South Dakota football loses control in 2nd half in 34-17 loss to No. 1 North Dakota State

South Dakota quarterback Carson Camp stayed with his knees to the turf. He was too far away to do anything, anyways. It was midway through the fourth quarter in USD’s eventual 34-17 loss to No. 1 North Dakota State Saturday in the DakotaDome and the ball had just been ripped from his arms for a fumble. The Bison recovered. NDSU was up 27-17 at that point. With just over seven minutes left after a game of Coyotes-induced scares, after a game of promise, that might have been it.

“When you go down two scores against a team that can run the football the way that they can run the football, it's difficult,” South Dakota head coach Bob Nielson said. “You got to force some things.”

The play came after a good decision by Camp, who threw the ball out of bounds evading a rush that kept USD (1-3, 0-1 Missouri Valley Football Conference) the momentum following a 30-yard Shomari Lawrence run. But that was how the game went for USD. Good, then bad. A one touchdown lead in the first half, then 24 point turnaround in a scoreless second half. The good, undoubtedly, changes the position the Coyotes found themself in entering the game, looking much more formidable now. But against the No. 1 FCS team in the country in NDSU (3-1, 1-0), the bad was too much for the Coyotes to bear.

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After forcing three turnovers in the first half, South Dakota turned it over twice and had just 88 yards off offense in the second (including just nine in the third quarter). The defense looked less-equipped against the powerful North Dakota State run game, as fullback Hunter Luepke dominated with 20 carries for 146 yards, a lot of which came in the second set of 30 minutes.

“We were a better football team today than we were at Montana. I think without question,” Nielson said. “And we just got to keep getting better.”

It seemed, from the opening kickoff, it was only a matter of time the No. 1 Bison would impose their will against unranked USD. The Coyotes drove a little on its first drive — quarterback Carson Camp (13-26, 120 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions) used his legs to gain 22 yards, hitting the Bison with an emphatic signal for a first down and a little shimmy.

But the drive ended in a punt. North Dakota State made it all the way to the Coyotes red zone before defensive back Myles Harden took an interception out of the air in the end zone to blank NDSU on its first drive. But, even with the takeaway, the ease of the Bison getting there was enough to cause slight concern. North Dakota State was right there, tilting the balance the could end with the No. 1-ranked team in the nation flipping the momentum and pounding, pounding until USD was answerless.

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But something different happened: USD’s drives got longer. NDSU’s drives didn’t really change. South Dakota struck first on a field goal by kicker Eddie Ogamba, nearly scoring on the Theis run that was downed at the one. North Dakota State responded with a field goal of their own after safety Josh Manchigiah pushed an airborne Bison receiver out of bounds in the back-left corner of the end zone.

Then running back Travis Theis fumbled. Then North Dakota State scored a touchdown to make it 10-3. Surely, that could be the turnaround. But it wasn’t. South Dakota forced a fumble on the sideline, didn’t convert, but then forced an NDSU punt. The resulting drive was the Coyotes’ most complete of the day: Camp gained a lot of the yards with his feet, Theis (10 carries, 63 yards, one touchdown) helped propel and finish it off for the game-tying touchdown with 58.9 seconds left in the half.

North Dakota State was just trying to run out the clock as it handed it to running back Jalen Bussey the first play of their next drive, but the ball came loose, safety Josiah Ganues recovered the fumble and the next play, Camp hit wide receiver Wesley Eliodor for a 28-yard touchdown strike. The Coyotes took a 17-10 lead and NDSU just took a knee.

“It shows that we are a great team and we can be that great team,” junior linebacker Brock Mogensen said. “We just had to come out in that second half and just finish the ballgame.”

But eventually, it happened. North Dakota State started the second half with a long touchdown drive, completing a few quick passes and then gobbling up rushing yards for first down after first down. North Dakota State quarterback Cam Miller, with USD backed up inside its own 10, faked a handoff and spun back to the outside to run free into the end zone.

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On USD’s attempted response, it got a first down but then Theis dropped two passes on the next three downs. North Dakota State dominated the next drive with the run, again, and fullback Hunter Luepke barrelled into the end zone for a score to make it 24-17.

“Came out flat there in the third quarter,” senior left tackle Alex Jensen said. “Something we’ve got to work on: consistency coming out of the half and carrying the momentum forward.”

The cycle caught up to the Coyotes. North Dakota State is the defending FCS National Champions. The expectation was, in the second half, they’d be better. Cleaner. But the Coyotes kept making the mistakes they’ve made all season long. NDSU scored a touchdown off the Camp fumble in the fourth quarter, and a frenzied DakotaDome became dormant.

There were less people there to see when Camp’s first pass on USD’s drive to respond went right into the arms of a North Dakota State defender with 3:13 to play. An NDSU player waved the Coyotes goodbye. There was no turning around then.

Follow Sioux Falls Argus Leader reporter Michael McCleary on Twitter @mikejmccleary.

First Quarter

SDAK_FG Ogamba 18, 00:30

Second Quarter

NDSU_FG Crosa 26, 10:16

NDSU_Johnson 2 run (Crosa kick), 07:31

SDAK_Theis 2 run (Ogamba kick), 00:58

SDAK_Eliodor 28 pass from Camp (Ogamba kick), 00:44

Third Quarter

NDSU_Miller 13 run (Crosa kick), 10:28

NDSU_Luepke 2 run (Crosa kick), 05:22

Fourth Quarter

NDSU_FG Crosa 25, 08:27

NDSU_Luepke 3 run (Crosa kick), 03:24

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING_N. Dakota St., Hu. Luepke 20-146, Ko. Johnson 14-68, Do. Gonnella 8-48, Ta. Williams 5-37, Ca. Miller 5-33, TK. Marshall 5-13, Br. Henderson 1-9, Ja. Bussey 1-6, Team 2-(minus 4). South Dakota, Tr. Theis 10-63, Ca. Camp 13-41, Sh. Lawrence 5-40, Co. Stenstrom 1-1.

PASSING_N. Dakota St., Ca. Miller 10-19-1-120. South Dakota, Ca. Camp 13-26-2-120.

RECEIVING_N. Dakota St., Za. Mathis 3-39, Jo. Stoffel 2-28, Br. Henderson 1-23, DJ. Hart 2-15, Hu. Brozio 1-15, Ja. Bussey 1-0. South Dakota, We. Eliodor 2-51, Tr. Theis 6-35, Ca. Bell 2-22, Ja. Martens 1-9, Sh. Lawrence 1-3, JJ. Galbreath 1-0.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota football loses control in 2nd half in loss to No. 1 NDSU