RaJa Nelson scored on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Cam Miller with 1 minute, 49 seconds remaining as North Dakota State beat rival South Dakota State 13-9 before an announced 18,807 at the Fargodome on Saturday night.
North Dakota State beats rival South Dakota State in matchup of top two FCS teams
The Bison beat the Jackrabbits for the first time in six meetings.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
October 20, 2024 at 4:51AM
The game matched up the top two teams in the FCS poll; two-time defending national champion SDSU (5-2, 2-1 Missouri Valley) was ranked No. 1 and NDSU (7-1, 4-0) was No. 2.
Nelson’s second touchdown catch of the game capped a 10-play-92 yard drive and was the only score in the second half. South Dakota State held a 9-7 lead at halftime after Hunter Dustman made a 42-yard field goal to end the first half.
The Bison had lost their past five meetings with the Jackrabbits, including in the FCS national championship game in January 2023. North Dakota State hadn’t beaten South Dakota State since October 2019.
Nelson also caught an 18-yard TD pass from Miller in the second quarter. South Dakota State responded with a 66-yard touchdown run from Chase Mason, but the Jackrabbits’ PAT was blocked.
Trevor Etienne ran for three touchdowns, the first two set up by cornerback Daylen Everette's takeaways, and fifth-ranked Georgia went on to beat Quinn Ewers and No. 1 Texas 30-15 on Saturday night.
