October 23, 2025 • 58 mins
It's the Dakota Marker game! It's one of the biggest game in the FCS, even though ESPN College GAMEDAY is not attending, it's a good thing we have Tj to break it down for us. It's a bit longer than normal show, but it's worth it!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
We're now's do the Bison Bits with TJ. Jeff.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever and whenever you're
listening to this, I thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
It's TJ.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
It's Bison Bits, and it is the Koda Marker Week.
We all know what that means. If you don't, I'll
explain it to you. But the Bison will go into
the Dakota Marker Game, number one in the nation, with
a thirty eight to seven win last Saturday over the
Indiana State Sycamores. That's a tree and it wasn't pretty.
(00:42):
I told you last week. This could be a trap game,
very easily could be a trap game, and boy, after
the first quarter kind of looked like it. Bison give
up their first interception on a tip ball. They can't
get off the field. Indiana State finally gets a fourth,
they fake the punt, get the first down, they go
down and score. We have a dog fight on our
(01:05):
hands because all of a sudden, Indiana State's got some
life and they're feeling good about themselves. The Bison just
can't get off the field. They can't stay on the
field on third down, and by the end of the
first half, it's it's it's a tie ball game. The
Bison finally get a fifty four yard field goal from
(01:26):
Eli Osik, which is a little there's a strange situation.
The Bison actually had a fourth and nine, got a
false start when they line up their kicking unit, or
not a false start, they drew off sides, so they
got five yards. So it's now fourth and four. The
bon kicked your kicker on the field, and they get
a delay a game, and they go back the five yards.
(01:47):
Osik made the kick and that's great. And then as
if you watch the game or if you read about it,
then the weather came in Tarre Haute and there was
about a two hour rain delay, lightning delay. They started
the game, it was still raining and the Bison come
completely took over the game after that, outscoring Indiana State
twenty eight nothing. Indiana State had ten first downs in
the whole game, five of them on their first drive
(02:09):
and then five in the second half, and that was it.
They shut down, giving up one hundred yards one hundred
and seven yards passing to Indiana State. Indiana State only
rushed for eighty five on twenty nine carries, and because
of the weather, we finally see that lopsided statistics for
the Bison. Cole Payton was twelve of eighteen. I want
to melt that he had three drops in the game,
(02:31):
which is not good. Twelve of eighteen he had three drops,
so he had one hundred and forty nine yards touchdown interception.
They really didn't throw it much in the second half
because of their rain. The Bison focused on the running
attack and shoved it right down Indiana State's throat. They
finished with twohundred and eighty three yards rushing. That's a
five point four yard clip on fifty two carries and
(02:54):
they get out of there. Lil Harry their opponent coming
up for the Dakota Marker in Brookings on ESPN U
at seven pm. And I think ESPN, I know you
listen to this. I think you're making a big mistake.
I think you should move that game to ESPN two.
I really really do. I think your ratings will be
very solid. But the Bison's going to head down to
(03:17):
Brookings and take on a South Dakota State team that
I told you I don't think looks real sharp at times.
And we saw some things last weekend with SDSU. They
beat Murray State, the one of the worst teams in FCS,
but they let Murray State hang around for a half.
I just can't put my finger on this SDSU team.
(03:39):
I don't think they're getting very good. I don't think
they're getting very good offensive production throwing the ball especially.
Their defense is much better than we anticipated, but there
are times they struggle to get off the field on
third down. And so we're going to have just a
a clash of one versus two. And I'm gonna try
(04:02):
to break this down as best as I can, and
I have so many notes, gonna take me forever to
go through these notes to get through this, but I'm
going to talk about the history of this of this rivalry.
NDSU leads all times sixty five wins, forty seven losses,
(04:23):
and five ties. Of course, we know the Bison one.
The last two times they played, both in Fargo in
the FCS era, the Bison lead eleven wins to ten losses.
So there's a one game difference between these two teams
at the FCS level. Both teams came in together. There's
(04:45):
a lot of history with these teams. They both came
in together. The Jacks have won the last two Dakota
Markers and Brookings and nineteen or excuse me, twenty twenty
one and twenty twenty three. The bison last win at
Dana J. Daikal Stadium came in nineteen on a in
less than one where I know if it was Adam
(05:05):
Colfield took the handoff from from from from Lance and gosh,
there's fourth and yeah, fourth and fourth in a yard
deep in their own territory. Trey Lance handed up. I'm
sure it was Adam Colfield off right tackle, big hole.
(05:28):
He hot kind of hopped through the hole and spread
it from the touchdown sealed the deal for nd s U.
And that was the last time the Bison have won
in Brookings. Even though I've said that the Jacks are
a little off this year, it's still interesting to know.
And I got some other stats here. First of all,
(05:49):
this is the tenth time in SCS history that number
one and number two have faced off. So and the
other couple of times have been.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Nd s U and sd s U.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
One time was in I think twenty three and the
other time was last year. I'm gonna look at my notes.
There's so many notes here. Twenty twenty two, the buys
that were number two and they won twenty three to
twenty one. And then last year, as I said, NDSU
was number two and they beat the Jacks when they
were number one at a score of thirteen two nine.
(06:28):
So let's break this down in terms of both sides
of the ball. NDSU defensively is gonna come in with
a couple question marks. They're leading tackles with Nathaniel Staling
He's got forty seven tackles. Keenan Wilson at that defensive
tackle has really taken off in the last three four games.
He's really had an impact. And on the other side
(06:50):
of defense, Colin McShane Colin McShane midbout it with fifty
one tackles. Joe Olmen has thirty tackles, including three sacks.
Both lines are gonna to be really stout. Even though
STSU lost so many players in the portal, they've still
really recovered well. There's very little question as to SDSU's
(07:14):
ability to play defense, and looking at some of the statistics,
statistically speaking, this team's fairly close defensively, we stay in
the defense. SDSU ranks ninth in FCS and rushing, averaging
one hundred and giving up one hundred and five point
nine yards a game and three point six yards per carry.
