NCAAF

North Dakota State Bison at Air Force Falcons

· NCAA - Football
Final
38 - 32
1-1, 1-1 Home

North Dakota St. beats Air Force 38-32, win first Mountain West Conference game

North Dakota State (3-0, 1-0) joined the MWC as part of its move to the FBS in the offseason. NDSU won 10 FCS national championships from 2011-2025.

Hayes completed 15 of 23 for 228 yards with an interception and had scoring strikes of 44 yards to Mekhi Collins with 5:20 left in the second quarter and 41 yards to Logan Conklin early in the third.

Myles Mitchell ripped off a 31-yard run that capped a nine-play, 75-yard drive a little more than 5 minutes into the game and the Bison led the rest of the way.

Hayes threw a long pass to Jackson Williams for a 51-yard gain to set up Mitchell's 1-yard TD run that made it 28-13 with 29 second left in the first half.

North Dakota State safety Darius Givance — a second-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference pick last season — was ejected for targeting with 1:20 to play.

Air Force safety Cade Paterson was ejected for targeting following a huge hit that forced an incompletion on the fifth play from scrimmage.

North Dakota State's Drew Klein kicked a 56-yard field goal, the longest in program history.

Liam Szarka was 5-of-10 passing for 103 yards and added 88 yards rushing and a TD on 21 carries for the Falcons (1-1, 0-1).

Air Force's Mason Hayes caught a lateral from Szarka and then hit Adam Hrynciw for a 36-yard touchdown and Blake Fletcher returned an interception 85 yards for a score.

Up next North Dakota State: Play next Saturday at Sacramento State.

Air Force: Visits Nevada on Sept. 26.

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How To Watch

How can I watch North Dakota State Bison vs. Air Force Falcons?
  • TV Channel: Bison at Falcons 2021 College Football, week 2, is broadcasted on FS1.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Scoring Summary

NDSU TD 1st Period 9:54 Myles Mitchell 31 Yd Run (Drew Klein Kick)
NDSU TD 2nd Period 14:08 Nathan Hayes 17 Yd Run (Drew Klein Kick)
AFA TD 2nd Period 8:14 Adam Hrynciw 29 Yd pass from Mason Hayes (Carter Cremascoli Kick)
NDSU TD 2nd Period 5:20 Mekhi Collins 44 Yd pass from Nathan Hayes (Drew Klein Kick)
AFA TD 2nd Period 1:48 Blake Fletcher 85 Yd Interception Return (Carter Cremascoli PAT blocked)
NDSU TD 2nd Period 0:29 Myles Mitchell 1 Yd Run (Drew Klein Kick)
NDSU TD 3rd Period 12:02 Logan Conklin 41 Yd pass from Nathan Hayes (Drew Klein Kick)
AFA TD 4th Period 10:59 Liam Szarka 2 Yd Run (Two-Point Pass Conversion Failed)
AFA TD 4th Period 4:26 Kemper Hodges 2 Yd Run (Two-Point Pass Conversion Failed)
NDSU FG 4th Period 1:58 Drew Klein 56 Yd Field Goal
AFA TD 4th Period 0:50 Matt Long 20 Yd pass from Evan Medders (Carter Cremascoli Kick)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/2449.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originNDSU https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/2005.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originAFA
18 1st Downs 21
4-12 3rd down efficiency 6-14
3-3 4th down efficiency 2-2
374 Total Yards 386
228 Passing 179
15/23 Comp/Att 9/15
9.9 Yards per pass 11.9
146 Rushing 207
37 Rushing Attempts 51
3.9 Yards per rush 4.1
5-45 Penalties 6-55
1 Turnovers 1
0 Fumbles lost 0
1 Interceptions thrown 1
29:05 Possession 30:55

Game Information

Falcon Stadium

Location: USAF Academy, CO
Attendance: 25,970 · Capacity:
Full Standings

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