SPORTS

Sunday, October 27, 2019 The Forum Section D

Photos by David Samson / The Forum

North Dakota State’s Adam Cofield (above) breaks away from South Dakota State
defenders on a 71-yard touchdown run to seal the game at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium
on Saturday, Oct. 26, in Brookings, S.D. North Dakota State’s Aaron Mercadel,
Christian Watson and Tre Fort (right) grab the Dakota Marker trophy after the 23-16
win over South Dakota State.

FOURTH-DOWN
FORTUNE
Cofield’s 71-yard, fourth-down From sun up to sun down,
touchdown lifts Bison over Jacks NDSU’s win over SDSU was a zoo
By Eric Peterson first down, but I saw the hole open Brookings, S.D. before the show went on the air at 8

L
epeterson@forumcomm.com and I just went. ... The O-line they ee Corso grabbed the mascot a.m.
were geeked up to go out there and head of Thundar, turned “Awesome atmosphere,
Brookings, S.D.

N
orth Dakota State head coach
Matt Entz had more than
1,500 pounds of persuasion
giving him advice moments before the
biggest play call Saturday afternoon at
Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
The Bison offensive linemen didn’t
flinch when asked about rolling the
dice on a fourth down and less than a
yard late in the game with NDSU deep
in its own territory.
“All five of them looked at me and
said, ‘Let’s do it.’ When you know
your kids are locked in like that, I felt
good about it,” Entz said. “They were
going the decide the fate of the game,
not the head coach.”
NDSU senior running back Adam
Cofield picked up the first down
and never stopped. Cofield scored a
71-yard touchdown run with less than
three minutes remaining to vault the
No. 1-ranked Bison to a 23-16 victory
against No. 3-ranked South Dakota
State in a Missouri Valley Football
Conference showdown before a
stadium record crowd of 19,371 fans.
“I just trusted the O-line,” Cofield
said. “I figured I would just get the
get that first down.”
The Bison (8-0, 4-0 MVFC) remained
unbeaten and extended their winning
streak to 29 consecutive games. The
Jackrabbits (6-2, 3-1) suffered their
first conference setback. NDSU is the
lone unbeaten team in MVFC play
with four games to play in the regular
season. The victory also gave the Bison
the Dakota Marker trophy for a second
consecutive season.
“I’m really excited that our team
is 8-0 right now,” Entz said. “Any
time you can get a win over a ranked
opponent, regardless of how it looks,
I’m super excited. ... We’ll continue to
get better. I don’t think we’ve come
near where we can be yet.”
Cofield’s touchdown run was part of
an up-and-down fourth quarter. SDSU
backup quarterback Keaton Heide, a
true freshman and the third QB in the
game for the Jackrabbits, scored on
a three-yard run with 7 minutes, 22
seconds to play in the game to tie it at
16-16. SDSU maintained momentum
after NDSU tried a trick play, and it
backfired.
BISON: Page D4
to thousands gathered on just the community and how
the College Green plaza on the it showed up and the whole
South Dakota State campus
process,” said SDSU linebacker
and declared picking the Christian Rozeboom. “Crazy
winner of the Jackrabbit and
week. A lot of fun. It would
North Dakota State football
have been more fun if we
game was about family. The
would have won.”
bison that carries his last
The Jackrabbits were in
name is hanging out these
JEFF position to win when NDSU’s
days at a zoo.
KOLPACK attempt at trickey went awry.
And that’s what you had in The Forum Facing third-and-2 from
the fourth quarter at Dana J. 
their own 30-yard line, Bison
Dykhouse Stadium. A zoo. A running back Dimitri Williams
slobber knocker. If ESPN’s “College pulled up after running to the
GameDay” was all about showcasing outside and had a wide open tight
Division I FCS football, then NDSU’s end Josh Babicz in his site. Problem
23-16 win over the Jackrabbits before was Williams had SDSU cornerback
a record crowd of 19,371 more than Don Gardner in his face, and the
qualified. pressure forced Williams to throw an
This was a playoff game in the interception to SDSU linebacker Levi
regular season. Nobody left early. Brown.
