Get That Finger Out Of Your Nose Off My Office Floor.... The Bison-Bears game on Fox Sports Net…. Photos in the USA Today and FoxSports.com…. NDSU is entering the big time and not only athletically, but academically. NDSU has been awarded numerous grants for research, a hotel is going up on campus, and the enrollment is approaching the 12,000 student mark…. These are truly golden times for the NDSU campus on a whole. Who is to thank? The North Dakota State Board of Higher Education, who had the vision to select Joseph Chapman as President of North Dakota State University. Without Chapman, NDSU would be just another top regional institution of higher education and not the emerging national pacesetter in higher education. Two words come to mind….. Atta Boy!!! The mystique?…. This may piss a few Bison fans off but there are times when the NDSU Bison football team of the 21st century remind me a lot of the Minnesota Vikings. The Bison, at times, fail to play with swagger and find a way to lose the big game. Either not making a play at the end of the game, turning the ball over excessively, or consistently finding a way to draw the wrath of the officials at a crucial point in the game. With one major exception, the Montana victory of last season, the Bison have failed to live up to Bison standards of the 80s and 90s. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not coming down on the Bison players or the coaching staff, but there is an uncanny resemblance. The wise man always says that you make your luck, so until the Bison consistently make ‘the play’ another national or conference title will be outside their reach. This unknown is what makes college football so special…. And so frustrating to watch. The Test…. Will Bison fans show up to watch a Bison game versus an NAIA opponent? Once Bison fans become aware the Diggers only had 3 wins out of 11 games last season against NAIA competition, will they still flock to the Fargodome? Here’s my take…. If the Fargodome is occupied by more than 15,000 fans this Saturday; Bison football has hit a new stride of becoming more than just a football game, but a ‘must-go-to-event’. If the Fargodome is occupied by less than 15,000, Bison football fans are continuing to show apathy. Why do I say this? Nebraska defeated DI-AA Western Illinois last Saturday by a score of 56-17…. In front of 77,471 fans at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. A sold out crowd that came to watch a NU football game, knowing that Western Illinois had absolutely no chance to defeat their beloved Huskers. Some how, some way, this is what the Bison football program deserves…. Bison stars…. Every Bison fan knows about RB Kyle Steffes, DE Travis Ware, DT Dwight Summerville, QB Tony Stauss, WR Allen Burrell, etc… but the 2004 Bison football team roster hosts a number of emerging stars such as WR Travis White, KR Shamen Washington, LB Joe Mays, SS Craig Dahl, QB Steve Walker, RB Cinque Chapman and AJ Cooper. But wait… no cornerbacks? After watching tapes of Bison games versus Valparaiso and Northern Colorado, the NDSU cornerbacks are the ones deserving high praise. Believe it or not, in terms of consistency, cornerbacks Matt Gorman, Bobby Babich, Scott Walter and Ryan Olson have out performed the rest of their gridiron counterparts. Though I don’t always agree with the cushion given opposition wide receivers, Bison corners have performed their All-American opposition, Valporaiso’s Rob Giancola and UNC’s Vincent Jackson. At this point in the season, the Bison should feel pretty good depth-wise having four capable performers at corner, because you never know when that ‘injury bug’ is going to strike. On a side note…. It appears Lamar Gordon will get a shot to become the starting runningback for the Miami Dolphins. A trade between the St. Louis Rams and Miami Dolphins was completed this morning as Lamar passed a physical at the Dolphins training complex. In exchange for Gordon, the Rams obtained a 2005 third-round draft pick. In an email exchange this morning, Dolphins Media Relations Assistant, Mike Pehanich, told me that “Gordon will be given every opportunity to win a Dolphins starting job.” Asked how soon, Pehanich responded, “Possibly as early as week 2 against Cincinnati.” So he is now on my fantasy football roster…. One more time…. The Bison Insider DI-AA Top 20 is going to press… Within the next couple weeks the BI Poll will become available in selected newspapers across the Upper Midwest. Five new members consisting of syndicated sports columnists will be added to the poll group this upcoming week. As soon as I get a list of newspapers carrying the BI Top 20, I’ll pass the list on here in Bison Droppings. Now let’s take a