FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – The playoff march continues for the Herd, as North Dakota St. took care of business against Mercer Saturday 31-7 to advance to the FCS Semifinals for the fourth straight season.
Early scoring and stingy defense propelled the Bison to victory in the quarterfinals, with Cam Miller and Bryce Lance starring in the first quarter.
NDSU capped its opening drive with a Cam Miller 40-yard dime to Lance for a 7-0 lead.
On the next Bison drive, following a 70-yard Miller completion to Mekhi Collins, Miller and Lance connected again for another touchdown and a 14-0 advantage.
Advertisement
Bears got a score back, but Cam Miller responded for North Dakota St. with his legs this time, scampering in for a 34-yard score to keep Mercer out of arm’s reach.
The Bison led 24-7 at halftime, and North Dakota St. pulled off the 31-7 victory.
Next up, it’s a Dakota Marker rematch in the semifinals, as NDSU will host SDSU for the second time this season with a trip to Frisco and the FCS National Championship on the line. Kickoff Sat. Dec. 21 is set for 11:00 a.m.
North Dakota St. won their regular season meeting 13-9 in the Fargodome for its first Dakota Marker victory since 2019.
BOZEMAN — Top-seeded Montana State will host No. 4 seed South Dakota of the Missouri Valley Football Conference next week for a berth in the FCS national championship game.
The Coyotes beat UC Davis 35-21 in a quarterfinal game Saturday in Vermillion, S.D., to earn their first-ever semifinal berth. MSU earned a trip to the semis with a 52-19 win over Idaho on Friday in Bozeman.
The Big Sky-champion Bobcats (14-0) and MVFC-winning Coyotes (11-2) will meet next Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in Bozeman, with the victor advancing to the championship on Monday, Jan. 6, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
South Dakota, under ninth-year coach Bob Nielson, had six takeaways on defense against No. 5-seed UC Davis, including five interceptions of Aggies quarterback Miles Hastings. Offensively, USD QB Aidan Bouman countered two interceptions with three touchdown throws.
Advertisement
Running back Travis Theis had a pair of rushing TDs, and tight end J.J. Gilbreath caught both of Bouman’s touchdown passes.
UC Davis lost star running back Lan Larison to injury in the first half.
It will be just the third all-time meeting between MSU and South Dakota. The Bobcats hosted USD in 2008, a 37-18 victory, and welcomed the Coyotes to Bozeman again in 2009, a 31-24 MSU win in overtime.
The other semifinal game next week will pit No. 3 seed South Dakota State (12-2) at No. 2 North Dakota State (12-2) in a renewal of the Dakota Marker rivalry.
SDSU, the two-time reigning national champion, trounced No. 6 seed Incarnate Word 55-14 in the quarters earlier Saturday, while NDSU handled No. 7 seed Mercer 31-7.
The Mercer Bears’ playoff journey came to an end in 2023 with a tough loss to the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in the second round. Can they rewrite the script this year against another Missouri Valley Football Conference powerhouse, the North Dakota State Bison?
Our Mercer vs. North Dakota State prediction dives deep into everything you need to know — from the latest betting odds to what’s on the line for both teams as they battle in the FCS quarterfinals.
College Football Network’s College Football Playoff Predictor is a tool that allows you to play out various weekly scenarios to see how the CFP picture changes with each scenario.
Mercer vs. North Dakota State FCS Quarterfinals Betting Preview
All Mercer vs. North Dakota State odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook and are correct as of Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024.
Spread North Dakota State -22.5
Moneyline North Dakota State -2400, Mercer +1074
Over/Under 55 points
Game Time 3:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, Dec. 14
Location Fargodome | Fargo, N. Dak.
Predicted Weather at Kick 24 degrees, 8 mph winds, cloudy
How To Watch ABC/ESPN+
Mercer is 1-1 as an underdog this year, failing to cover the 42-point spread against the Alabama Crimson Tide just a few weeks ago.
However, the program is 4-1 against the spread on the road entering their matchup in Fargo.
Advertisement
MORE: CFN Betting Parlay Calculator
That’s especially notable considering North Dakota State is just 2-5 ATS as 20+ point favorites this year.
As far as the total, these teams are riding opposite trends:
The under has hit in three of the Bears’ last five games.
The over has cashed in four of the Bison’s last five.
Prediction for Mercer vs. North Dakota State
NDSU head coach Tim Polasek addressed his team’s slow starts in recent games during a press conference this week, and his response should fire up both players and fans alike.
“I think we’re looking ahead. Like it’s not big enough for us. It’s not big enough for anybody just to be in a quarterfinal game … or the second round of the playoffs. It is damn big enough. It is. And that’s gotta be the main focus. It’s the Super Bowl this weekend. And it’s Mercer, and we’re zeroed in.”
MORE: Simulate the College Football Playoffs With CFN’s College Football Playoff Predictor
Advertisement
The Bison have reached the quarterfinals 15 straight seasons—this is where they expect to be.
Mercer, on the other hand, is making its first-ever appearance in the FCS quarterfinals.
There’s a clear gap in experience, and NDSU will prove as much on Saturday.
The Bears’ No. 1-ranked run defense (66.0 yards per game) might challenge the Bison, but QB Cam Miller has shown he can air it out. His 73.7% completion rate, 2,614 passing yards, 26 TDs, and just two INTs this season speak for themselves.
On the other side, Mercer’s offense will rely on freshman QB Whitt Newbauer. While the 6’6” rookie has stepped up admirably for D.J. Smith, he’ll face an uphill battle against a seasoned NDSU defense. Add in Mercer’s ground-heavy offense—something the Bison are built to counter coming from the MVFC—and it’s hard to see the Bears breaking through.
Advertisement
Take NDSU to win and cover in a relatively low-scoring contest.
Prediction: North Dakota State 31, Mercer 13
College Football Network has you covered with the latest from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, and every Group of Five conference and FBS Independent program.
Wyoming Cowgirls (4-5) at South Dakota Coyotes (4-7)
Vermillion, South Dakota; Sunday, 2 p.m. EST
Advertisement
BOTTOM LINE: South Dakota will try to keep its four-game home win streak alive when the Coyotes take on Wyoming.
The Coyotes have gone 3-2 at home. South Dakota is fifth in the Summit scoring 70.6 points while shooting 41.6% from the field.
The Cowgirls are 0-3 on the road. Wyoming is 2-4 against opponents with a winning record.
South Dakota is shooting 41.6% from the field this season, 1.5 percentage points higher than the 40.1% Wyoming allows to opponents. Wyoming averages 61.3 points per game, 15.4 fewer points than the 76.7 South Dakota gives up.
TOP PERFORMERS: Alexi Hempe is shooting 37.5% from beyond the arc with 2.5 made 3-pointers per game for the Coyotes, while averaging 12.5 points.
Advertisement
Allyson Fertig is averaging 18.1 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks for the Cowgirls.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/TAL-best-time-to-visit-STPETEFL1224-3905b94e145c497e91d6cdf4bf151f1f.jpg "This Florida City Gets 361 Days of Sunshine Per Year — and It Has a Buzzy Food Scene and an Iconic Pink Hotel")
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25782636/247422_ChatGPT_anniversary_CVirginia.jpg "Inside the launch — and future — of ChatGPT")
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25789444/1258459915.jpg "OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever says the way AI is built is about to change")
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25546252/STK169_Mark_Zuckerburg_CVIRGINIA_D.jpg "Meta asks the US government to block OpenAI’s switch to a for-profit")