No. 7 Bears Have Magical Season Stopped At No. 2 North Dakota State

Saturday, December 14

Fargo, N.D.

3:30 p.m.

Mercer University

11-3 , 7-1

North Dakota State

12-2 , 7-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Mercer

North Dakota St.

No. 7 Bears Have Magical Season Stopped At No. 2 North Dakota State

12/14/2024 2:25:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

FARGO, N.D. – North Dakota State scored touchdowns on each of its first two possessions and held visiting Mercer at arm's length for the rest of the afternoon as the No. 2 national seed Bison advanced to the NCAA semifinals round with a 31-7 win over the No. 7 national seed Bears on Saturday.

The setback snapped a two-game win skein for the Orange & Black (11-3) who are set to return 14 starters for the 2025 season, including eight on the offensive side of the ball. North Dakota State (12-2) will suit up to host Missouri Valley Football Conference rival South Dakota State in next week's semifinal contest.

THE BASICS

SCORE: North Dakota State 31, Mercer 7
RECORDS: Mercer 11-3 (7-1 SoCon); North Dakota State 12-2 (7-1 MVFC)
LOCATION: Fargo, N.D. (Fargodome)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

North Dakota State went to work right away, engineering a 4-play, 50-yard scoring drive that culminated with Cam Miller's 40-yard touchdown pass to Bryce Lance. The Bison went the conservative route on the first three plays of the drive, gaining just 10 yards, before pulling out the deep ball. NDSU 7, MU 0

The Bison employed the air raid again on their ensuing possession, moving the ball 74 yards on just two passing plays. Cam Miller found Mekhi Collins on a 70-yard gainer on the opening play of the drive, before connecting with Bryce Lance again, this time on a 4-yard scoring strike. NDSU 14, MU 0

The Bears punched back on the following drive, utilizing a pair of big plays to cut their deficit in half. CJ Miller broke loose on a 28-yard jaunt on a 3^rd-and-2 situation to move the visitors into NDSU territory, and Whitt Newbauer connected with a wide-open Kelin Parsons on a 38-yard touchdown pass two plays later. NDSU 14, MU 7

Touchdown Bears!@whitt_newbauer connects with @ParsonsKelin for the 38-yard @Truist touchdown! 🎯

Q1 | 7:01
Mercer 7, NDSU 14 pic.twitter.com/RvqvlgphjK
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) December 14, 2024

2ND QUARTER

The Bison threw some more points up on the scoreboard with their first possession of the second period, using a balanced attack to drive 55 yards in six plays. Cam Miller went 2-for-3 for 16 yards on the possession, but capped the scoring drive with a 34-yard touchdown run down the far sideline. NDSU 21, MU 7

North Dakota State used a deep pass and a costly penalty to put some points on the board right before the intermission. The Bison moved into Mercer territory via a pass interference call, and followed that up with Cam Miller's 33-yard pass to Raja Nelson. The hosts would be forced to settle for a 38-yard field goal from Griffin Crosa. NDSU 24, MU 7

Nasty spin move and sack for @BraydenManley5 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/fSUWDyWtYg
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) December 14, 2024

3RD QUARTER

No scoring.

Second interception of the game for @MylesTooNice 🔥

That's now 9 picks on the year for Myles! 👀 pic.twitter.com/J4tJzDiu6b
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) December 14, 2024

4TH QUARTER

The Bison put the final points of the afternoon on the board late in the fourth quarter, capping an 11-play, 51-yard possession with Barika Kpeenu's 1-yard dive up the middle. NDSU called up running plays seven times on the drive, and drained nearly six minutes off of the game clock in the process. NDSU 31, MU 7

Final from Fargo.

An unforgettable and history-making season for the Bears. pic.twitter.com/8vdQBiJ0hf
— Mercer Football (@MercerFootball) December 14, 2024

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Senior Myles Redding picked off a pair of passes for the second time this season (Samford). He finished his career as Mercer's single-season record holder for interceptions (9), while also thrusting him atop the program's career interceptions list (12).
+ Sophomore Reice Griffith matched Mercer's 10-year old single-season scoring record with his PAT in the opening quarter. Griffith posted 102 points in 2024 (54 PAT, 16 FG) to nestle himself beside former MU standout Alex Lakes who scored 17 touchdowns during the 2014 season.
+ Senior Ken Standley tallied six tackles on Saturday to finish his career as Mercer's all-time leader in total tackles. Standley concluded his illustrious career with 388 stops, while teammate and fellow senior Isaac Dowling logged 386 tackles in the Orange & Black.
+ Sophomore Brayden Manley added 1-1/2 tackles for loss on Saturday to up his career total to 18.0. That mark breaks a 1-year-old school record that was formerly held by MU standout Solomon Zubairu. Manley finished the campaign just 1/2 sack shy (9.5) of Tosin Aguebor's school-record mark of 10.0 established during the 2013 season.

NOTABLES

+ Saturday's setback snapped Mercer's 5-game win streak against nationally-ranked FCS foes. The last loss for the Bears in such games was a road setback to then-No. 1 and eventual national champion South Dakota State in the second round of the 2023 NCAA FCS Playoffs.
+ North Dakota State became just the third team this season to top the 100-yard rushing plateau against the Bears. Mercer limited nine opponents to 73 or fewer rushing yards in 2024.
+ The Bears conclude their magical season with records for both overall (11) and conference (7) victories. The appearance in the FCS Playoffs quarterfinal round is the furthest advancement for MU in the postseason as well.

UP NEXT

Season complete.

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