FARGO, N.D.--Tyler Roehl rushed for three touchdowns for the fourth time this season as quick-striking North Dakota State defeated UC Davis 35-16 before a sellout crowd of 19,011 in the homecoming game and Great West Football Conference opener for both teams on Saturday, Oct. 6, at the Fargodome. It was the ninth straight win for the second-ranked Bison.

The victory was the 10th straight at home for NDSU, played before the fourth largest crowd in school history. UC Davis had handed the Bison their last home loss, 20-14 in 2005. It was the fifth time over 19,000 fans have packed the Fargodome. It was also the fourth straight sellout dating back to the 2006 finale against South Dakota State. The road team had won the four previous games in the series.

North Dakota State (5-0, 1-0 GWFC) used a quick-striking offense to sting UC Davis. The Bison longest drive was six plays that took only 3:34 off the clock. Four drives were two minutes and under. NDSU outgained the Aggies 413-347 and converted on 8 of 10 third down tries, but trailed by seven minutes in time of possession.

UC Davis (2-4, 0-1 GWFC) scored first on a Tim Plough 2 yard pass to Brandon Rice with 5:40 left in the first quarter. The Aggies took advantage of a James Amos sack and fumble recovery to set up the score.

The Bison then reeled off 21 unanswered points. Roehl scored a pair of touchdowns on runs of 2 and 16 yards in the final 3:36 of the first quarter. His first TD was set up John Majeski's career best 70 yard kickoff return. Pete Blincoe, a sophomore from Imperial, Calif., raced in from 4 yards out to extend the Bison margin to 21-7 with 10:17 left in the second quarter.

Backup UC Davis quarterback Matt Engle came off the bench to spark the offense. Engle led the Aggies on a pair of trips into the red zone, but only came away with three points on a Emmanuel Benjamin 32-yard field goal with 5:34 remaining. The NDSU defense came up with alert plays from linebacker Joe Mays, defensive end Joe Lardinois and strong safety Kyle Belmont to shut down the rally.

Engle, who entered for an injured Plough, completed 21 of 32 passes for 222 yards. Tucker started in place of leading rusher Joe Trombettea, who was hurt against San Jose State. Tucker rushed 21 times for 54 yards and caught seven passes for 31 more.

Roehl scored his third TD of the day from 3 yards out to put NDSU ahead 28-10, a lead it carried into halftime. The Bison only needed four plays to cover 58-yards and take only 1:12 off the clock. Big plays in the drive were a 21-yard run by Shamen Washington and 30-yard connection between Steve Walker and Kole Heckendorf. Roehl rushed 14 times for 75 yards and also caught two passes for 50.

North Dakota State closed out the scoring on its first drive of the second half. Walker found Jordan Schultenover for a 25-yard scoring strike. Walker finished the day hitting 13 of 17 passes for 228 yards, one TD and one interception. He completed passes to six different receivers including Alex Belquist, who caught four passes for 71 yards. It was Walker's 12th 200-yard passing game of his career.

And speaking of career, Mays finished with nine tackles including six solo stops. He broke the school's career-record for solo tackles set last season by former teammate and current New York Giants safety Craig Dahl. Dahl compiled 134 solos from 2003-2006. Mays currently has 136.

One player who might challenge that record is Belmont, who recorded a career-high 15 tackles including nine solo stops. It was team effort as defensive end Nick Compton, Lardinois and Belmont each had two tackles for loss. Lardinois added fumble recovery, pass breakup and quarterback hurry to his day. Cornerback David Earl had a pair of passes defended.

North Dakota State is scheduled to play at Mississippi Valley State (1-4, 1-4 SWAC) at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, in Itta Bena, Miss. Grambling State defeated Mississippi Valley 40-0 at Grambling, La., on Saturday. UC Davis is scheduled to host 24th-ranked Cal Poly (3-2, 0-0 GWFC) at 6:05 p.m. Oct. 13.