Bison Shut Out The Citadel in Season Opener, 38-0

Football
8/30/2025 3:31:00 PM

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Quarterback Cole Payton accounted for 293 yards of whole offense in his first collegiate begin to lead top-ranked North Dakota State to a 38-0 victory over The Citadel on Saturday, Aug. 30.

Payton accomplished 10 of 16 passes for 192 yards and rushed for 101 yards on 11 carries for the Bison, who rolled up 520 yards of whole offense and held The Citadel to 122 yards and a pair of of 12 on third down.

NDSU averaged 5.5 yards per carry led by Barika Kpeenu with 12 carries for 79 yards and two touchdowns. DJ Scott ran 10 instances for 43 yards and one rating.

The groups performed by regular rain in a scoreless first quarter earlier than Eli Ozick’s 31-yard discipline objective early within the second put NDSU forward 3-0. Kpeenu scored on a 2-yard run to cap a 12-play, 90-yard scoring drive, and RaJa Nelson caught a 34-yard landing cross within the nook of the top zone because the Bison went up 17-0 earlier than halftime.

NDSU capitalized on the one turnover of the sport on the opening drive of the third quarter. A fumbled pitch deep in Citadel territory was recovered on the 1-yard line by Logan Kopp, and Kpeenu scored two performs later for a 24-0 NDSU lead.

Scott’s 1-yard TD run within the third quarter capped one other lengthy drive masking 82 yards in 12 performs, and backup quarterback Nathan Hayes led a 12-play, 90-yard scoring drive within the fourth quarter culminating with a 15-yard TD cross to Isiah St. Romain on his first profession reception.

Middle linebacker Nathaniel Staehling had a team-high seven tackles for NDSU, and Kopp completed with six tackles together with one sort out for loss on a fourth-down cease on the NDSU 3 to assist protect the shutout.

North Dakota State is again on the street subsequent week to proceed non-conference play towards Tennessee State. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.