110423_FB_Schuster at Murray State
Laura Schweigert Photography
45
Winner North Dakota UND 6-3 , 4-2
31
Murray St. MUR 2-7 , 1-5
Winner
North Dakota UND
6-3 , 4-2
45
Final
31
Murray St. MUR
2-7 , 1-5
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
UND North Dakota 10 14 7 14 45
MUR Murray St. 0 10 7 14 31

Game Recap: Football | | Tyler Wells, FightingHawks.com

Schuster Breaks Career Touchdown Record, No. 13/15 Hawks Down Racers, 45-31

MURRAY, Ky. - No. 13/15 North Dakota (6-3, 4-2 MVFC) defeated Murray State (2-7, 1-5 MVFC), 45-31, at Roy Stewart Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Fighting Hawks were in a tight game until Isaiah Smith broke a 21-yard rush for a touchdown late to give UND the 45-31 advantage.

In the game, Tommy Schuster went 18-for-23 passing for 279 yards and five touchdowns. He broke the all-time record for touchdowns thrown in a career at UND in the second quarter with his third touchdown pass, bringing his total up to 59 touchdowns thrown at the time. He shattered the record of Kelby Klosterman (1999-2002), who threw for 58 touchdowns in his career. By the end of the game, Schuster's career total was up to 61 touchdowns thrown.

Wesley Eliodor helped Schuster break the record with his 47-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter to bring the score to 24-3. Bo Belquist was Schuster's top target with six grabs for 84 yards, while Nick Kupfer hauled in two touchdowns and had three receptions for 59 yards. Eliodor finished with two catches for 53 yards. Jaden Norby also had a 19-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter to bring the score to 38-24. It was Norby's lone reception of the game.

Smith paced the Hawks on the ground with 21 touches for 153 yards and a score. The game was a back-and-forth contest until Smith's 21-yard touchdown rush with under five minutes left, which brought the tally to 45-31. Sawyer Seidl was the next-best back for UND and had seven carries for 49 yards.

North Dakota accounted for 507 yards of offense and 279 of those yards came through the air. Comparatively, Murray State had 379 offensive yards, highlighted by 228 yards passing.

NoDak scored on its first four offensive possessions and led 24-10 at the half. UND jumped out to a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter and scored on an 11-yard reception from Jack Wright, a 20-yard C.J. Elrichs field goal and a 22-yard grab from Kupfer. Murray State got on the board with 5:21 left before halftime with a 28-yard field goal.

In the opening half, North Dakota had 288 yards of offense with 189 yards passing and 99 yards rushing. The Fighting Hawk defense limited the Racer attack to 154 yards, with 93 yards through the air and 61 on the ground.

North Dakota will visit South Dakota next Saturday for the final road game of the regular season. Kickoff between the Fighting Hawks and Coyotes is slated for 1 p.m. The game will be televised on Midco Sports and carried on the Home of Economy Radio Network.

Postgame Notes
  • North Dakota now leads the all-time series, 1-0.
  • It was UND's first road win since Nov. 5, 2022 (W, 42-7 at Indiana State).
  • The Fighting Hawks are 3-0 in games when wearing silver helmets.
  • Tommy Schuster had five touchdown passes and broke the all-time program record for touchdown passes thrown in a career with 61. He passed Kelby Klosterman (1999-2002), who threw 58 touchdown passes in his career.
  • Schuster's five touchdown passes in the game was a new career best and he has accounted for nine touchdown passes in the last eight quarters. He became the first UND QB to have five touchdowns thrown in a game since Braden Hanson had five in the 40-34 win over Montana on Oct. 20, 2012.
  • Four Fighting Hawks recorded touchdown grabs in the game: Nick Kupfer (2), Jack Wright, Wesley Eliodor and Jaden Norby.
  • Kupfer's 22-yard reception for a touchdown early in the second quarter was his first career touchdown.
  • Isaiah Smith had 153 yards rushing and now has 100-yards rushing in back-to-back games. It was Smith's fifth 100-yard rushing game of his career and his second this season.
  • Twenty different Fighting Hawks recorded a tackle in the win. Wyatt Pedigo paced the defense with eight tackles, followed by Malachi McNeal with six.
  • North Dakota only punted once in the contest and scored on seven of its 10 offensive possessions. Two of the non-scoring drives were kneel downs at the end of each half.
  • UND had 10 chunk plays of 20-yards or more.
  • Neither team turned the ball over.
How It Happened
First Quarter
10:03 – UND | Jack Wright scores on an 11-yard pass from Tommy Schuster. (C.J. Elrichs kick). 9 plays, 75 yards, 4:57.
0:09 – UND | Elrichs connects on a 20-yard field goal. 14 plays, 78 yards, 7:18.
Second Quarter
10:23 – UND | Nick Kupfer scores on a 22-yard pass from Schuster. (Elrichs kick). 7 plays, 61 yards, 4:23.
5:21 – MSU | Matt Maldonado connects on a 28-yard field goal. 10 plays, 64 yards, 5:02.
3:47 – UND | Wesley Eliodor scores on a 47-yard pass from Schuster. (Elrichs kick). 3 plays, 75 yards, 1:28.
0:02 – MSU | Taylor Shields scores son a six-yard pass from D.J. Williams. (Maldonado kick). 10 plays, 75 yards, 3:45.
Third Quarter
10:29 – UND | Kupfer scores on a 24-yard pass from Schuster. (Elrichs kick). 5 plays, 69 yards, 2:59.
4:51 – MSU | Jawaun Northington scores on a 24-yard rush. (Maldonado kick). 9 plays, 75 yards, 5:38.
Fourth Quarter
13:32 – MSU | Cole Rusk scores on a 19-yard pass from Williams. (Maldonado kick). 6 plays, 84 yards, 3:15.
9:21 – UND | Jaden Norby scores on a 19-yard pass from Schuster. (Elrichs kick). 7 plays, 75 yards, 4:11.
5:07 – MSU | Rusk scores on a 10-yard pass from Williams. (Maldonado kick). 11 plays, 75 yards, 4:14.
4:15 – UND | Isaiah Smith scores on a 21-yard rush. (Elrichs kick). 3 plays, 42 yards, 0:37.
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