FCS Throwbacks: Fourth-Quarter Surge Lifts NDSU Past Robert Morris in First-Ever Division I Playoff Win
Before the championships, dynasties, and decade-plus of dominance, there was a single game that quietly launched it all for North Dakota State.
In a few weeks, North Dakota State Bison will officially move on from the FCS level, closing the book on a 22-year era that became one of the most dominant runs in college sports history. With 10 national titles, numerous conference championships, and a long line of NFL talent, the Bison established themselves as the undisputed standard of the subdivision.
Since 2010, NDSU has won more than 50 playoff games, building a postseason legacy defined by both blowouts and dramatic finishes. But the program’s FCS story traces back to one unassuming game on November 27, 2010—a 43–17 first-round win over Robert Morris Colonials that marked the program’s first Division I playoff appearance and the beginning of its historic run.
At the time, Robert Morris arrived as Northeast Conference champions making their own playoff debut, while NDSU entered as a Missouri Valley at-large team ranked No. 25. Early on, it was the underdog Colonials who struck first, with running back Myles Russ capping the opening drive with a touchdown to give RMU a 7–0 lead.
The first half turned into a defensive battle. NDSU answered with a field goal, but Robert Morris later threatened to extend its lead, driving to the one-yard line early in the second quarter. However, the Bison defense stiffened, forcing a goal-line fumble recovery that prevented a potential momentum-shifting score.
Robert Morris’s defense also made its mark, briefly stalling NDSU and helping the Colonials maintain a surprising 7–6 halftime lead. The Bison offense struggled, with quarterback Brock Jensen held in check while RMU quarterback Jeff Sinclair controlled stretches of the game.
But everything changed after halftime.
NDSU quickly struck with a touchdown pass from Jensen to Warren Holloway, taking its first lead at 13–7. Even so, momentum didn’t fully swing right away, as both teams traded stalled drives and turnovers through the third quarter.
The breakthrough came late in the period when Jensen hit running back D.J. McNorton, who turned the play into a 49-yard touchdown to ignite the home crowd. Still, Robert Morris responded again, cutting the deficit back to one possession heading into the fourth quarter.
Early in the final frame, the Colonials capitalized on a Jensen interception and added a field goal to trim the margin to 20–17, putting real pressure on the Bison.
That’s when NDSU took over.
Jensen responded with a rushing touchdown to stretch the lead, and the defense immediately followed with a safety after collapsing on Sinclair in the end zone. McNorton then added another score, and a final interception sealed the game, setting up a 28-yard defensive touchdown that turned a tight contest into a runaway finish.
In a matter of minutes, the Bison scored 23 unanswered points to turn a three-point lead into a 43–17 rout.
The win sent NDSU into the second round, where it defeated Montana State before eventually falling in overtime to Eastern Washington in the quarterfinals. That loss would stand as one of only a handful in a postseason run that soon became unmatched in FCS history.
Looking back, the 2010 opener was not just NDSU’s first playoff victory—it was the moment that foreshadowed everything to come. What looked like a competitive, back-and-forth game became the opening chapter of a dynasty that would define the subdivision for more than a decade.
As the Bison transition into a new era in the Mountain West Conference, that first playoff surge over Robert Morris remains the quiet starting point of a historic rise—one that began with a fourth-quarter avalanche few could have predicted at the time.
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