(07:34):
North Dakota State is seventh in FCS and rush defense
giving up three yards of carry and their seventh, and
then they're giving up ninety five yards a game and
they're seventh. That says something. Pass defense. STSU is tied
for twenty first, giving up one hundred and thirty three
point three yards a game, and this is where some
(07:56):
of the differences do come in. The Bison are number
one in FCS only get went up one hundred and
thirty three point one yards per game through the air,
which is an amazing stat considering we are in such
a pass happy era.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
It is.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
It's quite amazing. So the Bison are, They're up there,
They're they're number one. SDSU is number overall total defense.
The Bison are number one, giving up two hundred and
twenty nine yards a game. South Dakota State's number eight,
giving up two hundred and eighty nine yards a game.
(08:34):
And there's some weird teams that are in this total defense. Uh.
The Bison's number one, Harvard's number two, Presbyterians number five
in the University of Texas, Rio Grand Valley's number seven,
and then here comes SDSU. Still good stats for for sdsure.
I mean they'll only giving up eleven touchdowns. The twelve
(08:57):
touchdowns excuse me, so they played well. The Bison only
given up eight touchdowns. Offensively, yeah, scoring offenses, the Bison's
number six, averaging forty three point six yards or forty
three point six points a game. This is where this
(09:19):
is where I'm telling you that stsu's offense just isn't
what it has been. SDSU ranks nineteenth offensively, they're averaging
thirty four point one yards a game. Saint Thomas and
Minnesota it is right behind him at number twenty. Teams
like Southeast Louisiana and Idaho State and Southern Utah rank
(09:41):
higher than SDSU in scoring offense. And this is what
we're looking at, scoring offense, passing offense, and break it
down passing and rushing. The Bison are twenty eighth in
the nation of two fifty one a game. SDSU is
fortieth at two thirty four a game. Again, that supports
(10:02):
some of my questions about STSU and that offense. Rushing
the Bison or fifth in the FCS at two hundred
and forty two yards a game. They're averaging five point
five eight to carry. SDSU is thirty seventh at one
hundred and seventy seven yards of game, averaging just four
yards of carry. So who's gonna prevail When you look
(10:23):
at offense, let's quick just stay in the offense here
for a second look at the offense. The Bison defense
have been phenomenal. Most of the yards and points they've
given up has been in garbage time in the mid
third quarter to fourth quarter with second and third stringers starters. Wise,
the Byson defense, though they gave up some yards here
(10:43):
recently in the last three weeks, the first quarter has
been rough for the Bisons. Take them a while to
get adjustments, and then they stiffened up as the second
quarter came in, and then especially in the second half,
they shut down. But you're not playing Tennessee State. You're
not playing the city. Even though STSU is struggling, if
they get there, if they get clipping and the Bison
(11:06):
are showing that sluggish start that they have for the
last three weeks, exactly how much is that going to
affect NDSU. Can they get down big early? Could it?
Could they get big, could they get behind early. It's very,
very possible. So I think that's kind of the question.
You look at these stats and you think, hey, NDSU
(11:27):
should be in good shape, but I just don't know
the way that Bison have the way the Bison have
started defensively. A couple more stats here, The Bison lead
the Missouri Valley in scoring offense and scoring defense. Sd
s U is fourth and scoring offense second and scoring defense,
(11:49):
and then they are sixth in total offense and second
in total defense. Again sixth in total offense, So that
that's a struggle. But if you're taking on a team
and that's not really coming out sharp to start a
game defensively, your home, if you're STSU, the crowd is loud,
(12:10):
you're on energy, you're on adrenaline, and you get that
momentum because your opponents in the last three weeks have
played real sluggish off the gate man, that could be
enough to put the Bison in a little bit of problem,
a little bit hurt. And it does bother me that
they struggle so much. It really is a problem that
(12:31):
if they struggle so much now, the Bison offensively, it's
it's been pretty amazing what Cole Payton's been able to
do Cole Payton is getting a lot of talk. And
remember Cole. Many of us thought Cole should replace cam
Miller last year and even the year prior, which we
found out to be wrong. The Cole's been great. Seventy
(12:54):
four point four percent of his passes have been completed.
He's got fifteen hundred yards, fifteen sixty five, eleve touchdowns,
just one pick and that was on the deflection and
the opening drive of Indiana State last week. And he's
rushed for five hundred and thirty five hundred and thirty
yards six touchdowns. He's averaging six point seventy yard carry.
So he's been very, very dangerous as well. But you're
(13:17):
playing against a real good good morning, good afternoon, good evening.
Wherever and wherever you're listening to this, I thank you.
It's TJ, it's Bison Bits, and it is the Koda
Marker Week. We all know what that means. If you don't,
(13:38):
I'll explain it to you. But the Bison will go
into the Dakota Marker Game, number one in the nation,
with a thirty eight to seven win last Saturday over
the Indiana State Sycamores. That's a tree and it wasn't
pretty I told you last week this could be a
trap game, very easily could be a trap game, and
(14:00):
after the first quarter kind of looked like it. Bison
give up their first interception on a tip ball. They
can't get off the field. Indiana State finally gets a
fourth down, they fake the punt, get the first down,
they go down and score. We have a dog fight
on our hands because all of a sudden, Indiana State's
got some life and they're feeling good about themselves. The
(14:23):
Bison just can't get off the field. They can't stay
on the field on third down, and by the end
of the first half, it's it's it's a tie ball game.
The Bison finally get a fifty four yard field goal
from Eli Osik, which is a little there's a strange situation.
The Bison actually had a fourth and nine, got a
(14:44):
false start when they line up their kicking unit, or
not a false start, they drew off sides, so they
got five yards. So it's now fourth and four. The
bon kick your kicker on the field and they get
to lay a game and they go back to five yards.
Osik made the kick and that it's great and then
as if you watch the game, or if you read
about it. Then the weather came in Terre Haute and
(15:05):
there was about a two hour rain delay, lightning delay.