Bison players probably looked up The Jackrabbits have a senior
at the crowd midway in the fourth kicker who was already in range
quarter and wondered why everybody to break a 16-16 tie. But on third-
was still there. and-9, true freshman backup
The fact the place was so loud so quarterback Keaton Heide threw an
late in the day was a testament to ill-advised pass into coverage that
caffeine and whatever else football Josh Hayes picked off.
fans did to stay awake. Many were
at “GameDay” in the morning dark KOLPACK: Page D4

Kansas State Wildcats stun No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners, 48-41

Associated Press fourth quarter for a 48-41
MANHATTAN, Kan. — victory Saturday.
Skylar Thompson and It wasn’t certain until
Kansas State dealt a big Oklahoma (7-1, 4-1)
blow to No. 5 Oklahoma’s tried on onside kick with
national title hopes. 1:45 left. The ball car-
The Wildcats’ quarter- omed downfield and the
back threw for 213 yards Sooners recovered, but
while running for four a review showed one of
touchdowns, the defense their players touched it
did just enough against one yard early.
Heisman Trophy con- The overturned call
tender Jalen Hurts and the allowed new coach Chris
Sooners’ prolific offense, Klieman to run out the
and Kansas State held clock on the Wildcats’ first
on through a harrowing home win over the Soon-
ers since 1996, and just
their third win in Man-
hattan over a top-10 team.
Klieman formerly
coached at North Dako-
ta State, starting in 2011,
and was head coach from
2014-18 The Bison won
seven national champion-
ships during those eight
years.
James Gilbert ran for
105 yards and a touch-
down, and Joshua Young-
blood also reached the end
zone, as the Wildcats (5-2,
2-2) snapped the Sooners’ It didn’t look that way a snap. Penalties on
nation-leading 22-game early, though. The Soon- third-and-long on each
road winning streak. ers breezed downfield for of the Wildcats’ first two
Hurts threw for 395 a field goal, forced a quick scoring drives gave them
yards and a touchdown punt, then scored again first downs. The most
while running for 95 in a matter of minutes to egregious error came on
yards and three more. But take a 10-0 lead. And after a wide receiver pass in
despite another big game Kansas State scored, Hurts the final minute, when
by the nation’s leader in answered with anoth- Nick Basquine’s throw
total offense, the Sooners er touchdown to give the bounced off Charleston
couldn’t overcome a mul- Sooners a 17-7 lead. Rambo and into the hands
titude of mistakes: two That’s when the unrav- of A.J. Parker to set up
turnovers, costly penal- eling began. the Wildcats’ third touch-
ties and the ejection of In the first half alone, down of the first half.
one of their defensive Oklahoma twice fum-
leaders. bled the ball or dropped WILDCATS: Page D5
D4 Sunday, October 27, 2019
North Dakota State’s Spencer Waege strips the ball from South Dakota State quarterback Kanin Nelson at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium on
Saturday, Oct. 26, in Brookings, S.D.
BISON
From Page D1
Running back Dimitri
Williams, while running
wide, had his pass picked
off by SDSU’s Levi Brown
at the Bison 32-yard line
with 5:58 remaining.
Williams was hit by
Jackrabbits cornerback
Don Gardner while trying
to throw to an open Josh
Babicz and the ball landed
in the arms of Brown.
“We had to find a
way and our kids just
continued to handle the
little hiccups here and
there,” Entz said. “Good
teams find a way to win,
even when maybe you’re
not playing at your best,”
Entz said.
The Bison, however, got
the ball back moments
later when cornerback
Josh Hayes picked off
Heide on a third-and-9
play and the Bison had
the ball at their own 20
with 4:55 remaining.
That set the stage for
Entz’s big fourth down
call. The Bison had less
than a yard to go from
their own 29 with less
than three minutes to
play.
NDSU first tried to draw
SDSU offsides and then
called a timeout. The
Bison offense lined up
KOLPACK
From Page D1
It was an ill-advised
play call putting the
onus on a backup rookie
quarterback who was
playing at Wayzata High
School in the Twin Cities
at this time last year.
