Game highlights:
Head Coach Ryan Beard:
Raylen Sharpe and Todric McGee:
SPRINGFIELD — Visiting North Dakota State (4-1, 1-1 MVFC) forced four turnovers and racked up 534 total yards to run past home-standing Missouri State, 38-10, here Saturday.
The No. 7-ranked Bison broke the game open in the second quarter, turning a 14-7 contest into a 28-7 halftime lead. Two interceptions and an 89-yard scoring drive late in the stanza pushed the visitors ahead by three scores before grinding out the clock and tacking on 10 more points in the second half.
For its part, Missouri State (1-4, 0-2 MVFC) racked up 351 yards of total offense on the afternoon but three of its four turnovers were in NDSU territory, in addition to a pair of failed fourth-down conversions on the visitors’ side of the field.
In his first MSU start, quarterback Jordan Pachot completed 25-of-44 passes for 269 yards and a touchdown. The transition from understudy to starter also saw Pachot and standout Raylen Sharpe connect 13 times for 153 yards.
Sharpe’s reception total was just one shy of Malik Earl’s club record 14 catches at Western Illinois in 2017.
“When you give up that kind of yardage, it’s tough sledding,” said Bears head coach Ryan Beard after the game. “We have to execute at a higher volume. A good team will turn turnovers into points, and they’re one of the best teams you’ll see at this level.”
NDSU set a blistering pace out of the gates, manufacturing scoring drives of 73 and 77 yards, respectively, on their first two possessions of the game to lead 14-0 less than 10 minutes in.
The Bears responded on their second drive of the afternoon with Pachot hitting Sharpe for a 21-yard TD strike to make it a seven-point game. Sharpe had three catches on the scoring march that consumed 73 yards and took just over three-and-a-half minutes.
But the second quarter belonged to the Bison who outgained MoState by a 196-104 margin and increased their lead to 28-7 at the break. A 20-yard TD strike from Payton to Griffin Crosa made it 21-7 early in the second.
Missouri State drove deep into NDSU territory on the ensuing possession before Pachot’s first of three interceptions on the afternoon halted the march at the NDSU 26. The 64-yard return by NDSU’s Cole Wisniewski not only put the visitors deep in Bears territory at the 24, but created a seismic shift in momentum with just under seven minutes left in the half.
Missouri State was able to halt the Bison on a fourth-and-one play at the MSU 22, but went three-and-out on their next offensive series, which set up a back-breaking, 89-yard scoring drive by the Bison that was capped with a 33-yard pass from Cam Miller to Zach Mathis 39 seconds left before the half.
Pachot and company responded by driving the Bears 51 yards to the NDSU 24 under clock duress in the final moments of the period. But once again, an interception halted MSU’s progress, pushing the visitors into the intermission with a 21-point advantage.
Miller finished the contest with 256 passing yards on 16-of-20 attempts and a pair of TD passes, while Mathis snagged 6 receptions for 160 yards.
NDSU controlled the clock in the second half and limited the Bears to just four total possessions. The Bears used a season-long, 16-play scoring drive that consumed nearly nine minutes early in the third quarter and got three points out of it on a 44-yard field goal by Owen Rozanc that made it 28-10 with 8:49 left in the third.
But that was as close as the hometown club would get. An interception, a fumble and four straight incompletions from the NDSU 10 late in the game wrapped up an afternoon of fleeting emotions for the younger MoState club.
Missouri State had 21 first downs in the game and surrendered 23. NDSU also used 33:28 in possession time and converted 6-of-12 third- and fourth-down plays.
MSU’s Todric McGee led all players with 13 tackles on the afternoon, while Kanye Young added 10 total stops for the Bears.
The Bears return to the road next week for a key 3:00 showdown at Western Illinois in the final meeting between the squads as MVFC foes.
MoState will be back at Plaster Stadium for homecoming on October 21 to play Murray State for a 2 p.m. tilt.
