LAS VEGAS — Wyoming had North Dakota State backed up to its own 3-yard line early in the second quarter Saturday. The Cowboys trailed 7-0, but they had already sacked quarterback Nathan Hayes, stopped the Bison on fourth down and forced multiple punts. Another stop would have given Wyoming an opportunity to tie the game.
Instead, Hayes waited for his offensive line to create movement on a quarterback sneak and gained nine yards. He broke loose for another 18 two plays later before Jackson Williams picked up 13 on a carry around the edge. Hayes then found Williams for 35 yards on a contested throw and finished the possession with a 14-yard touchdown run.
North Dakota State traveled 97 yards in seven plays, taking just 3:28 off the clock. Wyoming had managed to disrupt the Bison’s running game earlier, but the Cowboys couldn’t account for everything offensive coordinator Dan Larson presented on that possession.
Bison 14, Wyoming 0.
— NDSU Football (@NDSUfootball) October 3, 2026
The Bison eventually won 28-0, improving to 5-0 in their first season at the Football Bowl Subdivision level. Their offense produced 407 yards, including 220 rushing, and repeatedly put Wyoming in difficult positions despite the Cowboys finding some success against the offensive line.
UNLV coach Dan Mullen has seen enough to understand the challenge awaiting the Rebels on Saturday at Allegiant Stadium.
“Very efficient, extremely well coached, big physical offensive line, can run, can throw,” Mullen said during his weekly press conference.
North Dakota State has built its offense around a running game that forces defenders to account for several possibilities before the ball is snapped. Larson uses a pro-style system with zone-blocking concepts, multiple tight ends and running backs who can contribute in the passing game.
The Bison are comfortable operating from shotgun or under center. They can use one running back and one tight end, put two tight ends on the field or bring additional blockers into the backfield without abandoning the passing game.
Luke Kokat is particularly valuable in those heavier formations. Although listed as a tight end, the 6-foot-3, 250-pound fifth-year player frequently performs the responsibilities of a fullback. He can lead a running back through an opening, block a defensive end or release into the passing game after initially showing blocking action.
Against Jacksonville State, Kokat helped create room for DJ Scott to get outside, giving the Bison a perimeter rushing threat from a formation that encouraged defenders to line up closer to the middle.
The offensive line makes those variations effective.
Center Gage Schmidt and guard Griffin Empey have helped establish the interior running game, while NDSU’s tackles provide the size to withstand pressure off the edges. Rather than relying entirely on individual blocks, the Bison frequently move several linemen together on zone runs and allow their backs to follow the developing openings.
Against Air Force, that approach produced two long touchdown drives to open the game.
Scott gained positive yardage on the first two carries, and Myles Mitchell eventually broke loose for a 31-yard touchdown behind the left side of the offensive line. Mitchell followed the initial blocks, reached the second level and broke tackles on his way into the end zone.
Myles Mitchell scores from 31 yards on the game’s opening drive!
— NDSU Football (@NDSUfootball) September 12, 2026
The Bison traveled 75 yards in nine plays.
Their next possession was even more punishing.
North Dakota State went 80 yards on 16 plays and consumed 8:44, repeatedly gaining enough on first and second down to keep Larson’s options available. The Falcons couldn’t get off the field, and Hayes eventually completed the possession with a 17-yard touchdown scramble.
Air Force had run just three offensive plays when NDSU finished its second touchdown drive.
The Rebels cannot allow that kind of control Saturday. Four yards on first down gives Larson the opportunity to run again, throw off play-action or use a quick pass to get the football to a back outside. Even third down does not guarantee that UNLV will get off the field, considering head coach Tim Polasek’s willingness to play fourth down.
Scott has been the Bison’s leading rusher, entering Saturday with 298 yards and four touchdowns. The 215-pound back is difficult to bring down with initial contact and has been effective between the tackles and toward the perimeter.
Against Jacksonville State, he converted third-and-3 by absorbing contact near the first-down marker and falling forward. Against Wyoming, he was stopped behind the line on several occasions but continued receiving carries, eventually finishing with 73 yards and a touchdown.
NDSU also gets him involved in the passing game. Hayes has delivered quick throws to Scott when defenders give him space, and the back has contributed important pass-protection assignments. Against Jacksonville State, Scott crossed the formation to pick up a blitzing linebacker, allowing Hayes to complete a third-down pass to tight end Reis Kessel.
Mitchell gives the Bison another productive runner when healthy. He rushed for 74 yards against Jacksonville State and scored twice against Air Force, including the 31-yard touchdown that opened the scoring.
Mitchell missed the Wyoming game, although Polasek said Tuesday that he was improving and would have been considered probable had an injury designation been required at that point.
Without Mitchell, the Bison have continued rotating Nyeoti Punni, Brady Wavrunek and Barry Kpeenu behind Scott. Wavrunek has earned more opportunities because of his reliability in protection and ability to catch the football, allowing Larson to substitute without immediately revealing the next play.
But the biggest development in NDSU’s running game came against Wyoming.
Hayes entered Saturday with 43 net rushing yards through four games. He finished with 79 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries, using his legs far more frequently than he had during the opening month.
Polasek said those opportunities had been available within the offense all season.
“We’ve called some of those things. We just haven’t had many pull opportunities,” he said.
Wyoming’s defensive alignments gave Hayes more chances to keep the football, and Larson was prepared to use them.
On one second-quarter run, Wyoming’s defensive end crashed toward the running back while a linebacker moved over the top to contain Hayes. The Cowboys had accounted for the quarterback, but Kessel came across the formation and blocked the linebacker.
