FARGO, N.D. - Indiana State scored the game's first 12 points, but were overcome by 21 third quarter points by North Dakota State in falling to the Bison 27-15 at the Fargodome.

Indiana State falls to 4-3, 2-2 MVFC while North Dakota State improved to 5-3, 2-3 MVFC.

Indiana State drew first blood in the annual "Harvest Bowl" as the Sycamores netted a 23-yard field goal by Cory Little with 5:19 left in the first quarter to take a 3-0 lead. ISU enters the game a perfect 4-0 on the season when they score the first points of the contest.

Little's field goal capped an 11-play, 62-yard drive that ate up 4:16 off the clock. The drive appeared to stall near midfield, but the Bison jumped the snap on a punt attempt and were called for offsides, which gave ISU a first down.

The Bison mounted a nine play drive in an attempt to knot the score at three each, but NDSU's Ryan Jastram missed a 33-yard field goal wide right with 10:23 on the clock to keep ISU ahead 3-0.

The Sycamores jumped ahead 5-0 on the Bison with 6:25 left in the second quarter when Ben Obaseki forced a fumble by NDSU quarterback Jose Mohler and the ball was recovered by the offense in the end zone to give the Sycamores their second safety in three weeks.

ISU turned the safety into a nine-point play when they started the drive at the 50-yard line following a 19-yard return by Alex Sewall off the free kick. The drive was bolstered by a pass interference penalty on the second play after the free kick and ended with a 13-yard TD pass from Ronnie Fouch to Justin Hilton with 3:02 remaining in the half to give ISU a 12-0 advantage. The drive covered six plays and 50-yards and took 3:16 off the clock.

NDSU came right back down the field to score their first points of the contest on a three-yard scoring rush by DJ McNorton with 35 seconds remaining on the clock to inch closer at 12-7. The McNorton rush capped an eight-play, 56-yard drive that took up 2:21.

The Sycamore defense held strong to start the third quarter to hold onto its 12-7 halftime lead, but the Bison notched a defensive touchdown to take a 14-12 advantage with 9:18 left in the third quarter on a 53-yard interception return by Daniel Eaves that ended in the end zone. The Bison tacked on another TD with 4:22 left on the clock in the third quarter on a one-yard scoring rush by Derrick Lang for the 21-12 lead.

North Dakota State had a 44-yard field goal wiped off the scoreboard because of a holding penalty just moments into the fourth quarter to keep the score at 21-12.

ISU turned the good fortune of the cancelled field goal into a 13-play, 75-yard scoring drive of their own which was capped by a 22-yard field goal from Cory Little to make it 21-15 with 8:45 remaining in the contest.

Field goal problems continued to plague the Bison as a 47-yard attempt by Jastram sailed wide right to keep the score at 21-15 with 5:44 left in the contest.

The ensuing drive was stopped with a fumble by Fouch which gave the Bison the football at the ISU 23-yard line with just under five minutes remaining. It took just two plays for the Bison to stretch their lead up to 27-15 on a three-yard TD run by McNorton with 4:29 left in the contest. The two-point conversion attempt failed.

Fouch set a new school record in the contest with a 20-for-39 passing performance for 266 yards, becoming the first Sycamore quarterback to top the 200-yard passing mark in four consecutive games. Brock Lough led the Sycamore ground attack with four rushes for 25 yards. ISU was paced in the air by Justin Hilton with nine catches for 96 yards and a touchdown. CJ Cook paced the Sycamores with 10 tackles in the contest.

Indiana State returns to action on Saturday, October 30 when they host South Dakota State at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:05 p.m. (ET).