STAR TREK XXIV....   (9/19/2006) Off My Office Floor.... Hello DI-A... The memories are coming back from a 2003 autumn day... Coming off NDSU's worst season in 40 years, the Bison traveled to Montana, ranked #3 in the nation in Division I-AA. NDSU had trouble even getting to Missoula. Then when they got there, they had to play in front of 23,000+ of their fans. NDSU had an almost all-new coaching staff, a new offense, and a new defense. They were down by 22 at the half. But somehow, they battled back and won.    I remember the feeling I had the week before the Montana game... it's the same feeling I've got this week. I've tried to shake it, but just can't let it go. What do we really know about DI-A football and the player's abilities that play DI-A football? The only thing that I do know about DI-A football this season is that DI-AA New Hampshire beat Northwestern and DI-AA Montana State beat Colorado. I also know that DII Chadron State then blasted Montana State the follow week and our Great West comrade UC Davis went to Bozeman last week and totally humiliated the Bobcats 45-0. So what gives? Who's Division II, I-AA, and I-A? I think the turn of events might suggest that the gap between the three divisions has decreased over the last number of years. The football players coming out of high school are just better than previously and there are more of them to spread around... not enough scholarships to go around. What makes a Bison Division II recruit four years ago, now a legitimate DI-AA football player? In other words, I'm trying to say... the Bison have a fair chance of pulling out a victory against Ball State this weekend. After all... very few DI-AA insiders gave the Bison a chance to defeat the Grizzlies on that September 6, 2003 afternoon... Ah yes... NDSU Bison history, NDSU Bison tradition. It continues... A Bison passing... Every fan knows that Bison tradition and legacy is what makes NDSU football great. Well, we lost a little piece of the legacy in the past few days. Walt Odegaard, a defensive tackle on the 1965 national championship team passed away at the age of 62. Did I know Walt? No. Did I see Walt play? No. Have I heard stories? Yes. The stories are like a passing of the tradition and legacy from one generation to the next. So even though I knew virtually nothing about Walt Odegaard, I felt a sense of loss when I read of his passing this morning in the Forum. Because without Mr. Odegaard and others former Bison players who linked Bison tradition with greatness... I probably wouldn't be writing this column for Bison Insider... I probably would be traveling to Muncie, Indiana this weekend... I probably wouldn't drive a pickup with South Dakota license plates "NDSU"... Lastly, I wouldn't have read a great Jeff Kolpack story this morning about a man, who utilized Bison tradition and legacy to build a great life helping people in North Dakota. And folks... that's what North Dakota State University is all about. Player Spotlight... The injury bug and defections have hit the Bison depth chart hard this year. What's the position feeling the most pain? Runningback. Mark Moore has left. Cinque Chapman was suspended. Symeon Cabell is out indefinitely with a broken collarbone. On and on and on... It's like the last one standing will win a big prize. Sure starting halfback, Kyle Steffes is healthy, but one hit can change everything. So the spotlight this week is on the new 2nd-string halfback, #28 Pete Blincoe, a 5'8 180-pound true freshman from Imperial, California. During his senior season at Imperial High School, Blincoe rushed for 1,096 yards and 19 touchdowns and caught 3 passes for another 219 yards. He not only caught passes, but threw for a pair of touchdowns as well. As a defensive back, Pete had 103 tackles including 62 assists, along with five sacks and three interceptions. And if that wasn't enough, although it's just a rumor, he performed brain surgeries at halftime for the local Imperial Hospital neurology department. Geesh... In other words, "Mr. Everything". At NDSU, Pete won't be called upon to do all those things, but the kid knows football. The Auburn Tigers had Bo... We've got Pete. One time... The rumblings from Western North Dakota fans concerning the lack of stations and/or radio signal carrying Bison games began in full force this past week. My email inbox was overflowing with people agreeing to my last column that Western North Dakota radio coverage was severely lacking... After several emails to the SU athletic department, I finally got an response this week answering my question. Between Clear Channel Communications owning most of the stations and others not wishing to broadcast NDSU athletics; the options for expanded Bison coverage are quite limited. So it seems at the moment, the NDSU athletic department's hands are tied for expanding Bison football coverage. I suggest that fans spend some money on a computer and acquire a broadband connection (DSL/Cable), so you can listen to the games for free, courtesy of the NDSU student radio station webcast. Jim Otis calls the play-by-play and Brad Jones serves as the color commentator... Air time this week is set with a pregame at 5:15 p.m. Click the link for Thunder Radio... One more time... Country star Gretchen Wilson will perform at Ball State's Emens Auditorium in the Family Weekend concert Friday, to begin Game Day activities for the North Dakota State/Ball State game, while country recording-artist John Stone will also perform in Arby’s Tailgate Town prior to Saturday’s game... Cheap Trick and .38 Special highlighted Ball State’s game day activities on Sept. 9. Wow! NDSU supporters are you listening? If we want to boost pre-game and tailgating excitement a band or entertainer seems like a good idea. Maybe even somebody we've actually heard of... I've always wanted to see a 'Ded Walleye' concert. For you other old duffers like me, Ded Walleye is a local Fargo rock band. Just an interesting idea... One last time... For the next home game versus Mississippi Valley State, I propose that the crowd switches corresponding seats at each quarter break. For instance, if you are on the north end of the east-side of the Fargodome seating... at the end of the 1st Quarter you would now occupy the respective seat on the south end of the east-side. Get it? For the last couple years, if the Bison get close to end zone closer to my end of the Fargodome... the quarter is sure to end. As the teams switch end... the fans should switch ends. Just a suggestion...albeit not intelligent. The Ball State Offense.... Base Offense: Pro-set... On offense the Cardinals are led by QB Joey Lynch, a 6'2 193-pound 5th year-senior from Muncie, Indiana. Lynch has passed for 3,716 yards in his career and needs 115 yards to move into eighth on Ball State's career passing yardage chart. He has 351 pass completions in his career and ranks seventh all time at Ball State... With 536 career pass attempts, Lynch is ninth on Ball State's career chart. Lynch's 33 career touchdown passes rank as the fifth best career total in Ball State annals. This season, he has completed 42 of 70 passes for 561 yards and 5 touchdowns. Larry Bostic, a 5'7 189-pound 5th year-senior from Fort Wayne, Indiana, heads the Ball State rushing attack with 97 yards on 32 carries, while snaring 16 passes for 149 yards. The receiving corps is led by wide-out Dante Love, a 5'10 170-pound sophomore from Cincinnati, Ohio. He has hauled in 13 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown. Love, who ranked third in the Mid-American Conference and 31st in the nation last season in kickoff returns, leads the Cardinals with a 15.0 average this year. So far this season, the Cardinal offensive attack has racked up an average of 357 yards of total offense per game, including 87 yards by land and 270 yards through the air... *Note: The young cornerbacks better have their shoes tied snug this weekend, as I fully expect Ball State's QB Joey Lynch to come out firing. The big unknown is speed... Will the Bison defense have the speed to match up with the tracksters on the Ball State offense. Physically the Bison will be fine, but speed kills. Crossing my fingers and toes as we venture off into the big unknown... The Ball State Defense.... Base Defense: 3-4 Hybrid... Ball State's defense is led this season by strong safety Erik Keys, a 5'10 210-pound 5th year-senior from Indianapolis, Indiana. Keys leads the team in tackles with 11 solo and 15 assisted, including 2 tackles for loss. The Ball State linebacking crew is headed by Wendell Brown, a 6'0 225-pound junior from Martin Luther King H.S. in Detroit, Michigan. For the season Brown has 17 tackles, including 6 solos and 1 for loss. Leading the Cardinals in quarterback sacks this season with 3 is LB/DE/Rushing specialist... Cortlan Booker, a 6'2 244-pound junior from West Lafayette, Indiana. For 2006, the Ball State defense has surrendered 447 total yards per game, including a 163.3 rushing yards and 283.7 yards through the air... *Note: There is no question that the Bison will be able to move the ball on Ball State. But there is a question of whether the Bison will be able to limit mental and physical mistakes to sustain drives. The Ball State passing defense is ripe for picking, but can the Bison show an improvement in their short to medium passing game which was virtually none existent versus Northeastern. Time will tell... History.... Ball State and North Dakota State will be meeting for the first time ever. Show Me the Keys.... * The inexperienced Bison offensive line must establish themselves early. Against DI-A competition, the Bison hogs MUST do a better job of establishing/maintaining their blocks (w/o holding). * I'll keep saying this until I'm blue in the face... "As Bison QB Steve Walker plays, so does the Bison offense." He is THE KEY to starting the engine. Walker struggled against Northeastern to