They started the game, it was still raining and the
Bison completely took over the game after that, outscoring Indiana
State twenty eight nothing. Indiana State had ten first downs
in the whole game, five of them on their first
drive and then five in the second half, and that
was it. They shut down, giving up one hundred yards
(15:26):
one hundred and seven yards passing to Indiana State. Indiana
State only rushed for eighty five on twenty nine carries,
and because of the weather we finally see that lopsided
statistics for the Bison. Col Payton was twelve of eighteen.
I want to melt that he had three drops in
the game, which is not good. Twelve of eighteen he
had three drops, so he had one hundred and forty
(15:47):
nine yards touchdown interception. They really didn't throw it much
in the second half because of their rain. The Bison
focused on the running attack and shoved it right down
Indiana State's throat. They finished with twohundred and eighty three
yards rushing. That's a five point four yard clip on
fifty two carries and they get out of there. Lil
Harry their opponent coming up for the Dakota Marker in
(16:12):
Brookings on ESPN U at seven pm. And I think, ESPN,
I know you listen to this. I think you're making
a big mistake. I think you should move that game
to ESPN two. I really really do. I think your
ratings will be very solid. But the Bison is going
to head down to Brookings and take on a South
(16:32):
Dakota State team that I told you I don't think
looks real sharp at times. And we saw some things
last weekend with SDSU. They beat Murray State, the one
of the worst teams in FCS, but they let Murray
State hang around for a half. I just can't put
my finger on this SDSU team. I don't think they're
getting very good. I don't think they're getting very good
(16:55):
offensive production throwing the ball especially. Their defense is much
better than we anticipated, but there are times they struggle
to get off the field on third down. And so
we're gonna have just a a clash of one versus
two and I'm gonna try to break this down as
best as I can, and I have so many notes
(17:20):
gonna take me forever to go through these notes to
get through this, but I'm going to talk about the
history of this of this rivalry. NDSU leads all times
sixty five wins, forty seven losses, and five ties. Of course,
we know the Bison one. The last two times they played,
(17:40):
both in Fargo in the FCS era, the Bison lead
eleven wins to ten losses. So there's a one game
difference between these two teams at the FCS level. Both
teams came in together. There's a lot of history of
these teams. They both came in together. The Jacks have
one the last two Dakota Markers and Brookings in nineteen
(18:02):
or excuse me, twenty twenty one and twenty twenty three.
The Bison last win at Dana J. Daikal Stadium came
in nineteen on a fourth in less than one where
I know if it was Adam Colfield took the handoff
from from from from Lance and gosh, there's fourth and yeah,
(18:27):
fourth and fourth in a yard deep in their own territory.
Trey Lance handed up. I'm sure it was Adam Colfield
off right tackle, big hole. He hot kind of hopped
through the hole and spread it for the touchdown sealed
the deal for NDSU, and that was the last time
the Bison have won in Brookings. Even though I've said
(18:52):
that the Jacks are a little off this year, it's
still interesting to know. And I got some other stats here.
First of all, this is the tenth time in SCS
history that number one and number two have faced off.
So and the other couple of times have been NDSU
and SDSU. One time was in I think twenty three
(19:16):
and the other time was last year. I'm gonna look
at my notes. There's so many notes here. Twenty twenty two,
the Buys that were number two and they won twenty
three to twenty one. And then last year, as I said,
NDSU was number two and they beat the Jacks when
they were number one at a score of thirteen two nine.
(19:39):
So let's break this down in terms of both sides
of the ball. NDSU defensively is going to come in
with a couple of question marks. They're leading tackles with
Nathaniel Staling, He's got forty seven tackles. Keenan Wilson at
that defensive tackle has really taken off in the last
three four games.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
He's really had an impact.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
And On the other side of defense, Colin McShane Colin
McShane modbut it with fifty one tackles. Joe Olmen has
thirty tackles, including three sacks. Both lines are going to
be really stout. Even though STSU lost so many players
in the portal, they've still really recovered well. There's very
(20:21):
little question as to stsu's ability to play defense, and
looking at some of the statistics, statistically speaking, this team's
fairly close defensively. We stay in the defense. STSU ranks
ninth in FCS and rushing averaging one hundred and giving
(20:41):
up one hundred and five point nine yards a game
and three point six yards per carry. North Dakota State
is seventh in FCS and rush defense, giving up three
yards of carry and their seventh and then they're giving
up ninety five yards a game and their seventh. That
says something. Pass defense, SDSU is tied for twenty first,
(21:03):
given up one hundred and thirty three point three yards
a game, and this is where some of the differences
do come in. The Bison are number one and FCS
only giving up one hundred and thirty three point one
yards per game through the air, which is an amazing
stat considering we are in such a pass happy era.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
It is.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
It's quite amazing. So the Bison are they're up there,
They're they're number one. SDSU is number overall total defense.
The Bison are number one, giving up two hundred and
twenty nine yards a game. South Dakota State's number eight,
giving up two hundred and eighty nine yards a game.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
And there's some.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Weird teams that are in this total defense. Uh, the
Bison's number one, Harvard's number two, Presbyterians number five, in
the University of Texas, Rio Grand Valley's number seven, and
then here comes SDSU. Still good stats for STSU. I mean,
they'll alway given up eleven touchdowns. The twelve touchdowns excuse me,
(22:09):
so they played really well. The Bison only given up
eight touchdowns. Offensively, scoring offenses, the Bison's number six, averaging
forty three point six yards or forty three point six
points a game. This is where this is where I'm
(22:30):
telling you that stsu's offense just isn't what it has been.
SDSU ranks nineteenth offensively, they're averaging thirty four point one
yards a game. Saint Thomas and Minnesota. It is right
behind him at number twenty. Teams like Southeast Louisiana and
Idaho State and Southern Utah ranked higher than SDSU in
(22:55):
scoring offense. And this is what we're looking at, scoring offense,
passing offense, and break it down passing and rushing. The
Bison are twenty eighth in the nation of two point
fifty one a game. SDSU is fortieth at two thirty
four a game. Again, that supports some of my questions
about SDSU in that offense. Rushing, the Bison are fifth
(23:17):
in the FCS at two hundred and forty two yards
a game. They're averaging five point five to eight to carry.
