POCATELLO, Idaho – No. 19/16 North Dakota held on for a 28-21 victory over Idaho State to remain unbeaten in Big Sky play and win its sixth-straight overall Saturday at Holt Arena. The Fighting Hawks (6-2, 5-0 BSC) have now won three-consecutive league road games and dealt the Bengals (2-5, 1-3 BSC) their first home loss of the campaign.
After going into halftime tied 14-14, UND opened the second half with a 15-play, 78-yard touchdown drive that lasted 8:14 and included a fake field goal. Sophomore John Santiago lined up as the holder on the play and took the snap and raced out left end to give his squad a first-and-goal at the 4-yard line. Classmate Brady Oliveira capped UND's longest drive of the season in both plays and time on the next snap with a hard-nosed run for six points. The rushing score was his team-leading seventh of the season.
“We needed to score seven points and get some momentum in the game,” UND head coach Bubba Schweigert said on the pivotal drive coming out of halftime. “We're on the road and coming off a hard-fought first half. We needed to play better and our guys came out ran the ball better and we made some plays. That conversion on fourth down led to a touchdown and I was really pleased with that.”
After forcing ISU into back-to-back punts, the Fighting Hawks would move ahead by 14 points and take their largest lead of the game when Josh Seibel hauled in a 17-yard strike from Keaton Studsrud early in the fourth quarter.
The Bengals would not go away, however, as K.W. Williams hauled in a 17-yard pass of his own for a touchdown with just 1:23 left on the clock. Williams had a pair of scores for the second-straight game against UND, but ISU's onside kick attempt rolled out of bounds. He finished with eight receptions for 62 yards to pace the Bengals' wide receivers in both categories.
Oliveira would barrel his way for 11 yards and game-clinching first down on back-to-back carries as he finished with 46 yards and a touchdown. Santiago posted his 12th 100-yard rushing game of his career and eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark with a 101-yard effort on 18 carries.
UND overcame a shaky first half that saw the teams go into the break squared up at 14-14. The Bengals got on the board first, taking advantage of the only turnover of the game by either squad when Williams capped a three-play drive with an 11-yard scoring strike.
Studsrud put UND into the end zone for the first time on a 1-yard quarterback sneak, then connected with freshman Travis Toivonen from 28 yards out on the next drive to give the Fighting Hawks their first lead of the game.
ISU quarterback Tanner Gueller attempted 49 passes in the contest, but only completed 26 for 220 yards. He did have three scoring strikes and drew his team even midway through the second quarter with a 38-yard seed to Michael Dean.
Studsrud finished 12-for-20 for 173 yards and two touchdowns. His first-quarter interception was just his second of the season and first in five Big Sky games.
UND will return home next Saturday to take on Weber State at 1:05 p.m. CT.
GAME NOTES: Captains for today's game were Luke Mathewson, Connor O'Brien, Cole Reyes and Keaton Studsrud … UND is now 4-0 all-time in Pocatello and 3-0 in Holt Arena … All three of those contests have been decided by seven points or less … The Fighting Hawks' six-game winning streak is the longest for the team since opening the 2007 season with six-consecutive wins … The last time UND won three-straight conference road games was in 2011 when the team was in the Great West Conference … Sophomore John Santiago rushed 18 times for 101 yards to finish with the 12th 100-yard effort of his career … Santiago also passed the 2,000-yard rushing mark for his career in the contest (2,058) … Junior Josh Seibel's 17-yard touchdown reception was his first of the season and fourth of his career … He finished with a season-high three catches (missed first four games).
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