USF pushes UND to the limit

UND is headed to the Big Sky Conference next season. After Saturday’s game against the University of Sioux Falls, that’s a good thing.

That’s because Sioux Falls likely won’t be on future Sioux schedules — thanks to the number of guaranteed games the Big Sky produces.

Sioux Falls, a small, private school making the move to Division II, nearly stunned UND for the second time in three seasons. But Zeb Miller’s 29-yard field goal as time expired gave UND a 15-13 win over the Cougars before 6,279 fans at the Alerus Center — a win that earned the Sioux some degree of redemption for their home loss against Sioux Falls two years ago.

The win certainly didn’t earn UND any style points. But it didn’t matter.

“That was two weeks in a row where, maybe, it wasn’t real pretty,” UND coach Chris Mussman said. “But you know what? We’re winning games. Last year, we were 3-8. This year, we’re 6-3. AndI know which side of the field I’d rather be on.

“We’re not going to apologize for winning football games against teams that come in here and have nothing to lose and play their tails off. I give Sioux Falls credit; they had a good plan going in, their kids battled and they almost got us again.”

But Miller’s kick avoided the upset. And the UND defense was the one part of the Sioux game that was consistent all day.

Jay Nelson dropped Sioux Falls running back Jordan Taylor in the end zone fora safety with 5 minutes, 55 seconds to play. That brought UND to within 13-12 and it set the stage for a game-winning drive that ended with Miller’s field goal.

Tags: college sports, und, football, sports, sioux