establish a short passing game. Early in the game, Ball State will stack the line of scrimmage forcing the Bison to show off their passing attack... If the Bison don't win the battle for time of possession, the Cardinals will be almost impossible to beat... * The Bison return game needs to show improvement. A potential return catalyst, RB Symeon Cabell has been lost for the season with a broken collar bone, so John Majeski and Nick Jackson must find a way to get the job done. As in the previous week versus Concordia-St. Paul, Travis White did not look comfortable returning punts versus Northeastern. It's time to give someone else a try. * Control... The Bison offense must finish what it starts... The offense did a nice job the last game getting to the red zone against Northeastern, but field goals will not be good enough against DI-A competition. Once in the red zone, the Bison offense needs to maintain the momentum and push the ball into the sacred land. No Penalties... Continue with the current game plan. The Bison offense just isn't potent enough to overcome penalties and bad play calling... * Kicking... Shawn Bibeau and Mike Dragosavich are nice weapons for the Bison. Taken in moderation... It's a comforting feeling knowing that these two young men will be around for at least the next couple years. * Score early! Under head coach Craig Bohl slow starts have plagued the Bison, especially on the road. Get prepared. Get some sleep. Get ready to fire out of the gate. A fast start for the Bison can only improve confidence against DI-A Ball State... * This is a very big season for the Bison coaching staff. Inexperience, plus a tough schedule... More than not leads to disaster. And as the playoff years approach, it's not a good time to apply the brakes on this run-away train. Blue-chip high school recruits only want to know what the Bison have done lately... * One word -- 'Consistency'.... from play to play; from game to game. The maturation of young players such as CB Derrius Colvin, CB Courtney Mitchell, CB Richard Bowman, C Zach Harrington, DT Michael Fairbairn, LB Ramon Humber, OT Sam Laudner and others is so crucial to the success of the Bison program during the 2006 season. And help the Bison continue climbing to the top of the Division I-AA mountain.... * As for the Ball State game... If the Bison will have to turn it up a notch to compete successfully on the field. A victory is in sight, but mistakes must be limited or null... * Sacks, interceptions, fumbles... Goal for takeaways this week for the Bison defense? Two... Two turnovers forced by the Bison defense keeps the Bison in the game... Five sacks mean a win. A Bison defensive touchdown is almost mandatory this weekend... Jottings.... * The weight in the trenches: Offensive line: NDSU 301, Ball State 294 Defensive line: NDSU 270, Ball State 285 * Injuries this week: WR Shamen Washington - out; DE Nick Compton - out; OG Justin Buckwalter - out; RB Symeon Cabell - out... * Ball State QB Joey Lynch ranks fifth in NCAA Division IA football among active career leaders in pass completion percentage... He has completed 63.13 percent of his passes in his career... * Darius Hill (Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs H.S.), a sophomore tight end for the Cardinals, leads all Ball State receivers with four touchdown catches this year... * The Arby's Tailgate Town opens three hours prior to kickoff for every Ball State home football game. Features food from the Arby’s mobile restaurant... * The 2006 season marks the first time Ball State University will play three Big Ten teams in a season... Indiana, Purdue and Michigan. * Ball State's Chris Miller has 16 punts this season, including a long punt of 56 yards, and has placed nine punts inside the 20-yard line... He is averaging 43.3 yards per punt, while limiting opponents to 6.1 yards per return. His 43.78 punt average last season ranks as the fourth best single-season mark in Ball State history. Miller follows a Ball State punter legacy that has Brad Maynard in his 11th year in the National Football League and currently with the Chicago Bears plus Reggie Hodges, who was drafted in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. * North Dakota State’s defense has shut down the running game of the opposition. The Bison are tops in NCAA Division I-AA in rushing defense, allowing 15.5 yards per game... * Audio of Ball State football games is also available on the internet free of charge. Click Here to listen... * With the win over Northeastern University, NDSU head coach Craig Bohl improved to 25-10 in three-plus seasons with the school and moved to No. 6 on the career victory list, passing former coaches Darrell Mudra, Jim Wacker and Earle Solomonson * Poll Watch: The Bison are currently ranked #14 by the Sports Network, #11 Football Gazette, #10 Any Given Saturday and #6 in the Bison Insider Top 20. Ball State University did not appear in any DI-A polls this week....