SDSU head coach John
Stiegelmeier said as much
virtually calling out his
staff after the game.
“I think we have to
take responsibility for
that,” he said. “He
needs to know we’re
fine kicking a field goal.
It wasn’t there and he
threw it right to their
guy. I’m going to put
a lot of pressure on
our coaches, that’s a
freshman out there.”
The sensible thing
would have been to give
running back Pierre
Strong the ball. He was
effective all day finishing
with 120 yards.
It turned the pendulum
back to NDSU. Yes, it
was a win. It could have
major playoff stipulations
down the line in both
seeding and home field
advantage. But let the
arm-chair-quarterback,
second guessing begin.
This Entz fella keeps
things interesting.
Head coach Matt Entz
allowed NDSU to try a
two-point conversion
again. The Bison went
up 16-6 on a touchdown
pass to Ben Ellefson late
in the third quarter. But
North Dakota State’s Derrek Tuszka sacks South Dakota
State quarterback Keaton Heide at Dana J. Dykhouse
Stadium on Saturday.
to go for it again before
the Jackrabbits burned
a timeout. The third
time the Bison lined up
on the ball, freshman
quarterback Trey Lance
handed the ball off to
Cofield off right tackle.
Cofield knifed through
the line of scrimmage,
broke into the open and
beat an SDSU defender to
the end zone.
That gave the Bison
a 23-16 lead with 2:32
remaining.
“It was wild,” Lance
said. “Super exciting. We
were all just thinking get
the first down and hold
on to the ball. Adam made
a great play. ... It was a
lot of fun, a lot of energy
out there.”
The Jackrabbits thought
the Bison may go with a
North Dakota State running back Ty Brooks breaks away from South Dakota State free safety Chase Norblade on
a 59-yard touchdown run at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 26, in Brookings, S.D.
the failed run left it a
10-point game, which
SDSU ultimately tied.
That was not the time
to try the two-pointer,
but overall, I like the
imagination. Gardner
made a play on a play-
call that would have went
for big yards to Babicz.
And going for it on
fourth-and-1 at your own
29-yard line with under
three minutes left in the
game?
Get out.
After years of playing-
it-by-the-book FCS
coaching of Craig Bohl
Sports
quarterback sneak or a
run up the middle on that
key fourth-down play.
“I’ll be honest, I
thought it was just going
to be up the gut more and
it wasn’t,” SDSU senior
linebacker Christian
Rozeboom said. “So live
and learn.”
Neither team found the
end zone until the second
half after settling for field
goals throughout the first
two quarters with SDSU
building a 6-3 halftime
lead. Bison senior running
back Ty Brooks broke
the TD drought, slicing
through the Jackrabbits
defense for a 59-yard
score that gave NDSU a
10-6 lead with 8:15 to
play in the third quarter.
The Bison rode that
momentum into another
and Chris Klieman, Entz
isn’t afraid to mix it up.
“We needed to be
aggressive,” Entz said.
“We didn’t want our
kids to get comfortable,
here we go the same
old offense every snap.
It worked out OK. If we
convert on those, we look
like geniuses.”
As it was, the Marker
will remain at the
Bison football office in
the Fargodome. It was
business as usual for
NDSU during the week
with just a couple of
interviews with ESPN.
Photos by David Samson / The Forum
touchdown moments
later.
On the next play
from scrimmage, Bison
defensive end Spencer
Waege had a strip sack
that teammate Matt
Biegler recovered at the
SDSU 14-yard line. Five
plays later, tight end
Ben Ellefson caught a
6-yard touchdown pass
from Lance to give NDSU
a 16-6 lead with 5:57 to
play in the third quarter.
“We didn’t make a
lot of big plays,” said
SDSU head coach John
Stiegelmeier. “We’ll be
back.”
Both teams settled
for field goals early in
the game. Senior kicker
Chase Vinatieri made
both of his attempts in
the first quarter to help
SDSU build an early lead.
Vinatieri booted a 25-yard
field goal that gave the
Jackrabbits a 6-0 lead
with 2:11 to play in the
opening quarter.
