A determined North Dakota State football team posted a convincing 20-7 Pecan Bowl victory over famed Grambling College to cap a perfect 11-0 season in 1965 and take firm hold of the No. 1 national rating in College Division football ... The Bison, one of the best defensive teams in the nation, allowed Grambling just 97 yards in total offense ... The Bison opened up scoring by marching the opening kickoff 80 yards with Ken Rota going the final five ... NDSU upped the margin to 13-0 in the second quarter with Jim Carlson passing 68 yards to Lowell Linderman for the score ... Grambling collected its only score on a 93-yard kickoff return to open the second half ... NDSU fullback Ron Mische plunged two yards in the final quarter to finish the scoring ... Rota gained 96 yards on 22 carries and was named the outstanding back ... Linderman was picked as the outstanding lineman ... Significance of moment: Small, unknown Midwestern university defeats established team with a great tradition and seven future National Football League players. North Dakota State had went 0-10 in 1963, 10-1 in 1964 and capped off an 11-0 season in 1965 with impressive victory ... The 1960s was the beginning of a glorious era in NDSU grid history, but it did not begin well with a 6-21-1 start (including 0-10 in 1963) ... Then came Darrell Mudra and Ron Erhardt and with them the beginning of seven straight league championships and a 32-game undefeated streak ... NDSU played in five bowl games, winning four ... The 1965, 1968, and 1969 teams went undefeated and won national championships ... The Associated Press accorded the Bison those honors all three years while the United Press International selected the Bison in 1965 and 1969 ... The Herd was second to San Diego State in 1967 in both wire service polls ... From 1965 through 1970, the Bison were in every AP or UPI poll ... The UPI discontinued its poll after 1970 but the NDSU team reappeared in the AP poll again in 1973 with a 14th position ... The AP poll also died out and was replaced the following year by the NCAA's national rankings. ... This was the 40-year anniversary of the 1965 NDSU football team, and a number of former players were on campus ... Coach Mudra, nicknamed "Dr. Victory", had a career record of 207-88-4 which was second only to Eddie Robinson of Grambling as the winningest Division I-AA coach at the time of his retirement ... He coached every level of the sport from peewee to high school, college and one professional team ... The team members and staff have moved on (however, athletic trainer Dr. Denis "Izzy" Isrow remains on campus), and have enjoyed successful professional careers in a variety of different occupations or fields.