AMES, Iowa – Despite outgaining Iowa State (1-0) on the ground by an 174-86 margin, North Dakota (0-1) fell, 21-3, at Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Iowa State did not pull away on the scoreboard until early in the fourth quarter when Rocco Becht scored on a two-yard rush to bring the score to 21-3 in favor of the Cyclones.

In the game, North Dakota moved the ball against Iowa State and racked up 295 yards of offense, highlighted by 174 on the ground. Isaiah Smith led the rushing attack with 50 yards rushing on 12 touches, followed by Simon Romfo with 44 yards on 11 attempts.

Romfo went 17-for-30 through the air for 121 yards passing while giving up one interception. In total, Romfo accounted for 165 yards of total offense. Bo Belquist was Romfo’s top target and hauled in six grabs for 43 yards.

Becht paced the Cyclone offense and was 20-for-26 passing for 267 yards and two scores. He also pushed ahead for the two-yard rushing touchdown to bring the tally to 21-3 early in the final stanza.

Jaylin Noel was the top ISU receiver with eight catches for 135 yards and a touchdown. Jaylin Higgins also had five grabs for 75 yards and a score.

North Dakota trailed 14-3 at intermission. Iowa State scored on its opening drive when Becht found Higgins for a 21-yard score to cap a two-play, 75-yard drive and held the 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Fighting Hawks found the scoreboard with three minutes left in the half when C.J. Elrichs booted home a 26-yard field goal to finish a 23-play, 88-yard drive that consumed 12:24 of clock. On their next possession, the Cyclones scored a touchdown on a 14-yard pass from Becht to Noel that put an exclamation point on a 65-yard drive that only consumed 2:12 of clock and carried the 14-3 lead into the break.

In the opening half, UND chewed up 22:29 of clock and had 173 yards of offense. ISU had 179 yards of offense, with 168 yards coming through the air. Romfo was 11-for-16 for 79 yards and picked up eight yards on the ground. Becht went 10-for-14 for 168 yards and two scores and rushed one time for five yards.

North Dakota will host No. 3 Montana with a 6 p.m. kick inside the Alerus Center on Saturday. The game will air on Midco Sports and will be carried on the Fighting Hawks Radio Network.

Postgame Notes

• North Dakota is now 0-1 all-time in the series against Iowa State.
• The 21 points were the fewest UND has allowed an FBS opponent since beating Wyoming, 24-13, in 2015. This is also the second fewest points UND has allowed against an FBS opponent and fewest against a Power 4 since moving to Division I in 2008.
• UND is now 5-2 in its last seven season openers.
• With six catches today, Bo Belquist is now only five grabs away from breaking UND’s Division I career receptions record. Greg Hardin (2010-13) is the current record holder with 216 grabs in his career. Belquist has 212.
• The Fighting Hawks outgained the Cyclones on the ground, 174-86. ISU racked up 353 yards of total offense, while UND had 295 yards of offense.
• Antonio Bluiett led the NoDak defense with five total tackles. Josh Navratil and Jack Teiken each recorded 1.0 tackles-for-loss.
• NoDak accumulated 37:51 minutes of possession in the game.
• Iowa State finished the game +1.0 in turnover margin, picking off one pass.

How It Happened
First Quarter
14:22 – ISU | Jayden Higgins scores on a 21-yard pass from Rocco Becht. (Kyle Konrardy kick). 2 plays, 75 yards, 0:17.
Second Quarter
3:00 – UND | C.J. Elrichs connects on a 26-yard field goal. 23 plays, 88 yards, 12:24.
0:48 – ISU | Jaylin Noel scores on a 14-yard pass from Becht. (Konrardy kick). 7 plays, 65 yards, 2:12.
Third Quarter
–
Fourth Quarter
12:33 – ISU | Becht scores on a two-yard rush. (Konrardy kick). 12 plays, 96 yards, 6:54.

Game Recap: Football | 8/31/2024 6:30:00 PM | Tyler Wells, FightingHawks.com

Iowa State Cyclones wide receiver Jaylin Noel (13) makes a catch between North Dakota Fighting Hawks defensive back Antonio Bluiett (22) and Tyler Erkman (9) during the first quarter in the season-opening game at Jack Trice Stadium on Aug. 31, 2024,  in Ames, Iowa. © Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK

 AMES — Jaylin Noel’s family members took out their phones and shared the image.

 The photo shows Iowa State’s star receiver engulfed by two North Dakota defenders as his quarterback, Rocco Becht, hoisted the football his way.

 Somehow, Noel fought for the ball and won on the 54-yard strike that opened the Cyclones’ 21-3 season-opening win over the Fighting Hawks — and the photographic evidence detailing the degree of difficulty momentarily stunned him.

 Then he smiled.

 “It’s actually pretty crazy,” said Noel, who led all receivers with eight receptions for 135 yards and a touchdown. “It’s pretty cool.”