SDSU starting
quarterback J’Bore Gibbs
helped engineer both
those drives, but the
redshirt freshman left the
game with an apparent
lower leg injury during
his team’s second drive
of the game. Gibbs came
out of the halftime locker
room with ice on his knee.
Backup Kanin Nelson, a
junior from Mitchell, S.D.,
None of the four players
at the post-game press
conference watched any
part of the “GameDay”
show.
“We blocked out all the
outside noise,” said Bison
defensive end Derrek
Tuszka. “We let the fans
enjoy all of that.”
Like Fargo did in 2013
and 2014, Brookings
enjoyed its time in the
limelight. Adam Cofield
ruined the day, however,
with his 71-yard
touchdown run on the
fourth-and-1 play.
“We should all be able
got one Jackrabbits first
down before Vinatieri’s
second field goal.
The Jackrabbits turned
to Heide later in the
game.
“We were still rolling
how we usually would so I
don’t think it played a big
effect in the game,” said
SDSU running back Pierre
Strong, who rushed for
120 yards on 19 attempts.
The Bison scored 20
points in the second half
and rushed for 332 yards
on 44 attempts. Brooks
rushed for 97 yards on
nine carries, while Cofield
added 86 yards on seven
attempts. The Bison
found the end zone three
times, while SDSU was
limited to one TD.
“We always talk about
how field goals won’t
get you beat,” said Bison
defensive end Derrek
Tuszka, who finished
with two sacks.
“We just didn’t execute
as well down there,”
Stiegelmeier said. “We
didn’t finish.”
After the Bison ran out
the clock, their players
rushed to grab the Dakota
Marker trophy in the
corner of the stadium.
“It was awesome,”
said Waege, who is from
Watertown, S.D. “It’s just
a really special moment.”
Forum reporter Eric Peterson
can be reached at 701-241-5531
David Samson / The Forum
to enjoy something, flip
the switch and coach and
play a football game,”
Stiegelmeier said. “We
treat everybody like
family and we enjoyed
the event like a family
would.”
Corso treats everybody
like family, too. His
own pet bison. In the
end, with fans booing at
him from all corners of
College Green, he was
right.
Readers can reach Forum reporter
Jeff Kolpack at (701) 241-5546.
Kolpack’s Media Blog can be found at
www.bisonmedia.com and Twitter
@FGOSPORTSWRITER
The Forum
NDSU 23, SDSU 16
NDSU 0 3 13 7-23
SDSU 6 0 3 7-16
First quarter
SDSU: FG Chase Vinatieri 29, 12
minutes, 39 seconds remaining.
Drive: 6 plays, 64 yards, 2:21.
Key plays: Quarterback J’Bore Gibbs
runs 11 yards, plus personal foul pen-
alty on NDSU moves ball to the Bison
49-yard line. Gibbs hits wide receiver
Cade Johnson for 34 yards to the 15.
SDSU 3, NDSU 0
SDSU: FG Vinatieri 25, 2:11.
Drive: 12 plays, 72 yards, 5:14.
Key plays: Gibbs finds Johnson for
23 yards to near midfield. Backup quar-
terback Kanin Nelson gains 12 yards
on third-and-8 to the 24. Running back
Pierre Strong Jr. gains 14 yards to the
10.
SDSU 6, NDSU 0
Second quarter
NDSU: FG Griffin Crosa 22, 5:53.
Drive: 15 plays, 85 yards, 8:15.
Key plays: Quarterback Trey Lance
hits Jimmy Kepouros for 17 yards to
the Bison 45-yard line, late hit on the
play puts ball at SDSU 40. Kepouros
gains 20 yards on a jet sweep to the
SDSU 3 on third-and-4.
SDSU 6, NDSU 3
Third quarter
NDSU: Ty Brooks 59 run (Crosa kick),
8:15.
Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 2:28.
Key plays: Brooks gains six yards for
a first down to Bison 31-yard line. On
third-and-4, Lance hits Dimitri Williams
for four yards to the 41.
NDSU 10, SDSU 6
NDSU: Ben Ellefson 6 pass from
Lance (run failed), 5:57.
