Box Score TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – No. 7/8 North Dakota opened up MVFC play with a 42-35 victory at Indiana State on Saturday afternoon from Terre Haute, Ind.
 
The Fighting Hawks (4-1, 1-0 MVFC) piled up 520 yards of offense, including 381 through the air, and controlled the football for 36:51. UND also converted 11 of its 19 third-down opportunities while holding Indiana State to 314 total yards.
 
Quarterback Jerry Kaminski turned in a career afternoon, completing 33 of 48 passes for a career-high 381 yards and four touchdowns while adding 76 rushing yards and two more scores. His 33 completions also established a new career best.
 
Deng Deng led the UND receiving corps with a career-high 101 yards on six receptions, while Korey Tai established a career high with eight catches and finished with 62 yards and a touchdown. Cameron Weir caught four passes for 64 yards with the first two touchdowns of his collegiate career, while Caleb Goodloe added six receptions for 62 yards.
 
Defensively, Tyler Erkman paced the Fighting Hawks with seven tackles, while Braden Mohr finished with seven stops, a career-high three sacks and his first career forced fumble. Kylyn Macklin added six tackles and two quarterback hurries as North Dakota finished with four sacks and nine tackles for loss.

After struggling on third down a week ago at Nebraska, the Fighting Hawks converted all three attempts on their opening scoring drive. Kaminski picked up two of those with his legs and another with his arm as UND marched 80 yards in 14 plays before Kaminski found Korey Tai for a 14-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

The Sycamores answered right back, however, as Brady Allen connected with Jayden Reed on a 20-yard scoring toss to even the score at 7-7.
 
UND regained the lead early in the second quarter after an Indiana State holding penalty on fourth down extended the drive. Two plays later, Kaminski kept it himself for a 9-yard touchdown and a 14-7 advantage.

The Fighting Hawks added to the lead after the defense forced another three-and-out. Deng hauled in receptions of 15 and 26 yards on back-to-back plays before Kaminski connected with Mason South for a 6-yard touchdown, stretching the advantage to 21-7.

Allen and the Sycamores cut the deficit to seven with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Jaylan Johnson with 6:57 remaining in the half, but UND answered before the break.

Kaminski engineered an 11-play, 55-yard scoring march and found Weir for a 13-yard touchdown with 41 seconds remaining. The reception marked the first touchdown of Weir's collegiate career and sent the Fighting Hawks into halftime with a 28-14 advantage.

Indiana State threatened on its opening possession of the second half, but Mohr halted the drive by sacking Allen and forcing a fumble that Brody Thornton recovered at the UND 38-yard line.

The Fighting Hawks were unable to capitalize on the takeaway and later missed a 39-yard field-goal attempt. The Sycamores then took advantage of UND's lone turnover when Kaminski lost a fumble late in the third quarter. Three plays later, Aaron Ball scored from 10 yards out to trim the UND lead to 28-21.
 
North Dakota answered with an 11-play, 81-yard scoring drive that carried into the fourth quarter. Kaminski finished the march with a 1-yard plunge to restore the two-touchdown advantage at 35-21.

Mohr's third sack of the afternoon forced another Indiana State punt, and the Fighting Hawks quickly made the Sycamores pay. After completions to Caleb Goodloe helped move UND into Indiana State territory, Kaminski connected with Weir for a 39-yard touchdown to push the lead to 42-21 with 9:37 remaining. It was Weir's second touchdown of the game and Kaminski's fourth touchdown pass.

Indiana State would not go away as Allen found Reed for a 33-yard touchdown on the ensuing possession before the Sycamores recovered an onside kick. Indiana State capitalized on the extra possession when Allen hit BJ Wuest for a 17-yard touchdown on fourth down, shrinking the UND advantage to 42-35 with 6:36 to play.
 
After forcing a North Dakota punt, Indiana State took over at its own 11-yard line with 3:20 remaining. The Sycamores moved to their own 34 before UND's defense slammed the door, forcing four straight incompletions to turn the ball over on downs with 1:52 remaining. The Fighting Hawks picked up a first down on the ensuing possession and ran out the clock to secure the conference-opening victory.

UND returns home next Saturday for a Homecoming tilt vs. Murray State. The Fighting Hawks and Racers will kickoff at 1 p.m. CT on Midco Sports, the Midco Sports Plus app and ESPN+.

POSTGAME NOTES

• UND improved its lead in the all-time series vs. Indiana State to 4-1.
• The victory marks back-to-back years that UND has opened MVFC play with a road win.
• After going 1-for-13 on third-down conversions last week at Nebraska, the Fighting Hawks converted all three attempts on their opening drive against the Sycamores. UND finished the game 11-for-19.
• UND finished with 520 yards of offense, including 381 passing and 139 rushing, and held Indiana State to 314 total yards.
• Kaminski finished with career-highs in completions (33) and passing yardage (381). The 300-yard passing game was the third of Kaminski's career and second of the season.
• The last time a UND quarterback completed 30 or more passes was Tommy Shuster, who completed 31 vs. Southern Illinois on Oct. 16, 2021.
• Cameron Weir recorded the first two touchdown receptions of his collegiate career, scoring from 13 and 39 yards.
• Deng Deng established career-highs in receptions (6), receiving yards (100).
• Korey Tai's eight receptions established a new career-high. He caught his team-leading fifth touchdown pass of the season in the opening quarter.
• Braden Mohr recorded a career-high three sacks and also forced his first career fumble.
• UND held a 36:51 to 23:09 advantage in time of possession and ran 90 offensive plays compared with Indiana State's 61.

How It Happened 
First Quarter
8:59 – UND | Korey Tai 14-yard pass from Jerry Kaminski (Kenten Laughman kick). 14 plays, 80 yards, 5:54
5:41 – INST | Jayden Reed 20-yard pass from Brady Allen (Sebastian Lopez kick). 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:18
Second Quarter
14:14 – UND | Kaminski 9-yard rush (Laughman kick). 7 plays, 62 yards, 2:42
9:30 – UND | Mason South 6-yard pass from Kaminski (Laughman kick). 8 plays, 59 yards, 2:49
6:57 – INST | Jaylan Johnson 17-yard pass from Allen (Lopez kick). 7 plays, 73 yards, 2:27
00:41 – UND | Cameron Weir 13-yard pass from Kaminski (Laughman kick). 11 plays, 55 yards, 3:26
Third Quarter
3:22 – INST | Aaron Ball 10-yard rush (Lopez kick). 3 plays, 57 yards, 1:05
Fourth Quarter
13:02 – UND | Kaminski 1-yard rush (Laughman kick). 11 plays, 81 yards, 4:00
9:37 – UND | Weir 39-yard pass from Kaminski (Laughman kick). 6 plays, 82 yards, 2:02
8:01 – INST | Reed 33-yard pass from Allen (Lopez kick). 4 plays, 65 yards, 1:36
6:36 – INST | BJ Wuest 17-yard pass from Allen (Lopez kick). 5 plays, 47 yards, 1:24

For more information on North Dakota Football, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDfootball.