Johnson City, Tennessee.
This can be said about North Dakota State: Their kickoff coverage was excellent on Saturday. On the other hand, Eli Ozick kicked every ball through the end zone.
What else on defense? When it snows in Johnson City, there are enough slopes to create plenty of slippery slopes, and that’s what the Bisons are facing three weeks into the season. That’s not a path to take.
Until… the last two minutes.
In a comeback of the highest order that saved him from certain defeat, Cam Miller did what Bisons quarterbacks have always done over the years: He ripped his opponent’s heart out.
His 11-yard run with 50 seconds left gave the Bison a 38-35 comeback victory over East Tennessee State on a high-energy night at William B. Greene Jr. Stadium.
The Buccaneers won 58 minutes of this game and lost.
“I think we were lucky, that’s true,” Miller said. “We can’t take games like this for granted, no matter who we’re playing. We played against a great opponent, I knew that, but I noticed before the game that some guys didn’t quite handle the situation. I think we should be thankful that we won, but there’s still a lot of room to improve.”
David Samson/The Forum
This was Steve Walker against Sam Houston, when the Bison quarterback recovered from a seemingly certain loss in 2007. This was Carson Wentz against Illinois State in the 2014 title game. It was Brock Jensen against Georgia Southern in the 2012 FCS semifinals.
It’s not over until the NDSU quarterbacks say it’s over.
“Cam is special,” NDSU defensive tackle Eli Mostaert said. “After this game and what he did here, he’s going to go down as one of the greatest Bisons in history.”
David Samson/The Forum
Trailing 35-23, the Bison got the ball with 2:49 left and were lucky when punt returner John Gores recovered his own fumble amid four other Bucs players.
Gores didn’t sulk. The Bison were facing fourth-and-10 when Miller found him up the middle for a 38-yard 3. TK Marshall scored one play later and it was 35-30.
Still, it seemed as though ETSU fans were still trying to figure out how to storm the field at the final whistle. But Darius Givance intercepted an onside kick and NDSU got the ball back with 1:57 left. Suddenly, a game that seemed lost seemed quite winnable.
A 13-yard pass to Mekhi Collins was followed by a 15-yard pass interference penalty. Miller ran 13 yards to the 17. A holding call was a momentary bump. On the third and fourth attempts, Miller found space on the left side for an 11-yard touchdown.
“Absolutely heartbreaking,” said ETSU head coach Tre Lamb. “There are a lot of words to describe this, but it hurts me. The team is hurting. We beat the second best team in the country. Let’s just call it what it is: We beat them.”
Aside from the win, the Bison still have a few things to figure out. NDSU has built its FCS reputation over the years on several aspects of football, including a solid run defense, but the one that emerged Saturday looked more like Swiss cheese. Quarterback Jaylen King completed two passes in the first half, including a desperate-looking 40-yard pass that the Bison secondary couldn’t capitalize on, but the Buccaneers seemed nearly unstoppable.
In fact, that was the case until the Bison finally got a stop on their final possession of the first half. At halftime, ETSU led 21-17.
Nothing changed at the start of the third quarter. Fourth and 8? No problem, King ran eight yards up the middle. Bryson Irby’s touchdown was a 10-yard run up the middle with little interference, making it 28-17.
“We obviously showed a lot of grit and grit at the end,” said Polasek, who said ETSU’s running game formations gave NDSU problems. “I just take my hat off to East Tennessee State. We’re going to enjoy this win because you have to enjoy them all. Too precious. But Monday sets the tone for what homecoming has to look like.”
The home game is Saturday at 1 p.m. against Towson University. If Polasek and the Bison players are anything to go by, there will be plenty of work to do between now and then.
“They made us look for answers to our running attempts, and that can’t happen,” Polasek said. “Going forward, we have to be able to stop the run, because when we can do that, the game is a little different.”
David Samson/The Forum
Irby, for example, was never stopped with 147 yards. Two crucial plays almost doomed NDSU in the fourth quarter. A penalty for roughing the passer on second and 14 attempts and Irby’s 33-yard run quickly brought the Bucs to the Bison’s 19-yard line.
One play later, King hit Cameron Lewis with a 19-yard touchdown pass and the Bison were down 35-23 and in deep trouble with 8:39 left.
Don’t tell Miller. You didn’t tell Walker, Jensen or Wentz.
It’s not over until they say it’s over.
Jeff would like to dispel the notion that he was around when Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, but he has been a reporter for Forum Communications for three decades. The son of a reporter and an English teacher, and brother of a reporter, Jeff has worked for the Jamestown Sun, Bismarck Tribune and, since 1990, The Forum, where he has covered North Dakota State athletics since 1995.
Jeff has covered all nine of NDSU’s Division I FCS national football titles and has written three books: “Horns Up,” “North Dakota Tough” and “Covid Kids.” He is the radio host of “The Golf Show with Jeff Kolpack” from April through August.