Drive: 5 plays, 14 yards, 2:07.
Key plays: Bison defensive end
Spencer Waege forces fumble on Nel-
son and Matt Biegler recovers. Lance
runs to the 5, fumbles but recovers. TD
comes on second-and-goal.
NDSU 16, SDSU 6
SDSU: FG Vinatieri 40, :56.
Drive: 9 plays, 52 yards, 5:01.
Key plays: Strong gains 24 yards to
near midfield. Strong gets 12 yards to
the 26. Bison stuff Nelson for two-yard
loss on third-and-5, forcing field goal.
NDSU 16, SDSU 9
Fourth quarter
SDSU: Keaton Heide 3 run (Vinatieri
kick), 7:22.
Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 4:54.
Key plays: Mikey Daniel runs for 23
yards on third-and-1 to the Bison 48-
yard line. Pass interference on NDSU
gives Jacks first down at the 28. Heide
runs 11 yards to the 12.
NDSU 16, SDSU 16
NDSU: Adam Cofield 71 run (Crosa
kick), 2:32.
Drive: 4 plays, 80 yards, 2:24.
Key plays: Cornerback Josh Hayes
picks off Heide pass and returns it to
the 20. Cofield scores on fourth-and-1
play.
NDSU 23, SDSU 16
Team statistics
NDSU SDSU
First downs 23 16
Rushes-yards 44-332 43-220
Yards passing 62 110
Passes 7-15-1 7-17-1
Total yards 394 330
Punts-avg. 3-45.3 2-50.5
Fumbles-lost 1-0 2-1
Sacks-yards lost 4-25 1-6
Penalties-yards 10-100 7-66
Possession time 30:57 29:03
Individual statistics
NDSU
Rushing No. Yds. Long TD
Brooks 9 97 59 1
Cofield 7 86 71 1
Lance 18 76 12 0
Williams 6 45 15 0
Kepouros 1 20 20 0
Watson 2 9 5 0
Team totals 44 332 71 2
Receiving No. Yds. Long TD
Sproles 1 24 24 0
Kepouros 1 17 17 0
Ellefson 1 6 6 1
Babicz 1 6 6 0
Gindorff 1 4 4 0
Williams
Cofield
1 4 4 0
1 1 1 0
Team totals 7 62 24 1
Passing Comp Att Yds. Int. TD
Lance 7 14 62 0 1
Williams 0 1 0 1 0
Team totals 7 15 62 1 1
Tackles (solo-assisted-total)
Tutsie 6-1-7, Cox 5-2-7, Hayes
6-0-6, Hankey 4-1-5, Waege 4-0-4,
Hendricks 4-0-4, Mercadel 3-0-3,
Tuszka 3-0-3, McCormick 3-0-3,
Bridges 2-1-3, Kaczor 2-0-2, Ching
1-0-1, Kennelly 1-0-1, Darnell 1-0-1,
Karcz 0-1-1.
Sacks: Tuszka 2, Mercadel, Waege.
Interceptions: Hayes.
SDSU
Rushing No. Yds. Long TD
Strong 19 120 24 0
Daniel 4 39 23 0
Nelson 9 27 12 0
Johnson 1 16 16 0
Gibbs 3 11 11 0
Wilson 3 5 3 0
Heide 4 2 11 1
Team totals 43 220 24 1
Receiving No. Yds. Long TD
Johnson 4 76 34 0
Hart 1 9 9 0
Janke 1 7 7 0
Anderson 1 6 6 0
Team totals 7 110 34 0
Passing Comp Att Yds. Int. TD
Nelson 2 9 13 0 0
Gibbs 3 5 70 0 0
Heide 2 3 27 1 0
Team totals 7 17 110 1 0
Tackles (solo-assisted-total)
Rozeboom 6-7-13, Gardner 5-1-6,
Manchigiah 4-2-6, Wilson 1-5-6, Back-
haus 2-1-3, Tetzlaff 2-1-3, Ogunrinde
2-0-2, Earith 1-1-2, Lofton 1-1-2, Win-
kelman 1-1-2, Strong 1-0-1, Berg 1-0-
1, Stacker 1-0-1, Hicks 1-0-1, Noblade
1-0-1, Hildahl 1-0-1, Brown 1-0-1,
Evans 1-0-1, Sanders 1-0-1, Smenda
1-0-1, Krolikowski 0-1-1, Drotzmann
0-1-1, Ward 0-1-1.
