FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA – The University of the Incarnate Word football team was defeated on Saturday at No. 1 North Dakota State at Gate City Bank Field, 58-0 in front of a crowd of 19,020, tied for sixth largest in Fargodome history.

There was a lot of build up to the game beginning last Saturday when ESPN's College GameDay announced they would be heading to Fargo.  NDSU entered the game on a 26-game winning streak and with three consecutive national titles while the Cardinals were making their first trip north of Arkansas in the program's 6-year history.

"It was everything we thought.  It was spectacular, the venue was spectacular and their team was spectacular," said UIW head coach Larry Kennan.  "We had great effort and horrible lack of execution on offense, particularly in the first half.  They are really a classy team.  When we grow up and get to be really good, we want to be like them.  They showed us how it is and that is what we are going to strive for."

North Dakota State proved why they are the three-time defending national champions with their performance.  They held the Cardinals under 50 total yards of offense through three quarters and they scored touchdowns through the air, on the ground and on defense.

The Cardinals were finally able to drive into Bison territory in the fourth quarter.  On the first occasion, NDSU picked off a pass and returned it for a touchdown.  On the second occurrence, the Cardinals were stopped at the 25-yard line and settled for a field goal try that went wide right to preserve the shutout for the home team.

The Bison (3-0) wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard.  They forced the Cardinals (0-3) into a three-and-out on the opening drive of the game and CJ Smith's 47-yard punt return gave the home team great field position at the UIW 15-yard.  Three plays later Carson Wentz found Jeff Illies for an 11-yard touchdown pass.  The extra point by Adam Keller made it 7-0 with 11:50 left in the first quarter.

NDSU struck once more before the end of the first quarter.  Wentz hit RJ Urzendowski for a 60-yard touchdown pass on a blown coverage.  The scoring drive was four plays for 73 in 1:46.

John Crockett put the Bison up 21-0 midway through the second quarter.  After being bottled up on his first six carries of the day, he burst through the line for 36-yard touchdown run with 7:36 remaining in the first half.  Before halftime, the Bison tacked on one more touchdown thanks to a 10-play, 92-yard drive that ended with a 29-yard touchdown pass from Wentz to King Frazier.

Things did not get any better for the Cardinals in the second half as the Bison rang up 24 points in the third quarter.  Crockett, Frazier and Chase Morlock each had touchdown runs while Adam Keller pushed through a 44-yard field goal.  Shea DeJong's 69-yard interception return was the lone score of the fourth quarter.

The Cardinals finished the game with 150 yards of total offense and 10 first downs.  They gained 55 yards on 31 carries on the ground with Junior Sessions (Mesquite/Mesquite HS) leading the way with 26 yards on 10 carries.  In the passing game, Taylor Woods (Sugar Land/Fort Bend Austin HS) was 7-of-16 for 22 yards while Breylann McCollum (Cibolo/Steele HS) was 7-of-14 for 73 yards and two interceptions.  Casey Jennings (Fremont, CA/Washington HS) tallied six catches for 21 yards while Cole Wick (Hallettsville/Sacred Heart Catholic HS) had three receptions for 46 yards.

"We ran the ball in the second half and we have to be able to do that to be a consistent team," said Kennan.  "It was the first time we have been able to do that this year and we have to be able to get our runners going.  Now, we go in and play Abilene (Christian) which is a big game for us and I'm going to tell the team to get over this game quick because we are getting ready for Abilene."

On defense, the Cardinals were led by a pair of linebackers.  Padyn Giebler (Ivan/Stephenville HS) had another strong game with a career high 11 tackles while freshman George Schwanenberg (Bulverde/Smithson Valley HS) recorded 10 tackles.  Defensive tackle Corey Lee (Humble/LaPorte HS) picked up two more tackles for loss giving him a team-high six for the season.  Ramon Coto, Jr. (Houston/Westfield HS) did a good job in the punting game with eight punts for an average of 43.1 yards per kick.

The Bison accumulated 508 yards of total offense with the yards split nearly evenly between rushing and passing.  Crockett led the team with 82 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns.  Morlock and Frazier each had 42 yards rushing.  Wentz went 14-of-18 for 237 yards and three touchdowns.  Urzendowski led the team with three catches for 82 yards and a score.

The NDSU defense had 8.0 tackles for loss, three sacks and forced three turnovers.  Tre Dempsey led the team with six tackles while Esley Thorton had five tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks and a forced fumble.

The Cardinals will stay on the road for a third consecutive week next Saturday when they travel to Abilene Christian for the Southland Conference opener.  Kickoff is slated for 3:05 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
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