Cotton-Eyed Joe....   (8/17/2005) Off My Office Floor.... Another beginning.... On September 1st, the Bison once again open up another football season. The University of Arkansas-Monticello Boll Weevils invade the Fargodome hoping for another Division II upset of a Division I-AA team. Nothing to lose.... Everything to gain. Although, I feel the Bison should put a virtual 'butt whooping' on the Weevils, a very small part of me senses danger lurking in the dark confines of the Fargodome. A feeling I hope stretches all the way to the Bison coaches and players. No football team is invincible.... the University of Montana is not invincible... Northwestern State University is not invincible.... But... Okay, I'll say it. Right now the Bison are invincible. That's why I always get jacked up for the smell of dogs on the grill, the tapping of the keg, the sound of beverages pouring into my plastic glass (just a little jab there), and the 'Pride of North Dakota' playing my favorite Jefferson Airplane song. So as you see, I'm trying to stay humble... but as I peer over to my Bison season tickets laying on my desk. It's time to rumble!!! Building from within.... It's easy to see that the NDSU and UAM coaching staffs have taken a vastly different approach to building a successfull football program. A quick glance at the NDSU roster and you will notice that the Bison have only a handful of transfer players. On the other hand a look into the Boll Weevil's roster shows a heavy dependence on transfer student athletes. The current Boll Weevil roster contains 30 transfer football players from the Junior College, NCAA DII or NCAA DI-AA ranks. Not only does this indicate different recruiting philosophies but also shows us the difference between an established football program (NDSU) and a football program attempting to join the elite (UAM). Sometimes it's good to be the king... Do Polls Matter?…. This past week the members of the Bison Insider polling committee completed their 2005 Great West Pre-season Poll... The results aren't suprising and pretty typical of other GWFC pre-season polls that have been released over the past month. Here are the results...

Baby Bison time.... My father used to yell some fatherly advice to me once in a while.... "It's time to grow up!!" Well, thanks Dad and have a Happy Birthday. Just the same can be said for some of the Bison players. Players like OG Adam Tadisch.... Adam came into the program highly recruited out of Wisconsin and then progressed to become just an average player. But an average player with more talent in his pinky than most people have in their whole body. It's time for Adam (now a junior) to show off some of that talent. It's time for Adam to learn the play book. It's time for Adam to display the techniques learned day in and day out from Coach Perles. Another player with this type of resume is LB Tony Bizal. Man, when this guy came out of Blaine High School (MN) with all his honors; all-state, all-conference, all-metro from both the Twin Cities hard presses.... I thought this young man was going to take the program by storm. But over the years as a reserve safety, given talent players such as Jared Essler & Mike Shepherd were ahead of him on the depth chart, I really thought the Bison coaches would find a spot on the defense for such a talent. Recently, Tony (now a junior also) was given new life with a shift from safety to outside linebacker. I thought great.... And then the next thing I read is that Ramon Humber's redshirt was possibly going to be lifted for him to play outside linebacker. Well Tony, it's time.... to take the bull by the horns and become the player that we all know you can be for the Bison.... And for more importantly; yourself. I know it seems like I'm picking on these two players, but.... some kids need more time than others to prepare to become a good college football player. And from my experience in college football, the junior year often is the time the light bulb starts to flash. So I'm going to make a recommendation to all Bison fans.... watch Adam Tadisch and Tony Bizal play football this fall. I'm picking these to athletes as my players to watch for the 2005 season. My sleeper pick.... HB Mark Moore. The kid definitely has the talent and if Steffes and/or Chapman fail, Moore will become a star. On a side note…. The crew at Bison Insider would like to thank our readers for their support by buying BI merchandise from the SuperStore. Bandwidth isn’t cheap… but since the response to the SuperStore web site has been so overwhelming, we have decided to mark the prices down even further. Starting last month, we slashed at least a dollar off of all our prices….. Thanks again. One more time…. A pair of University of Arkansas at Monticello Boll Weevil football standouts have received pre-season honors, as both wide receiver Von Mixon (Sr., Vicksburg, Miss.) and free safety DeMathus Ledet (Sr., Lafayette, La.) have been named pre-season All-Americans…. Ledet was honored by Don Hansen’s Football Gazette, while Mixon was honored by Lindy’s, Street & Smith’s, and Don Hansen’s Football Gazette. And failed experiment.... Or was the attempted switch of Symeon Cabell from runningback to corner back a failed experiment? I think not. All indications point to a lack of quantity amid the halfback position as the reason for the switch of Cabell back to halfback. Many of us have forgotten that Mr. Cabell ran for 1,480 yards and 18 touchdowns as a senior at Cudahy High School (WI).... The Bison only had three 'full duty' halfbacks in Steffes, Chapman, and Moore. Shamen Washington may be a good runner, but he is not a pound it between the tackles runner. The Bison needed someone to make a switch to halfback and choose Cabell over LB Michael Brower.... The Arkansas-Monticello Offense.... Base Offense: West Coast Variant…. Leading the UAM offensive attack is senior WR Von Mixon (5-9 180 Sr Vicksburg, Mississippi - transfer from Hinds CC). In his first season at UAM, Mixon put together the most prolific season by any wide receiver in Boll Weevil football history, breaking current Houston Texan Derick Armstrong’s single-season receiving record, catching 66 passes for 1,245 yards. The 66 receptions also set a new UAM record for a junior. After posting seven 100+ yard receiving games and leading the Gulf South Conference with 12 touchdowns, Mixon earned d2football.com second team All-America honors, and Daktronics, Football Gazette first team All-Region honors, and first team All-Gulf South Conference honors. Additionally. Mixon earned Football Gazette second team All-Region honors for his work as a kick returner. Leading the Boll Weevil ground attack are RB John L. Williams (6-2 217 So Gainesville, Florida) and RB Julius Roberson (6-0 205 Jr Mendenhall, Mississippi - transfer from Copiah-Lincoln JC). In 2004, Williams rushed the ball 31 times for 105 yards, while Roberson racked up 1300+ yards for Copiah-Lincoln JC last season. The starting quarterback situation is very much up in the air with QB Anthony Rodriguez (6-0 180 Jr Franklin, Louisiana) and Murray State transfer QB Adam Fisher (6-2 200 Sr Garden Plains, Kansas) each vying for the position. Last season, Rodriguez completed 7 of 20 passes in a backup role for the Boll Weevils, while Fisher completed 120 of 218 passes for 1,485 yards and 7 touchdowns for Division I Murray State. In 2004, the UAM offense averaged 97 yards on the ground and 320 yards through the air for an average total offense of 417 yards of total offense and 31.8 points per game…. The Arkansas-Monticello Defense.... Base Defense: 4-3… On the defensive side of the ball, Arkansas-Monticello is led by FS Demathus Ledet (5-10 170 Sr Lafayette, Louisiana - transfer from Northwestern State). Ledet posted 69 tackles in 2004, leading all returning letterwinners. .The defensive back has been a steady presence throughout his time at UAM, earning second team All-Gulf South Conference honors and Football Gazette second team All-Region honors as a junior. After transferring from Northwestern (La.) State, Ledet tallied 73 tackles as a sophomore. He has four career games with over ten tackles, coming against Delta State, Central Arkansas, and Southeastern Louisiana twice. The Boll Weevil defense also features LB Marcus Wallace (6-3 210 So West Memphis, Arkansas) 40 tackles (1 for loss), 2 interceptions, 1 blocked kick and .5 sacks; Lavar Wyatt (5-10 170 Sr Newport, Arkansas) 34 tackles and 7 interceptions. For 2004 season, the Boll Weevils defense gave up an average of 205 yards on the ground and 269 yards through the air while allowing 34.7 points per game.... History.... This will be the first meeting between the University of Arkansas-Monticello and North Dakota State University football teams. The Bison have a win-loss record of 4-1 versus Gulf South Conference competition.... Show Me the Keys.... * As was the case most every week last season, the Bison offensive line has a huge weight advantage over the opposing defensive line…. This game should favor the Bison offense in a game of good ole’ smash mouth with the South Dakota boys (Buckwalter & Popowski) on the right-side leading the way. Justin Buckwalter and Tim Popowski are the veterans/leaders of this year's offensive line and must carry the bulk of the responsibility for clearing the path for Bison runners. Both Buckwalter and Popowski have a good chance of earning numerous post-season honors.... * Bison QB Steve Walker must limit interceptions…. I realize this hasn't been a problem in the past for Walker, but the defensive back units for the Boll Weevils are the most athletic part of the UAM team. Comprised of a good bunch of ball-hawkers.... * Kick returners Marques Johnson and Shamen Washington could light this game up…. The Weevils game up almost 20 yards per kick return last