Cole Payton

Expected points added: how much the player’s plays moved the team’s expected score, per play and in total. Plays: total EPA divided by EPA per play, the plays the source credits to him (for a receiver roughly his catches and runs, not every target; for a passer, not every attempt), so it can differ from attempts plus carries. Percentile: against the position’s regulars that season across all divisions on file (quarterbacks with 150+ plays, backs 60+, receivers and tight ends 30+), with how many there were (n) and their median; a dash means too few plays to rank. A season in progress uses the full-season bar scaled by games played, never below 75 plays for quarterbacks, 30 for backs and 20 for receivers. The cohort grows or shrinks with the source’s coverage each season (2025 lists far more players), so compare percentiles rather than raw EPA across years. FCS seasons are marked. Usage: the share of the team’s plays the player was part of (shown from 20 plays). From CollegeFootballData, 2013 on.

2025 North Dakota State 13 games, 2,719 passing yards, 16 TD

Date	Opponent	Result	Cmp	Att	Yds	TD	Int	Rush
Aug 30	atThe Citadel	W 38–⁠0	11	17	192	1	0	101
Sep 6	atTennessee State	W 59–⁠3	13	16	166	1	0	21
Sep 13	vs.Southeast Missouri State	W 41–⁠14	16	23	348	4	0	53
Sep 27	vs.South Dakota	W 51–⁠13	14	18	273	2	0	102
Oct 4	atIllinois State	W 33–⁠16	12	14	194	1	0	79
Oct 11	vs.Southern Illinois	W 45–⁠17	13	16	243	1	0	48
Oct 18	atIndiana State	W 38–⁠7	12	18	149	1	1	71
Oct 25	atSouth Dakota State	W 38–⁠7	18	23	243	0	1	137
Nov 1	vs.Youngstown State	W 38–⁠30	17	24	194	0	1	28
Nov 8	atNorth Dakota	W 15–⁠10	8	15	125	0	1	68
Nov 15	vs.Northern Iowa	W 48–⁠16	15	17	212	1	0	74
Nov 22	vs.St. Thomas (MN)	W 62–⁠7	9	12	279	3	0	9
Dec 6	vs.Illinois State	L 28–⁠29	4	12	101	1	0	−14

2024 North Dakota State 8 games, 165 rushing yards, 1 TD

Date	Opponent	Result	Cmp	Att	Yds	TD	Int	Rush
Aug 29	atColorado	L 26–⁠31	2	2	15	0	0	5
Sep 7	vs.Tennessee State	W 52–⁠3	3	5	29	1	1	6
Sep 14	atEast Tennessee State	W 38–⁠35	0	1	0	0	0	–
Sep 21	vs.Towson	W 41–⁠24	0	1	0	0	0	5
Sep 28	atIllinois State	W 42–⁠10	1	1	21	0	0	80
Oct 5	vs.North Dakota	W 41–⁠17	3	5	53	1	0	47
Oct 12	atSouthern Illinois	W 24–⁠3	1	1	7	0	0	13
Oct 19	vs.South Dakota State	W 13–⁠9	–	–	–	–	–	9

2023 North Dakota State 15 games, 615 rushing yards, 13 TD

Date	Opponent	Result	Cmp	Att	Yds	TD	Int	Rush
Sep 2	vs.Eastern Washington	W 35–⁠10	1	3	2	0	0	104
Sep 9	vs.Maine	W 44–⁠7	3	5	40	0	0	102
Sep 16	vs.Central Arkansas	W 49–⁠31	2	3	46	0	0	17
Sep 30	vs.South Dakota	L 19–⁠24	–	–	–	–	–	19
Oct 7	atMissouri State	W 38–⁠10	2	4	20	1	0	41
Oct 14	atNorth Dakota	L 24–⁠49	2	3	39	1	0	21
Oct 21	vs.Western Illinois	W 52–⁠7	3	3	97	1	0	−6
Oct 28	vs.Murray State	W 38–⁠6	2	3	10	0	0	2
Nov 4	atSouth Dakota State	L 16–⁠33	–	–	–	–	–	−6
Nov 11	vs.Southern Illinois	W 34–⁠10	–	–	–	–	–	11
Nov 18	atNorthern Iowa	W 48–⁠27	–	–	–	–	–	79
Nov 25 ✦	vs.Drake	W 66–⁠3	2	2	23	0	0	104
Dec 2 ✦	atMontana State	W 35–⁠34	1	1	12	0	0	20
Dec 9 ✦	atSouth Dakota	W 45–⁠17	–	–	–	–	–	65
Dec 16 ✦	atMontana	L 29–⁠31	–	–	–	–	–	42

2022 North Dakota State 12 games, 284 rushing yards, 2 TD

Date	Opponent	Result	Cmp	Att	Yds	TD	Int	Rush
Sep 3	vs.Drake	W 56–⁠14	2	4	7	0	0	9
Sep 10	vs.North Carolina A&T	W 43–⁠3	4	4	22	0	0	41
Sep 17	atArizona	L 28–⁠31	–	–	–	–	–	32
Oct 1	vs.Youngstown State	W 27–⁠14	–	–	–	–	–	44
Oct 15	vs.South Dakota State	L 21–⁠23	0	1	0	0	1	16
Oct 29	vs.Illinois State	W 24–⁠7	1	1	7	0	0	24
Nov 5	atWestern Illinois	W 56–⁠17	1	2	15	0	0	18
Nov 12	atSouthern Illinois	W 21–⁠18	–	–	–	–	–	25
Nov 19	vs.North Dakota	W 42–⁠21	–	–	–	–	–	11
Dec 3	vs.Montana	W 49–⁠26	–	–	–	–	–	48
Dec 9	vs.Samford	W 24–⁠3	–	–	–	–	–	10
Jan 8 ✦	vs.South Dakota State	L 21–⁠45	–	–	–	–	–	6

Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.

Played in the 2026 Senior Bowl (National team, lost 9–⁠17).

Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data). Rosters and honors: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).