Bison football plays their most complete game of the year –
While I could not be there in person (it’s high school football playoff season after all!), it looks and sounds as though North Dakota State football had one of its most complete games of the season on Saturday against Illinois State. It was especially heartwarming to see, or should I say ‘hear,’ that the defense performed the way they did against a good rushing attack like the Redbirds brought to Fargo.
The offense is still clicking, too. The Bison have been able to bring their ‘backup’ quarterback, Cole Payton, in to throw and run the ball. This gives Bison opponents something else to prepare for and has to think about besides Cam Miller and the entourage that is the NDSU stable of running backs.
I still think we have yet to see the Bison really dominate a team, in conference anyway. That may happen this weekend as the Bison head to Macomb, Ill., to take on what looks like a poor Western Illinois team that is currently 0 – 6 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The trip to Macomb is typically one of the more, if not the most, unpleasant ones in the MVFC. Let’s hope the Bison can stay focused and keep up the quality play.
Congratulations to the Bison cross-country teams –
On the front page of this issue, you should have seen our lead story. The women’s cross-country team won the Summit League championships. It was their first win since 2019. The women had seven runners in the Top 20 led by Grace Link, who finished in second. The cross-country program at North Dakota State is consistently one of the most successful. The nearest competitor to the Bison was 30 points in the rear-view mirror. Congratulations!
Speaking of consistent…
The men’s team finished runners-up at the same Summit Championships. I’d recite all of their numbers, but they were nearly identical to the women’s. Many finishers in the Top 20 and another NDSU sports program that consistently produces. Congratulations!
Tough night at the BBFH –
I went to the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse on Tuesday night to NDSU’s stellar volleyball team in action against an average, at least in the league standings, South Dakota State squad. The Jacks started out hot and NDSU never really got their footing while dropping a 3-1 decision. It was a strange night at the BBFH. That first set took the crowd out of the match which made the usually rambunctious setting rather ordinary. The Bison, for whatever reason, just looked a little behind all night.
The good news is this kind of thing happens and it is a good time for NDSU to suffer this kind of loss. The women should be fine. This will remind them what it tastes like to lose. They also have a schedule that includes all the teams ahead of, tied with, or just behind them in the standings (see Andrew Haugland’s article in this section for more detail). The Bison can still win the league title…just a bump in the road Tuesday night.
Next week’s highlights…winter sports previews –
Be on the lookout for season previews of the men’s and women’s basketball and wrestling next week. Both hoop teams have suffered significant losses through graduation but boast impressive recruits. The men, in particular, have a lot of points to replace but have a solid nucleus in Boden Skunberg and Grant Nelson returning. The women return one of the best players in the Summit League in Heaven Hamling but lost minutes and rebounds through graduation. On the mat, Coach Kish is excited to see how his ‘California Connection’ does in what will once again be a difficult non-conference schedule as well as the grind that is Big 12 wrestling.