MY CLOSE PERSONAL FRIEND...   (10/19/2006) Off My Office Floor.... Speaking without thinking... The Gophers have absolutely no chance this Saturday against the Bison. The Bison will win this game by four, five or six touchdowns. The Bison not only have superior athletes, but better football players at each and every position. I don't know why the Bison would schedule a lowly Big Ten team because they have nothing to gain from this game and everything to lose. NDSU's athletic Director Gene Taylor and head football coach Craig Bohl must be out of their minds to schedule a game that can only hurt the program. The Bison athletic department has brought the Bison program so far and now by taking a chance to lose to a lowly Big Ten team, they could set the program drastically back for years to come. Although there is no chance of victory for the Gophers, because the Bison football program is light-years ahead in every phase of the game. Bison 40, Gophers 0... Seriously... Quite frankly, I'll put the chance of the Bison pulling off a victory over the Gophers... at about 25-30%. But for respected Star Tribune sports reporter, Sid Hartman... I'll give you the benefit of the doubt of being a Gopher homer, because I know I'm a Bison Homer. But being a close personal friend of Sid's, I know deep down inside he feels an upset is a distinct possibility. A Bison victory over his beloved Gophers would probably send Sid off to meet his maker. Even though he has numerous personal faults, Sid is the ultimate sports fan. He lives and dies with wins and losses by Minnesota sports, but never deviates from his positive outlook for his each team's future. Actually, he's what NDSU fans should strive to be... only towards the Bison. Standing tall... The Gophers receiving crew could form the nucleus of a nice basketball team. TE Matt Spaeth is 6'7, WR Ernie Wheelwright is 6'5 and WR Logan Payne is 6'2... add a big man and a point guard... and you have a team that could probably win the NCC or the NSIC. The Bison corners... David Earl 6'0, Richard Bowman 5'9, Nate Agbetola 5'9 and Derrius Coleman 5'10... will have their hands full this week. A fade route is almost automatic for the Gophers in the red zone. ... The "it"... You've heard me talk about "it" previously. As in, this year's Bison team has "it" and seems to maintain "it". Most of the time, "it" is hard to explain, but often develops within a team from player leadership. This year, players such as Joe Mays, Steve Walker, Travis White, Justin Frick, Craig Dahl, etc... have propagated "it" throughout the team. I'm sure head coach Craig Dahl, considers himself one of the luckiest coaches in all of college football... because leadership and team unity can't be developed through recruiting. "It" is the reason the Bison have a chance this weekend versus the Gophers... One time... After reading the message boards and talking to a few people this week, I've developed a deeper understanding of what it means to be a Bison fan. How many DI-AA programs would draw 10,000-20,000 fans for an away game? How many DI-AA programs would have a pep rally outside the opposition's stadium? How many DI-AA programs would draw fans all the way from Amsterdam, New Mexico, California, Florida and New York for a football game? How many DI-AA programs would have the game ball delivered via bicycle from 250 miles away (courtesy of the NDSU Air Force ROTC Screamin’ Eagles cadets). The answer is NONE. It's great to be a Bison fan... One more time... I had my job review today... After talking it over with my boss (me), I decided to give myself a raise. There were a lot of offers and counteroffers, but I finally gave in. So this weekend at the Metrodome, I might get an extra dome dog... One time... Do Big Ten referees ever call offensive holding? Bob, Jeff and I must have seen at least a half-dozen attempts at holding without a flag hitting the turf last Saturday. Tell me if I'm wrong, but when an offensive lineman puts their arm around the defensive end's neck... that's holding, right? After almost two years in the Fargodome, I'm not impressed with Big Ten officiating. Personally, I thought these officials would be better than they are, because their "Big Ten". I was wrong... The Minnesota Offense.... Base Offense: Pro-set... The strength of the Minnesota offense lies in their receiving corps, but it's Minnesota QB Bryan Cupito, a 6'3 205-pound senior from Cincinnati, Ohio, that powers the engine. Cupito has a chance to end his career among the top of several categories in the University of Minnesota record book. He is closing in on 6,000 career passing yards and 400 career completions. He currently ranks third all-time in career passing yardage (6,025), fourth in career passing attempts (747), fourth in completions (411) and second in career TD passes (44). For the season, he has completed 112 of 188 passes for 1398 yards and 11 touchdowns. The Gophers feature a three-headed receiving monster, headed by WR Payne Logan, a 6'2 205-pound senior from Lutz, Florida. On the year, Payne has snared 33 passes for 449 yards and 7 