Bison Sports Update: November 21st

It was a decent week for Bison athletics.

Football
NDSU Football hosted 16th ranked South Dakota at the Fargodome this Saturday. They had their way with the Coyotes from start to finish. To start the game, the Bison kicked to USD. After they forced the Coyotes to punt back to NDSU. The Bison put together a solid drive, ending in a 1 yard TD run from TaMerik Williams. USD punted again and NDSU only needed to through the ball to Phoenix Sproles and off to the races he went! The senior went 75 yards for his first score of the game and Cam Miller's only passing touchdown of the game. After that, the Coyotes fumbled and NDSU took over and capitalized on an 8 yard TD run from Sophomore QB Cam Miller.
In the second quarter, the Bison picked up where they left off. They handed Christian Watson the ball in the backfield and he rushed for 43 yards for the score! Halfway through the second quarter, USD got on the board for the first time of the day with a 25 yard field goal. It made the game 28-3 going into halftime.
In the 3rd quarter, NDSU's defense had a rough go of things for a little bit. They allowed a 47 yard punt return touchdown, the Bison's only punt of the game. After that though, NDSU was able to put up a 30 yard field goal and rushed TaMerik Williams in for his second score of the day. At the end of the 3rd quarter USD drove down and scored on a 40 yard touchdown pass off a lucky catch by the receiver as a Bison linebacker nearly had himself a pick.
For the 4th quarter, NDSU distanced themselves. It started with a Jalen Bussey 20 yard score and a Kobe Johnson 2 yard run. The Coyotes did punch in another score to make the game end at 52-24.

NDSU has received the #2 overall seed in the country for the 2021 FCS Playoffs! They will have home-field advantage throughout the semifinals and will host the result of Southern Illinois-South Dakota. Game time for the Bison's second round playoff matchup is 12/4 at 2:30 PM in the Fargodome.

NDSU Football is 7-1 in MVFC play and has claimed its 10th conference title. The team is 10-1 overall on the year.

Volleyball
NDSU Volleyball hosted South Dakota State and South Dakota this week to finish out their season. They lost to both teams, to SDSU in 4 sets and in a 5 set thriller to USD.
Since the Bison are 7th in the conference standings they will miss the postseason for the second straight year.
NDSU Volleyball finishes the year at 6-12 in Summit League play and 12-18 overall on the season. Great season ladies!

Men's Basketball
NDSU Men's Basketball had a rough week. They finished their West Coast trip with trips to UNLV and Arizona. They lost both of them and they were very different stories. The loss in UNLV was a back and forth game. The Bison were in it right up to the end. Even when they should have been out, they weren't and had a shot to tie or win the game at the end. They lost 62-64
The Arizona game was much different. The Bison were dominated at every inch of the floor. Senior Rocky Kreuser fouled out and only scored 2 points. They lost 45-97.
This week the Bison will return home to host Tarleton State on Monday (7 PM) and Idaho on Saturday (7 PM). Both games will be on ESPN+.

NDSU Men's Basketball is 2-2 on the year.

Women's Basketball
NDSU Women's Basketball didn't have a much better week then the men. They lost their home opener to Northern Iowa, 63-76. The team just looked sloppy and not together. The Bison also lost to Montana in a close one 63-65.
The Bison close out the homestand when they host Dickinson State on Tuesday (7 PM). 
​NDSU Women's Basketball is 1-3 on the season.

Go Bison!!