SDSU is thirty seventh at one hundred and seventy seven
yards of game, averaging just four yards of carry. So
who's gonna prevail when you look at offense, let's quick
just stay in the offense here for a second look
at the offense. The Bison defense have been phenomenal. Most
(23:43):
of the yards and points they've given up has been
in garbage time in the mid third quarter to fourth
quarter with second and third stringers starters. Wise, the Byson defense,
though they gave up some yards here recently in the
last three weeks. The first quarter has been rough for
the Bisons. Take them a while again adjustments, and then
they stiffened up as the second quarter came in, and
(24:03):
then especially in the second half, they shut down. But
you're not playing Tennessee State. You're not playing the Citadel.
Even though STSU is struggling. If they get there, if
they get clipping and the Bison are showing that sluggish
start that they have for the last three weeks, exactly
how much is that going to affect NDSU. Can they
(24:25):
get down big early? Could it? Could they get big,
could they get behind early? It's very very possible. So
I think that's kind of the question. You look at
these stats and you think, hey, NDSU should be in
good shape, but I just don't know the way that
Bison have the way the Bison have started defensively. A
(24:49):
couple more stats here. The Bison lead the Missouri Valley
in scoring offense and scoring defense. STSU is fourth and
scoring offense, second in scoring defense, and then they are
sixth in total offense and second in total defense. Again
sixth in total offense. So that's a struggle. But if
(25:09):
you're taking on a team that's not really coming out
sharp to start a game defensively your home, if you're
stsu the crowd is loud, you're on energy, you're on adrenaline,
and you get that momentum because your opponents in the
last three weeks have played real sluggish off the gate man,
(25:32):
that could be enough to put the Bison in a
little bit of problem, a little bit hurt. And it
does bother me that they struggle so much. It really
is a problem that if they struggle so much now
the Bison offensively, it's it's been pretty amazing what Cole
Payton's been able to do. Cole Payton is getting a.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Lot of talk.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
And remember Cole, many of us thought Cole should replace
cam Miller last year and the year prior, which we
found out to be wrong. But Cole's been great. Seventy
four point four percent of his passes have been completed,
he's got fifteen hundred yards, fifteen sixty five, eleven touchdowns,
just one pick and that was on the deflection and
the opening drive of Indiana State last week. And he's
(26:17):
rushed for five hundred and thirty five hundred and thirty
yards six touchdowns. He's averaging six point seventy yard carry,
so he's been very very dangerous as well. But you're
playing against a real good South Dakota State team that
hasn't missed a beat.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
Even though the.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
Transfer portal got him when Jimmy Rodgers left for Washington State,
they're still playing really good. They're real solid. Their linebackers
maybe weren't weren't quite once what they were last year,
but they're very solid. They're front four and this is where, folks,
this is where our keys to the game. As Polisics said,
(26:59):
to our plays in the game. You don't know where
they are, but there's about six plays that will determine
the contest. My key to one of this game is
that South Dakota State defensive line because they have some
experience on that defensive line. They just brought guys up
that could fill in after the transfer portal guy has
left for Washington State and Northwestern and god only knows
(27:20):
where the hell they went.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
It was a man scatter.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
But they're going to take on as young and I
understand North Dakota State's offensive line has been really solid.
I mean, we couldn't ask for much better that they're
going to take on. Remember this offensive line, Bo Johnson's
a first year starter as a sophomore. Nate Tostad, red
(27:44):
shirt freshman's a first year starter. Center Trent Freeley now
he's a fourth year player because he spent two years
at Marshall. He's about the biggest veteran they have. He
is actually Griffin Mpy, a second year starter. He was
a freshman last year. Now a sophomore. Josh Megan who's
three hundred and four pounds on that right tackle, first
year starter. He started his career, as I said when
(28:05):
we started the show, as a defensive tackle. That's a
young offensive line going against a pretty pretty seasoned, pretty
experienced defensive line.
Speaker 1 (28:19):
For SDSU.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
And I think that's one of the keys to the
game right there, right there, if that young offensive line,
because they haven't handled they haven't hadn't handled too much pressure.
They've they've held everyone at BAB, They've made good adjustments
on the blitzes. They have held everyone off pretty well.
And there's times even against ranked teams like Illinois State
(28:43):
in southern Illinois and then last week against the lower
opponent like Indiana State where Cole Payton's had all day
to throw and I mean all day. I know it's
an exaggeration with god, you know, six seven, eight seconds
and the fact nobody gets opens a little bothering too.
But he's athletic enough. He's up the field and it's
a problem for defenses that front not just a front
(29:06):
seven for STSU, but that front not just a front four,
but the front seven whose spies on Peyton. Is it effective?
What different looks are they going to give him against
that young offensive line? That is going to be so key.
The second key to this game is the unfortunate injury
(29:31):
to Jackson, butan huffer. Jackson Dudenhoffer is two hundred and
ninety pounds of just.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Rawness.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
You can't move him. He's been a beast last year.
He's gotten so good this year. He's made such a
difference in the middle and having him beside Keenan Wilson's
been quite the one two punch. But he had that
terrible neck injury. If you didn't see it, it was
it was one of those things where there's a tackle
and Jackson was making a tackle and another Bison was
(30:02):
coming from the other side to make a tackle, and
I forgot who it was, but he hit Jackson square
on the crown of the helmet and Jackson's next snap
back and he went to the ground and it was
you saw it. At first, you weren't quite sure what
to make of it, but then you realize how serious
it was, very serious, very scary. They hauled him away,
(30:24):
They took the face mask off, they got the helmet off.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
He went away in a stretcher, and.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
What I saw was the left side moving, the right
side not moving in terms of his extremities. But an
hour or so, well it had been many hours later
because there was a two hour delay, but an hour
into the second half, Jackson showed up and he was
walking around in a neck brace. He went through all
the senses of that of first the tingling, the pain,
(30:54):
the numbness, and then the pain and the aches as
everything started to come back, because he went number.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
For a little bit.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
But he's okay, And poul Sick was asked, is he
gonna play? Can he play? Poul Sick said, it's very doubtful.