Sacks: Hildahl.
Interceptions: Brown.
The Forum
ESPN College GameDay personalities Desmond Howard, Rece Davis, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit begin their
broadcast on Saturday in Brookings, S.D.
Before the Bison delivered, so
did ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’
KEVIN
SCHNEPF
The Forum
 face Weber State at 3 p.m.
Fargo
I
f you are a college
football fan, ESPN’s
“College GameDay” is
the show for you. And on
Saturday, it was the show
for South Dakota State
football fans — just as it
was for North Dakota State
football fans in 2013 and
2014.
The three-hour
“GameDay” that pitched
its camp in Brookings,
S.D., had a definite
Jackrabbit flavor and
justifiably so — with
numerous aerial shots of
the thousands of fans that
filled the College Green
space in front of SDSU’s
iconic Coughlin Campanile
tower.
For those who opted
to stay home and watch
the show on TV, they
saw reporter Tom Rinaldi
poetically describe the
Dakota Marker and
SDSU’s move to Division
I. They saw North Dakota
Governor Doug Burgum
plop an oversized Bison
hat on his head. They saw
SDSU wide receiver Cade
Johnson tell us how much
he hates NDSU.
They saw SDSU’s
62-year-old head coach
John Stiegelmeier arrive
amongst the throng
on a scooter before he
told Rinaldi that the
“GameDay” hype will be
no distraction for his No.
3-ranked team taking on
the top-ranked Bison.
Well, he was right. His
Jacks gave the Bison all
they could handle but
ended up losing 23-16.
It was NDSU’s 29th
straight win. And ESPN’s
“GameDay” delivered
again on Saturday — just
as it has since its first
show on the road in
1993 on the Notre Dame
campus in South Bend,
Ind. This time, it was in
Brookings, S.D., for the
first time — marking only
the fifth time “GameDay”
has visited an FCS campus
since 2013. (NDSU in
2013 and 2014 and James
Madison in 2015 and 2017.)
Here are some highlights
from some of the 11
segments of Saturday’s
show:
Rinaldi told viewers that
the Dakota Marker, the
75-pound rock that NDSU
won for the 10th time in
this rivaly, is to claim the
frontier, to claim the title,
to raise the rock.
“Who would ever
imagine that FCS’s best
rivalry would happen
here,” Rinaldi said.
The “GameDay” crew
of Reece Davis, Desmond
Howard, Lee Corso and
Kirk Herbstreit proclaimed
their Mount Rushmore
NDSU fans Will Spaulding, Alannah Beck, James Stewart, Addie Long, Chris Nielsen
and Randy Long display replica title trophies during ESPN College GameDay.
NDSU flags fly in the predawn hours for the ESPN College GameDay broadcast.
of college football, in
tribute to the real Mount
Rushmore that sits
five hours away from
Brookings in the Black
Hills: Herschel Walker, Bo
Jackson, Jim Brown and
Bear Bryant.
A live shot showed
former NDSU head coach
Chris Klieman roaming
the Kansas State sidelines,
hours before his Wildcats
upset No. 5 Oklahoma.
“Oklahoma better be
ready,” warned Herbstreit.
“This game will be closer
than many people think.”
“GameDay” displayed
a taped segment with
former Bison quarterback
Carson Wentz and former
Jackrabbit tight end
Dallas Goedert — now
NFL teammates with the
Philadelphia Eagles.
“Being at North Dakota
State for five years, we
were undefeated every
time we played South
Dakota State,” Wentz said,
flashing a smile at Goedert.
Rinaldi returned with his
piece on SDSU’s move to
Division I, opening with:
“We call it the frontier,
empty, vast, blank. But
if you think there is not
much out here, you don’t
know Jack.”
