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Weekend recaps
FBS college football / FINAL / Sat Sep 12, 2026 9:00 PM CT

North Dakota State holds off Air Force 38-32 after the Falcons score 19 in the fourth

Drew Klein's 56-yard field goal with 1:58 left kept the Bison in front before Air Force's final touchdown at 0:50.

Final
North Dakota State Bison38
Air Force Falcons32
WHERE IT TURNED

North Dakota State beat Air Force 38-32 on Saturday night at Falcon Stadium, surviving a 19-point fourth quarter by the Falcons.

Myles Mitchell's 31-yard run at 9:54 of the first quarter and Nathan Hayes' 17-yard run at 14:08 of the second put the Bison up 14-0. Mason Hayes threw 29 yards to Adam Hrynciw at 8:14 for Air Force, and Nathan Hayes answered with a 44-yard pass to Mekhi Collins at 5:20. Blake Fletcher returned an interception 85 yards at 1:48 to make it 21-13, with the extra point blocked, and Mitchell's 1-yard run at 0:29 sent the Bison to halftime up 28-13.

Logan Conklin's 41-yard catch at 12:02 of the third made it 35-13. Air Force then scored on 2-yard runs by Liam Szarka at 10:59 and Kemper Hodges at 4:26 of the fourth, both followed by failed two-point passes, to get within 35-25. Drew Klein kicked a 56-yard field goal at 1:58, and Evan Medders threw 20 yards to Matt Long at 0:50 for the final margin.

Nathan Hayes finished 15 of 23 for 228 yards with two touchdowns and an interception; Mitchell ran 15 times for 61 yards and two scores. North Dakota State converted all 3 of its fourth downs. Szarka was 5 of 10 for 103 yards and ran 21 times for 88 for Air Force, which rushed for 207 yards. Fletcher made 14 tackles. Attendance was 25,970.

Reporting source: ESPN public site API (game summary) Captured Sep 14, 2026, 3:19 AM UTC

SELECTED SOURCE GAMEBOOK LEADERS

Names of the game.

Passing yards

Nathan Hayes

North Dakota State Bison · 15/23, 228 YDS, 2 TD, 1 INT

Rushing yards

Myles Mitchell

North Dakota State Bison · 15 CAR, 61 YDS, 2 TD

Receiving yards

Logan Conklin

North Dakota State Bison · 2 REC, 57 YDS, 1 TD

Sacks

Peder Haugo

North Dakota State Bison · 1

Passing yards

Liam Szarka

Air Force Falcons · 5/10, 103 YDS, 1 INT

Rushing yards

Liam Szarka

Air Force Falcons · 21 CAR, 88 YDS, 1 TD

Receiving yards

Matt Long

Air Force Falcons · 2 REC, 55 YDS, 1 TD

SOURCE GAMEBOOK

The final ledger.

Open period scoring and team statistics
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4Final
North Dakota State Bison7217338
Air Force Falcons01301932

Team statistics

StatisticNorth Dakota State BisonAir Force Falcons
First downs1821
Net passing yards228179
Time of possession29:0530:55
Rushing yards146207
Third-down efficiency4-126-14
Total yards374386
Turnovers11