The Bison failed to field a high pooch kick into the wind that gusted to 29 mph and Brian Berry recovered it the Bison 38. The lone points came via an NDSU mistake on the second half kickoff. "I know our offense likes to put points on the board but a win is a win."
"I didn't think that was going to happen," said MSU safety Skylar Smith. An explosive offense this season behind the school's all-time passing leader in senior Cody Kirby, NDSU held him to 96 yards passing on 14 of 23 attempts. The Bears were no offensive stalwarts, either. "We had a hard time getting our running game going and their corners matched up with our receivers," said NDSU head coach Craig Bohl. NDSU finished with 42 team rushing yards. The Bison thought they could create some running room, but McNorton - who went over 1,000 yards last week - had 38 yards, averaging just 2.4 yards per carry. "It was one of those deals, I thought we had a good game plan in place," said tight end Landon Smith. It was the Bears' first shutout since 2004 against NAIA Union College (Tenn.). Perez, however, was picked off on the second play by linebacker Terian Washington. The Bison punted and got the ball back at their 33-yard line with 1:06 left. Receiver Warren Holloway got 25 yards on fourth-and-4 that reached his 42 with 1:40 remaining in the game, but he was whistled for offensive pass interference on the play. The Bison never were a serious threat after that. But a 2-yard run and two incompletions were followed by Ryan Jastram's 38-yard field goal that was wide right. McNorton later in the third quarter that reached the 45. NDSU never did cross midfield in the first half and did not get into Bears territory until an 11-yard run by D.J. Jose Mohler was in and out of the second half also with a shoulder injury. Jensen started, but only made it to halftime because of an apparent shoulder injury. Quarterbacks Brock Jensen, Jose Mohler and Dante Perez combined for 12 of 24 passing for just 78 yards. It was NDSU's first shutout since a 9-0 defeat at Southern Illinois in 2005. Know this about the Bison offense: It went nowhere. I don't know what to feel until you know." "It's going to be the longest how many hours of my life," said senior defensive tackle Matt Gratzek, on the field following the game.
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