Jackrabbit wide receiver
Cade Johnson, from
Papillon, Neb., told
Rinaldi: “I hate NDSU. I’ve
never been a fan of them.
They overlooked me. They
didn’t give me the time of
day.”
Remember the fan at
last spring’s College World
Sports
Photos by David Samson / The Forum
Series who went viral on
social media when he
caught a baseball with his
left hand while not spilling
a drop of his beer in his
right hand, then chugging
that beer. Well his name
is Austin Buysee, who
happens to be the facility
and events manager at
SDSU.
Reece Davis threw a
baseball to him Saturday
amongst the Jackrabbit
throng. Buysee didn’t
disappoint, catching it
with his left hand while
holding a beverage
(contents unknown) with
his right hand.
“GameDay” reporter
Gene Wojciechowski
eloquantly reported on
Minnesota Gopher backup
holder Casey O’Brien, who
after undergoing 14 cancer
related surgeries, made
his college football debut
last week in holding two
extra-point kicks.
“I don’t think I have
hugged a player that long
my entire life,” Gopher
head coach P.J. Fleck tells
Wojciechwoski.
Could the unbeaten
Gophers be hosting “Game
Day” in two weeks when
it hosts unbeaten Penn
State? It would be the first
time the show traveled to
Gopherville.
As usual, the signs and
posters were out in force
in Brookings.
“Welcome to South
Dakota. We know how to
drive covered wagons,”
read one sign.
“Call us San Diego State
one more time,” read one
sign with a photo of actor
Samuel Jackson’s hitman
character Jules Winnfield
from the movie “Pulp
Fiction.”
“We are not merging
into one Dakota, so quit
asking,” read another sign
with a photo of Alabama
head coach Nick Saban,
who has been notorious
of telling media members
to quit asking certain
questions.
“The last time Corso
was in South Dakota was
with Lewis & Clark,” read
another sign, referring
to the 84-year-old
Corso, who is the only
original member of the
“GameDay” crew since the
show debuted in 1987.
But as much love as
Corso displayed for the
Jackrabbit faithful, he
drew plenty of boos when
he picked NDSU to beat
the Jacks.
Howard picked SDSU.
Herbstriet picked NDSU.
“Please excuse my dumb
friend Kirk,” hollered
guest picker Pat McAfee,
who was the holder
for Adam Vinatieri for
eight seasons with the
Indianapolis colts. “Today
at 5 o’clock local time, the
Dakota Marker is back in
Brookings.”
When it was all said
and done in Brookings
Saturday, Corso and
Herbstriet ended up being
right.
Forum sports editor Kevin Schnepf
can be reached at (701) 241-5549 or
at kschnepf@forumcomm.com
Sunday, October 27, 2019 D5
COLLEGE FOOTBALL ROUNDUP

Fighting Hawks
upset No. 9
Montana State
GRAND FORKS — A
blocked punt for a touch-
down lifted the University
of North Dakota football
team a 16-12 win over
No. 9 Montana State in
Division I FCS play Satur-
day at the Alerus Center.
Troy Anderson’s 1-yard
run gave MSU a 12-10
lead with just over eight
minutes to play in the
fourth quarter.
With 4 minutes, 21 sec-
onds remaining, senior
Alex Cloyd, who scored
the game-winning
touchdown last week at
Cal Poly, blocked a punt
into the end zone. Jayson
Coley recovered, giving
the Fighting Hawks a
four-point advantage.
UND would stop MSU
(5-3, 2-2) on fourth down
on the ensuing drive to
secure the victory.
Fighting Hawks quar-
terback Nate Kettering-
ham completed 27 of 36
passes for 220 yards,
while wide receiver Tra-
vis Toivonen caught four
passes for 84 yards and a
touchdown.
UND (5-3) moved to 3-0
at home against ranked
opponents for the first
time in program history.
The Fighting Hawks will
travel to Ogden, Utah, to
Nov. 9.
Dragons football
takes down
Southwest
Minnesota
MARSHALL, Minn. —
Minnesota State Moor-
head got out to a fast
start en route to a 23-14
win over Southwest Min-
nesota State in Northern
Sun Intercollegiate Con-
ference football Saturday
at Mattke Field at Schwan
Regional Event Center.
