BISON PLAYOFF HISTORY - North Dakota State University Athletics

2009 BISON FOOTBALL
112
BISON IN THE PLAYOFFS
1964 Mineral Bowl
EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, MO--The Bison
became the fi rst team in North Dakota
history to receive an invitation to play in
a postseason bowl game and the Thundering
Herd made the best of the occasion to
post a 14-13 win and cap an outstanding
10-1 season. That fi rst bowl opponent was
Western State of Colorado.
After a scoreless fi rst quarter, NDSU
got on the scoreboard with a six-yard pass
from QB Pierre DuCharme to halfback Bruce
Airheart. Minutes later, the Bison's Rudy
Baranko intercepted a pass in the end zone
and returned it to the NDSU 43. Three
plays later Airheart went 43 yards to score
his second TD of the day.
Western State, 9-0 during the regular
season, scored in the second period and tallied
again in the fourth quarter to close the
gap to 14-13 with 2:48 left. The Mountaineers
attempted the 2-point conversion, but
it failed as a heavy rush broke up the pass.
NDSU's Airheart was named the MVP of the
game.
Statistics NDSU WSC
First Downs 18 8
Yds. Rush 243 129
Yds. Pass 87 124
Passes 9-14-1 10-29-1
Punts 7-28.8 7-35.5
Penalties 9-83 8-80
Fumbles/Lost 4-4 4-3
Western State 0 7 0 6 -- 13
NDSU 0 14 0 0 -- 14
NDSU--Airheart 6 pass from DuCharme (DuCharme kick)
NDSU--Airheart 43 run (DuCharme kick)
WSC--Wilson 1 run (Simmons kick)
WSC--Wilson 15 pass from Novak (pass failed)
A--6,000
The Bison ran for 243 yards
to dominate action in their
fi rst bowl appearance.
1965 Pecan Bowl
ABILENE, TX--A determined NDSU football
team posted a convincing 20-7 Pecan
Bowl victory over famed Grambling College
here to cap a perfect 11-0 season and take
fi rm hold of the No. 1 national rating in
College Division football.
The Bison, one of the best defensive
teams in the nation, allowed Grambling
just 97 yards in total offense. The Bison
opened up scoring by marching the opening
kickoff 80 yards with Ken Rota going the
fi nal fi ve. The Bison upped the margin to
13-0 in the second quarter with Jim Carlson
passing 68 yards to Lowell Linderman for
the score.
Grambling collected its only score on a
93-yard kickoff return to open the second
half. NDSU fullback Roger Mische plunged
two yards in the fi nal quarter to fi nish the
scoring. Rota gained 96 yards on 22 carries
and was named the outstanding back.
Linderman was picked as the outstanding
lineman.
Statistics NDSU Grambling
First Downs 13 4
Yds. Rush 206 90
Yds. Pass 107 16
Passes 4-12-0 2-12-1
Punts 7-14.5 9-31.2
Penalties 2-10 6-40
Fumbles/Lost 0-0 0-0
Grambling 0 0 7 0 -- 7
NDSU 6 7 0 7 -- 20
NDSU--Rota 5 run (kick failed)
NDSU--Linderman 68 pass from Carlson (Aheman kick)
G--Smith 93 kickoff return (Bean kick)
NDSU--Mische 2 run (Ahneman kick)
A--8,500
Steve Irgens (83) puts the heavy hit on
Grambling's QB in the 1965 Pecan Bowl
victory as Ardell Wiegandt (60) and another
unidentifi ed Bison come to his aid.
1967 Pecan Bowl
ABILENE, TX--The cold and the ice of
P.E. Shotwell Stadium combined with the
stiff defense of the Texas-Arlington Rebels
to pin a 13-0 Pecan Bowl loss on the previously
undefeated North Dakota State Bison.
The result allowed both teams to fi nish
10-1 for the season as the Bison pulled in
second and the Rebels third in the national
wire service poll. The Bison rushing machine
was limited to just 106 yards, 61 of
them by back Tim Mjos.
Arlington scored fi rst after a 54-yard
bomb moved the ball deep into NDSU territory.
The 6-0 score held up until just two
minutes remained in the game when an
intercepted pass led to the fi nal TD.
The Bison threatened on numerous occasions,
reaching the Rebel 21, 16, 12 and
7-yard lines before being stopped.
Statistics NDSU UTA
First Downs 12 14
Yds. Rush 106 96
Yds. Pass 94 118
Passes 8-25-2 11-28-0
Punts 7-39.4 9-39.1
Penalties 5-60 3-24
Fumbles/Lost 1-1 4-2
Texas-Arlington 0 6 0 7 -- 13
NDSU 0 0 0 0 -- 0
UTA--Griffi n 1 run (kick failed)
UTA--Luft 5 run (Butler kick)
A--1,000
Snow, cold, and empty seats greeted
North Dakota State's entry into the 1967
Pecan Bowl.