POCATELLO, Idaho – Idaho State struck for 34 unanswered points and mustered 609 yards of total offense to post a 55-20 victory over North Dakota on Saturday afternoon at Holt Arena.
 
ISU (3-3, 2-1 Big Sky Conference) junior quarterback Matt Struck threw for 396 yards and five scores while Ty Flanagan added 163 yards and a touchdown on the ground to become only the second team to eclipse 50+ points in the Bubba Schweigert era.
 
"We prepared hard and knew that they could hit explosive plays, but boy, you got to be spot on," said Head Coach Bubba Schweigert. "You have to be able to win the 1-on-1 battles to prevent explosive plays, and we just didn't do that."
 
Nate Ketteringham completed 33 of his 56 pass attempts for 360 yards and two scores, but was intercepted twice. Garett Maag and Brock Boltmann each accounted for seven of those catches, with Maag finishing second on the team with 63 yards and Boltmann catching a score.
 
Senior Noah Wanzek had one of his best days as a Fighting Hawk, hauling in six catches for 124 yards and a touchdown. The 124 yards receiving are a new career high and marks the second time this season he has eclipsed 100+ yards.
 
UND (3-3) struggled to get the running game going, amassing 92 yards and a score on 25 carries. Dalton Gee was the leader out of the backfield with six rushes for 33 yards.
 
Mitch Gueller, who became Idaho State's all-time leader in receiving yards on Saturday, finished with a game-high eight catches for 115 yards and a score. Tanner Conner also surpassed 100 yards receiving with 122, as five-different pass catchers found the end zone for the Bengals.
 
A tetrad of players finished with six tackles to pace the Fighting Hawks, as Caleb Nelson led with five solo stops at the defensive back position. Senior Donnell Rodgers was one of those five players to record six tackles, marking the fifth straight game he has tied or led the team in tackles.
 
North Dakota moved quickly into Idaho State territory, as Ketteringham found Wanzek on a back-shoulder fade for 19 yards to put the Fighting Hawks in the red zone. Just a few plays later, Johannesson plowed in from 3-yards out to cap off an 11-play, 75-yard drive to put the visitors in front, 7-0. A long kick return following the score set the Bengals up right outside the red zone, but the UND defense held the hosts to just one yard and a field goal, trimming the lead to 7-3 with 9:17 to play in the first quarter.
 
UND marched down the field quickly once again on its second drive, but came up about a yard short on a 4th and 11 attempt, allowing Idaho State to take over at its own 23. The Bengals took advantage, striking for six to Gueller on third and goal to put ISU in front, 10-7, with 13:20 to play in the second quarter.
 
Penalties continued to haunt the Hawks on its third offensive series, as three straight flags pushed the green and white back to the ISU 37 before a fumble on the ensuing play forced a UND punt; however, Cade Peterson dropped in a 43-yard punt that was downed at the goal line to make the Bengals work out of the shadow of their end zone. The bad field position didn't hurt the Idaho State offense, as Struck found Tanner Conner for a 73-yard touchdown pass to build a 17-7 lead with 8:02 to play in the first half.
 
The tough sledding continued for the Fighting Hawks throughout the second quarter. On a third and four, Struck found Gueller deep down the sideline again for 39 yards before a 27-yard touchdown pass to Michael Dean just two plays later put the Bengals up, 24-7, with just under five minutes remaining in the opening half. ISU added a final score late in the first half, as Struck threw his fourth touchdown pass of the opening 30 minutes to build a 31-7 lead at the halftime break.
 
UND tried to get some momentum going in its direction to start the second half, but penalties and a Ketteringham interception paused any opportunity of a charge in the third quarter. A missed field goal gave UND life, however, as the Fighting Hawks found the end zone for the first time since the opening drive of the game on a Ketteringham to Boltmann pass from the four to cut the deficit to 34-13 with 2:45 to play in the third stanza.
 
Ketteringham kept battling for the Fighting Hawks, firing a strike over the middle of the field to Wanzek for 33 yards and the touchdown. The pass gave the senior a 300-yard passing afternoon, the first in the Bubba Schweigert era, to trim the deficit to 41-20 with 11:12 to play. ISU didn't waste much time getting the score back, however, as Flanagan exploded for a 75-yard rushing touchdown on the first play of the ensuing drive to restore its 28-point advantage.
 
Idaho State added a final touchdown on an interception return to close out the 55-20 victory over the Fighting Hawks.
 
North Dakota returns to action next Saturday at Cal Poly. Kickoff is slated for 7:05 p.m. (CT).
 
NOTES: Sean Russo earned the start at LG while Donny Ventrelli started at RT due to injuries … Mikey Griebel made his first-career start at wide receiver … The 73-yard touchdown pass by Idaho State was the longest play surrendered by the UND defense this season … The 31 points allowed in the first half are the most since Sept. 16, 2017 at South Dakota (31) … Alex Wilde hauled in his first catch of the season and first as a Fighting Hawk … UND's stop on Idaho State in the red zone was the first time this season the Bengals have not scored points when entering the red zone … Brock Boltmann has now scored a touchdown in four straight games … Nate Ketteringham has eclipsed the 300-yard passing mark for the first time at UND and marks the first quarterback under Bubba Schweigert to throw for 300+ yards in a game … The 50+ points allowed by UND is the most since Nov. 1, 2014 at Eastern Washington (54-3) … UND falls to 4-1 all-time in Pocatello.