Youngstown State University never got going in Fargo.  The Penguins dropped out of the undefeated ranks as #1 North Dakota State was able to capitalize on three YSU turnovers and win the special teams battles.  The Bison (5-0, 2-0) never trailed and won every facet of the game on their way to a 48-7 win.

Jamiane Cook had trouble handling an exchange from Kurt Hess on the first play from scrimmage.  North Dakota State came out of the pile with the ball and took over on a very short field at the YSU 31.  The Bison used six plays to jump out to a 7-0 lead. Backup running back John Crockett, filling in for suspended teammate Sam Ojuri, finished the drive with a one-yard burst.

Youngstown State seemed to recover from the early mistake as they used their second drive to march 74 yards for a game-tying score.  Hess found Carson Sharbaugh in a small crowd just over the goal line for the score.

Before the first quarter would end, Bison QB Brock Jensen found Zach Vraa for a 46-yard scoring hookup.  Things would get worse on the ensuing possession for the Penguins when Marcus Williams returned an interception 98 yards for a touchdown making the score 21-7.

North Dakota State would add two more touchdowns, a Crockett one-yard scamper and a Jensen to Ryan Smith 16-yard strike, to take a commanding 35-7 lead into halftime.

The Bison seemed just fine with Crockett filling in for Ojuri.  The 5’11” sophomore from Minneapolis finished the game with 25 carries for 103 yards.

Ryan Smith was the big-play guy that YSU could not stop.  Smith had seven catches for 82 yards, one rush for nine yards and a 76-yard punt return that would increase the Bison advantage to 45-7.

Adam Keller kicked a pair of field goals for North Dakota State (49, 34) to close the scoring at 48-7.

The things that YSU coach Eric Wolford always says can’t happen, did happen.  The Penguins lost the time of possession battle (33:12 – 26:48), committed three turnovers compared to ND State’s 0, and were badly outplayed on special teams.

Part of the reason Hess was unable to have much success today was because of the pressure the Bison defense continually provided.  Many blitzes, especially off of the edge, proved very harmful to the Penguins offensive efforts.

Hess finished the game 11-20 for 117 yards.  Cook had 43 yards on nine carries and Kintrell Disher caught three passes for 34 yards to lead the Penguins.

Don’t rule out the possibility of these two teams meeting again in the playoffs.

YSU has little time to fix everything as Illinois State waits in the wings for a game that kicks off at 2 p.m. Saturday.