FARGO, N.D. - Zach Vraa caught two touchdown passes and John Crockett rushed for two scores as No. 1-ranked North Dakota State beat No. 22/23-ranked Indiana State 34-17 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference on Saturday, Oct. 18, before a crowd of 18,477 at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome.

It was the 31st straight victory for North Dakota State, and the 18th in a row at home for the Bison, who improved to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the MVFC.  Indiana State fell to 4-3 overall and 1-2 in the conference.

Vraa had 119 yards on a career-high nine receptions including a 48-yard score that gave the Bison a 20-0 lead early in the second quarter.  Quarterback Carson Wentz completed a career-high 20 passes on 29 attempts for 222 yards and also completed a 3-yard TD pass to Vraa in the third quarter.

NDSU scored on its first four possessions.  Adam Keller booted field goals from 19 yards and a career-long 50 yards before Crockett's 2-yard run to close the first quarter with a 13-0 lead.  The Bison outgained Indiana State 127-0 in total yards in the first quarter.

North Dakota State's top-ranked defense held Indiana State to 96 yards through three quarters.  Linebacker Carlton Littlejohn had a team-high six tackles and defensive end Kyle Emanuel had 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks to go along with two quarterback hurries.  The Bison had eight hurries with five different linemen each getting at least one.

Indiana State quarterback Mike Perish went 15 of 32 passing for 196 yards including an 18-yard touchdown strike to AJ Johnson in the fourth quarter that made it 34-10.  The Sycamores narrowed the gap with Jordan Wallace's 72-yard fumble recovery touchdown on NDSU's next possession with 2:52 to play.

NDSU held the ball for more than 41 minutes of the contest and committed a season-low three penalties for 24 yards.  Indiana State was 2 of 12 on third down but got a solid performance from punter Osborn Umeh, who averaged 46.4 yards on seven punts and placed two inside the 20-yard line.

Crockett had his 13th career 100-yard rushing game carrying 20 times for 101 yards and moved into seventh on the NDSU all-time rushing chart with 3,079 yards.  King Frazier ran 15 times for 61 yards and Chase Morlock had eight carries for 32 yards.

North Dakota State plays at South Dakota at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, at the DakotaDome in Vermillion.  The Coyotes are 2-5 overall and 0-3 in the MVFC after losing 31-12 at Missouri State.