Hayes gained 19 yards.
The play demonstrated why defending NDSU requires more than assigning one player to the quarterback. Wyoming had the correct response to the initial read, but Kessel eliminated the defender responsible for making the tackle.
UNLV must recognize those blocking movements and prevent Hayes from reaching open space beyond the line of scrimmage.
The quarterback can also create yards when Larson has called a pass. Against Air Force, Hayes dropped back from the 17-yard line, recognized linebacker Dallas Daley turning away from an available running lane and immediately took off for a touchdown.
He is not as elusive as UNLV quarterback Jackson Arnold, but Hayes is a decisive runner who can punish defenders when they abandon the middle of the field.
His responsibilities are just as significant before the snap.
Hayes waited several years to become NDSU’s starter, but Larson has trusted him to identify protections, adjust plays and react to defensive alignments. During a reserve appearance last season, Hayes changed a play sent from the sideline and threw a touchdown. Larson later acknowledged the quarterback had selected the better call.
That freedom has helped NDSU operate efficiently, but it has also created opportunities for opposing defenses.
Against Jacksonville State, Hayes attempted to adjust the protection against a threatening outside linebacker but failed to get the snap off before the play clock expired. Later in the half, the Gamecocks brought pressure on third down and intercepted him.
Wyoming found success when edge defender Jayden Williams beat his blocker for a nine-yard sack. Air Force produced another stop when Daley defeated Mitchell’s pass protection and reached Hayes, forcing an incomplete pass and a punt.
NDSU has allowed seven sacks through five games, but those plays demonstrate how pressure can disrupt the offense when its protection fails.
Polasek knows UNLV defensive coordinator Paul Guenther will test those assignments.
“Their targeting and our ability to communicate and be connected up front is going to be critical,” Polasek said.
Guenther can change the defensive front, threaten pressure from multiple linebackers and force Hayes to adjust protections before the snap. The Rebels have already shown they can create sacks without consistently sending additional rushers.
The danger is leaving an easy completion behind that pressure, particularly to Jackson Williams.
The third-year receiver has become Hayes’ favorite target, entering the game with 358 receiving yards. Larson moves Williams between inside and outside alignments, uses him in the running game and trusts him in the return game.
Against Wyoming, Hayes recognized Williams isolated against a defender giving him substantial room before the snap. He delivered the football immediately, and Williams made the first defender miss before gaining 25 yards.
Later, on the 97-yard touchdown drive, Williams attacked a much tighter matchup.
Wyoming defensive back Desman Hearns stayed close as Williams ran a slot fade, releasing vertically from inside toward the outside of the field. Hayes threw the football despite the coverage, and Williams secured the 35-yard reception with Hearns contesting the catch.
The Cowboys defended a similar route successfully later in the half, but the earlier completion demonstrated that Williams doesn’t need substantial separation to make a play.
He caught seven passes for 134 yards and a touchdown against Sacramento State, including a 33-yard score on NDSU’s opening possession. At Air Force, a 51-yard catch moved the Bison to the 1-yard line before halftime.
Hayes ➡️ Williams 🎯
— NDSU Football (@NDSUfootball) September 19, 2026
Kessel provides another reliable receiving threat without forcing NDSU to substitute out of its running personnel.
The 6-foot-5 tight end has become increasingly effective as a blocker, allowing Larson to use him in formations that can produce either a handoff or a passing opportunity. Against Air Force, NDSU used hard play-action to draw linebackers toward the line before Kessel released into open space behind them.
Kokat created a similar opportunity by initially showing his usual backside blocking movement before releasing into a route. Hayes missed the throw, but the play forced Air Force to defend a passing threat from a player normally involved in opening running lanes.
Kessel also caught a 30-yard pass on third-and-6 during NDSU’s fourth-quarter touchdown drive against Wyoming, helping recover from a five-yard loss earlier in the possession.
Those receiving threats become particularly dangerous when Polasek elects to play fourth down.
Against Jacksonville State, Hayes escaped pressure and found Williams for a conversion on fourth-and-11, extending a drive that produced a field goal.
Against Air Force, Larson made an even more aggressive call.
Facing fourth-and-2, the Bison lined up against a defense expecting another run. Hayes threw to Mekhi Collins on a slant, and the receiver beat man coverage inside. With the Falcons’ linebackers and safeties concentrated on stopping the run, Collins had no immediate defender waiting behind the catch.
The result was a 44-yard touchdown.
Nathan Hayes to Mekhi Collins for the touchdown!
— NDSU Football (@NDSUfootball) September 12, 2026
Wyoming showed that NDSU can be stopped in those situations. The Cowboys denied Scott on fourth-and-2 after replay revealed his forearm touched the turf before he reached the first-down marker.
Still, Larson has given defenses enough to consider that fourth-and-short is not automatically a running play.
UNLV has the defensive personnel to create problems for Hayes, particularly when Guenther changes fronts and forces the offensive line to make difficult protection calls. The Rebels also have an opportunity to challenge Scott before he reaches the second level and prevent NDSU from controlling possessions through consecutive successful runs.
But the Bison have shown they can recover from individual losses and find another way to move the chains.
Wyoming pressured Hayes, stopped Scott and created favorable field position. It still watched NDSU travel 97 yards for a touchdown after pinning the Bison at their own 3.
Saturday, the Rebels will have to stop the running game without giving Hayes an open lane, Williams a favorable matchup or Kessel room behind the linebackers.
North Dakota State has made opponents defend all of those possibilities through five games. UNLV’s challenge is to force the Bison into passing situations where Larson has fewer options and Hayes has less time to make the correct decision.
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