gophers/ncaa

"Certainly a lot of people thought we had the short end of the stick as far as our resources," Bohl said. "But we were pleased with how we played."

For good reason. Facing a team that ranks last nationally in pass defense, the Bison used an old-school approach and ran it down the Gophers' throat.

Roehl powered his way for 263 yards on 22 carries, including a 77-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. With the score tied 14-14 and NDSU pinned at its 7 with 34 seconds left until halftime, Roehl went up the middle for 68 yards. That led to a 37-yard field by Shawn Bibeau at the horn.

Pat Paschall added 87 rushing yards on 12 carries. As a team, the Bison averaged a whopping 8.0 yards on 49 carries.

"Mistakes," Davis said when asked why NDSU rushed for nearly 400 yards.

"We struggled to tackle," Brewster said. "It's been an issue for us all season long. It's evident."

The Gophers offense didn't help the cause. Freshman quarterback Adam Weber completed only 10 of 22 passes for 162 yards and one touchdown. The Gophers managed only 125 rushing yards on 30 carries, lost starting tailback Jay Thomas to a knee injury and had four three-and-out series.

"When you have a combination of bad things going on, it's hard to win," Weber said.

That was never more evident than Saturday.

Chip Scoggins • ascoggins@startribune.com