touchdowns. The other members of the receiving trio are WR Ernie Wheelwright, a 6'5 215-pound senior from Columbus, Ohio, and TE Matt Spaeth, a 6'7 265-pound senior from St. Michael, Minnesota. Wheelwright has caught 16 passes for 163 yards, while Spaeth has hauled in 29 tosses for 390 yards and 2 touchdowns. Let's not forget about the Minnesota rushing attack, because after all running the ball has been a staple of the Minnesota offense for many years. The main man running the pigskin is RB Amir Pinnix, a 6'0 205-pound senior from Newark, New Jersey. Pinnix has carried the ball 120 times for 650 yards and 5 touchdowns, while catching 7 balls for another 79 yards. So far this season, the Minnesota offensive attack has racked up an average of 375.3 yards of total offense per game, including 169.9 yards by land and 205.4 yards through the air... *Note: The Gopher offense is my main concern. How will the NDSU corners match up with the tall Minnesota receivers? How will the Bison linebacker matchup with the speed in the Gopher backfield? Folks, this Minnesota offense is an animal that the Bison defense hasn't stalked previously. The Bison safeties are going to be key this week. They must read run or pass on the snap, because the Bison corners seem susceptible to the hitch and go. The Bison corner must be very physical this week, because these Gopher wide-outs are big men. Ya, I'm a little worried, but hey the Bison have proved me silly before... why not again this weekend. The Minnesota Defense.... Base Defense: 4-3... One equation that has served the Gophers well in correlating a particular team statistic to a victory for the Gopher football team is limiting an opponent to 20 or fewer points. The Gophers have won 34 consecutive games in which they have held an opponent to 20 or fewer points. So once again the Gopher defense will try to pull of this feat against the Bison. The Minnesota defense is led by the man in the middle, LB Mike Sherels, a 6'0 240-pound senior from Rochester, Minnesota. For the season, Sherels has record 55 tackles, including 3.5 for loss. The Minnesota defensive line is headed by their pair of defensive ends, Steve Davis, a 6'2 235-pound sophomore from St. Louis, Missouri, and Willie VanDeSteeg, a 6'4 255-pound junior from Silver Lake, Minnesota. Davis has collected 29 tackles, including 5.5 for loss (3.5 sacks), while VanDeSteeg has 18 tackles, including 7.5 for loss (3 sacks). The secondary is led by FS Dominique Barber, a 6'0 210-pound junior from Plymouth, Minnesota. On the year, Barber has hauled down 42 opposition runners with 1 tackle for loss, while snagging an interception. For 2006, the Minnesota defense has surrendered 391.6 total yards per game, including 170.6 rushing yards and 221 yards through the air... *Note: So can the Bison move the ball against this Big Ten defense? My gut tells me yes. You can say all you want about better athletes, but the offense has confidence and a shutdown of the Bison offense won't be the cards for the Gopher defense this week. Frankly, the gophers' defense doesn't appear to be that good. Sure the Gophers blanked the Kent State offense earlier this year, but if you want to see something pathetic... watch a game film of the Kent State offense or any MAC team for that matter. Ya, I know that Kent State is 5-2 and all that jazz, but the MAC isn't really good this year. On average, the GWFC has stronger teams than the MAC this season. It's a strong statement, but other than beating another MAC team, which MAC team has done ANYTHING outside their conference? History.... Saturday’s game between Minnesota and North Dakota State will be the seventh meeting in the series and the first time the two team have faced off since 1937. The Gophers lead the all-time series 6-0. Show Me the Keys.... * The inexperienced Bison offensive line has done a good job this season of establishing themselves early, but this Saturday's contest against Minnesota will be a fantastic learning experience. Facing a Big Ten defensive front will definitely benefit the Bison as they head into the GWFC play. * I'll keep saying this until I'm blue in the face... "As Bison QB Steve Walker plays, so does the Bison offense." The key word this Saturday is "audible". Expect the Minnesota defense to crowd the line of scrimmage, so Walker must be sharp on his short-medium range passes. The Walker-Wurzbacher pass-catch combination will be key in a successful day for the Bison offense. The Bison receiving group MUST have sticky hands this week, unlike a few instances against Mississippi Valley State... no margin for error. * The Bison return game (especially punt returns) showed vast improvement last week. The importance of a good return game will be of utter importance this week against Minnesota, as the Gopher coaching staff will try to bury the Bison offense deep in their own end of the field on any occasion... * Control... The Bison offense must finish what it starts... A key factor in defeating the Gophers this week is 'time of possession'. Against a Big Ten offense, the Bison defense needs to stay fresh. Lack