He's there are more things in football and then in life,
and that's just the truth. They're gonna have to see.
He's gonna run some tests, but I wouldn't expect him
for probably a couple of weeks to maybe maybe the
(31:22):
und game maybe. So that's a problem because you take
you take that gosh, you take that out of the equation,
you're gonna replace him with Zach Vanderpool, who's who's twenty
pounds lighter, six or five. He's taller, but he's twenty
(31:44):
pounds lighter, And that makes you a little nervous against
that big, that big offensive line that STSU have. They
called the six soul five Hogs, and they're big boys.
But my second key is Vanderpool and Wilson in the
middle of that defensive line trying to handle those the
(32:06):
two big guards in the big center for.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
South Dakota State.
Speaker 2 (32:10):
I really do believe that that and Elijah Wayne. I
think you see Elijah Wayne getting a lot of reps too.
He's a little bit bigger, a little bit bigger Elijah
Wayne than Vanderpool. Member Elijah Wayne was recruited by STUCU
and was going to go there and then polled his
commitment and went to North Dakota State. Who's had a
(32:30):
good years as a as a true freshman. But I'm
worried about that Kelmuth Caskell on one defensive end, I'm
not all that worried about and Toby and Ana is
just he's been a beast. I'm not really worried about them.
I'm worried about the two interior defensive tackles for North
Dakota State against the interior offensive line. If Jackson was
(32:55):
in the game, I wouldn't worry as much. I think
they'll handle themselves and they'll rotate. They'll go through their rotations.
But that's gonna be key because STSU would just as
soon run the hell out of the football and get
those Bison linebackers up so they can run the play action.
But who's going to throw off that play action is
the next question. My third key to the game Chase Mason.
(33:18):
Is he healthy. We saw him score against last week
against Murray State, scored a touchdown and then gingerly went
back to the sideline, went to the trainer's table, sat
on the trainer's table, and never left, never played again. Obviously,
something was banged up, and according to the voice of
(33:38):
the Jack Rabbits that I listened to on our friend
dom Izzo show just this afternoon, I saw it that
he may have gotten hurt a few plays prior. He
got up and was a little ginger. Something wasn't right.
But he finished that series and when he scored his touchdown,
he didn't celebrate with his team. They went to go
high five of them and do the little check bump.
(34:00):
He didn't have nothing to do with it. He just
jogged over and gave the official the ball and went
to the sideline, So you knew something was up. Tyler Merriam,
the voice of the jack Rabbits, said he saw something
a few plays before that didn't think much of it.
That's the third key. I'm assuming he's gonna play Comhell
or high Water. He probably have to amputate that leg
before he would not play. But if he doesn't play,
(34:23):
that will create a little bit of a that'll be
a big hindrance because if he is playing, and if
he is not quite one hundred percent, the run game
is going to be vital to South Dakota State, vital
and not everyone's been able to run the ball off
the Bison, but in the first half of these last
three games, part of that slow start for the Bison
(34:44):
defense is the fact that the opponent's been able to
run the football. Now if Mason can't run it himself,
because he's a great runner. We watched him run for
a big touchdown last year in the Fargo Dome a
year ago. But if he can't run or it's hard
for him to run, they're gonna lean on that interior line.
And that's where with Jackson Duton have for being out,
(35:06):
that's gonna make a difference. Who's gonna win that battle.
Will that experience front four defensive line for SDSU be
able to really make that young, inexperienced offensive line for
ENDSU struggle, You bet?
Speaker 1 (35:23):
And then.
Speaker 2 (35:25):
This game, this game's gonna be close. You're gonna see
a lot of punts, I think at times, you're gonna
see some nice drives, and you're gonna see a little
bit of scoring. Six plays, Poulsis says, makes a game.
You don't know what six it is. There's going to
be a big special teams play here, whether it's a
long kickoff or probably a punt return to set up
(35:45):
a score that could be crucial late, or there's gonna
be the dreaded turnover. It never fails, and NDSU has
done a great job of turning the damn ball over
in Brookings. The turnover battle and the special teams battle
that's that's number four. In this environment, Dana J. Daikal
Stadium is going to be loud. The Bison aren't used
(36:07):
to that. They're used to playing in the Fargo Dome
where it's loud for the other team. They go to
these other stadiums, it's never that loud. There's nobody there.
This is going to be the first time in a
long time that they're going to have that kind of
hostile crowd. And it's important for North Dakota State on
that opening drive, which they've been good at until last week,
(36:28):
but it's important for them to even get a fueld goal,
to go down and get points. Take that crowd out
of it. And that's a cliche with every football game
my Minnesota Vikings. You know, they're as I'm recording this,
they will be going tomorrow night out to LA to
play the Chargers. They're telling their offense, you got to
(36:48):
take the crowd out of it. We need to get
points early. Same thing here in Brookings. The Bison have
got to go down and get points. They've got to
stay disciplined. They got to stay controlled and focused on
the game plan and execute. Football is all about out
executing your opponent, and that's going to be interesting that
(37:09):
special teams. Part of special teams plays is not executing
right or out. You're either getting out executed or you're
executing right. One of the two. Something's going to happen
in that game. There's going to be a turnover that's
going to be crucial in the fourth quarter, or a
kick return or something. Tim Politics press conference this week,
(37:34):
he talked about this game is more than just holding
on to the number one seed nationally, holding on to
the top spot in the Missouri Valley Conference. It's even
more than potentially keeping that number one seed for the postseason.
He says, this is a rivalry game. You want this
(37:54):
for those reasons I just stated, But you want this
because it's a rivalry game. You want this because that's
your that's your our trivel at. You respect as a team,
but you don't are as people. But as a team,
you don't like them.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
You don't like them.
Speaker 2 (38:12):
Cam Miller said it last year. They hate the jack Rabbits.
