FARGO – It’s safe to say the South Dakota State University football team has seen all it wants to see of North Dakota State University senior quarterback Easton Stick.
Stick, already a two-time national champion, led the Bison past the Jackrabbits 44-21 in an FCS semifinal game at the Fargodome on Friday night.
Stick was 12-of-15 passing for 169 yards and also rushed for 147 yards on 16 carries with a trio of touchdowns to lead NDSU to yet another appearance in the FCS title game Jan. 5 in Frisco, Texas. That would be the seventh appearance in the title game for the Bison in eight years.
The No. 1 Bison, 13-0, will meet the winner of today’s other FCS semifinal – No. 7 Maine at No. 2 Eastern Washington. NDSU will be favored by at least two touchdowns. Mostly because they have Stick – the best quarterback in all of FCS.
“It’s a great performance. We know him pretty well. Even though he’s a competitor, I love the young man,” SDSU head coach John Stiegelmeier said. “He rose up and we missed a bunch of tackles. He made some good throws on third down. I thought he played like a champion.”
“He’s the best quarterback in all of college football,” NDSU head coach Chris Kleiman said of Stick. “He was not going to be denied tonight.”
It was simply a Bison stampede the entire game on the ground. In all, NDSU rushed for 385 yards on 45 carries. Bruce Anderson had 79 yards and nine carries with three touchdowns.
The Jackrabbit defense just couldn’t get off the field, specifically in the second half when the Bison scored 30 points and never punted.
“I think we wore down a little bit. Without Krockett (Krolikowski) and then we had one guy cramp up early, so we were basically playing with 2 1/2 guys,” Stiegelmeier said. “I think we got handled a little bit. I thought we did some good things though – we had some good stops in short yardage. I really think it was Easton Stick that was the difference in the football game.”
If Stick is indeed the top quarterback in FCS, Jackrabbit quarterback Taryn Christion just might be the next best. And with a title berth on the line, Stick was just simply better than Christion in a place where the Bison just seldom lose – the loud, raucous Fargodome.
Christion was hit early and often by the ferocious Bison pass rush. In fact, twice he had to be helped off the field before courageously returning each time.
In a career filled with big plays, big numbers and so many records, Christion did not finish with the type of big game needed to beat the Bison. He was harassed into a 10-of-26 passing performance for 180 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
“We knew coming in they were a really physical team. They’re fast and they fly to the ball,” Christion said. “Give credit to them. That’s what they do on defense. They are disciplined and do their job.”
Kleiman said NDSU’s game plan was to keep players fresh in hopes of keeping maximum pressure on Christion.
“I have so much respect for Christion. He gets out of the pocket; he throws the ball well, and you can’t sack him very easily,” Kleiman said. “We were doing a great job of staying after him. We kept fresh bodies in there, and I think we did hit him an awful lot.”
The Jackrabbits got another big performance from running back Pierre Strong, Jr. The freshman phenom had 135 yards on 20 attempts, including a 30-yard touchdown run in the first quarter that tied the score at 7. In all, Strong racked up 102 yards in the first half. He was much quieter in the second half, mostly because NDSU maintained the ball for long periods of time.
A key point in the game came late in the first half. With the two teams having gone almost a quarter without scoring – Stick scored on a 34-yard touchdown run with 1:35 to go until halftime to boost the Bison to a 14-7 lead.
NDSU then took the second half kickoff and scored quickly. Like lightning fast. Two plays quick. Seth Wilson took a handoff and raced 78 yards to the Jackrabbit 2-yard line. Bruce Anderson punched it in from there from 1 yard out and the score was 21-7.
The Jacks pulled to within 21-14 with a nice answer to NDSU’s drive. Christion passed 8 yards to Blake Kunz to cap a 7-play, 75-yard drive.
Anderson then scored on a 14-yard pass from Stick with 5:52 to play in the third quarter. The Bison then forced a quick punt and Anderson went 41 yards for another touchdown to make it 35-14.
SDSU’s last touchdown came on a pretty 52-yard pass from Christion to Cade Johnson.
