Jacksonville St vs. North Dakota St - News - August 29, 2026 | FOX Sports

Jacksonville St

0-1

0-1

7

FINAL

33

1-0

North Dakota St

1-0

RECAP

BOX SCORE

GAME STATS

PLAY-BY-PLAY

ODDS

NEWS

Reis Kessel - Four grabs, touchdown in opener Kessel had four receptions (on five targets) for 30 yards and a touchdown during Saturday's 33-7 win versus Jacksonville State.

Impact Kessel will go into the books as the first Bison to score a touchdown in their FBS era -- the sophomore brought in a six-yard score to give North Dakota State an early lead in the opening quarter. Kessel saw decent volume as a freshman in 2025, totaling 335 yards and a touchdown on 15 receptions.

AUGUST 30 • ROTOWIRE

DJ Scott - Splits workload in opener Scott accrued 13 carries for 51 yards and caught his two targets for 12 yards during Saturday's 33-7 victory against Jacksonville State.

Impact Scott was expected to serve as North Dakota State's lead back after he rushed for 502 yards and six touchdowns on 95 carries last season. However, the junior found himself sharing carries in Saturday's opener, with Myles Mitchell and Nyeoti Punni both finishing the day with more rushing yards than Scott. It'll be worth monitoring how the Bison's backfield hierarchy will shake out as the season progresses.

AUGUST 30 • ROTOWIRE

Nathan Hayes - Leads Bison to first FBS win Hayes was 14-for-22 passing for 160 yards, two touchdowns and an interception during Saturday's 33-7 win over Jacksonville State. He also had seven rushes for 14 yards.

Impact Hayes was efficient Saturday as he led North Dakota State to a victory in their first contest as an FBS team. The senior quarterback served as the backup in Fargo last season, where he completed 25 of his 44 pass attempts for 381 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Hayes and the Bison will host Fordham next week.

AUGUST 30 • ROTOWIRE

North Dakota State opens its FBS era with a 33-7 win over Jacksonville State

Nathan Hayes throws two touchdown passes to help North Dakota State defeat Jacksonville State 33-7

AUGUST 30 • Associated Press

Ronnel Johnson - Doesn't impress in JSU debut Johnson had two catches for 11 yards Saturday against NDSU.

Impact Johnson was good for Stetson in 2024, and in 2025 had 463 yards for Missouri State. He's now with Jacksonville State, but he did not make a splash here in Week 0.

AUGUST 29 • ROTOWIRE

Deondre Johnson - Held to 26 yards Johnson caught two passes for 26 yards against NDSU on Saturday.

Impact Down the stretch last year, Johnson became the top receiver the Gamecocks, with four 100-yard games in his last seven outings. Technically, Johnson was comfortably the lead receiver for JSU in this game, but obviously these numbers are concerning.

AUGUST 29 • ROTOWIRE

Jalen Likely - Rushes for 48 yards Likely ran 11 times for 48 yards and had two catches for 17 yards versus NDSU on Saturday.

Impact There are actually some positives to take from this game for Likely. Jacksonville State has a run-happy offense, and the staff has preferred a single primary back, who tends to put up big numbers. No other running back got more than a single carry for the Gamecocks, so it appears Likely is that primary back.

AUGUST 29 • ROTOWIRE

Jacksonville State Gamecocks

North Dakota State Bison

STANDINGS

MOUNTAIN WEST

CONFERENCE USA

MOUNTAIN WEST		W-L	CONF	STRK
1	New Mexico	7-1	4-0	W5
2	Wyoming	5-3	4-1	W3
3	North Dakota State	7-2	4-2	W1
4	UNLV	4-3	2-1	L1
5	Air Force	6-2	3-2	W1
6	Nevada	3-5	2-2	L1
7	San Jose State	4-5	2-3	L2
8	Hawai'i	2-6	1-4	W1
9	Northern Illinois	0-7	0-3	L7
10	UTEP	1-7	0-4	L6

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Jacksonville State Gamecocks

North Dakota State Bison

EVENT INFO

Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome

Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome

Fargo, ND

Aug 29, 2026

18,573

3 Hours 10 Minutes