DON'T FORGET YOUR TAG....   (11/3/2005) Off My Office Floor.... Memory lane... The trip to Utah was great... the weather was great... and seeing a Bison road win over the Thunderbirds was even greater. The Fargodome is a great facility, but I really enjoy watching the Bison play outdoor football. After the game at Eccles Stadium, Bob and I had little trouble dishing up memories of the Bison playing at Dacotah Field. Stories of Satter, Molstre, Bentrim, Stark, Lloyd and on and on... tickled the ears on the way back to the motel. I can honestly say that I miss those Dacotah Field days... But again, I also anticipate fond memories of DI football in the dome twenty years from now... Fargodome or Assisted Living Center 2... After reading my previous weeks rant, I was pretty insensitive to Bison fans who aren't able to stand because of health reasons or such... I have no problem with that and all of us should be aware of the fans around us so we don't wreck the game for these people. But if fans are perfectly able to stand up and show some enthusiasm, those are exactly the people I get upset with... If you look around, there are people not even clapping after a Bison score. "Hey, we scored.... I think I'll celebrated by eating another nacho." Not to say that the crunching of chips isn't deafening. I'm waiting for somebody to complain about the noise made from slurping a soda or crunching toasted almonds. Don't go to Bison games to boost your reputation within the community. Don't go to Bison games because you gave a lot of money. Don't go to Bison games because it's a social event. The Bison football team can be a very important/fundamental/intrigual part of Fargo and the surrounding area. This is OUR football team. This is OUR band. These are OUR cheerleaders. Bison fans: Give the team, the band, the cheerleaders, etc... a chance to carry you away from the your troubles for three hours on a Saturday. Try to get immersed into every play and become one with the action on the field... Even though reality says different; make the action down on the turf the most important thing in your life at the moment. If you haven't done it before watching a Bison football. Let me tell you this... it's a great feeling. Fargo's loss, Bismarck's gain... Bison radio personality and host of 'Primetime Sports', Jack Michaels (aka. Todd Clark), has left WDAY-AM to take a sales job with Clear Channel Communications in Bismarck. It's always a sad day in the life of sports fans when a 'sports guy' with as much talent as Michaels leaves the area. I find it hard to believe that Clear Channel Communications (ie. KFYR-AM & KXMR-AM) won't utilize Michael's abilities as a sports broadcaster and fully expect to some day hear his voice calling numerous CBA, college, and/or high school games in the Bismarck area. If your from the Bismarck area, make sure to send KFYR & KXMR an email in support of hearing Jack Michaels on local sports broadcasts... Bearish outlook... Northern Colorado has always had a rough go in games played in Fargo. The Bears have won only two times in Fargo in 15 attempts. Although the Bears have won two of the last three meetings in the Fargodome. Northern Colorado scored a 29-7 win in 2002 and a 29-19 victory in 1998 at the Fargodome. The Northern Colorado Offense.... Base Offense: Pro-set... Leading the Northern Colorado offensive attack is senior QB Nick Hager. The 6-0, 180-pound Fort Collins, Colorado native has completing 59 of 106 passes for 945 yards and 12 touchdowns, while tossing 4 interceptions this season. Leading da' Bears wide receiving crew are Cory Sleeth and Andy Birkel. This season, Sleeth, a 6-1 195-pound sophomore from Westminster, Colorado has grabbed 30 passes for 492 yards (116.4 ypc) and 6 touchdowns. Birkel, a 6-2 180-pound junior from Lincoln, Nebraska, and a transfer from the University of Nebraska; has hauled in the pigskin 30 times for 599 yards (20.0 ypc) and 8 touchdowns. The Bears' ground game is rests firmly on the shoulders of first team All-GWFC selection, junior RB Andre Wilson. The 6-1 190-pound, Denver, Colorado product has carried the ball 189 times for 974 yards (5.2 ypc) and 6 touchdowns, while catching 12 passes for 71 yards and another touchdown. Through all games this season, the Bears have racked up an average of 397 yards of total offense, including an 175 yards by land and 222 yards through the air... *Note: Especially with the return of QB Nick Hager last week, the UNC offense is an effective two-pronged attack; both running and passing the ball. The Bison coaching staff will have to pick their poison... The Northern Colorado Defense.... Base Defense: 4-3... On the defensive side of the ball, the Northern Colorado defense is led by 2004 Sports Network All-American selection FS Reed Doughty (6-1 208-pound senior Johnstown, Colorado). This season, Doughty leads the Bears with 2 interceptions and in tackles with 100 including 5 for loss. The Northern Colorado defense also features LB Jake Duren (6-1 217-pounds). This season, the freshman from Littleton, Colorado, is second on the team with 56 tackles including 2.5 for loss. The Thunderbirds defensive line is headed by DE Kurt Hout (6-2 245-pound sophomore Arvada, Colorado). Hout has torn up opposing offensive lines for 7 tackles for loss, including 5.5 sacks. CB Greg Gebhardt (6-1 185-pound senior Loveland, Colorado) leads the Bears secondary with 2 picks and 28 tackles. This season, the Northern Colorado defense has given up 378 total yards per game, including 180 rushing yards and 198 yards through the air... *Note: The Northern Colorado defense is not the strong point of this year's