Southern Illinois (3-6, 2-4 Valley Football) outgained North Dakota State 342 yards to 251, but the Bison (6-3, 3-3 Valley Football) defense kept the pressure on throughout on the Salukis, who managed just a pair of field goals by Kyle Dougherty.

Colvin returned the blocked punt by Mike Sigers 22 yards to put the Bison ahead for good with 9:28 left in the first quarter. It was the second blocked punt of the season for Sigers. It was the first blocked punt for a TD since last season's game at Indiana State.

Jose Mohler's 32-yard scoring strike to Landon Smith in the fourth quarter closed out the scoring with 10:42 left. Smith finished with a pair of catches for 47 yards including his first career TD.

D.J. McNorton ran for 101 yards on 22 carries and Ryan Jastram kicked two field goals for the Bison. McNorton reached 100 yards rushing for the fifth time over the last six games.

Chris Dieker threw for 154 yards for Southern Illinois, but lost three fumbles including two forced by NDSU defensive end Coulter Boyer and the other by defensive tackle Matthew Gratzek. Boyer added three quarterback hurries and a pair of sacks, while Gratzek matched his career best of three QB hurries for the second week in a row. Freshman nose guard Leevon Perry recovered two fumbles.

North Dakota State finished with 11 quarterback hurries overall to go along with seven tackles for loss, four sacks and four pass breakups. Cornerback Josh Gatlin had an interception to stop a first half drive deep in Bison territory, his second of the season.

Coming off the bye week, NDSU improved to 6-1 under head coach Craig Bohl. The Bison improved 15-5 in November over the past seven-plus seasons. NDSU has outscored opponents 121-56 in the second half this season.

Steve Strother rushed 13 times for 97 yards for Southern Illinois, while Matt Guinn caught five passes for 83 yards and Joe Allari made five receptions for 20. Brad Briggs finsihed with a game-high nine tackles.