season. Chances are that Washington will show them the difference between a Division I kick returner and a Division II kick returner. Expect a big day.... * Sacks, interceptions, fumbles... Goal for takeaways this week for the Bison defense? Three…. Three turnovers from the Bison defense equals a comfortable win this Saturday…. Four sacks means a Bison blowout…. Not a big stat this game as the Bison hold a huge talent advantage. * The full stable of Bison wide receivers; Marques Johnson, Nick Jackson, and Travis White will not have a huge speed advantage this weekend versus the UAM secondary. Southern college football teams are known for their speed.... Football talent is the key.... Watch the matchup of UAM corner Lavar Wyatt and Bison wide-out Travis White. The Boll Weevils are hoping Wyatt can limit White's catches.... * Score early! When you play an inferior team, it’s always a must to keep that team on their heals from the very beginning. Destroy confidence…. * The Bison linebackers must control the running attack…. Zimmerman and Mays will be very important to keep the Weevils offensive attack one-sided. I don't expect much of a running game from UAM, but fully expect that the UAM offense will put the ball in the air early and often.... * The Bison coaching staff can’t be afraid to blitz against UAM… Let's see how good their quarterbacks are.... Murray State transfer quarterback Adam Fisher will probably get the starting nod against the Bison. A little birdie says that the Murray State coaches became dissatisfied with Fisher during last season... Mainly in his pocket presence and decision-making under fire. Meaning..... lots of happy feet everywhere.... * One word -- 'Consistency'.... from play to play; from game to game.... Bison consistency on both offensive and defensive will make the Bison awfully tough to contain. The maturit of young players such as LB Nick Compton, LB Mike Maresh, FB Tyler Jangula, WR Kole Heckendorf, FS Nick Schommer and any possible true freshman (Humber, Mitchell, and Ogbetola) will play a major factor in the success of the Bison program this year… And keep the Bison on the fast track to the top of the Division I-AA mountain.... Jottings.... - The weight in the trenches: Offensive line: NDSU 307, Arkansas-Monticello 285 Defensive line: NDSU 275, Arkansas-Monticello 252 - Injuries this week: FB Travis Roehl - out; - Next week the Bison travel to Natchitoches, Louisiana to face the Demons of Northwestern State University.... For tickets go to nsudemons.com and click the buy tickets link. Please note, online sales transactions must be completed no later than 2 days prior to game day. Call the NSU ticket office at 318-357-4268 for sales within 48 hours of game day! - WR Derick Armstrong is the only former Boll Weevil on an active NFL roster. Armstrong, who played one season for UAM in 2000, is now in his third season with the Houston Texans. Last season with the Texans, Armstrong caught 29 passes for 415 yards and one touchdown. - One of the most frequently asked questions about UAM athletics concerns the mascot. The Boll Weevil is one of the most unusual mascots in college athletics and the subject of much confusion (mostly among Yankees). The Boll Weevil is a small gray insect that can wipe out a cotton crop in the blink of an eye. When UAM was founded in 1909, cotton was still king in Arkansas and the Boll Weevil was the most dreaded pest in the South. UAM’s early students, most of them the sons and daughters of delta cotton planters, selected the Boll Weevil as their mascot in admiration of its toughness and the fear it caused among farmers. It’s been said that the Boll Weevil is the only thing tough enough to ever truly lick the South. - Audio of Arkansas-Monticello football games is available on the internet free of charge… See Rich Steven's Game Day 2005 for the link... - For much of its history, UAM was a member of the now-defunct Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference and NAIA Division I. UAM won or shared 10 AIC football championships, winning titles in 1953, ’55, ’56, ’57, ’58, ’63, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’79, and ’93. UAM joined the Gulf South Conference and switched from the NAIA to NCAA Division II following the 1994 season.... - Next week the Boll Weevils host North Alabama at Cotton Boll Stadium.... In 2004, the Lions defeated UAM by the score of 59-21. Both the Weevils and the Lions are members of the NCAA Divison II Gulf South Conference.... - Former NDSU running back Lamar Gordon was demoted to No. 3 on the Miami Dolphins depth chart while former NDSU lineman Jared Peck was listed as the No. 2 left tackle with the Atlanta Falcons. … - Poll Watch: The Bison are currently ranked #22 by the Sports Network; #18 by AnyGivenSaturday.com; and #16 in the Bison Insider Top 20.... Arkansas-Monticello does not appear in any Pre-season National DII polls....