North Dakota scores 21 points in 4th quarter, beats Tennessee Tech 31-6 in FCS playoffs

By Canadian Press on November 29, 2025.

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Colton Brunell, Gaven Ziebarth and Charles Langama each had a touchdown run in the final quarter for North Dakota in a 31-6 win over No. 13 seed Tennessee Tech on Saturday in the first round of the FCS playoffs.

North Dakota will play at No. 4 seed Tarleton State in the second round game on Saturday.

Jerry Kaminski found Deng Deng in the end zone off a 21-yard pass in the second quarter to make it 10-0 for North Dakota (8-5). Later in the second half, Kaminski took a late hit to the helmet which kept him sidelined for the rest of the game. Kaminski finished with nine completions for 98 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

North Dakota relied heavily on their run game after Kaminski’s injury. In the fourth quarter, Brunell scored on an 8-yard run, Ziebarth punched it in from three yards out, and Langama scored his first career touchdown off an 18-yard sprint up the middle.

North Dakota’s defense came up big multiple times, accounting for six sacks, four fumble recoveries, two interceptions and shut out Tennessee Tech for three quarters.

Tennessee Tech’s Kekoa Visperas completed 30 of 51 passes for 278 yards and threw one touchdown — a 45-yarder to Brian Courtney in the third quarter. The Golden Eagles finish their season 11-2.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

The Associated Press