ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (NDSU Athletics)- Austin Brawley’s 56-yard interception return for touchdown in the fourth quarter held up as the winning score in New Mexico’s 21-16 victory over North Dakota State on Saturday, Oct. 24, before a crowd of 34,794 at University Stadium.
New Mexico improved to 6-1 overall and remains the lone unbeaten team in the Mountain West standings with a 3-0 record. North Dakota State slipped to fourth place in the conference at 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the Mountain West.
The Lobos opened the game with a six-play scoring drive capped by Kiefer Sibley’s 29-yard touchdown run and Scottre Humphrey added a 2-yard TD run late in the second quarter to give UNM a 14-3 halftime lead.
NDSU quarterback Nathan Hayes passed for two touchdowns in the second half, connecting with Reis Kessel from 15 yards and later with Mekhi Collins from 4 yards for his team-leading fourth touchdown reception of the season.
The Lobos missed two field goals from 54 and 42 yards in the second half to keep NDSU within reach.
The Bison forced a punt with 2:31 left in the game and took over at their own 9-yard line with a chance to win the game. Two short completions to Kessel and Collins moved the ball to the 18, but the Bison fumbled the snap on third-and-1 and couldn’t convert fourth-and-6 to stay alive.
Hayes finished 17 of 33 passing for 198 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions, Kessel had four receptions for 57 yards and Collins finished with four grabs for 19 yards. Jackson Williams led the Bison with 168 all-purpose yards including four catches for 71 yards.
Defensively, the top two scoring defenses in the FBS rankings combined to register 17 tackles for loss and three sacks. NDSU linebacker Ray James Jr. had career highs with 11 tackles, 1.0 sacks and 1.5 tackles for loss plus his second interception of the season, and linebacker Gavin Sell made a career-high 10 tackles including 5.0 tackles for loss — the most TFLs by a Bison player since 1984.
North Dakota State is back in action next Saturday, Oct. 31, for a Halloween home game with fellow first-year Mountain West member UTEP. Game time is 2:30 p.m. at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome.
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