FARGO, N.D. -- Nathan Hayes completed 14 of 22 passes with two touchdowns, and Myles Mitchell ran for 74 yards on 11 carries, as North Dakota State raced to a 33-7 victory over Jacksonville State in the Bison's first FBS game.
North Dakota State, a former FCS powerhouse that has accumulated 10 national titles, greeted a Fargodome crowd of 18,573 with a resounding season-opening win, breaking open a game tied at 7 in the first half with 26 unanswered points.
"I'm fighting it back pretty good right now, and I need to," NDSU coach Tim Polasek told CBS Sports in his postgame, on-field interview, pushing back tears. "I can't wait to go through this process of making this move up. This is step No. 1. I just think for Fargo, and for our university, this can be explosive, and we're excited about this season."
Blake Schiltz recovered the ball in the end zone from an errant snap for a score for North Dakota State, and Drew Klein made field goals from 34, 44 and 42 yards in the victory.
The Bison outgained the Gamecocks 373-170 on a day that Jacksonville State possessed the ball for just 23:53 of game time. On offense, other than a Hayes interception, NDSU was efficient, racking up 20 first downs.
"He did really good," Polasek said of his quarterback. "One little blunder when he was backed up, but he was sharp. And I had a good sense pregame that he was accurate, and he was going to be ready to go. ... And I really liked how we finished the game. He was commanding it and controlling the runs versus the pressures."
The Bison, members of the Mountain West Conference this season, will play FCS Fordham next week before opening league play Sept. 12 against Air Force.
"Our defense played well tonight. They answered the bell," Polasek said of the effort vs. the Gamecocks. "I think there are some things we can do better, fundamentally. ... We bottled up the run game, and that will be a good recipe for us all year."
Caden Creel was 12-of-23 passing for 85 yards and one interception for Jacksonville State. The Gamecocks were 2 of 10 on third-down conversions in the loss.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
