BROOKINGS, S.D. — North Dakota State has brought some heavy-hitting teams to Brookings since the Division I era began in 2004, guys that formed the greatest dynasty in NCAA football history. Several future NFL players took the field at old Coughlin-Alumni Stadium and the current and modern Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
Nobody did to South Dakota State what this version of Bison football did on Saturday night: Drive the ball the length of the field and take most of a quarter to do it. It was striking, considering all the rivalry slugfests in this town over the years.
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This is the series of 13-9 games, not what transpired in front of a nationally-televised audience, for those that know ESPNU anyway. Final: NDSU 38, SDSU 7. These were two 7-0 teams ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in the country with the Jackrabbits riding a 33-game home winning streak.
But that first drive.
It was the best by a Bison team in Brookings in the Dakota Marker era, a 16-play, 84-yard beauty that took exactly nine minutes. Perhaps the next best in Marker history was in 2019 when the Bison went 85 yards in 15 plays, but that drive ended in a field goal.
The previous best drive to end with a touchdown was probably in 2007 when NDSU went 78 yards in 13 plays, a march that took 6:56.
The opener on Saturday was the King of Drives.“Yeah, that was a grinder,” said Bison quarterback Cole Payton. “Just coming out fast. We came out flat these last few weeks so that was an emphasis going into this game, especially in a hostile environment.”
Payton was 4 of 4 passing for 42 yards, with an eight-yarder to Bryce Lance on third-and-6 getting things started. NDSU started at its own 16-yard line, which was directly in front of the SDSU student section.
That was a pregame topic of discussion with the Bison coaching staff, whether not starting on the side of the field of the students was more important than the wind. They picked the wind.
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“The energy of the stadium at that time was really good,” said Bison head coach Tim Polasek. “I really liked our guys’ ability and energy to come out of the student section on that first drive. It was a sharp, clean start and then once again our quarterback kept us on the field.”
Backup running back DJ Scott got some heavy work early in the game for the first time this season getting four straight carries, including five yards on third-and-3 that reached the SDSU 20-yard line.
The Bison ran the ball the last 10 plays, a consistent offensive line push that ended on Payton’s run from inside the 1-yard line. It was only 7-0, but certainly a statement was made. The entire quarter was a statement.
Get a load of these stats: NDSU had the ball for exactly 12 of the 15 minutes, had a total offense advantage of 154 to -3 yards, had 101 passing yards to SDSU’s zero and was 3 of 4 on third down, with the one that didn’t convert finishing with Payton’s fourth down TD run.
It ended with the Bison leading 14-0.
“We didn’t give up any explosives but it came back to third down,” said SDSU defensive end Kobe Clayborne. “We got them to third down, they converted and extended drives and that’s where they had that success.”
But that first drive. NDSU sent several offensive linemen to the NFL. They didn’t do that here. The Bison have three quarterbacks in the NFL. They didn’t do that here.
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And here’s Payton, a guy in his fifth year at NDSU but first as a starter. He’s looking every bit of an NFL prospect that Easton Stick, Carson Wentz and Trey Lance were. Payton was 14 of 16 passing in the first half for 200 yards and should be a front-runner for the Walter Payton Award that goes to the best offensive player in the FCS.
“He’s studying as hard as any of our past quarterbacks,” Polasek said. “He shows up and prepares. He’s playing at a really high level right now and we’re going to need that down the stretch."
NDSU came to the Dykhouse 4-6 in Brookings in its previous 10 games. The first possession, and subsequent shutdown defense, was a textbook on how to take a capacity crowd out of a game.
“Shutting up the crowd was an emphasis as well,” Payton said.
The stadium-record crowd of 19,477 fans was juiced. It got loud at times. By the time Payton sprinted 47 yards for a touchdown with 11:55 left in the game, which made it 38-7, the stands were emptying at a quick pace.
Hardly anybody was around when the NDSU players went to grab the Marker.
“It means the world, it’s a big game,” Payton said. “It’s 1 vs. 2. The cool thing about it is our best game is still out there.”
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[ Jeff Kolpack](https://www.jamestownsun.com/Jeff Kolpack)
Opinion by [Jeff Kolpack](https://www.jamestownsun.com/Jeff Kolpack)
Jeff Kolpack, the son of a reporter and an English teacher, and the brother of a reporter, worked at the Jamestown Sun, Bismarck Tribune and since 1990 The Forum, where he's covered North Dakota State athletics since 1995. He has covered all 10 of NDSU's Division I FCS national football titles and has written four books: "Horns Up," "North Dakota Tough," "Covid Kids" and "They Caught Them Sleeping: How Dot Reinvented the Pretzel." He is also the radio host of "The Golf Show with Jeff Kolpack" April through August.