Cyclones whip Bison

By David Samson/The Forum/Forum Communications Co. North Dakota State junior fullback Drew Hushka is tackled by Iowa State's Leonard Johnson and Michael O'Connell after a 13-yard reception Thursday.

By Dickinson Press Staff

September 03, 2009 at 10:52 PM

AMES, Iowa -- The sea of red and yellow was the biggest crowd for an Iowa State opening football game since MTV video jockeys were cool. North Dakota State even went back in time and showed some option offense of the '80s.

"I'm sure that brought back some old memories," said NDSU head coach Craig Bohl. "No, we're not going to the veer, but we are looking at expanding the playbook."

The playbook of the 21st Century, Iowa State's spread offense, and the depth of the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Cyclones, however, were too much for the Football Championship Subdivision Bison, who made a game of it until the fourth quarter. The final was 34-17, ISU, before 48,831 fans at Jack Trice Stadium.

"We've faced these kinds of opponents before and I think we were ready," said Bison running back Pat Paschall. "I don't think the crowd played a part. It's just on us to clean up some things."

Paschall cleaned up on the Cyclones for 146 yards, his best day as a Bison. NDSU had 388 total yards and won the time of possession battle at 33:18 to 26:42. But, the Cyclones notched two decent-sized touchdown passes in the second half to prevent the upset.

It was still a one touchdown game late in the third quarter.

"Just keep going, this game's ours at that point," said Bison linebacker Preston Evans. "We were within reach."

They were, until a 42-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Austen Arnaud to receiver Marquis Hamilton with 9:58 left in the game, which made it 34-17.

"To beat a Big 12 team, you need to take advantage of more opportunities," Bohl said.

Still, there were several introductions by NDSU players throughout the night:

r True freshman Mike Sigers ran 42 yards to the Cyclone 1, which set up the first Bison touchdown.

r Sophomore tight end Matt Veldman showed his 6-foot-7 frame hauling in a 15-yard touchdown pass from Nick Mertens late in the third quarter. That brought NDSU within 24-17.

r Evans was all over the field, finishing with 11 tackles, two for lost yardage.

r Sophomore wide receiver Warren Holloway had his best night with four catches for 68 yards, a couple of the tough variety.

"There were a lot of unproven, so we said let's prove ourselves," Holloway said. "There were a lot of doubters, we had to get it done."

If the Bison were worried about their young players being awestruck in the big stage, the first Cyclone drive did nothing to calm their fear. Iowa State went 81 yards in 9 plays and had a relatively easy time in doing so.

Arnaud did most of the damage picking up two third down conversions -- one a 13-yard run and the other a 16-yard pass to Collin Franklin that reached the Bison 30. Running back Alexander Robinson scored two plays later from the 18.

But the Bison forced the Cyclones into a pair of three-and-outs to finish the first quarter and it was still 7-0. If anything, it gave the Bison a chance to catch their breath and they made a game of it from there.

They were exactly what we expected," said ISU head coach Paul Rhoads. "They were physical and they had a nice plan and did nice job of adjusting to our offense."

They missed a golden chance when Mertens fumbled inside the Cyclone 1. Josh Raven recovered it in the end zone and, after the ball was brought out to the 20, Iowa State went 80 yards in 10 plays to make it 14-0.

NDSU finally cracked through thanks Sigers, who went42 yards to the ISU 1 one play after NDSU linebacker Matt Anderson recovered a Cyclone fumble near midfield.

Paschall dove over from the 1 and it was 14-7.

The teams traded field goals from there, which was fine for NDSU. The Bison went into halftime trailing 17-10, but also had an advantage in total yardage (233-221).

More important, the turnover battle was event at 1-1, something that usually plagues FCS teams in FBS games.

"We're disappointed with the loss," Bohl said. "We came in with the attitude to win and we didn't get it done."

The Forum and The Dickinson Press are both owned by Forum Communications Co.

NSDU 0 10 7 0 -- 17

ISU 7 10 10 7 -- 34

First quarter

ISU-Alexa Robinson 18 run (Grant Mahoney kick) 11:50.

Second quarter

ISU-Austen Arnaud 5 run (Mahoney kick) 14:23.

NDSU-Pat Paschall 1 run (Shawn Bibeau kick) 4:21.

ISU-Mahoney 38 field goal, 2:06.

NDSU-Bibeau 39 field goal, :46.