It’s always good to be back home. Getting to sleep in one’s own bed, using one’s toilet and eating a home-cooked meal is always taken for granted when one travels away from their humble abode. For the North Dakota State football team, coming home means coming home to 19,000 not so humble, ferocious and loyal Bison fans at the Fargodome.

The Herd wrapped up their two-game road stint with a dismantling of the Western Illinois Leathernecks. This Saturday should be a tougher task for the top-ranked Bison.

Illinois State is next on the list of teams with the opportunity to knock off the defending champs. The No. 7 Redbirds are coming off a game in which they annihilated Southern Illinois by a score of 51-3 and have their eyes focused on beating NDSU. A victory against the Bison would give Illinois State an inside track on being the Missouri Valley Conference champion.

The Redbirds are allowing a mere 12 points a game and show no signs of slowing down. NDSU is coming off a game in which it relied mainly on its run game and defense, but it will take a good effort from all three phases to safely make it past the Redbirds.

One key to a Bison victory is to keep the Illinois State defense guessing. The offense played keep away, as Easton Stick only attempted nine second half passes last week. NDSU has tended to be a ball control team that relies on the run over the last decade. However, it is safe to assume that Stick will be asked to make more plays downfield in a matchup against a top-ranked team.

The Bison air attack has gone through senior Darrius Shepherd this season. Stick’s favorite target is the only Bison with double-digit receptions this season. Shepherd has 22 catches for 386 yards and 5 touchdowns so far this year.

On the other side of the ball, the Bison defense will simply look to continue their dominance. It has been years since the Bison defense has not been in the discussion of best in FCS football, and nothing has changed this year. Coming off their best performance of the year in which they terrorized Western Illinois into five turnovers, Code Green looks to keep the good times rolling.

The only problem for the Bison is it’s not the Redbirds’ passing attack they’ll have to worry about. It’s star junior running back James Robinson. Robinson torched Southern Illinois with 202 yards on the ground. With an average of over 6 yards a carry on the year, Robinson is poised to shatter, and perhaps double, his previous season long rushing totals.

If Illinois State can get Robinson going early and hold NDSU to field goals instead of touchdowns, the Fargodome crowd will be in for a treat of a game on Saturday. The impact of the game’s results will be felt throughout the Missouri Valley Conference, as well as the rest of the FCS. The winner will become the favorite to win the Valley and possibly secure a No. 1 seed in the FCS playoffs. As always, to the victor go the spoils.

But Illinois State has been suspect away from home in the last two seasons. The Redbirds are 4-4 outside of Normal, Illinois since the beginning of last season. This year, Illinois State lost a shocker at Missouri State, usually the cellar dwellers of the Valley. Since, a pair of dominant wins against Western Illinois and Southern Illinois has righted the ship.

The five-star matchup starts at 2:30 p.m. Saturday and will be a formidable test for the Bison.