 ISU’s season opener proved to be pretty tense for three quarters against a North Dakota team that’s advanced to the FCS playoffs in four of the past five seasons. And Big plays like Noel’s must come in bunches next Saturday when the Cyclones face No. 25 Iowa in Kinnick Stadium. ISU’s beaten the Hawkeyes just once in the past eight meetings and struggled defensively against the Fighting Hawks, allowing 295 total yards.

 “We didn’t get off the field,” Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell said. “And until you watch the video, you can’t say, man, what went will and what didn’t go well. I thought what did go well was in the heat of the moment — the critical moment(s) — we were able to win those battles when it mattered most.”

 For examlple, ISU secured the only takeaway of Saturday’s game when backup linebacker John Klosterman, a former standout at Iowa City High, hit North Dakota quarterback Simon Romfo on a pass attempt on the first drive of the second half. Klosterman’s hurry sent the ball sailing directly to teammate Beau Freyler, who intercepted it at his own 15-yard line.

 “I was kind of surprised it was just coming right to me, honestly,” the all-Big 12 senior safety said. “After I saw it — we saw it on the (tablet on the sidelines) — I told him he gets half the interception.”

 Fair enough — and that’s not the only positive that came out of a sometimes shaky defensive performance. The Cyclones cycled through its three-deeps at most positions in Saturday’s win, so several players gained valuable experience. That came out of both necessity and design, as ISU lost standout linebacker Caleb Bacon to an apparent lower leg injury in the first quarter. His status this week is uncertain, which is also the case for offensive linemen Jalen Travis and Dylan Hasert, as well as linebackers Cael Brezina and Will McLaughlin, none of whom played on Saturday because of assorted “bumps and bruises,” Campbell said. 

 “I think (Brezina will) definitely be a guy that’s going to be available next week, so it will be good to get some bodies back in that linebackers room for sure, too.”

 The Cyclones’ offense shined most on Saturday, averaging 7.4 points per play while possessing the ball almost 16 fewer minutes than the Fighting Hawks did. Becht completed 20 of his 26 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns. Three of his passes spanned 20 or more yards and despite sailing a few throws, he played turnover-free football for the fourth time in the past five games dating back to last season.

 “Obviously, we wanted to do a little more,” Becht said. “It was kind of a weird game time of possession-wise. In those types of games we’ve got to be consistent on each one of (our) drives because we didn’t have a lot (of them).”

 ISU will have to do a lot more on both sides of the ball to have a chance to beat Iowa on the road. And big plays like Noel’s grab will be essential if the Cyclones are to emerge from Kinnick Stadium with a victory for the second straight time.

 “We know we’re going to go into a beehive, you could say, and those guys are gonna be ready,” Noel said. “We’ve just got to get our bodies right, get in the film room and prepare, because those guys are good. We know what they’re capable of so we’ll be ready to go.”

North Dakota Gov. Burgum called out Vice President Harris for allowing for “open borders” under her administration, also criticizing the polices of President Biden on border security.

“Harris wants to have open borders, just like Biden has,” Burgum said in an interview on CNN Friday. “That’s one of the big issues that people are going to be facing. And we’re very clear about how President Trump stands on that issue.”

While Harris signaled recently in her sit-down interview Thursday with CNN’s Dana Bash that she would “enforce” laws on immigration, she has faced criticism for her record on the border during her administration, including the number of border crossings.

HARRIS SHIFTS KEY POSITIONS ON BORDER, ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION AS CAMPAIGN PROMISES ‘PRAGMATIC’ APPROACH

When responding to former President Trump’s stance on the border, Burgum said that Republicans believe that certain issues, including enforcing border laws, are under the authority of the federal government.

“One of the things that’s very clear is that the border, as part of national security, is the federal government’s job,” Burgum said. “That’s not left to the states. President Trump wants to secure our border.”

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“It doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican, a Democrat, or an independent,” Burgum later said. “Inflation, high interest rates, wars abroad, open borders, those are the things that have hurt every American.”

‘FOR ELECTION PURPOSES’: CRITICS BALK AT HARRIS’ CLAIM SHE WILL ‘ENFORCE OUR LAWS’ AT SOUTHERN BORDER

Burgum said that America needs to return to “low inflation, low interest rates, peace abroad, and an energy policy that wasn’t creating poverty here at home and empowering our adversaries.”

“Those are the issues that the election is going to turn on,” he said, avoiding questions about abortion and in vitro fertilization.

Harris’ stance on border and immigration laws have changed in recent years.

Harris told the San Francisco Chronicle in 2015 that “an undocumented immigrant is not a criminal.” She also posted the claim on social media. And in a discussion with the late Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain’s daughter, Meghan, during a 2019 episode of “The View,” Harris reiterated her stance.

“I would not make it a crime punishable by jail,” she said. “It should be a civil enforcement issue but not a criminal enforcement issue.”

The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

Fox News’ Alec Schemmel contributed to this report. 

Original article source: North Dakota Gov. Burgum says that Harris wants ‘open borders’ for the US, ‘just like Biden’