A pair of touchdown
runs from Max Carter and
Matthew Plasterer, plus a
65-yard touchdown catch
by Zach Sweep built the
MSUM lead to 20-0 mid-
way through the second
quarter.
SMSU (3-5) responded
with two scores to nar-
row the margin 20-14,
before MSUM put the
game away for good
with a 23-yard field goal
from Hobet Diaz with
just under two minutes
remaining in the game.
Plasterer threw for 171
yards and one touchdown
for the Dragons, while
Ty Jochim rushed for a
game-high 103 yards.
SMSU quarterback
Boyer Bouman complet-
Kansas State quarterback Skylar Thompson (10)
walks off the field after an NCAA college football game
against Oklahoma, Saturday, Oct. 26, in Manhattan,
Kan. Kansas State won 48-41.
WILDCATS
From Page D1
The quick-strike Soon-
ers still had 23 seconds left
after Thompson plunged
into the end zone, and
that was enough time to
get another field goal.
But they trailed 24-23 at
the break.
That deficit swelled
during the third quarter.
Kansas State marched
for a field goal to open
the second half. Then,
after a pooch kick, Eric
Gallon forced a fumble
on the return — and sus-
tained a severe knee inju-
ry requiring a cart to take
ed 28 of 51 passes for
334 yards, while tallying
another 84 yards on the
ground.
MSUM (4-4) snapped
its three-game losing
skid and will next play
Minot State at 2 p.m. Sat-
urday, Nov. 2.
Bethel breezes by
Cobbers football
MOORHEAD — Beth-
el tallied 453 yards of
offense en route to a 31-0
shutout win over Concor-
dia on Saturday in Min-
nesota Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference foot-
ball at Jake Christiansen
Stadium before 2,306
fans.
Cobbers quarterback
Blake Kragnes complet-
ed 5 of 12 passes for 79
yards and two intercep-
tions, adding 77 rushing
yards. Matt Bye hauled
in two receptions for 30
yards.
Alex Berg anchored
the defense with 12 total
tackles. Sam Michel had
eight total tackles and a
forced fumble.
Bethel quarterback
Jaran Roste completed
17 of 24 yards for 300
yards and a touchdown.
Sid Boros ran for 63 yards
and a touchdown. The
Royals defense limited
the Cobbers to 214 yards
of offense.
Concordia (2-5, 2-3
MIAC) will face St. John’s
at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2.
No. 17 Minnesota
routs Maryland to
remain undefeated
MINNEAPOLIS — The
No. 17-ranked Minne-
sota Gophers recorded
another blowout victo-
ry, defeating Maryland
52-10 in Big Ten Confer-
ence football Saturday at
TCF Bank Stadium before
44,715 fans.
The Gophers got out to
a quick start when Tan-
ner Morgan found Rashod
Bateman for a 9-yard
touchdown pass two
minutes into the game.
A 72-yard interception
return for a touchdown
by Coney Durr gave Min-
nesota a 28-3 lead head-
ing into halftime.
The Gophers tacked
on another 24 points in
the second half. Morgan
completed 12 passes for
138 yards and two touch-
downs to lead Minnesota.
Rodney Smith totaled 105
of the 326 rushing yards,
as the Gophers outgained
Maryland (3-5, 1-4) 498
to 210 in total offense.
Minnesota (8-0, 5-0)
will have a week off
before hosting Penn State
on Saturday, Nov. 9.
Charlie Riedel / AP Photo
him from the field — and
the Wildcats recovered
to set up another touch-
down run.
When they forced
a three-and-out and
scored again, they had
built a 41-23 lead.
Oklahoma rallied fran-
tically in the fourth quar-
ter, getting a 70-yard
touchdown from CeeDee
Lamb, rolling downfield
for Hurts’ third TD run
and a 2-point conversion,
and then getting a field
goal from Gabe Brkic to
make it a one-possession
game with 1:45 to go.
Then came the onside
kick, the review — and
the celebratioin in Man-
hattan.