The only points in the fourth quarter were scored by NDSU – a 32-yard field goal by Cam Pedersen and a 28-yard TD run from Stick.
The Bison racked up a whopping 605 yards in total offense. NDSU had 439 yards on 49 carries on the ground. Four running backs had 77 yards or more on the ground.
The Jackrabbits finish the season 10-3 and a second straight appearance in the FCS semifinals. Another disappointing end to the season in the playoffs. And a tough goodbye to the best senior class ever at SDSU.
“I’m proud to be a part of that – the winningest class ever,” Christion said. “I’m proud to be a Jackrabbit. I’m really proud to be a part of this program.”
No. 1 NORTH DAKOTA STATE 44, No. 5 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 21
SDSU (10-3) 7 0 14 0 – 21
NDSU (14-0) 7 7 21 9 – 44
First Quarter
NDSU – Easton Stick 5 run (Cam Pedersen kick), 5:11
SDSU – Pierre Strong Jr. 30 run (Chase Vinatieri kick), :51
Second Quarter
NDSU – Stick 34 run (Pedersen kick), 1:35
Third Quarter
NDSU – Bruce Anderson 1 run (Pedersen kick), 14:25
SDSU – Blake Kunz 8 pass from Taryn Christion (Vinatieri kick), 10:57
NDSU – Anderson 14 pass from Stick (Pedersen kick), 5:52
NDSU – Anderson 41 run (Pedersen kick), 3:32
SDSU – Cade Johnson 52 pass from Christion (Vinatieri kick), :27
Fourth Quarter
NDSU – Pedersen 32 FG, 6:21
NDSU – Stuck 28 run (kick failed), 4:05
SDSU NDSU
First Downs 17 25
Plays-Yards 58-357 64-608
Rushes-Yards 31-175 49-439
C-A-Int.-Yards 11-27-1-182 12-15-0-169
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 5-32 9-70
Punts-Avg.-I20-TB 6-40-2-1 2-47.5-1-0
Kickoffs-Avg.-TB 4-57.3-1 8-61.4-3
Punt Returns-Yards-TD 1-11-0 2-15-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards-TD 3-64-0 2-41-0
Interception Returns-Yards-TD 0-0 1-33
Fumble Returns-Yards-TD 0-0 0-0
Possession Time 25:16 34:44
Miscellaneous Yards 0 0
Third-down Conversions 4-of-12 6-of-10
Fourth-down Conversions 0-of-2 0-of-0
Red Zone Chances-TD-FG 1-1-0 5-3-1
Sacks By-Yards 0-0 2-14
Field Goals 0-for-0 1-for-2
RUSHING: SDSU – Pierre Strong Jr. 20-135, Taryn Christion 10-32, C.J. Wilson 1-8. NDSU – Easton Stick 16-147, Seth Wilson 2-86, Bruce Anderson 9-79, Adam Cofield 6-77, Ty Brooks 12-48, Darrius Shepherd 3-(-3).
PASSING: SDSU – Taryn Christion 10-26-1-180, Cade Johnson 1-1-0-2. NDSU – Easton Stick 12-15-0-169.
RECEIVING: SDSU – Cade Johnson 3-89, Isaiah Hill 2-44, Jacob Brown 1-19, Adam Anderson 1-16, Blake Kunz 2-10, Taryn Christion 1-2, Pierre Strong Jr. 1-2. NDSU – Darrius Shepherd 4-71, Seth Wilson 1-32, Ben Ellefson 1-15, Nate Jenson 1-15, Bruce Anderson 1-14, Christian Watson 2-11, Dallas Freeman 1-8, Phoenix Sproles 1-3.
DEFENSE: SDSU – Christian Rozeboom 11 tackles; Josh Manchigiah 10 tackles; Eric Kleinschmit 7 tackles; Marshon Harris 6 tackles; Brandon Snyder 6 tackles. NDSU – Dan Marlette 8 tackles; Levi Jordheim 6 tackles; Derrek Tuszka 4 tackles, sack; James Hendricks 4 tackles; Blake Williams 4 tackles; Robbie Grimsley INT; Stanley Jones sack, FF.
A – 18,286.