of 85-scholarship depth could hurt the Bison this week. We'll see... * Kicking... Shawn Bibeau and Mike Dragosavich are nice weapons for the Bison and a pair other coaches would love to have on their roster. This is one area where the Bison have a distinct advantage over the Gophers. Rumor has it that NFL scouts will be in the Dome to take a look at Dragosavich. And also, remember the Gophers past up on Bibeau... after Saturday, the Gopher coaching staff will see the mistake they made. After six games into the season, Shawn is already better than the current Minnesota kicker... * This is a very big game for the Bison coaching staff. Minnesota blue-chip high school recruits only want to know what the Bison have done lately and a win over the Gophers will give the Bison advantage... As I heard on the radio yesterday from a Bison caller on KFAN, an NDSU win could turn the Bison into the football equivalent of the Gonzaga basketball team. * 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, DT Michael Fairbairn, LB Ramon Humber, OT Sam Laudner and others is so crucial to the success of the Bison program this Saturday. These young men MUST step up their game this weekend... * As for the University of Minnesota game specifically... The Bison have everything to game from this game and nothing to lose. If somehow the Bison pull off a victory, exposure can only help recruiting. If the Bison lose, they were supposed to lose... status quo. * Sacks, interceptions, fumbles... Goal for takeaways this week for the Bison defense? Three... Three turnovers forced by the Bison defense keep it close... Adding four sacks means the Bison get the win. A Bison defensive touchdown this week is almost mandatory... Jottings.... * The weight in the trenches: Offensive line: NDSU 300, Minnesota 298 Defensive line: NDSU 270, Minnesota 263 * Injuries this week: WR Shamen Washington - out; DE Nick Compton - out; OG Justin Buckwalter - out; RB Symeon Cabell - out; FB Tyler Jangula - out; SS Craig Dahl - probable... Sure would be nice to have these guys healthy this week. * North Dakota State has converted 50 percent (39-78) of its third down attempts this season including 5 of 10 against Mississippi Valley State... * North Dakota State has scored 24 of 27 times it has reached the red zone with 16 touchdowns and eight field goals... * In four of the six games this season, North Dakota State has scored with no time, six seconds, nine seconds and 19 seconds remaining on the clock before halftime... * The Gophers are currently +.57 per game in the turnover ratio category which is third in the Big Ten and tied for 28th in the NCAA... * Gophers' cornerback Trumaine Banks broke his arm last week against Wisconsin and was ruled out for the rest of the season... * The Minnesota Golden Gophers became the first team in NCAA Division I-A history to have two running backs each record at least 1,000 yards rushing in the same season for three consecutive years (2003-05). Laurence Maroney ran for 1,464 yards last season, while Gary Russell tallied 1,130 yards. Maroney and Marion Barber III each reached 1,000 yards during the 2003 and 2004 seasons to become the first pair of running backs to reach 1,000 yards in consecutive years... * The Gopher offense has scored 20 points or more in 50 of the past 59 games they have played dating back to 2001... * Minnesota tight end Matt Spaeth is only 93 receiving yards away from surpassing Ben Utecht as the all-time leader in yards by a tight end in school history. Spaeth currently has 1,119 career receiving yards... * Gophers' wide-out Logan Payne is only 11 yards away from becoming the 20th member of the Gophers’ 1,000-yard receiving club. From a season perspective, Payne already is only four TD receptions away from tying the school record for receiving TDs in a season at 11. He is currently tied for sixth in that department with seven scores. Payne currently is riding a streak of five straight games with six receptions... * Minnesota has won 34 consecutive games when holding their opponent to 20 or fewer points... * The Gophers are the only team in the country to have an offense that has rushed for 2,000 yards and passed for 2,000 yards in each of the past seven seasons. During the seven-year “run,” the Gophers have averaged 239.0 yards rushing per game, the highest seven-year rushing average in school history... * Audio of Minnesota/NDSU football game is available on the internet free of charge. Click Here to listen... * The Gophers have amassed more than 300 yards of total offense in 44 of the team’s last 46 games dating back to the 2002 season... * The Gophers own a record of 20-2 overall in home games against non-conference opponents under Glen Mason. Minnesota is 28-4 in non-conference games under Glen Mason all-time. The Gophers have also won 13 consecutive non-conference home games under Mason... * Poll Watch: The Bison are currently ranked #9 by the Sports Network, #9 Football Gazette, #6 Any Given Saturday and #4 in the Bison Insider Top 20. The University of Minnesota is not ranked in any DI-A polls this week...