North Dakota rallies past Portland State 24-16

Oct 11, 2014, 07:48 pm

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Alex Tillman set a school record with a 95-yard punt return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter and lifted North Dakota to a 24-16 victory over Portland State on Saturday.

Tillman's second touchdown return of over 90 yards this season capped the scoring for North Dakota(3-4, 1-2 Big Sky) with 8:47 left in the game and the defense held from there.

Dayo Idowu made a game-saving tackle, stopping Nate Tago's run short on a fourth-and-goal from the 4 as time expired.

Idowu also made a key interception midway through the third quarter to set up UND's first lead of the game at 17-13 on Ryan Bartels' second touchdown pass of the third quarter. Bartels played in relief of Joe Mollberg, who suffered a possible concussion at the end of the first quarter.

Portland State (2-4, 1-1) led 13-3 at halftime and closed within 17-16 before Tillman's touchdown.