The Mercer Bears had a long, cold trip up to Fargo that spanned over 1200 miles, but the trip back will feel much longer after losing to the North Dakota State Bison by 24 on Saturday.
“I thought the difference was our defense tonight,” NDSU head coach Tim Polasek said. “We only gave up eight first downs and 195 yards total offense to Mercer. That’s an impressive outing.”
In a 31-7 win, NDSU did not start slow like it did against Abilene Christian, when the Bison went down by 14 points in the second quarter. Instead, the herd jumped out to a 14-0 lead, with wide receiver Bryce Lance responsible for two touchdown catches from starting quarterback Cam Miller. The air attack served as a counter to Mercer’s rushing defense, which was rated first in the FCS coming into the game. The Bears allowed only 65 rushing yards a game through the second round of the playoffs.
“I thought defensively they played outstanding,” Miller said. “But offensively, we have some room to get better.”
Mercer’s quick first quarter response was all it would get. A 38-yard touchdown from quarterback Whitt Newbauer to wide receiver Kelin Parsons was enough for the Bison defense to adapt. The Bears did not score for the rest of the game, leading to 281 yards in punts from John McConnell.
“There wasn’t a big adjustment,” Polasek said when commenting about the defensive changes after allowing the touchdown. “We just got in to a bunch of third and longs and that’s an advantage for the defense.”
In front of a crowd of 10,353, Miller finished with 259 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and two interceptions to Mercer Safety Myles Redding. With his plays against Miller, Redding became the Bears all-time interceptions leader.
Mercer’s Newbauer threw for 90 yards and one touchdown. Nebraska native CharMar Brown led the Bison with 58 rushing yards, though Miller and former West Fargo Sheyenne tailback Barika Kpeenu each earned a touchdown on the ground. Mercer’s running room featured six different ball-carriers, helping the Bears get 108 yards on the ground. NDSU gained 392 total yards to Mercer’s 195.
The Bison will rematch the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in next week’s FCS National Semifinal game at the Fargo Dome. NDSU beat SDSU in Fargo on Oct. 19, 13-9. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.
“We’ll have to get ready,” Polasek said. “It’s going to be an absolute war.”
Comments