North Dakota

When North Dakota State nearly beat Deion Sanders, Colorado it got Tennessee State football’s attention

Published

1 year ago

September 5, 2024

When North Dakota State nearly beat Deion Sanders, Colorado it got Tennessee State football’s attention

Eddie George didn’t have to say much to his Tennessee State football team when it came to pointing out the challenge that awaits Saturday when the Tigers (1-0) visit North Dakota State (0-1) at the Fargodome (2:30 p.m., CST., ESPN+).

North Dakota State opened the season in a national spotlight when the Bison gave Deion Sanders and Colorado a scare in one of the first Thursday night college football games of the season. North Dakota State eventually let a halftime lead slip away in the 31-26 loss but showed why it has been an FCS power for many years.

Tennessee State watched Colorado-North Dakota State on ESPN

The No. 2 Bison, who have won 17 national championships including nine since 2011, certainly got TSU’s attention.

“Everybody watched that game,” TSU quarterback Draylen Ellis said. “I think a lot of people wanted to see North Dakota State upset Colorado and they almost did.”

The Colorado-North Dakota State game drew an average of 4.8 million viewers making it ESPN’s most-watched Thursday season-opener since 2017 (Ohio State vs. Indiana). The game peaked with 5.6 million viewers, according to ESPN.

Watching the game gave Ellis a preview of what to expect Saturday when TSU attempts to open the season 2-0 for the first time since 2018.

“They are very physical; they swarm to the ball,” Ellis said. “Their defense plays together as one. Everyone on the defense does their job. It means we just have to go in and not try to force too many plays. Just let the plays come to us. We’re going to have to play a perfect game.”

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TSU’s Draylen Ellis presents different challenges than Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders

Ellis played the best game of his career last Saturday leading the Tigers to a 41-21 win over Mississippi Valley State. He completed 21 of 33 passes for 356 yards and three touchdowns.

Ellis’ performance got the attention of North Dakota State coach Tim Polasek, who said facing Ellis won’t be anything like facing Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who completed 26 of 34 passes for 445 yards and three touchdowns against the Bison.

“It’s much different,” Polasek said. “Colorado dropped back and threw like I thought they would. Drop back and pass, like the old days. Hitch and throw. This guy (Ellis) is all RPO (run/pass option). It’s all screens. Even on third downs they’re not afraid to throw screens to keep it one (step), two (step) ball out type of stuff. That’s where he’s really effective and accurate. This kid is accurate, capable and has a good arm. I respect him.”

The key for North Dakota State’s defense, Polasak said, will be to keep TSU in third-and-long situations where shorter pass completions will make it difficult for the Tigers to pick up first downs.

How did North Dakota State get on TSU’s schedule?

George, in his fourth year at TSU, has never backed down from difficult games. Last year the Tigers opened at Notre Dame and the year before at Eastern Washington, which was ranked No. 12 in the FCS at the time.

In George’s first season TSU opened against Grambling before playing Jackson State, which at the time was coached by Deion Sanders and quarterbacked by Shedeur Sanders.

So seeing a national FCS power like North Dakota State on the schedule probably didn’t surprise Tigers fans. North Dakota State will play TSU at Nissan Stadium on Sept. 6, 2025.

“A couple of years ago their AD (Matt Larsen) called and said, ‘Hey, do you want to get on our schedule for a home-and-home?’” George said. “I said, ‘Hey, let’s do it. Absolutely. Why not?’ We’ll take on any team anywhere.”

Is North Dakota State’s Cam Miller the best player TSU has faced under Eddie George?

Four-year starting quarterback Cam Miller’s 7-yard touchdown run gave North Dakota State a 17-14 lead in the second quarter against Colorado. Miller added a 20-yard touchdown run in the second half. He also completed 18 of 22 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown.

Miller, a Walter Payton (FCS best offensive player) finalist in 2023, has led North Dakota State to a 31-10 record as a starter. He has passed for 6,747 career yards and 49 touchdowns while rushing for 1,727 yards and 38 touchdowns.

“He’s the best player we have probably seen in my tenure here,” George said. “Cam is a remarkable leader. He can run, he can throw. He has a great deal of experience. He just makes the right plays at the right time. They’re always in the playoffs or competing for a national championship because of that position.”

