Recap: Bison Lose 5th Straight to Jacks; 33-16

NDSU FALLS TO 6-3 ON THE SEASON AS THEY PREPARE FOR TWO MORE TOUGH OPPONENTS.

BROOKINGS, S.D. (KVRR) — The Bison fell to the Jackrabbits 33 to 16 on Saturday, losing their fifth straight game against the jacks in the rivalry series.

In the first half, the Bison started strong. An opening drive touchdown that included a fake sneak-pass, but then missed the PAT and gave up a score on the next possession. Code Green did hold the Jacks to two field goals, but a missed field goal of their own heading into halftime resulting in a 20-9 deficit. In the second half, the Bison offense did not captialize on their opportunities. A missed field goal that was blocked and an interception resulted in the Bison digging themselves in a hole. They weren’t able to get points on the board until about midway through that fourth quarter. For Head Coach Matt Entz, they have to limit those turnovers and have a better kicking game.

“I Felt like there’s seven points out there that we we left on off the board,” said Entz.” Missing a field goal that…you know, [it’s] college football, you got to have a guy who can make a 50-yarder, I don’t care about the wind. Then we get two blocks which we’ll get back and look and see what the issues were, but wrong day to have a bad day for our kicker. Then you can’t give them extra possessions, which we did, with three turnovers during the course of the game.”

Cam Miller led the bison on the ground with 93 yards and through the air with 167 along with two scores, but also had two interceptions. He said after the game that he and fellow Captain Zach Mathis have to continue to lead this group and finish this season strong.

“Zach and I being captains on this team, we take a lot of the heat and that’s what we want,” said Miller. “We want that kind of pressure laid on us because it’s our duty and our job to make sure everybody in the locker room is doing exactly what they’re supposed to do. Everything has been about the team and I think moving forward we just need to continue to stay positive and motivate the young guys and motivate the guys in our locker room. [We need to] not worry about the outside noise because it doesn’t matter. All that we care about are the people in our locker room.”

The Bison are now prepared to take on (#11) Southern Illinois (6-3) next Saturday at the Fargo dome where they will honor their seniors for their last regular season home game. Then they will finish the regular season on the road against another ranked opponent in (#23) Northern Iowa (6-3). Both those games are going to be tough for this Bison team who have yet to beat a ranked opponent so far this season as they make their playoff push.

NEXT: (#10/11) Southern Illinois At (#11/10) NDSU | Saturday, November 11 at 2:30 p.m.

**rankings used are as of OCT 30, 2023