Lance and Bison defeat rival Jackrabbits in FCS semifinals – InForum

FARGO – North Dakota State defeated the defending champions on Saturday at the Fargodome.

The Bison leaned on senior quarterback Cam Miller and receiver Bryce Lance. That connection helped NDSU to a 28-21 victory over rival South Dakota State at Gate City Bank Field in the NCAA Division I FCS semifinals in front of 17,849 fans.

“The last game in the Fargodome, it doesn’t get any better than that,” Miller said, referring to his final Bison home game.

With less than five minutes left in the fourth quarter, Lance had three touchdown catches, including a one-handed highlight reel. The Bison are on their way to Texas again.

“I’m not ready to be done yet,” said Miller, who will be playing in his third national title game.

David Samson/The Forum

The Jackrabbits (12-3) are the two-time defending FCS champions. NDSU has won nine national championships since 2011. The Bison reached their 11th FCS title game.

“This game is for all of us, especially the seniors,” said first-year Bison head coach Tim Polasek. “It was an incredible football game.”

NDSU (13-2) next plays for the national championship in Frisco, Texas, on Jan. 6 at 6 p.m. The Bison also defeated SDSU in a regular season meeting in October at the Fargodome.

“We just couldn’t get it done,” SDSU head coach Jimmy Rogers said. “We just didn’t make a few more plays than them.”

The Bison improved to 38-1 in FCS playoff games at the Fargodome.

Lance finished the game with six catches for 125 yards. Miller completed 13 of 19 passes for 179 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown on 15 attempts.

“It’s up to us to get back on top,” Miller said.

Miller threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Lance to give him a 21-14 lead with 12 minutes, 56 seconds to play in a back-and-forth fourth quarter. This enabled a 70-yard drive in three plays.

Before the Lance goal, the teams combined for six consecutive punts early in the second half.

“It was a heavyweight fight,” Polasek said.

Jackrabbits receiver Grahm Goering countered with a 14-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Mark Gronowski that tied the game at 21-21 with 8:20 left in the fourth quarter. That was the culmination of a 90-yard drive that lasted 10 plays.

The 6-foot, 200-pound Lance capped his electric performance with a one-handed 10-yard touchdown catch to give the Bison a 28-21 lead with 4:02 remaining for their third and final touchdown .

“He made several catches today,” Rogers said. “This kid is an NFL player.”

Lance’s game-winning catch was initially ruled incomplete and then overturned after a replay.

“I knew I had it,” Lance said. “I didn’t know if my foot was in.”

NDSU limited the Jackrabbits to seven points after halftime.

“We just didn’t perform as well as we could in the second half,” Gronowski said.

Lance also delivered early in the game. He caught a 21-yard touchdown pass to give the Bison a 7-0 lead with 9:34 left in the first quarter. This 80-yard drive lasted seven plays. Lance had two catches for 51 yards on the scoring march.

David Samson/The Forum

Gronowski answered with a 1-yard TD run to tie the score at 7-7 with 4:14 left in the first quarter. That was the culmination of a 75-yard drive that lasted 10 plays.

Amar Johnson hit a 39-yard touchdown run to give the Jackrabbits a 14-7 lead with 11:29 left in the first half. This allowed for an 86-yard drive in 11 plays.

Miller countered with a 2-yard TD run to cut the score to 14-14 with 1:57 left in the second quarter. NDSU defensive end Loshiaka Roques recovered a fumble at the SDSU 23-yard line to set up the score.

Miller completed six of seven passes for 84 yards and a touchdown in the first half and added 32 rushing yards and a TD on eight attempts. He was involved in all four Bison touchdowns.

“He just made plays and made good throws,” SDSU linebacker Adam Bock said.

“I slept really well this week because I thought the kids were playing hard,” Polasek added.

David Samson/The Forum

Peterson covers college athletics for The Forum, including Concordia College and Minnesota State Moorhead. He also covers the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks independent baseball team and helps with North Dakota State football coverage. Peterson has worked for the newspaper since 1996.