GRAND FORKS, N.D. – No. 20 North Dakota led 21-14 at halftime but was outscored 35-14 in the second half to allow No. 1 South Dakota State to leave the Alerus Center victorious, 49-35, on Saturday evening.
The Jackrabbits (7-1, 5-0 MVFC) scored four touchdowns between the 1:55 point in the second quarter and the 10:32 mark in the fourth quarter to jump out to a 42-21 lead after trailing at the break. The Fighting Hawks (4-3, 3-2 MVFC) would score two touchdowns in the final seven minutes and recovered an onside kick but it was not enough to overcome the deficit, as SDSU left the Alerus Center with the 49-35 win. With the Jackrabbit win, they become the second team in the Alerus Center to defeat the Fighting Hawks over the last 19-game stretch.
Tommy Schuster went 27-of-39 passing for 291 yards and a touchdown, while also throwing two interceptions. With his 27 completions, Schuster has now thrown more completions in his career than any other UND quarterback in program history, connecting with his receivers 538 times. He broke the record on a four-yard pass to Tyler Hoosman midway through the third quarter.
Bo Belquist was the top target with six receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown. Jack Wright and Hoosman were the next most productive receivers with four grabs each for 44 and 42 yards, respectfully. Hoosman was also the top rusher with 15 carries for 44 yards and a score.
Kadon Kauppinen was the leading tackler for UND, recording seven tackles. Wyatt Pedigo was next with six tackles and a six-yard sack. Ted Mullin and Ben McNaboe also had one tackle-for-loss each.
North Dakota outgained South Dakota State in total offensive yardage, 365-308. The Hawks had 291 yards through the air and 74 yards on the ground, while the Jackrabbits accumulated 213 yards passing and 95 yards rushing. SDSU forced three UND turnovers, while North Dakota was not able to get any takeaways.
The Fighting Hawks started the game with momentum, jumping out to a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter. UND started with the ball on the opening possession and had chunk plays to start the drive, opening with a 31-yard pass to Jaden Norby and then a 21-yard rush by Hoosman. The first drive was capped by a 10-yard pass from Schuster to Belquist to put the Hawks up 7-0 early.
Following a SDSU three-and-out, UND was in scoring distance quickly with Belquist receiving the punt at the UND 28 and returning it 61 yards to the SDSU 11. Four plays later, the Hawks went up 14-0 with a Quincy Vaughn one-yard leap over the pile for the score.
NoDak would get the ball back 1:38 later after forcing another Jackrabbit punt, but three plays later disaster struck when Schuster was intercepted by DyShawn Gales who returned it 31-yards for South Dakota State's first score of the game.
A Pedigo sack early in the next drive shut down the ensuing SDSU possession and UND would find the end zone again, 12 plays and 93-yards later. The Fighting Hawks went up 21-7 with a Hoosman two-yard rush.
The opening half closed with Mark Gronowski finding Tucker Kraft for a 32-yard touchdown pass to trim the deficit to 21-14 with 1:55 left. North Dakota would march down the field to the SDSU 25 before Malik Lofton picked off the Hawks in the end zone. Even with the turnover, UND headed into the locker room with a 21-14 edge on the scoreboard.
In the first 19:34 of the second half, the Jack scored four touchdowns and forced a Fighting Hawk fumble to take a commanding 42-21 lead. North Dakota would find its first points of the second half with 6:44 left in the game, when Schuster scampered for a nine-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 42-28.
Twenty-six seconds later, the Jackrabbits increased their lead to 49-28 with an Amar Johnson one-yard score.
The final points of the game came when Jason Coley blocked an SDSU punt with 1:10 left. Marcus Vaughn-Jones recovered the blocked punt at the SDSU 11 and ran it in for the score.
Postgame Notes
- North Dakota has now only lost two of the last 19 games in the Alerus Center, with the only other game along that stretch being North Dakota State last season.
- UND is now 47-36-5 in the series against SDSU.
- Tommy Schuster became the all-time career completions record holder at UND, completing 538 passes in his career. He passed Todd Kovash (1987-90) who had 526 completions.
- Schuster is now No. 2 in UND's Division I history for career touchdowns thrown with 33. He is four TD passes away from breaking the record of 36 touchdown passes, held by Keaton Studsrud (2014-17).
- With the blocked punt by Jayson Coley and 11-yard touchdown return by Marcus Vaughn-Jones, North Dakota has now blocked two punts and returned them for touchdowns on the season. The first came two weeks ago when Cole Davis blocked Youngstown State and returned it for a score.
- The 49 points are the most the Fighting Hawks have allowed in the Alerus Center since a 49-21 loss to Montana State on Sept. 23, 2017.
- The three turnovers are the most UND has had in a game since Oct. 30, 2021 (at Missouri State, L 32-28).
- It is the first time a team has forced Schuster to throw two interceptions since Sept. 10, 2021 (at Utah State, L 48-24).
- North Dakota has not forced a turnover in the last four games.
- UND has won the time of possession battle in every game but two this season, holding a 36:20-23:40 advantage in this one.
How It Happened
First Quarter
12:20 – UND | Tommy Schuster finds Bo Belquist for the 10-yard touchdown pass. (Brady Stevens kick). 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:40.
8:06 – UND |
Quincy Vaughn dives over the pile for the one-yard touchdown rush. (Stevens kick). 5 plays, 11 yards, 2:12.
4:20 – SDSU | DyShawn Gales takes a 31-yard interception to the house. (Hunter Dustman kick).
Second Quarter
5:28 – UND |
Tyler Hoosman scores on a two-yard rush. (Stevens kick). 12 plays, 93 yards, 6:52.
1:55 – SDSU | Mark Gronowski finds Tucker Kraft for the 32-yard TD pass. (Dustman kick). 8 plays, 75 yards, 3:33.
Third Quarter
11:48 – SDSU | Jaxon Janke scores on a 10-yard TD pass from Gronowski. (Dustman kick). 6 plays, 66 yards, 3:04.
7:11 – SDSU | Gronowski connects on a two-yard touchdown pass to Zach Heins. (Dustman kick). 3 plays, 8 yards, 1:33.
6:42 – SDSU | Gronwoski scores on a one-yard rush. (Dustman kick). 2 plays, 17 yards, 0:21.
Fourth Quarter
10:32 – SDSU | Gronowski runs it in from 10-yards out. (Dustman kick). 6 plays, 70 yards, 2:49.
6:44 – UND | Schuster scores on a nine-yard scamper. (Stevens kick). 8 plays, 74 yards, 3:42.
6:14 – SDSU | Amar Johnson scores on a one-yard TD rush. (Dustman kick). 2 plays, 10 yards, 0:26.
1:10 – UND | Marcus-Vaughn Jones scores off an 11-yard blocked punt return (Stevens kick). 2:30.