Everyone lost their mind over it. Let me tell you something,
he said what everyone else was thinking. Even on the
other side. South Dakota State hates the Bison. Coach Stigelmeyer
busted his butt to get a blueprint similar to nbsu's
(38:33):
and he got there. He got there because he had
to beat the Bison. He was sick of watching them win.
They hate the Bison as much as the Bison hate
the Jacks. Not off the field, I mean, don't hold
onto your hats. The Paul Sick is right, that's your
dreaded rival. You've got to win that you take you
(38:56):
got to you drop that marker off and you need
to take it with you and the games over. And
this team in Policic looked like he was ready to
run through a wall. I think he is ready to go.
And I think they're gonna do a lot of studying.
They're gonna have to study for two quarterbacks. And that's
that's probably the biggest issue. Is they're gonna have to.
(39:18):
They're gonna have to. They're gonna they're gonna plan for
Chase Mason. They've already said that. They're they're not worried
about they're not worried about him not playing. They're pretty convinced, Uh,
he's gonna play. And then that and I agree with him.
I think that's I think that's gonna happen too so
(39:38):
they're gonna have to plan for Chase Mason. He only
threw six times last week. But his backup is Luke Marble,
whose father is in the Atlanta Falcons organization. I believe
he's from Smyrna, Georgia's six four two ten. He's a
tall dude. It's not that he hasn't thrown. He's seventeen
to twenty six this year, sixty five two touchdowns and
(39:59):
a pick for two hundred and twenty two yards. Maybe
not quite as athletic as and probably not. Mason's very
comparable to our Cole Peyton, not very much so, but
he probably doesn't run as much. He only ran three
times last week. Of course, they probably didn't want him
(40:20):
to run. They don't need him getting hurt. But he's
the backup, so they're gonna worry about him a little bit.
They're gonna look at some tendencies based on what they
saw with Murray, but they're gonna They're gonna focus on Chase.
But how healthy is he? That was a fourteen to
seven game with Murray State, who's zero and six at
the half. He was twenty one seven at the end
of the third quarter. Took fourteen points in the fourth
(40:41):
quarter for STSU to pull away. How healthy is Chase
Mason and how are the Bison gonna have to look
at his backup in those tendencies. So they're gonna game
plan for one, but they're also gonna have a subgame
plan for two. They got a lot of work to do.
But poul Sis ready to go? Are the Bison ready
to go? I don't know Jackson Williams as at. I
think it's Jackson Williams with the high ankle spring. They're
(41:03):
gonna test him here I think tomorrow, which would be
Thursday or Friday, in one of the two days.
Speaker 1 (41:09):
They think it's.
Speaker 2 (41:10):
Possible, but they're not sure. But the Bison are deep
at wide receiver, so that's not a problem.
Speaker 1 (41:17):
So are the Jacks.
Speaker 2 (41:17):
They may not have the big names, but they're deep
at wide receiver. You gotta really, I know, statistically, it
gave you some stats. It looks like offensively, the Jacks
struggle in places and they're not what they're used to.
But you have two really even well coach teams. So
who's gonna win? Oh boy, it's gonna be a hell
(41:41):
of a war. And anyone The problem with ESPNU is
not every cable provider as ESPNU. As a matter of fact,
I gotta make sure I do because if not, I'm
gonna be pissed. I gotta go figure out what to
do because getting tickets is damn near impossibility. But that
being said, I see a law scoring game. I really
really do, I really really do, and I'm looking somewhere
(42:09):
around twenty three seventeen game.
Speaker 1 (42:17):
Maybe strike that.
Speaker 2 (42:19):
Let's go twenty three twenty bys and win twenty three
twenty bys and win.
Speaker 1 (42:23):
There you have it.
Speaker 2 (42:25):
The Iatola of Bison Rock and Roller has spoken. And
with that, I'm gonna say good night. Get ready for
a fun Saturday if they win. If not, I'll be
a little crabby on the next broadcast, but hey, we'll
get over it. And I thank you for listening as always,
and until next week, take care of yourself at each other.
Bye Bye, South Dakota State team that hasn't missed a beat.
(42:51):
Even though the transfer portal got them when Jimmy Rodgers
left for Washington State, they're still playing really good. They're
real solid. Their linebackers maybe what weren't quite once what
they were last year, but they're very solid. Their front four.
And this is where, folks, this is where our keys
to the game. As Politics said, there are six plays
(43:13):
in the game. You don't know where they are, but
there's about six plays that will determine the contest. My
key to one of this game is that South Dakota
State defensive line because they have some experience on that
defensive line. They just brought guys up that could fill in.
After the transfer portal guys left for Washington State and
Northwestern and God only knows where the hell they went.
Speaker 1 (43:35):
It was a man scatter.
Speaker 2 (43:37):
But they're going to take on as young and I
understand North Dakota State's offensive line has been really solid.
I mean we we couldn't ask for much better that
they're going to take on. Remember this offensive line. Bo
Johnson's a first year starter as a sophomore. Nate Tosstad,
(43:57):
red shirt freshman's a first year starter. Center Trent Fray
Now he's a fourth year player because he spent two
years at Marshall. He's about the biggest veteran they have.
He is actually Griffin Impy, a second year starter. He
was a freshman last year. Now a sophomore. Josh Meghan,
who's three hundred and four pounds on that right tackle.
First year starter, he started his career, as I said
(44:18):
when we started the show, as a defensive tackle. That's
a young offensive line going against a pretty pretty seasoned,
pretty experienced defensive line.
Speaker 1 (44:32):
For SDSU.
Speaker 2 (44:33):
And I think that's one of the keys to the
game right there, right there, if that young offensive line,
because they haven't handled they haven't had to handle too
much pressure. They've held everyone at babe, They've made good
adjustments on the blitzes. They have held everyone off pretty well.