look at this week’s game against the Montana Tech Orediggers…. The Offense.... The Diggers are led on offense by QB Aaron Johnson, a 6-2 195 lb. sophmore from Hardin, Montana. Last week against Jamestown College, Johnson completed 18 of 21 passes for 165 yards and 1 touchdown, while tossing one interception. On the ground, Montana Tech features RB Josh Johnson, a 5-9 165 lb. sophomore from Frenchtown, Montana. Josh Johnson eluded the Jimmies’ defense for 92 yards on 19 carries. The star of the offense versus Jamestown College had to be WR Kris Anderson, a 6-2 183 lb. Junior from Whitefish, Montana, catching 8 Aaron Johnson passes for 125 yards. For the season, Montana Tech has averaged 136 yards on the ground and 165 yards through the air for an average of 301 yards total offense…. The Defense.... On the defensive side of the ball, Montana Tech features a quadruplet of playmakers. Last week versus Jamestown College; ILB Lucas Paugh, a 5-9 212 lb. senior from Chinook, Montana, had 10 tackles (9 solo, 1 assist); SS Adam Cotton, a 6-1 212 lb. junior from Cascade, Montana, had 6 tackles (5 solo, 1 assist); ILB Tucker Edmundson, a 6-0 236 lb. junior from Harrison, Montana, had 6 tackles (4 solo, 2 assist); and FS Tyler Muzzana, a 5-11 187 lb. junior from Great Falls, Montana, hauled down 4 Jimmes (3 solo, 1 assist). Against Jamestown College, the Diggers defense gave up 91 yards on the ground and 179 yards through the air for 270 yards of total defense. History.... This will be the first meeting between the Montana Tech Orediggers and the Bison…. Show Me the Keys.... * The Bison defensive line should be able to dominate the smaller Diggers offensive line. Goal for sacks this week? Seven…. Any fewer sacks would be a disappointment…. * Bison QB Tony Stauss must turn his season around and he couldn’t pick a better opponent than a NAIA team. Tony needs to relax and let the game come to him. It’s time for some backyard football again…. Stauss needs to reach back and remember the answer of why he plays the game of football? There will be no quarterback controversy unless you let one happen. * Sacks, interceptions, fumbles... Goal for takeaways this week? Three…. Four means a sixty point win…. * It’s time for the stable of Bison outside rams other than Travis White to show their stuff…. Allen Burrell and Marques Johnson need to start getting the ball, via the pass or the end around…. * Score early! It never hurts to put the smack on lesser competition early and often. The longer the Diggers stay in this game, the higher their confidence will soar…. * It’s hard to find keys to a Bison win, because frankly the Bison are superior over Montana Tech in every faze of the game…. NDSU players just don’t want to let over-confidence rule their day…. * 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. Young players such as LB Joe Mays, FB Tyler Roehl, WR/P Mike Dragosavich, RB Cinque Chapman and RB Shamen Washington will play a major factor in the success of the Bison program this year… And bring Bison football back to the standards set by the 80s and 90s teams…. Jottings.... - The weight in the trenches: Offensive line: NDSU 301, Montana Tech 267 Defensive line: NDSU 268, Montana Tech 252 - Injuries this week: Last injury report showed a full go this week…. - The Kyles Steffes watch begins…. The Sophomore Bison runningback has started the 2004 season with two 100 yard plus games versus Valporaiso and Northern Colorado. Let’s make it three against Montana Tech…. - The Bison-South Dakota State game on October 9th will be televised live on WDAY-TV…. I think I’ll make the 40 mile drive for that one…. Maybe do a little tailgating in Brookings…. - Northern Colorado has had a .500 record or better in 16 of the past 17 seasons…. - CB Bobby Babich leads the Bison defense in pass breakups with 3…. - Roger Thomas is a weenie.... Most of you probably don't know who this is anymore. Let's see if I can trigger some memories? He is an athletic director for a small time college in North Dakota.... - Former Bison OT Chuck Klabo has landed a spot on the Cleveland Browns practice squad…. - Quote of the week; Montana Tech Orediggers coach Bob Green asked about playing the Bison, “I’ve been sleeping like a baby. I wake up every two hours screaming and crying.” - Last Saturday, K Justin Zaitz tied a Northern Colorado single game record with 5 FGs…. - The NDSU defense held UNC All-American WR Vincent Jackson to two catches for eight yards last Saturday in Greeley…. Jackson may be good, but I’m getting the gut feeling that the Bison secondary is beginning to be quite special…. Now who am I going to rip every week…. - Poll Watch: The Bison are currently ranked #34 by the Weekly Football Gazette.