Bison RB Williams hoping to again find ‘extra gear’ against South Dakota in FCS quarterfinals

FARGO — North Dakota State running back TaMerik Williams flashed his big-play ability last weekend at Montana State with two long touchdown runs in a dramatic overtime victory in the second round of the Division I FCS playoffs.

The 6-foot-1, 227-pound Williams had scoring runs of 44 and 75 yards in a 35-34 victory against the No. 6-seeded Bobcats.

“Everybody wants to label me as a power back,” said Williams, from Angleton, Texas. “I think I’m pretty well balanced. I think I do everything really well as far as pass protection and being able to hit that extra gear to take it to the house.”

The Bison (10-3) are hoping Williams can hit that extra gear this weekend. NDSU plays No. 3-seeded South Dakota (10-2) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in the FCS quarterfinals at the DakotaDome. The game is a rematch.

The Coyotes scored a 24-19 victory at the Fargodome during the regular season. South Dakota limited the Bison to 189 rushing yards on 40 attempts in that game. NDSU is averaging 244.7 rushing yards per game — good for No. 4 in the FCS — heading into Saturday.

“Any opponent that we play is going to be a different challenge because we know we’re going to get their best shot,” Williams said.

The senior gave his best shot against the Bobcats. Williams rushed for a career-high 162 yards and the two scores on 11 attempts. It marked the first time this season the Bison had a true running back reach 100 rushing yards in a game.

“It was only a matter of time,” Williams said. “I’ve always been a patient guy. I don’t question anything that happens in life. I will always be ready for the opportunity and whenever it presents itself, I was good to go.”

Williams moved into the team lead in rushing after last weekend’s performance. He’s rushed for 657 yards and seven touchdowns on 105 attempts through 13 games.

Bison quarterback Cam Miller is second, rushing for 640 yards and 12 touchdowns in 122 carries. Backup QB Cole Payton has rushed for 508 yards and 10 TDs on 71 attempts.

Williams credited the Bison offensive line — often referred to as the ‘rams’ — for his big game at Bobcat Stadium.

“The preparation part, I just tried to keep it as normal as possible,” Williams said. “I’m a big routine guy. I try to be as consistent with everything that I do every week, leading up to that game. … I felt like we were getting a lot of movement up front. The rams were doing a great job, the tight ends were doing a great job.”

Williams scored on a 44-yard TD run that gave the Bison a 14-7 lead with 4 minutes, 7 seconds to play in the second quarter against Montana State. He added his 75-yard scoring burst for a 21-14 lead on the first play from scrimmage in the second half.

“He’s a big kid that can run,” said Bison head coach Matt Entz. “He was able to outrun their defense and two huge runs during the course of the game. He ran hard. We need that out of our veteran players.”

Both plays had a similar look. Williams angled through a seam off tackle before racing past a Bobcats defender on his way to the end zone.

“I know I have the ability, the talent and everything else,” said Williams, an SMU transfer in his third year with the Bison. “Once I caught the seam, I was just able to make a big play. … I’ve always prided myself on being able to have an extra gear. I feel a lot of people don’t really know that about myself.”

TK Marshall added to the big day for the Bison running backs with a 29-yard TD run that tied the scored at 28-28 with 2:33 remaining in the fourth quarter. That forced overtime. NDSU rushed for 296 yards on 43 attempts.

“We all contribute to the running game in a different way,” Williams said. “It’s special when you can find those different moments in the game for each of us to contribute at the right moment. It’s a matter of all of us just feeding off each other.”

The Coyotes have been stingy all season. They have one of the top scoring defenses in the FCS, limiting opponents to 15.4 points per game. South Dakota limited Williams to 19 yards on seven attempts during the regular-season matchup.

“They’re a great team,” Williams said. “I think their D-line is very solid.”

Peterson covers college athletics for The Forum, including Concordia College and Minnesota State Moorhead. He also covers the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks independent baseball team and helps out with North Dakota State football coverage. Peterson has been working at the newspaper since 1996.