North Dakota State halts UND’s four-game winning streak – Grand Forks Herald

FARGO — The UND football program loves to talk about magic at the Alerus Center, where the Fighting Hawks won four straight Saturday.

This magic doesn’t spread on Interstate 29. Instead, the Fargodome presents its own negative supernatural forces.

The road struggles for No. 7 UND came to the fore again at the opposing venue during a 41-17 loss to No. 2 North Dakota State.

With a 72-point performance against Murray State, the program’s highest point total in nearly 100 years, UND’s offense was shut down by the Bison.

UND, which beat North Dakota State 49-24 at the Alerus Center last season, lost at the Fargodome for the fourth time since 2015. The Bison have scored at least 34 points in every matchup in Fargo during that span and UND has not scored more than 21 .

Alyssa Goelzer/Forum Communications Co.

UND quarterback Simon Romfo, in his first season as a starter after transferring veteran Tommy Schuster, threw for 40 passing yards in the first half and needed more yards in the fourth quarter to reach 166 yards.

“They are a good team,” Romfo said. “They’re doing a good job taking away some of our guys and we’ve got to find a way to make plays.”

UND, now 4-2 overall and 1-1 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, fell behind early in front of 18,723 fans, a dangerous recipe the Hawks are familiar with in Fargo.

NDSU scored on its opening drive and third drive. Bison quarterback Cam Miller found Bryce Lance deep for a 36-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0 with two minutes and 14 seconds left in the first quarter.

“We have to learn from this,” UND linebacker Wyatt Pedigo said. “It’s a long season. I know it hurts right now, but we have to learn from it.”

UND cut the lead to 14-7 early in the second quarter when a long drive sparked by hard work from Gaven Ziebarth led to Quincy Vaughn from the 1st.

However, Miller used a convenient passport pocket to respond quickly. His 16-yard touchdown pass to Chris Harris increased the Bison lead to 21-7.

After trailing 24-10 at halftime, UND’s hopes of another third-quarter rally – a hallmark of UND’s early game plan – were dashed when Romfo fumbled the opening play of the second half.

Romfo made his way to the scramble and was met by Bison defenseman Dylan Hendricks. NDSU’s Jaxon Duttenhefer recovered and gave the Bison offense a short field.

Eight plays later, Miller held on from the second period on third down and extended the Bison lead to 31-10.

“I’ll say it clearly: I love this football team,” UND coach Bubba Schweigert said. “Today was tough. We didn’t get off to the start we wanted. There are still a lot of tough games in the Valley. We know we have an open week to improve and prepare for a tough run.

Miller finished the game with 168 passing yards and two touchdowns, while backup Cole Payton took a flea-flicker in the third quarter to also throw a 33-yard touchdown pass.

The Bison ran for 208 yards, led by CharMar Brown with 83. UND countered with 101 rushing yards, led by Gaven Ziebarth’s 65 yards.

The Bison, aided by an offense that was strong on early downs, finished 11 of 16 on third down.

UND now has a bye week followed by a home game against Northern Iowa.

“They talk about whose dirt it is, and today it was our dirt,” first-year NDSU head coach Tim Polasek said. “I thought our guys made the statement that we were going to be the aggressors and the more physical football team.”