Sam Houston 24, North Dakota State 20 (FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals)

May 2, 2021

North Dakota State

20 at 24

Sam Houston

Recap

Full Recap (Sam Houston) | Full Recap (North Dakota State) | Box Score

HUNTSVILLE — The Bearkats finally ran down the Bison.

Sam Houston scored the go-ahead touchdown with less than four minutes to go in the game and came up with a crucial fourth-down stop to snap a four-game losing streak to North Dakota State with a 24-20 victory at Bowers Stadium in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs on Sunday.

The Bearkats (8-0) will host James Madison in the semifinals on May 8. Sam Houston is now 15-0 in home playoff games.

NDSU scored on a safety in the second quarter and a kickoff return and punt return in the third quarter to come back and tie the game 17-17. Jake Reinholz’s 33-yard field goal with 8:17 left in the game gave NDSU a 20-17 lead.

Schmid’s score capped a nine-play, 72-yard drive highlighted by a 47-yard passing play to Ife Adeyi on third-and-10 to move the ball to the NDSU 5. After a one-yard loss, Schmid scored up the middle to put the Bearkats back ahead.

North Dakota State advanced as far as the Sam Houston 17 on the final drive thanks to a pass interference call on fourth-and-5, RB Dominic Gonnella’s 22-yard rush on third-and-2, and a five-yard pass from Cam Miller to Christian Watson that set up third-and-2 with 39 seconds left.

The Bison fumbled an exchange in the backfield and couldn’t convert a fourth-and-6 passing attempt with 29 seconds left in the game.

NDSU’s Hunter Luepke rushed 12 times for a team-high 57 yards, Gonnella had 10 carries for 46 yards and Miller ran 14 times for 26 yards. Miller was 7 of 18 passing for 90 yards with two interceptions.