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.

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North Dakota

Wheeler-Thomas scores 21 as North Dakota State knocks off Cal State Bakersfield 80-69

Published

7 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Wheeler-Thomas scores 21 as North Dakota State knocks off Cal State Bakersfield 80-69

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) — Damari Wheeler-Thomas’ 21 points helped North Dakota State defeat Cal State Bakersfield 80-69 on Thursday.

Wheeler-Thomas had three steals for the Bison (8-3). Markhi Strickland scored 15 points while shooting 6 of 11 from the field and 3 for 6 from the free-throw line and grabbed five rebounds. Andy Stefonowicz went 4 of 7 from the field (3 for 4 from 3-point range) to finish with 13 points.

Ron Jessamy led the way for the Roadrunners (4-7) with 18 points, six rebounds, two steals and four blocks. CJ Hardy added 13 points. Jaden Alexander also recorded eight points and two steals.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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North Dakota

Scientists discover ancient river-dwelling mosasaur in North Dakota

Published

19 hours ago

December 11, 2025

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Scientists discover ancient river-dwelling mosasaur in North Dakota

Some 66 million years ago, a city bus-sized terrifying predator prowled a prehistoric river in what is now North Dakota.

This finding is based on the analysis of a single mosasaur tooth conducted by an international team of researchers from the United States, Sweden, and the Netherlands.

The tooth came from a prognathodontine mosasaur — a reptile reaching up to 11 meters long. This makes it an apex predator on par with the largest killer whales.

It shows that massive mosasaurs successfully adapted to life in rivers right up until their extinction.

The mosasaur tooth was found in 2022 in the Bismarck Area, North Dakota. Credit: Melanie During

Isotope analysis

Dating from 98 to 66 million years ago, abundant mosasaur fossils have been uncovered in marine deposits across North America, Europe, and Africa.

However, these marine reptile fossils have been rarely found in North Dakota before.

In this new study, the large mosasaur tooth was unearthed in a fluvial deposit (river sediment) in North Dakota.

Its neighbors in the dirt were just as compelling: a tooth from a Tyrannosaurus rex and a crocodylian jawbone. Interestingly, all these fossilized remains came from a similar age, around 66 million years old.

This unusual gathering — sea monster, land dinosaur, and river croc — raised an intriguing question: If the mosasaur was a sea creature, how did its remains end up in an inland river?

The answer lay in the chemistry of the tooth enamel. Using advanced isotope analysis at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, the team compared the chemical composition of the mosasaur tooth with its neighbors.

The key was the ratio of oxygen isotopes.

The mosasaur teeth contained a higher proportion of the lighter oxygen isotope than is typical for mosasaurs living in saltwater. This specific isotopic signature, along with the strontium isotope ratio, strongly suggests that the mosasaur lived in a freshwater habitat.

Analysis also revealed that the mosasaur did not dive as deep as many of its marine relatives and may have fed on unusual prey, such as drowned dinosaurs.

The isotope signatures indicated that this mosasaur had inhabited this freshwater riverine environment. When we looked at two additional mosasaur teeth found nearby, slightly older sites in North Dakota, we saw similar freshwater signatures. These analyses show that mosasaurs lived in riverine environments in the final million years before going extinct,” explained Melanie During, the study author.

Transformation of the Seaway

The adaptation occurred during the final million years of the Cretaceous period.

It is hypothesized that the mosasaurs were adapting to an enormous environmental shift in the Western Interior Seaway, the vast inland sea that once divided North America.

Increased freshwater influx gradually transformed the ancient sea from saltwater to brackish water, and finally to mostly freshwater, similar to the modern Gulf of Bothnia.

The researchers hypothesize that this change led to the formation of a halocline: a structure where a lighter layer of freshwater rested atop heavier saltwater. The findings of the isotope analyses directly support this theory.

The analyzed mosasaur teeth belong to individuals who successfully adapted to the shifting environments.

This transition from marine to freshwater habitats (reverse adaptation) is considered less complex than the opposite shift and is not unique among large predators.

Modern parallels include river dolphins, which evolved from marine ancestors but now thrive in freshwater, and the estuarine crocodile, which moves freely between freshwater rivers and the open sea for hunting.

Findings were published in the journal BMC Zoology on December 11.

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