Tim Sanger
Football
NORMAL, Ill. – North Dakota State’s defense recorded five sacks and held 15th-ranked Illinois State to eight yards rushing in a 42-10 victory Saturday, Sept. 28, before a homecoming crowd of 11,687 at Hancock Stadium.
No. 2-ranked NDSU rushed for 307 yards, controlled the football for nearly 39 minutes, and went 10 of 13 on third down to improve to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Redbirds dropped to 3-2 overall and 0-1 in the conference.
Defensive tackle Eli Mostaert had two sacks and three total tackles to lead a strong defensive effort by NDSU, which limited Illinois State to 4 of 12 on third down. Linebacker Marcus Gulley made a team-high eight tackles, linebacker Logan Kopp had seven tackles, and linebacker Enock Sibomana had five stops including a sack.
CharMar Brown led the Bison ground game with 17 carries for 100 yards and one touchdown. Coupled with his 126 yards last week against Towson, he is the first NDSU player with back-to-back 100-yard rushing games since Kobe Johnson did it in 2022 against North Dakota and Montana.
Bryce Lance led nine Bison receivers with eight catches for 65 yards including a seven-yard touchdown on the game’s opening drive. Mekhi Collins caught an 11-yard TD pass late in the second quarter to cap a 10-minute, 16-play scoring drive that opened up a 14-0 NDSU lead.
Bison quarterback Cam Miller completed his first 13 passing attempts and finished 20 of 23 for 216 yards and three touchdowns, including a 40-yard catch and run by Barika Kpeenu to cap the first of four straight touchdown drives in the second half after the Bison held a 14-7 halftime lead.
North Dakota State returns home to host North Dakota next Saturday, Oct. 5. The Fighting Hawks are 4-1 and 1-0 in the conference after a 72-35 home win over Murray State.