FARGO, N.D. - Miles Bergner kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired to give South Dakota a 24-21 victory over No. 2-ranked North Dakota State on Saturday, Oct. 17, and send the Coyotes home with their first win in Fargo since 1978.
South Dakota (3-3, 1-2 MVFC) ended its 14-game losing streak in Missouri Valley Football Conference play, and snapped North Dakota State's 26-game home winning streak at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome, which was a conference record and the longest active streak in Division I.
The Coyotes tied the game 21-21 with 4:47 left in regulation when a 15-play, 72-yard scoring drive ended on Drew Potter's eight-yard touchdown reception, and USD got a three-and-out on the ensuing NDSU possession to get the ball back with 3:20 left.
USD marched 55 yards in nine plays on the final drive with quarterback Ryan Saeger converting a pair of third downs on the ground. Â He got five yards on a third-and-5 with 30 seconds left, and the Coyotes ran one play to the NDSU 16 before draining the clock to 3 seconds and calling timeout.
Bergner, who entered the game 4 of 10 on field goals and had missed from 47 yards earlier in the game, connected on the game-winner after one timeout by NDSU (4-2, 2-1 MVFC). Â He is now 4 of 5 on the season from 30-39 yards.
South Dakota converted 8 of 13 third downs and held the ball for 30:08 including a decisive 10:43 in the fourth quarter. Â The Coyotes were the first team in 22 games to hold the ball longer than NDSU, which entered as the FCS leader in time of possession averaging 38:04.
Saeger was 12 of 20 passing for 202 yards and two touchdowns while rushing 16 times for 92 yards and a touchdown. Â USD running back Trevor Bouma ran 20 times for 94 yards.
USD outgained NDSU 395-320 and held the Bison to 125 yards rushing. Â
King Frazier had 39 yards,
Chase Morlock ran for 36 and
Bruce Anderson had 34 yards and a touchdown.
NDSU quarterbackÂ
Carson Wentz was 16 of 28 passing for 195 yards and two touchdowns. Â
Zach Vraa caught three passes for 35 yards and became NDSU's all-time leader in receiving yards now with 2,738. Â He passed the mark of 2,732 set by Kole Heckendorf from 2005-08.
Anderson's two-yard run capped a seven-play, 66-yard scoring drive on NDSU's first possession and the Bison led 14-0 late in the first quarter when
Darrius Shepherd hauled in a 37-yard touchdown pass.
USD scored on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter to tie the game. Â Brandt Van Roekel caught an eight-yard TD pass, and Saeger scored on a one-yard run two plays after a 73-yard run-after-catch to Bouma put the Coyotes on the NDSU 8.
Bison middle linebacker
Nick DeLuca, who made a career-high 12 tackles in his first collegiate start last year at South Dakota, led all players with a career-high 15 tackles. Â Strong safety
Chris Board made 11 stops for the Bison, and defensive end
Greg Menard had six tackles including a sack and forced fumble to go along with two quarterback hurries.
North Dakota State is on the road for its next two games. Â The Bison are at Indiana State next Saturday, Oct. 24, on ESPN3 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference Game of the Week. Â Kickoff is at 1 p.m. ET at Memorial Stadium in Terre Haute, Ind.