And there's times even against ranked teams like Illinois State
(44:56):
in southern Illinois and then last week against the lower
opponent like Indiana State, where Cole Peyton's had all day
to throw and I mean all day. I know it's
an exaggeration with god, you know, six seven, eight seconds
and the fact nobody gets opens a little bothering too,
but he's athletic enough, he's up the field and it's
a problem for defenses that front not just a front
(45:20):
seven for STSU, but that front not just a front four,
but the front seven. Who spies on Peyton? Is it effective?
What different looks are they going to give him against
that young offensive line that is going to be so key.
The second key to this game is the unfortunate injury
(45:44):
to Jackson Gutenon Huffer. Jackson Dudeneheffer is two hundred and
ninety pounds of just.
Speaker 1 (45:53):
Rawness.
Speaker 2 (45:54):
You can't move him. He's been a beast last year.
He's gotten so good this year. He's made such a
difference in the middle, and having him beside Keenan Wilson's
been quite the one two punch. But he had that
terrible neck injury. If you didn't see it, it was
one of those things where there was a tackle and
Jackson was making a tackle and another Bison was coming
(46:16):
from the other side to make a tackle, and I
forgot who it was, but he hit Jackson square on
the crown of the helmet. And Jackson's next snap back
and he went to the ground and it was you
saw it. At first, you weren't quite sure what to
make of it, but then you realize how serious it was,
very serious, very scary. They hauled him away, they took
(46:38):
the face mask off, they got the helmet off.
Speaker 1 (46:39):
He went away in a stretcher, and what.
Speaker 2 (46:42):
I saw was the left side moving, the right side
not moving. In terms of his extremities. But an hour
or so, well it had been many hours later because
there was a two hour delay, but an hour into
the second half, Jackson showed up and he was walking
around in a neck brace. He went through all the
(47:03):
senses of that of first the tingling, the pain, the numbness,
and then the pain and the aches as everything started
to come back, because he went numbed for a little bit.
Speaker 1 (47:13):
But he's okay.
Speaker 2 (47:15):
And Paul Sick was asked, is he gonna play? Can
he played? Poul sic said, it's very doubtful. He's there
are more things in football and then in life, and
that's just the truth. They're gonna have to see. He's
gonna run some tests, but I wouldn't expect him for
probably a couple of weeks to maybe maybe the und
(47:36):
game maybe. So that's a problem because you take you
take that gosh, you take that out of the equation.
You're gonna replace him with Zach Vanderpool, who who's twenty
pounds lighter six or five. He's taller, but he's twenty
(47:57):
pounds lighter, and that makes you look all nervous against
that big that big offensive line and stsu have they
called the six Soul five Hogs, and they're big boys.
But my second key is Vanderpool and Wilson in the
middle of that defensive line trying to handle those the
(48:19):
two big guards in the big center for South Dakota State.
I really do believe that that. And Elijah Wayne. I
think you see Elijah Wayne getting a lot of reps too.
He's a little bit bigger, a little bit bigger Elijah
Wayne than Vanderpool.
Speaker 1 (48:35):
Member.
Speaker 2 (48:36):
Elijah Wayne was recruited by STUCU and was going to
go there and then polled his commitment and went to
North Dakota State. Who's had a good year as a
as a as a true freshman. But I'm worried about
that Kelmuth Castle on one defensive end, I'm not all
that worried about. And Toby and ana Is just he's
been a beast. I'm not really worried about them. I'm
(48:58):
worried about the two interior defensive tackles for North Dakota
State against the interior offensive line. If Jackson was in
the game, I wouldn't worry as much. I think they'll
handle themselves and they'll rotate, they'll go through their rotations.
But that's gonna be key because STSU would just as
soon run the hell out of the football and get
(49:20):
those Bison linebackers up so they can run the play action.
But who's going to throw off that play action is
the next question. My third key to the game Chase Mason.
Speaker 1 (49:31):
Is he healthy.
Speaker 2 (49:34):
We saw him score against last week against Murray State,
scored a touchdown and then gingerly went back to the sideline,
went to the trainer's table, sat on the trainer's table
and never left, never played again. Obviously something was banged up.
And according to the Voice of the Jack Rabbits that
I listened to on our friend dom Izzo's show just
(49:56):
this afternoon, I saw it that he may have got
and heard a few plays prior. He got up and
was a little ginger Something wasn't right. But he finished
that series and when he scored his touchdown, he didn't
celebrate with his team. They went to go high five
of them and do the little chess bump. He didn't
have nothing to do with it. He just jogged over
and gave the official the ball and went to the sideline.
(50:18):
So you knew something was up. Tyler Merriam, the Voice
of the jack Rabbit said he saw something a few
plays before that didn't think much of it. That's the
third key. I'm assuming he's going to play Comhell or
high Water. He probably have to amputate that leg before
he would not play. But if he doesn't play, that
will create a little bit of a that'll be a
(50:39):
big hindrance because if he is playing, and if he
is not quite one hundred percent, the run game is
going to be vital to South Dakota State, vital and
not everyone's been able to run the ball off the Bison,
but in the first half of these last three games,
part of that slow start for the Bison defense is
the fact that the opponent's been able to run the football. Now,
(51:02):
if Mason can't run it himself, because he's a great runner.
We watched him run for a big touchdown last year
in the Fargo Dome a year ago. But if he
can't run or it's harder for him to run, they're
gonna lean on that interior line. And that's where with
Jackson Duton have for being out, that's gonna make a difference.
Who's gonna win that battle. Will that experience front four
(51:26):
defensive line for STSU be able to really make that young,
inexperienced offensive line for ENDSU struggle.
Speaker 1 (51:35):
You bet, and then this game, this game's gonna be close.
Speaker 2 (51:41):
You're gonna see a lot of punts, I think at times,
you're gonna see some nice drives, and you're gonna see
a little bit of scoring. Six plays, Poulsis says, makes
a game. You don't know what six it is. There's
going to be a big special teams play here, whether
it's a long kickoff or probably a punt return to
set up a score that could be crucial late, or
there's going to be the dreaded turnover. It never fails,
(52:04):
and NDSU has done a great job of turning the
damn ball over in Brookings. The turnover battle and the
special teams battle, that's that's number four. In this environment,
Dana J. Daikal Stadium is going to be loud. The
Bison aren't used to that. They're used to playing in
the Fargo Dome where it's loud for the other team.
