TUCSON, Ariz. - Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura passed for 229 yards including the go-ahead touchdown with 4:53 left and the Wildcats held on to beat North Dakota State 31-28 on Saturday, Sept. 17, before a crowd of 41,211 at Arizona Stadium.

North Dakota State fullback Hunter Luepke rushed 18 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns and added three receptions for 65 yards and one score. The Bison (2-1) rushed for 283 yards - their third most against an FBS opponent - and averaged 6.3 yards per carry.

Trailing 17-14 at halftime, NDSU's running game took over in the second half. The Bison went 76 yards in six plays on their second possession of the third quarter with TaMerik Williams breaking a 34-yard run followed by Dominic Gonnella's 19-yard carry to set up Luepke's 6-yard score to give NDSU its first lead of the night.

Arizona (2-1) appeared to go three-and-out on the ensuing possession, but a facemask penalty on the Bison extended the drive and the Wildcats scored six plays later on Jonah Coleman's 2-yard run to go ahead 24-21.

NDSU came back with a seven-play, 75-yard march with Luepke breaking out of a pile of tacklers for a 38-yard touchdown to put the Bison ahead 28-24 with 2:07 left in the third quarter.
 
Arizona missed a 43-yard field goal attempt on its next drive, but the Bison couldn't convert a fourth-and-2 at the Arizona 23. The Wildcats went 78 yards in 10 plays for the eventual winning score.

NDSU was 0-for-2 on fourth down and lost a fumble in the red zone, and Arizona answered all three of those possessions with touchdowns.
 
The Bison outgained Arizona 407-394 in total yards and had a slight edge in time of possession 31:18 to 28:42. NDSU had six penalties for 60 yards compared to one for 15 yards against Arizona.
 
NDSU quarterback Cam Miller went 10-for-12 passing for 124 yards with a 31-yard touchdown to Luepke in the first quarter. Tight end Noah Gindorff made three catches for 30 yards.
 
Bison linebacker James Kaczor made a game-high nine tackles while linebacker Nick Kubitz and cornerbacks Courtney Eubanks and Destin Talbert made five tackles each.
 
The loss snapped NDSU's six-game winning streak against FBS opponents dating back to 2010. North Dakota State is 9-4 against FBS competition.

North Dakota State is scheduled to open Missouri Valley Football Conference play against South Dakota at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, S.D. The Coyotes are 1-2 after beating Cal Poly 38-21.