Fordham never reached the end zone against North Dakota State

Fordham never had a foothold. North Dakota State (1-0) runs away from Fordham, 38-0 at Fargodome. North Dakota State led from start to finish and never let Fordham within striking distance. DJ Scott ran 11 times for 60 yards and two scores and caught two passes for 16 yards.

The turnover battle was the game

North Dakota State won the turnover battle 0-4, led by Jackson Williams (1 INT, 1.5 tackles), Marion Moore (1 INT) and Walker Braaten (1 INT). North Dakota State scored on 56% of its drives to Fordham's 10%: DJ Scott (12 pts), Nathan Hayes (12 pts) and Chris Kiel (6 pts). Stacked together, it was never close.

The names on it

DJ Scott ran 11 times for 60 yards and two scores and caught two passes for 16 yards, with two of them from inside the 20 and two third-down conversions. Nathan Hayes threw for 210 yards on 22 attempts with two touchdowns, including two of them from inside the 20, three third-down conversions and a hand in three plays of 15 yards or more. Chris Kiel caught four passes for 50 yards, one of them for a touchdown — that score from inside the 20. For Fordham, Gunnar Smith threw for 116 yards on 22 attempts and lost 40 yards on five carries, with four third-down conversions and a hand in five plays of 15 yards or more. Chris Tuck caught two passes for 31 yards. John Morris caught three passes for 37 yards. Jackson Williams was the disruptive one for North Dakota State: 1 INT, 1.5 tackles.

What Fordham has to fix

The problems had names: Gunnar Smith (3 interceptions and 1 lost fumble).

The defensive story

Three names to keep: Jakub Mwangelwa (2 sacks, 2 TFLs, 3 tackles) for Fordham, Jackson Williams (1 INT, 1.5 tackles) for North Dakota State and Marion Moore (1 INT) for North Dakota State. 2 of Fordham's 3 sacks came from the defensive line.

The takeaway

North Dakota State did exactly what a better team should against Fordham: leave no doubt.