GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- North Dakota got three first-half passing touchdowns from Keaton Studsrud and would need all of them to secure a 21-18 victory over Drake Saturday in the 50th Annual Potato Bowl USA game at the Alerus Center. Those three passing scores were a career-high for Studsrud, who had two total in his first five career starts.

With a 21-0 lead at halftime, it appeared that UND (2-0) would cruise to its 29th-straight home-opening win as they held an opponent scoreless in the opening half for the second-straight game. The Bulldogs made sure that would not be that easy.

Drake (1-1) came out with a different intensity after halftime and staged a late rally, thanks to a stout defense and rejuvinated offense in the closing 30 minutes. The visitors scored 18 unanswered points with 15 of those coming in the final stanza.

The Bulldogs had two onside kick attempts after their fourth-quarter touchdowns, but both times UND was able to secure the ball and the final one, which was pounced on by sophomore Josh Seibel, would allow the home team to run out the clock and cling to the 3-point victory.

"We got the win, but the way we played in the second half is unacceptable," UND head coach Bubba Schweigert said. "We did not take care of the ball and we had too many penalties after halftime. You cannot do those things and expect to win."

Studsrud was sharp early as UND scored on its opening possession when he found redshirt freshman Luke Stanley from 59 yards out on a third-and-three. It was the longest pass play for both in their young careers and would get the crowd of 9,865 excited from the onset.

The Bulldogs looked like their offense would be a threat all day after quickly amassing 52 yards on its opening possession, but after Josh Lee missed a 44-yard field goal, the UND defense put the clamps on for the remainder of the first half.

Drake, who had 52 on yards on that initial possession, did not muster another first down on its next five drives and would only get one more in the first half. Meanwhile, Studsrud and the UND offense churned out 234 yards and 14 more points to build a 21-0 halftime lead.

Studsrud found senior Zach Adler for his second touchdown from 1-yard out, using play action on a fourth-and-goal. Later in the quarter, the sophomore threw a strike between two defenders to Seibel, who outraced the Bulldogs' defense for the final 10 yards to reach the end zone and give UND a 21-0 advantage.

It was a role reversal in the second half as Drake's offense came to life, netting 182 yards after the break, while UND could muster only two first downs and 51 yards.

Drake would get its first points of the game on a 34-yard field goal late in the third quarter. Fortunatelyl for UND, back-to-back sacks pushed the Bulldogs back after they got down to the 2-yard line. Those points were the first scored by the Bulldogs in two games against UND.

A safety by Drake linebacker John Hugunin early in the fourth quarter made it a two-possession game at 21-5 and the Bulldogs would score their first touchdown when Conley Wilkins capped an 8-play, 68-yard drive with a 1-yard run with 3:17 remaining. Wilkin's touchdown made it a 21-11 contest, but a 2-point conversion attempt came up short to keep the deficit at 10.

UND would knock the onside kick attempt out of bounds to keep possession and was poised to run the clock out after freshman Brady Oliveira rushed for a first down, but a fumbled quarterback-center exchange kept Drake alive.

Senior quarterback Andy Rice would march his team down the field on a 9-play, 65-yard drive this time capping it with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Eric Saubert with 51 seconds remaining.

The extra point made it a 21-18 contest, but Seibel iced the game when he fielded the onside kick cleanly.

Studsrud finished the game with career-highs in completions (19) and passing yards (260) as seven different receivers caught passes for UND. Seibel led that group with five catches for 52 yards, while Stanley had three grabs for 81 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown in the opening quarter.

UND will play at North Dakota State next Saturday with kickoff set for 2:30 p.m. It will be the first meeting between the two in-state rivals since the 2003 season.

GAME NOTES: Game captains were seniors Brandon Anderson, Zach Adler, Dayo Idowu and Will Ratelle … Sophomore Keaton Studsrud posted career-highs in completions (19), passing touchdowns (3) and passing yardage (260) … Studsrud had the two longest completions of his young career as well, tacking on a 43-yarder to Miguel Cerriteno in the third quarter to go with the 59-yard touchdown pass to Luke Stanley in the first quarter … Stanley (3-for-81) and Cerriteno (3-for-73) both finished with career-highs in receiving yards … With the win, UND improved to 39-11 all-time in Potato Bowl USA games and has now won 12 of the last 13 in the series ... UND improved to 2-0 all-time against Drake.

-- UND --