BROOKINGS North Dakota State jumped out to a 21-0 lead on its way to a dominating 38-7 victory over South Dakota State in the Dakota Marker game on Saturday night in Brookings.
The No. 1 ranked Bison (8-0) forced the No. 2 ranked Jackrabbits (7-0) into three-straight three-and-outs and scored on their first three possessions to silence the record-setting crowd at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
Shutting up the crowd was an emphasis because we know its tough to play here, said NDSU quarterback Cole Payton.
NDSUs first touchdown drive was 84 yards and was 16 plays. It was capped off by a one-yard run from Payton on fourth and goal. He scored again from two yards out to make it 14-0 heading into the second quarter.
The Bison held a 154-0 advantage in total yards after one quarter. Luke Marble started the game at quarterback in place of Chase Mason who was out with a foot injury. SDSU head coach Dan Jackson said on the radio before the game that Mason will return at some point this season.
SDSU junior offensive lineman Quinten Christensen said the lack of offensive production in the first quarter was due to not having success on first down.
We werent converting first down really well. [NDSU] was running a lot of games and they were blitzing a lot and bringing a bunch of pressure. I think they got us behind [the chains] and got us into third and long and medium situations and that makes it tough on offense to convert because you have to narrow your playbook a little bit, Christensen said.
Barika Npeenu then worked his way into the end zone from two yards out to push the lead to 21-0 with 10:55 left in the first half. SDSU picked up its first first down of the game on its next drive but the Jacks were forced to punt.
A sack from Dawson Ripperda set up a three-and-out for the Jackrabbit defense and the Jacks took over in Bison territory. SDSUs drive started with a trick play as Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda took a sweep and then threw the ball to Lofton OGroske for a 26-yard gain. On the next play Marble threw a fade route to OGroske in the corner of the end zone and OGroske jumped and caught it for a 17-yard touchdown to put the Jacks on the board.
SDSU forced NDSU into a third and eight on the next drive but Payton connected with Bryce Lance for a 10-yard gain to complete the first down. It was the 10th-straight completion for Payton.
Two plays later Payton broke free on a scramble and ran 57 yards to the end zone to put the Bison up 28-7 with 2:38 left in the first half. On the play it looked like NDSUs DJ Scott held a Jackrabbit defender and the officials did not throw a flag.
NDSU was 6-of-9 on third down in the first half and one of the times that the Bison didnt convert they converted on fourth down. Senior defensive lineman Kobe Clayborne said that was the reason the Bison put up so many points.
We got them to third down quite a bit and just couldnt get off the field and I think thats what led to their success a lot in the first half. We just have to convert on that because thats something we pride ourselves on, third down defense, and it just wasnt there in the first half and it really hurt us, Clayborne said.
SDSU was forced to punt again and that allowed Payton to move the Bison into field goal range before halftime. Eli Ozick hit a 43-yard field goal and that made the halftime score 31-7.
Neither team scored in the third quarter but Payton put an exclamation point on his night with a 47-yard touchdown run with 12 minutes left in the game. He finished the night with 136 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. He was also 18-of-23 for 243 yards through the air.
[Payton] is a really good quarterback, Clayborne said. Hes a really good athlete and hes big. Hes a lot bigger than I expected. He made plays with his feet when he had to and then he was able to sit back there and find the open receiver and thats what makes him a great quarterback.
The total offense was 500-166 in favor of NDSU. SDSU did not cross the century mark until the fourth quarter.
Marble was 7-of-16 for 89 yards. SDSU head coach Dan Jackson said he thought Marble played well but the Jacks didnt put him in situations to have a lot of success.
I think any quarterback, everyone has to play well around him. Im going to have to go look back at the film to be sure when I comment on somebodys play, but I thought Luke stayed in the game. I thought he was good between drives trying to get to the right adjustments. We didnt put as much on his plate in terms of changing plays and checking plays that we typically would do to help him have success. We need to play better around him, Jackson said.
OGroske had two catches for 43 yards but left the game with an injury in the third quarter. He missed the past three games with an injury.
The loss snapped a 33-game home win streak for the Jacks that dates back to Oct. 21, 2021. The 31-point loss for SDSU was the largest loss to NDSU since 1992 when the Bison beat the Jacks 47-10.
SDSU will look to bounce back next week at home against Indiana State. Christenson said that the loss to NDSU wont define the season and they hopefully will get another crack at the Bison later in the season.
Theres two ways you can handle [this loss], Christensen said. You can pout about it and let it ruin the rest of the season, and thats not what were going to do. Were going to learn from our mistakes, grow, and just approach everyday with a 1-0 mindset. Every rep, every play, every practice from here on out. This is really tough but this doesnt end our season. We can go 1-0 every week from now on and see those guys later on down the road.
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