FARGO — The signature offensive play in North Dakota State’s convincing win over Jacksonville State on Saturday was turned in by quarterback Nathan Hayes and receiver Jordan McCants. The 44-yard touchdown was a subject of video highlights around the country.
Not only was it a razor-sharp throw, it unexpectedly gave the Bison a two-possession lead at halftime in what turned into a 33-7 victory in front of a packed house at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome. At one time facing a possible deficit after two quarters, the Bison suddenly led 17-7 with 1:24 remaining before intermission.
That was the flash.
The grinding work on offense, however, was turned in by the Bison running backs. NDSU averaged almost five yards a carry in churning out 209 total, with two relative newcomers leading the way. Nyeoti Punni, a senior transfer from Holy Cross, had 60 yards in eight attempts averaging 7.5 per carry.
Myles Mitchell, who played in four games last season as a true freshman, showed some burst leading the team with 74 yards in 11 attempts.
“I think that’s about as good as we’ve looked consistently running the ball in my two years in the middle of the game,” said head coach Tim Polasek.
The Bison were particularly effective at the end of the third quarter, with Punni’s 25-yard run on third-and-5 being the big play. He followed that with a 14-yard run and Mitchell took a carry 13 yards on the next play.
That drive eventually stalled on a third-and-3 incompletion, but Drew Klein’s third field goal of the game early in the fourth quarter made it 30-7. Moreover, NDSU was controlling the clock and appeared to have the game well in hand.
It was a stark reversal from the second round FCS playoff upset to Illinois State last December when the Bison rushed for 59 yards.
Punni earned his wings in August practice with his 6-foot-1, 225-pound frame. Starting running back DJ Scott added 51 yards on 13 carries.
In a matchup of running-oriented teams bent on ball control, it was the Bison who dominated the time of possession with a 36:07-23:53 advantage.
“Those guys answered the bell and now we’re going to have some tape in saying this, this and this needs to improve,” Polasek said. “I’m happy for anybody and everybody who got in there and had a chance to play. I’m probably more excited about coaching off some of the negatives than the positives because we have some things to fix.”
Immediately after the game, without looking at the videotape, Polasek thought his offensive line played well, even pointing to a three-and-out series early in the game when he said there was a decent push. He told one of his assistants that if the offense got to 25 rushing attempts, he was going to like that number.
“I thought there was some connection, some connectivity in our double teams,” he said.
The Bison appeared to come out of the game fairly healthy, with Polasek saying receiver Isiah St. Romain’s prognosis was looking better than feared with a possible quadricep bruise.
Jeff Kolpack, the son of a reporter and an English teacher, and the brother of a reporter, worked at the Jamestown Sun, Bismarck Tribune and since 1990 The Forum, where he’s covered North Dakota State athletics since 1995. He has covered all 10 of NDSU’s Division I FCS national football titles and has written four books: “Horns Up,” “North Dakota Tough,” “Covid Kids” and “They Caught Them Sleeping: How Dot Reinvented the Pretzel.” He is also the radio host of “The Golf Show with Jeff Kolpack” April through August.