FARGO -- A nearly flawless Brock Jensen proved too much for Missouri State on Saturday night at the Fargodome.
The North Dakota State quarterback completed 15 of 15 passes in the first half for 178 yards and two touchdowns. That hot start helped launch the No. 5-ranked Bison to a 51-21 victory against the winless Bears in Missouri Valley Football Conference action before 18,029 fans.
"He was spot on," NDSU coach Craig Bohl said. "He was really, really good."
The Bison (6-0, 3-0 MVFC) remained perfect, pulling away from the Bears (0-7, 0-4) with 27 points in the second half.
"It was win No. 6 and each one of these wins in the Missouri Valley is so critical," Bohl said.
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Jensen set the school record for consecutive completions in a game with 15. The sophomore also set the overall consecutive completions record with 19, a streak that started in NDSU's previous game at Southern Illinois.
For the game, Jensen completed 19 of 23 passes for 211 yards and three touchdowns. Those three TD passes in a game tied his career high.
"We came out and established our tempo right away," Jensen said. "We got that first, first down and we really started firing off the ball."
NDSU senior wide receiver Warren Holloway was Jensen's favorite target in the first half. The 6-foot-2, 199-pound Holloway hauled in six passes in the first two quarters for 109 yards and two touchdowns. Holloway didn't catch a pass in the second half.
After trading scores in the first quarter, the Bison took the lead for good early in the second. Jensen hooked up with Warren Holloway on a 47-yard TD pass with 11 minutes, 6 seconds to play in the first half. That scoring strike gave NDSU a 17-14 lead and the Bison rolled from that point.
"We came out with an attitude of throwing the football initially," Bohl said. "That began to loosen up the defense."
The Bison pushed their lead to 24-14 after D.J. McNorton scored on a 20-yard TD burst with 2:11 to play in the first half. That scoring run capped a 10-play, 96-yard drive. McNorton finished with 92 rushing yards and two TDs on 14 attempts.
Bison sophomore cornerback Marcus Williams thrilled the Fargodome crowd at the start of the third quarter. Williams returned the second-half kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. That gave NDSU a 31-14 lead 11 seconds into the second half and the route was on.
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"That was an electrifying return," Bohl said.
