FARGO -- North Dakota State overwhelmed No. 18-ranked South Dakota State in the second half Saturday, cruising to a 37-17 victory over the Jackrabbits to keep possession of the Dakota Marker rivalry trophy.
John Crockett rushed for 152 yards and two touchdowns and Carson Wentz added a career-high 100 rushing yards and a TD as the top-ranked Bison won their 33rd consecutive game to improve to 5-0 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and 9-0 overall.
The Bison scored on its first five possessions in the second half -- four touchdowns and a field goal -- after trailing 10-6 at halftime.
SDSU took the halftime lead on a 42-yard pass from Austin Sumner to Jake Wieneke with 37 seconds left in the second quarter.
But NDSU took the second-half kickoff and marched 88 yards in 12 plays, capped by a 2-yard pass from Wentz to Kevin Vaadeland, to take a 13-10 lead it wouldn't relinquish.
The Bison's next drive went 60 yards in nine plays and ended with a 5-yard TD run by Wentz and a 20-10 NDSU lead.
The Jackrabbits answered with an impressive drive of their own and Zach Zenner scored on a 1-yard run to make it 20-17, but Crockett's 5-yard scoring run gave the Bison a 27-17 lead with6:42 remaining.
NDSU's defense forced two turnovers late in the game to preserve the victory.
Zenner led SDSU with 96 yards. Sumner, playing QB for the first time since being injured in the Jacks' season opener against Missouri, completed 14 of 28 passes for 187 yards.
The Bison play at Northern Iowa next Saturday.