squad... If the Bison offensive line plays well, NDSU should be able to rack up quite a few points on the scoreboard... The Series.... The 30th meeting... North Dakota State leads the series, 21-8. Northern Colorado has won the past three meetings between the schools. However, NDSU holds a commanding 13-2 advantage in games played in Fargo. Show Me the Keys.... * The match-up against the UNC defensive front favors the Bison offensive line. Straight ahead power blocking against slower defensive line than the Bison have seen the past few weeks... * Bison QB Steve Walker must continue to audible out of plays against 8-9 man defensive fronts. Walker did a nice job down in Utah taking what the defense handed to him. Again this week, he should expect the Bears to put at least 8 men in the box right from the get go... * I stated last week that it was time for the Bison defense to score and that's exactly what happened. The result... a road win. * Sacks, interceptions, fumbles... Goal for takeaways this week for the Bison defense? Three... Three turnovers from the Bison defense equals a quality win this Saturday... Five sacks means a lop-sided Bison win. The Bison MUST put relentless pressure on Bears' QB Nick Hager... which means it could be another Zimmerman/Mays blitz fest... * Control... The Bison offense must continue to finish what it starts... Did a nice job last week against Southern Utah. Almost mandatory against teams considered to be weaker than the Bison, such as Northern Colorado... * Score early! A quick start out of the gate against the Bears will definitely make for a much pleasurable afternoon of football for the players, coaches and fans. A 7-8 minute opening drive for a touchdown will key any Bison success this Saturday, keeping the ball out of the hands of Bears' RB Andre Wilson. Time of possession will be awful important... * This is a very important week for the Bison coaching staff. A switch of gears, so to speak. It's been awhile since the Bison have faced a top-notch runningback. Northern Colorado runningback Andre Wilson will control this game if given half a chance... * One word -- 'Consistency'.... from play to play; from game to game. The youth of some Bison players has become quite evident the last four games... too many mistakes. Again, Bison consistency on both offensive and defensive will make the Bison awfully tough to contain. The maturation of young players such as LB Nick Compton, LB Mike Maresh, FB Tyler Jangula, WR Kole Heckendorf, FS Nick Schommer and any true freshman (Humber, Bowman, Champ, and Ogbetola) is crucial to the success of the Bison program during the final games of this season. And help the Bison climb to the top of the Division I-AA mountain.... Jottings.... - The weight in the trenches: Offensive line: NDSU 307, Northern Colorado 300 Defensive line: NDSU 275, Northern Colorado 261 - Injuries this week: FB Travis Roehl - out; WR Travis White - out; LB Tony Bizal - out (knee) - UNC Senior quarterback Nick Hager made his return to the starting lineup on Saturday against Fort Lewis and tossed four touchdown passes. Hager suffered a dislocated shoulder in the second quarter of the Bears’ 41-17 loss at Portland State on Sept. 24. Hager sat out nearly five weeks and had not played in a game until earning the start against the Skyhawks. - Bison quarterback Steve Walker is No. 2 in Great West Football Conference pass efficiency with a 126.83 rating... - Bears' senior safety Reed Doughty put on yet another tremendous effort in the Bears’ 45-14 victory over Fort Lewis last Saturday. Doughty has led the squad in tackles for the seventh-straight time this season with nine stops. Doughty also added his second interception of the season and 12th of his career. Doughty forced and recovered separate fumbles in the contest. Doughty leads the nation in tackles (14.29 tackles/game)... - North Dakota State is No. 2 nationally in turnover margin (+1.38), forcing 19 turnovers overall and committing only eight... - The Northern Colorado starting runningback, Andre Wilson, ranks No. 4 in the nation in rushing yards per game at 139.14 per game. Wilson trails Brown University’s Nick Hartigan (159.00 per game), Portland State’s Joe Rubin (152.67 per game) and Drake’s Scott Phaydavong (147.75 per game)... - Just like Kyle Steffes, Bears' running back Andre Wilson tallied a huge day against Southern Utah. Wilson rushed 29 times for 202 yards and a touchdown. Wilson also had a career-long 63-yard run against the Thunderbirds. Wilson was named Great West Football Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season for his effort against the Thunderbirds... - Bison wide receiver Nick Jackson made his first collegiate pass reception and finished with two catches for 35 yards against SUU... - Audio of Northern Colorado football games is available on the internet free of charge. Click Here to listen... - As if Bison fans don't remember this guy... UNC senior placekicker Justin Zaitz has made 53 straight extra points going back to the 2003 season... - North Dakota State has been very tough against the pass this year, limiting opponents to 138.0 yards per game through the air while giving up 141.1 on the ground. Offensively NDSU has been balanced, averaging 171.6 passing and 145.1 rushing yards per contest. The Bison have also been effective with their return teams, averaging 15.6 yards per punt return and 20.4 on kickoff returns... - Poll Watch: This week the Bison are currently ranked #21 by AnyGivenSaturday.com; #24 by the Sports Network, and received votes in the Bison Insider Top 20... Northern Colorado did not appear in any DI-AA polls this week....