No. 2 Bison defeat Southern Illinois, set up showdown with rival Jackrabbits – InForum

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Second-ranked North Dakota State put on a masterful performance Saturday afternoon at Saluki Stadium.

The Bison turned their stingy defensive game into a 24-3 road win over Southern Illinois in Missouri Valley Football Conference play in front of 9,610 fans.

“A little bit of inconsistent performance, just a touch, it wasn’t perfect,” Bison head coach Tim Polasek said. “Maybe that’s just a sign of how good we’ve been on offense in the last few weeks.”

NDSU (6-1, 3-0 MVFC) has won six straight games. The Bison next host No. 1-ranked South Dakota State at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome on Saturday evening, October 19th. The Jackrabbits are the two-time defending NCAA Division I FCS National Champions.

The Dakota Marker rivalry game will be televised nationally on either ESPNU or ESPN2. The game time has not yet been set and will be either 6:30 p.m. or 7 p.m. The Jackrabbits (5-1, 2-0) have won five straight games. Both NDSU and SDSU have not lost to FCS opponents this season.

“We have a lot of work to do next week,” Polasek said. “I'm so excited about it. … It’s become such a big deal because they’re two exceptional, successful programs.”

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Southern Illinois true freshman quarterback Jake Curry made his first college career start. The Bison finished the game with five sacks and also forced a fumble and an interception to keep the Salukis out of the end zone all afternoon. NDSU also had 11 tackles for a loss.

“Overall, I thought our defense was really good,” Polasek said. “They showed toughness against the run and made a lot of negative plays.”

NDSU limited SIU to 187 yards on 50 plays. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound Curry completed 15 of 27 passes for 152 yards with one interception. The Salukis hadn't hired a true freshman at QB since 1989 before Curry started.

“I was proud of Jake because I was 18 years old and starting against that defense for the first time was a difficult task,” Salukis head coach Nick Hill said. “He keeps getting better with every practice and every game he has.”

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Bison senior quarterback Cam Miller completed 18 of 24 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown. Miller made the start despite an ankle injury he suffered in the third quarter of NDSU's home win over the University of North Dakota last weekend.

“I think he was a little hesitant about the mess,” Polasek said. “I think there are a few options. … Cam went out there and slammed it and we finished the game the way we wanted to.”

Miller, who is normally a dual running threat, rushed for minus-1 yardage on three carries against the Salukis. Bison running backs accounted for 36 of the team's 42 rushing attempts.

The Bison scored first against the Salukis and never trailed.

“This is a heck of a football team,” Hill said. “They’re No. 2 for a reason.”

NDSU extended its lead to two touchdowns early in the second half. Senior kicker Griffin Crosa hit a 34-yard field goal to give the Bison a 17-3 lead with 5 minutes, 49 seconds left in the third quarter. That was the culmination of a 52-yard drive that lasted nine plays.

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Bison running back Marty Brown added a 9-yard touchdown run for a 24-3 lead with 4:09 left in the fourth quarter. The 5-foot-11, 214-pound freshman rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown on 20 attempts.

The Bison turned an early Southern Illinois turnover into points. Running back Barika Kpeenu scored on a 6-yard run for a 7-0 lead with 6:55 left in the first quarter. This allowed for a 76-yard drive in seven plays. NDSU senior linebacker Nick Kubitz recovered a fumble at the Bison 24-yard line, setting up the game's first score.

“But then we really settled in and really fought,” Hill said.

Kpeenu rushed for 55 yards and a touchdown on 11 attempts. The Bison finished the game with 363 yards rushing on 67 plays. NDSU had a possession advantage of more than 10 minutes.

Southern Illinois kicker Paul Geelen hit a 50-yard field goal to cut the Bison lead to 7-3 with 5:17 left in the second quarter. That was the culmination of a 42-yard drive that lasted nine plays. NDSU countered with 14 unanswered points.

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Bison receiver Chris Harris added an 11-yard touchdown catch for a 14-3 lead with 31 seconds left in the first half. That was the culmination of a 75-yard drive that lasted 14 plays. NDSU carried that 11-point lead into halftime.

“Chris played a good game again,” said Polasek. “Big touchdown.”

Brown had a busy first half for the Bison, rushing for 65 yards on 13 attempts. NDSU had 191 yards in the first 30 minutes. NDSU finished the game with 363 yards rushing on 67 plays.

“The more you can win the difficult games when you don't play perfectly, the better chance you have… of having something special,” Polasek said.

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