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Fargo, ND -- No. 25 North Dakota State scored 23 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to break open a tight game as the Bison advanced to the second round of the 2010 NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs with a 43-17 win over the Robert Morris University football team Saturday night at the Fargodome.
RMU, playing in the FCS playoffs for the first time in its 17-year history, concludes its 2010 campaign with an overall record of 8-3, while NDSU improves to 8-4 and will travel to Bozeman, Montana, for a 2:00 p.m. EST kickoff against Montana State Saturday, Dec. 4.
The Colonials had pulled to within 20-17 with 12:05 to play thanks to a 46-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Greg Langer (Wexford, Pa. / Pine-Richland), but the Bison responded on their next drive to take a 27-17 advantage when Brock Jensen scored on a five-yard touchdown run.
The big play of the drive came when Jensen hit D.J. McNorton on a screen, and McNorton scampered 61 yards to the five-yard line of Robert Morris.
Freshman Evan Taylor (Redding, Calif. / Shasta) fumbled the ensuing kickoff but was able to recovering before being taken down at the RMU one-yard line, and on the first play of the possession sophomore quarterback Jeff Sinclair (Natrona Heights, Pa. / Highlands) was tackled in the end zone by Matthew Gratzek for a safety, giving NDSU a 29-17 lead.
North Dakota State got the ball back after a free kick and took control of the contest when McNorton produced a 12-yard touchdown run to cap a four-play, 55-yard drive that increased the lead for the Bison to 36-17.
Mike Sigers added a 28-yard touchdown run for NDSU with 5:31 remaining to close out the scoring. The touchdown was set up by the Bison defense, as Josh Gatlin intercepted Sinclair at the RMU 30-yard line.
In the first half, RMU took the opening kickoff and marched 69 yards on 10 plays to take an early 7-0 lead when senior running back Myles Russ (Boca Raton, Fla. / West Boca) scored on a five-yard touchdown run. Sinclair was the catalyst during the drive, rushing three times for 39 yards while connecting with junior tight end Shadrae King (McKeesport, Pa. / McKeesport) twice, including an 18-yard strike that moved the ball to the five-yard line of NDSU.
RMU’s defense made the opening touchdown stand in the first 30 minutes, as the only points the Bison put on the board came courtesy of Ryan Jastram, who connected on field goals of 34 and 51 yards.
Robert Morris had an opportunity to increase its lead further early in the second quarter, reaching the NDSU one-yard line before facing a fourth-and-goal situation. RMU decided to go for it but was turned away when redshirt senior Raphael Johnson (Clinton, Md. / Charles H. Flowers) tried to spin away from a tackle and fumbled, turning the ball back over to North Dakota State.
Trailing, 7-6, entering the second half, the Bison took their first lead of the contest on the opening drive after intermission when Jensen hit Warren Holloway for a 32-yard touchdown pass. NDSU eventually increased its advantage to 20-7 when McNorton hauled in a screen pass from Jensen and scrambled 49 yards to the end zone for a touchdown with 2:04 to go in the third quarter.
RMU answered on its next possession behind the wheels of Russ, who carried three straight times for 35 yards, including a 28-yard scamper to the 19-yard line of the Bison.
The play was aided by a late hit flag on Daniel Eaves, giving the Colonials first-and-goal at the nine-yard line of North Dakota State. Two plays later Russ scored for the second time with a nine-yard touchdown run to close the gap for Robert Morris to 20-14.
Redshirt senior linebacker Robert Williams (Randallstown, Md. / Baltimore Polytechnic) came up with an interception on the next possession for North Dakota State, and the Colonials capitalized with a 46-yard field goal from Langer before NDSU scored 23 unanswered points to close out the contest.
In his final collegiate game, Russ produced his fifth straight 100-yard rushing effort, compiling 117 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 25 carries. He also posted one reception for 15 yards to finish the evening with 132 all-purpose yards.
Sinclair finished 9-for-24 passing for 146 yards and also rushed 10 times for 32 yards. He did not throw a touchdown for the first time on the 2010 campaign and was intercepted once.
McNorton rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries for North Dakota State and also caught two passes for 110 yards and a score. Jensen completed 10 of his 24 passing attempts for 229 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively the Colonials were led by redshirt senior safety Michael Richards (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Bishop Ford), who recorded nine tackles, including two and-a-half for loss, forced a fumble, recorded a pass breakup and tallied a quarterback hurry.
Senior linebacker Alex DiMichele (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Sto-Rox) posted seven tackles in his final game in a Robert Morris uniform, while senior linebacker Elias Navarro (Fort Lauderdale, Fla. / South Plantation) posted six tackles, recovered a fumble and posted a pass breakup.
Postgame Quotes
RMU Head Coach Joe Walton
Opening statement...
I thought it was a good football up until the last eight minutes. They're a very good team. They're big and strong and fast. I was very proud of my kids. They played hard and had a chance. We made some bad mistakes in the kicking game, and you can't do that against a good football team. I'm taking nothing away from North Dakota State. They have a good team, they're well coached, and they deserved to win.
On the final eight minutes...
I think more than anything they just kind of wore us down. We needed something good to happen, and something good happened for them. That screen pass was a real back-breaker.
On the line of scrimmage...
It was a struggle, especially in the first half. We weren't running the football very well. We made some adjustments at halftime and we ran it a little better in the second half. They had some pretty good pash rushers too. When we tried to throw the ball, my young quarterback was getting rushed pretty good.
On the crowd noise...
No, I don't think that was a factor. I really don't. We practiced last week with some noise on the field, but I didn't hear any of my kids complain about it and it didn't seem that bad during the game.
On sophomore quarterback Jeff Sinclair...
Jeff is a very, very good football player. He's not quite an accomplished quarterback yet but I think he's getting there. He certainly has the ability to do a lot of things. I think the key thing with Jeff is he's what I'd describe as a winner. He's a great competitor. We did a lot of things with him today bootleg-wise to try to get him out of the pocket and get him away from some of the pass rush. Some of it worked pretty good.
On going for it on fourth-and-1 by the goal line early in the game...
I knew we needed to score more points. I knew we had to get points on the board. I thought it was a rational decision at the time. Maybe it isn't right now, but I thought it was at the time.
On defense...
There's no doubt that our kids stayed in the game for a long time. It just seemed like it got away from us there after that 20-17 score. One of the big plays was that screen pass where he took it all the way down to the 5-yard line.
On the screen pass...
We had practiced against it, and they didn't use it for quite a while. Then all of a sudden they used it at two good times. The play hurt us. There's no doubt about that. It was very well executed.