BISON PLAYOFF HISTORY - North Dakota State University Athletics

2009 BISON FOOTBALL
116
BISON IN THE PLAYOFFS
1981 Palm Bowl
McALLEN, TX--It was the classic matchup
for the NCAA Division II national football
championship as the Bison battled Southwest
Texas State.
No promoter could have dreamed of a
better fi nish. The Bison entered with 10
straight wins and faced their former coach,
Jim Wacker.
Current NDSU
head coach
Don Morton
was a chief
assistant under
Wacker three
seasons earlier
at NDSU.
Wacker and
Morton were close friends and combined to
author a book on football and the veer offense.
The two clubs had many similarities
on the fi eld. Perfect 80-degree weather and
a week-long buildup promised fi reworks.
The Bison jumped out to a 7-0 lead on
their fi rst possession with Mark Nellermoe
capping a 69-yard drive with a 1-yard run.
Two costly second-quarter fumbles set up a
pair of Bobcat TDs and the Bison were down
14-7 before Kevin Peters (above) exploded in
from two yards out to cap an 88-yard drive
37 seconds before halftime.
Two Mike Miller bombs in the third quarter
coupled with crippling injuries to running
back Mike Kasowski and linebacker Todd Lecy
spelled defeat for the Herd.
Statistics NDSU SW Texas
First Downs 14 27
Yds. Rush 220 328
Yds. Pass 87 198
Passes 3-7-1 8-14-1
Punts 6-48.0 4-39.3
Penalties 4-42 6-45
Fumbles/Lost 5-4 6-3
SW Texas State 0 14 14 14 -- 42
NDSU 7 6 0 0 -- 13
NDSU--Nellermoe 1 run (Luedtke kick)
SWTS--Williams 6 run (Neunhoffer kick)
SWTS--Vela 35 pass from Miller (Neunhoffer kick)
NDSU--Peters 2 run (Kick failed
SWTS--Vela 64 pass from Miller (Neunhoffer kick)
SWTS--Deary 44 pass from Miller (Neunhoffer kick)
SWTS--Williams 2 run (Neunhoffer kick)
SWTS--Jacoby 2 run (Neunhoffer kick)
A--9,415
Top Individuals
Rushing--Williams (SWTS) 22-153; Peters (NDSU) 10-79;
Miller (SWTS) 20-74; Kasowski (NDSU) 10-69
Passing--Miller (SWTS) 8-14-1, 198 yds.; Nellermoe (NDSU)2-
5-1, 50 yds.
Receiving--Vela (SWTS) 2-99; Deary (SWTS) 2-41; Blakley
(NDSU) 1-41; Barnes (NDSU) 1-37
1982 NCAA Quarterfi nal
FARGO, ND--North Dakota State hosted
an NCAA playoff game for the fi rst time
since 1977 and the Bison were rewarded
with a scary 21-20 opening-round victory
over Virginia Union.
The Bison scored two fourth-quarter TDs
including a 1-yard run by Jeff Willis with
1:06 remaining in the game to pull out the
win. NDSU trailed 20-7 early in the fi nal
stanza before holding the Panthers inside
the Bison 40. The Herd then marched 59
yards in four plays with Mark Nellermoe
hitting two big passes in the drive to Stacy
Robinson and Jeff Conley.
On the next possession, the Bison
marched 80 yards in 16 plays for the
game-winner. The series was marred by an
inadvertant whistle by an offi cial on an apparent
Virginia Union pass interception, and
the ball was returned to the Bison on the
Panther 14-yard line. The Bison scored four
plays later.
Virginia Union scored fi rst and had a 12-0
lead before the Bison's Jim Dick blocked a
punt that was downed on the Union 2-yard
line. Nellermoe took it in from the 1 on the
next play.
Statistics VUU NDSU
First Downs 21 16
Yds. Rush 251 140
Yds. Pass 65 105
Passes 6-12-0 8-21-1
Punts 4-31.5 6-26.8
Penalties 9-67 3-45
Fumbles/Lost 5-2 0-0
Virginia Union 6 6 8 0 -- 20
NDSU 0 7 0 14 -- 21
VUU-Cathion 6 run (kick wide
VUU-Smith 26 run (pass failed)
NDSU--Nellermoe 1 run (Luedtke kick)
VUU--Cathion 2 run (Cathion pass from Cathrone)
NDSU--Harris 9 run (Luedtke kick)
NDSU--Wills 1 run (Luedtke kick)
A--4,300
Top Individuals
Rushing--Davis (VUU)15-80; Smith (VUU) 10-72; Harris
(NDSU) 12-63; Cathion (VUU) 11-53
Passing--Nellermoe (NDSU) 8-21-1, 105 yds.; Johnson (VUU)
3-4-0, 34 yds; Cauthrone (VUU) 3-8-0, 31 yds.
Receiving--Conley (NDSU) 5-43; Robinson (NDSU) 2-51;
Bland (VUU) 2-30; Davis (VUU) 2-5
Bison players celebrate a big play against
Virginia Union.
1982 NCAA Semifi nals
DAVIS, CA--North Dakota State's dream of
a return trip to the NCAA national championship
game fell exactly seven yards and a
fi ngertip short as the Bison fell for the fi rst
and only time of the season, 19-14, to undefeated
University of California-Davis.
All-American quarterback Ken O'Brien
was the difference in the fi rst two quarters
and the fi rst fi ve minutes of play in the third
stanza. O'Brien hit 25 of 38 passes for 253
yards and scored all three Aggie touchdowns
on 1-yard
runs.
Then NDSU
took over.
The Bison
had the ball
21 minutes
in the fi nal
two periods.
NDSU moved
to the Davis
28- and 12yard
lines,
but came
away without
any points
before the
Jeff Willis
Bison fi nally
went 65 yards
in 18 plays to score on a 13-yard run by Jeff
Willis. That tally closed the gap to 19-14.
North Dakota State's fi nal chance came
on the next possession as the Bison marched
49 yards in 11 plays to the Cal-Davis 8-yard
line, setting up a fi rst-and-goal situation
with less than 25 seconds to play. An incomplete
pass and a 1-yard gain by Willis put the
ball on the seven with 11 seconds remaining.
Another incomplete pass set up the fi nal
play of the game and Mark Nellermoe's pass
to tight end Mark Luedtke in the back of the
end zone was off the receiver's fi ngertips.
Thus, a 12-1 season came to a close. The
game was watched nationally on CBS television.
Cal-Davis moved on to the NCAA championship
game with a perfect 12-0 record.
Statistics NDSU UCD
First Downs 18 19
Yds. Rush 150 81
Yds. Pass 189 264
Passes 9-25-3 28-42-2
Punts 4-38.3 5-37.3
Penalties 4-33 7-57
Fumbles/Lost 3-1 2-1
NDSU 0 7 0 7 -- 14
Cal-Davis 7 6 6 0 -- 19
UCD--O'Brien 1 run (Sullivan kick)
UCD--O'Brien 1 run (kick failed)
NDSU--Robinson 69 pass from Nellermoe (Luedtke kick)
UCD--O'Brien 1 run (run failed)
NDSU--Willis 13 run (Luedtke kick)
A--10,400
Top Individuals
Rushing--Rogers (UC-D) 17-69; Willis (NDSU) 15-66; Harris
(NDSU) 11-44; Nellermoe (NDSU) 17-20
Passing--O'Brien (UC-D) 25-38-2, 253 yds.; Nellermoe
(NDSU)9-25-3, 189 yds.
Receiving--Rogers (UC-D) 10-62; Williams (UC-D) 7-97; Fleming
(UC-D) 7-71; Robinson (NDSU) 4-131