SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Riding a record-setting performance from its quarterback and a stifling effort by its defense, No. 1 North Dakota State built a 34-point halftime lead and never looked back in a 48-7 victory over Missouri State Saturday afternoon at Robert W. Plaster Stadium.
Easton Stick completed his first 11 passes of the game—four of which went for touchdowns—as the Bison (10-0, 7-0 MVFC) scored on their first four possessions of the afternoon and outgained the Bears by a 238-9 margin in first-quarter total offense. Stick matched a Plaster Stadium record for single-game TD passes with five by the end of the first half, connecting with four different receivers to send the unbeaten Bison to the locker room with a 34-0 cushion.
NDSU, which scored 27 points before the Bears registered their initial first down of the game, racked up 322 yards of offense in the opening half. The Bison limited the Bears to just 87 yards through the air for the game after holding Peyton Huslig to 3-of-16 passing over the first 30 minutes of play.
The Bison wasted no time in seizing the upper hand, as Stick completed all five of his pass attempts on an 85-yard opening drive, hooking up with Dallas Freeman on a 29-yard scoring strike to open the scoring. After the NDSU defense stuffed the Bears (4-6, 2-5 MVFC) on their opening drive, the Bison went to work on the ground to extend their margin. Stick broke off a 13-yard run to move the ball into MSU territory, as three different Bison rushers combined for 33 yards on eight attempts, before Stick connected with Ben Ellefson for another 29-yard scoring pass at the 3:25 mark.
Next, James Hendricks delivered a key blow for the visitors, stepping in front of a Huslig pass near midfield to hand the Bison another scoring chance. Three plays later, Huslig found a wide-open Nate Jenson over the middle for a 43-yard touchdown and a 20-0 NDSU lead.
It would be the Bison special teams’ turn to step into the spotlight next, as Jackson Hankey fell on a loose onside kickoff to set NDSU up at the MSU 25. After Darrius Shepherd’s 14-yard run moved the ball even deeper into Bears’ territory, Stick completed his second TD toss of the game to Ellefson, this one from five yards out, on the first snap of the second period to give the Bison a 27-0 bulge.
The MSU defense would rise to the occasion to force NDSU punts on back-to-back possessions, and the Bears offense came to life with a 72-yard drive to the Bison 27. But a fourth-down incompletion halted the drive, and Stick responded by leading yet another scoring march for the visitors. The senior found Lance Dunn out of the backfield for a 27-yard scoring toss with 2:33 left in the half.
Missouri State broke into the scoring column with five-yard Jeremiah Wilson run that capped a six-play, 84-yard drive early in the third period, ending an offensive dry spell that had extended for more than 64 minutes of clock time over its last two contests.
But that would be as close as the Bears would come to denting the NDSU lead, as Adam Cofield rushed for a pair of third-quarter scores to put the game out of reach.
Stick finished with 238 passing yards—all in the first half—and five touchdowns, matching the stadium record previously established by Sean Payton (Eastern Illinois), Carson Wentz (North Dakota State), A.J. Porter (MSU) and Brodie Lambert (MSU). Seth Wilson (95 yards) and Cofield (85) combined for 180 rushing yards on 20 carries to spearhead a 245-yard rushing effort by the Bison.
The Bears defense limited the Bison to just 161 second-half yards, but the MSU offense struggled to generate a consistent attack, finishing the day with 213 total yards.
Despite a 6-of-23 day passing the ball, Huslig continued his climb up several Missouri State charts, rising to No. 8 on both the Bears’ single-season passing yardage (2,041) and pass completions (161) list, while becoming just the sixth MSU quarterback to top the 5,000-yard mark in career total offense and the 4,000-yard plateau for passing yardage.
In his first game action in three weeks, Wilson rushed for a career-best 87 yards on 15 carries to pace the MSU ground game. Claudio Martin led the MSU defense with eight stops, including 1.5 sacks to up his team-best total to 6.0 sacks for the season. In addition to his first interception as a Bear, Ellis logged six tackles, while Jared Beshore matched Martin for team-high tackling honors with eight.
Missouri State will conclude the 2018 season with a 4 p.m. road tilt at UNI next Saturday (Nov. 17) in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
