JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — North Dakota State quarterback Cam Miller saved the day Saturday afternoon at William B. Greene Stadium.

Miller’s 11-yard touchdown run in the final minute capped a furious rally that saw the No. 2-ranked Bisons beat East Tennessee State 38-35 in a non-conference NCAA Division I FCS game.

“We showed at the end that we have grit, resilience and playmaking ability,” said Bisons head coach Tim Polasek.

The Bison scored 15 points in the final two minutes of the game. Miller completed 21 of 33 passes for 250 yards and a touchdown. The 6-foot-1, 212-pound senior rushed for 47 yards and two TDs on 15 attempts.

“Absolutely heartbreaking,” said ETSU head coach Tre Lamb. “Unacceptable. There’s a lot of words to describe it, but it hurts me. It hurts the team. Beat the No. 2 team in the country, let’s just call it what it was. … I mean, done, punch them in the throat, the game’s over and they let go.”

The Bison recovered an onside kick at their own 42-yard line with 1 minute, 57 seconds left in the game. That set up Miller’s 11-yard TD run that gave the Bison a 38-35 lead with 50 seconds left in the game. It capped a 58-yard drive that took six plays. It was the first time NDSU had recovered an onside kick since 2005.

“I think that just injects an extra amount of juice, momentum,” Polasek said of the onside kick recovery. “But with two timeouts, at that point, I got my confidence back that we could win.”

ETSU running back Bryson Irby had a monster game. He scored on a 10-yard touchdown run to give the Buccaneers a 28-17 lead with 8:21 left in the third quarter. ETSU converted a key 4th-and-8 on that 75-yard scoring drive.

The 6-foot, 203-pound Irby rushed for 147 yards and three touchdowns on 15 attempts. The Buccaneers rushed for 270 yards on 38 attempts.

“I was really worried about their ball carriers and we obviously didn’t tackle well enough tonight, so we’re going to enjoy this win because you have to enjoy them all,” Polasek said. “But Monday will set the tone pretty early for what coming home should look like.”

The Bison (2-1) host Towson at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21, for a homecoming game at Gate City Bank Field in the Fargodome.

David Samson/The Forum

Miller scored on a 1-yard TD run that cut ETSU’s lead to 28-23 with 1:08 left in the third quarter. NDSU’s subsequent attempt to score two points was unsuccessful.

ETSU tight end Cameron Lewis caught a 19-yard TD pass from quarterback Jaylen King for a 35-23 lead with 8:39 left in the fourth quarter. NDSU appeared close to pulling off an upset at the time.

However, Bison running back TK Marshall cut ETSU’s lead to 35-30 with a 3-yard TD run with 1:59 left in the fourth quarter. Moments later, NDSU collected the onside kick to start the dramatic comeback.

“I can’t get over what just happened,” Lamb said. “I don’t believe it. I don’t believe it. It’s unfathomable that it just happened.”

David Samson/The Forum

NDSU’s offense started strong and the Bison built multiple leads in the first half.

Bison receiver Bryce Lance scored on an 18-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead with 9:58 to play in the first quarter. Running back Marty Brown had three carries for 30 yards on the game-opening scoring drive that covered 82 yards in nine plays.

The Buccaneers countered with a touchdown on their first drive. Irby capped the drive with a 3-yard run to tie the score at 7-7 with 5:32 left in the first quarter. The drive covered 75 yards and took 10 plays.

Tight end Joe Stoffel answered with a 5-yard TD catch to give the Bison a 14-7 lead with 1:12 left in the first quarter. That capped a 75-yard, eight-play drive. NDSU rushed for 116 yards on 11 attempts in the first quarter.

David Samson/The Forum

ETSU’s Ty Anderson scored on a 1-yard run to tie the score at 14-14 with 13:13 left in the second quarter. Wide receiver Hakeem Meggett set up the score with a 40-yard reception to the Bison 1-yard line.

Bison kicker Eli Ozick blasted a 54-yard field goal for a 17-14 lead with 10:26 to play in the second quarter. Ozick’s kick was the second-longest in program history. Freshman receiver Jackson Williams helped set up that score with a 44-yard kickoff return to the Bison 48-yard line.

Irby exploded for a 61-yard TD run to give ETSU a 21-17 lead with 8:55 left in the first half. The Buccaneers carried that lead into halftime. From that point on, ETSU played from the lead until the final 50 seconds of the fourth quarter.

“They left us scrambling for answers on the run and that can’t happen,” Polasek said. “Moving forward, we’ve got to be able to stop the run.”

David Samson/The Forum

David Samson/The Forum

Peterson covers college athletics for The Forum, including Concordia College and Minnesota State Moorhead. He also covers the independent baseball team Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks and helps cover North Dakota State football. Peterson has been with the paper since 1996.