Bison drop a close one in Arizona
Like most others, I was glued to the television on Saturday night to see if the Bison could win yet another match-up against an FBS opponent. Alas, it wasn’t to be for the Herd as some uncharacteristic mistakes led to missed opportunities and a 31 – 28 defeat at the hands of the Wildcats. See Blake Engebretson’s piece on the game in this section.
The Good –
The Bison looked, for the most part, like the Bison on offense. They largely dominated on the ground. I enjoy it when the Bison impose their will on opponents in the rushing attack. The Bison were able to do this for a large part of the game. Again, Hunter Luepke had a great game, and the Spencer, Wisc., product continues to impress. Watching him score on the pass from Cam Miller made me wonder, does anyone else watch game film? How do they keep running that?
The Bad –
3rd & 2…having just said that, the Bison could not get one more first down which would have likely sealed the win. Two yards in two plays. That hurt to watch. I was also disappointed that the Bison could not come up with a better strategy for dealing with Arizona’s Jayden de Laura. Yes, he’s a great athlete and made some great plays but there must have been a better way to contain him. You know the old coach’s saying, “we can only hope to contain him”. The passing game wasn’t much to watch either. Something to watch for as the Bison begin conference play.
The Fans –
Still haven’t seen any numbers on Bison fans, but there sure was a lot of Green & Gold in the stands. That was fantastic to see and congrats to everyone who made the trek to Tucson to represent the Herd. Even with the loss, it must have been a fun trip.
Rob Hipp and the Bison Radio Network –
Since I did not go to the game, I listened for the first time, to the radio broadcast on the Bison Radio Network. Rob Hipp, the new “Voice of the Bison” is on the play-by-play, Bison legend, Phil Hansen is the color commentator. Their sideline reporter is Cole Jirik, another former Bison football player. There were some technical difficulties early in the broadcast, mostly with Jirik on the sideline. It also seemed like there were issues with identifying Bison players. All these issues, I imagine, are to be expected with a new broadcast team, especially when the play-by-play guy is new. One thing you could not mistake was Hipp’s love of the broadcast media, and you can hear how happy he is to be a Bison. He has the same passion as the recently departed for Florida State, Jeff Culhane. I think Hipp will be a great addition to the Bison media network.
Conference/League schedules starting –
As it starts to cool off, things get hotter for Bison sports. Football, soccer and volleyball all start their respective conference or league schedules this weekend. I encourage you to get out and watch the Herd. It is easy to get student tickets and you paid for them with your student fees, so get out there and cheer on the Herd! As Coach Entz said in his post-game press conference after the loss to Arizona, “I have to say something about Bison Nation being here tonight,” Entz said. “Unbelievable, the passion, the volume that they created. They took over Tucson and when you get to coach at a place that has that much passion and that much support of these young men, it’s second to none.” You can do that right here at home. Support the Herd!