Jackrabbits leading 9-7.

Brown had one 12-yard burst late in the second quarter, but that was it.

“We need to find answers faster,” Polasek said. “Our ability to find answers in the run game wasn’t great.”

The Jackets weren’t exactly adept at the box either, save for the 66-yard touchdown run by backup quarterback Chase Mason, who busted his run on third-and-1 with 4:43 to go before halftime. SDSU senior Amar Johnson, who has hurt the Bison in the past, was held in check by NDSU’s best defensive effort of the season. His best backup, Angel Johnson, wasn’t much of a threat either. Amar finished with 41 yards; Angel 17 on a combined 18 carrier.

Jeff would like to dispel the idea that he was there when Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, but he is already in his third decade as a reporter at Forum Communications. The son of a reporter and an English teacher, and the brother of a reporter, Jeff has worked at the Jamestown Sun, the Bismarck Tribune and since 1990 at The Forum, where he has covered North Dakota State athletics since 1995 .
Jeff has covered all nine of NDSU’s Division I FCS national football titles and written three books: “Horns Up,” “North Dakota Tough” and “Covid Kids.” He is the radio host of “The Golf Show with Jeff Kolpack” from April to August.