(52:26):
They go to these other stadiums, it's never that loud.
There's nobody there. This is going to be the first
time in a long time that they're going to have
that kind of hostile crowd, and it's important for North
Dakota State on that opening drive, which they've been good
at until last week, but it's important for them to
even get a field goal, to go down and get points.
Take that crowd out of it. And that's a cliche
(52:49):
with every football game. My Minnesota Vikings, you know there
as I'm recording this, they will be going tomorrow night
out to LA to play the Chargers. They're telling their offense,
you got to take the crowd out of it. We
need to get points early. Same thing here in Brookings.
The Bison have got to go down and get points.
They've got to stay disciplined. They got to stay controlled
(53:12):
and focused on the game plan and execute. Football is
all about out executing your opponent. And that's going to
be interesting that special teams. Part of special teams plays
is not executing right or out. You're either getting out
executed or you're executing right.
Speaker 1 (53:33):
One of the two.
Speaker 2 (53:34):
Something's going to happen in that game. There's going to
be a turnover that's going to be crucial in the
fourth quarter, or a kick return or something. Tim Polisic's
press conference this week, he talked about this game is
more than just holding on to the number one seed nationally,
(53:55):
holding on to the top spot in the Missouri Valley Conference.
It's even more than potentially keeping that number one seed
for the postseason.
Speaker 1 (54:04):
He says, this is.
Speaker 2 (54:04):
A rivalry game. You want this for those reasons I
just stated, But you want this because it's a rivalry game.
You want this because that's your that's your art travel
at you respect as a team, but you don't are
as people. But as a team, you don't like them.
Speaker 1 (54:23):
You don't like them.
Speaker 2 (54:26):
Cam Miller said it last year. They hate the jack Rabbits.
Everyone lost their mind over it. Let me tell you something,
He said what everyone else was thinking. Even on the
other side. South Dakota State hates the Bison. Coach Stigelmeyer
busted his butt to get a blueprint similar to nbsu's
(54:46):
and he got there. He got there because he had
to beat the Bison. He was sick of watching them win.
They hate the Bison as much as the Bison hate
the Jacks. Not off the field, I mean, don't hold
on to your hats. The Polsek is right, that's your
dreaded rival. You've got to win that you take. You
(55:09):
gotta you drop that marker off and you need to
take it with you when the game's over. And this
team in Poulosek looked like he was ready to run
through a wall. I think he is ready to go.
And I think they're gonna do a lot of studying.
They're gonna have to study for two quarterbacks. And that's
that's probably the biggest issue. Is they're gonna have to.
(55:31):
They're gonna have to. They're gonna they're gonna plan for
Chase Mason. They've already said that they're not worried about
They're not worried about him not playing. They're pretty convinced, Uh,
he's gonna play. And then that and I agree with him.
I think that's I think that's gonna happen too. So
(55:52):
they're gonna have to plan for Chase Mason. He only
threw six times last week, but his backup is Luke Marble,
whose father is in the Atlanta Falcons organization. I believe
he's from Smyrna, Georgia's six' four two ten. He's a
tall dude. It's not that he hasn't thrown. He's seventeen
to twenty six this year sixty five percent two touchdowns
(56:12):
and a pick for two hundred and twenty two yards.
Maybe not quite as athletic as and probably not. Mason's
very comparable to our Cole Peyton, not very much so,
but he probably doesn't run as much. He only ran
three times last week. Of course, they probably didn't want
(56:33):
him to run. They don't need him getting hurt. But
he's the backup, so they're gonna worry about him a
little bit. They're gonna look at some tendencies based on
what they saw with Murray but they're gonna they're gonna
focus on Chase. But how healthy is he? That was
a fourteen to seven game with Murray State, who's zero
and six at the half. He was twenty one seven
at the end of the third quarter. Took fourteen points
(56:54):
in the fourth quarter for STSU to pull away. How
healthy is Chase Mason? And how are the buising them
to have to look at his backup in those tendencies.
So they're gonna game plan for one, but they're also
gonna have a subgame plan for two. They got a
lot of work to do. But politics ready to go?
Are the Bison ready to go? I don't know. Jackson
Williams has a hot I think it's Jackson Williams with
(57:15):
the high ankle spring. They're gonna test him here I
think tomorrow, which would be Thursday or Friday, in one
of the two days. They think it's possible, but they're
not sure. But the Bison are deep at wide receiver,
so that's not a problem.
Speaker 1 (57:30):
So are the Jacks.
Speaker 2 (57:31):
They may not have the big names, but they're deep
at wide receiver. You gotta really I know, statistically, it
gave you some stats. It looks like offensively, the Jacks
struggle in places and they're not what they're used to.
But you have two really even well coach teams. So
who's gonna win. Oh boy, it's gonna be a hell
(57:55):
of a war. And anyone. The problem with ESPN U
is not every cable provider as ESPN you. As a
matter of fact, I gotta make sure I do because
if not, I'm gonna be pissed.
Speaker 1 (58:06):
I gotta go figure out what to do because.
Speaker 2 (58:08):
Getting tickets is damn near impossibility. With that being said,
I see a low scoring game, I really really do,
I really really do, and I'm looking somewhere around twenty
three seventeen game, maybe strike that let's go twenty three
(58:34):
twenty bys and win twenty three twenty buys and win.
There you have it, The Iatola of Bison Rock and
Roller has spoken. And with that I'm gonna say good night.
Get ready for a fun Saturday if they win. If not,
I'll be a little crabby on the next broadcast, but hey,
we'll get over it. And I thank you for listening
as always, and until next week, take care of yourself
(58:56):
and each other.
Speaker 1 (58:56):
Bye bye.
We're now's do the Bison Bits with TJ. Jeff.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever and whenever you're
listening to this, I thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
It's TJ.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
It's Bison Bits, and it is the Koda Marker Week.
We all know what that means. If you don't, I'll
explain it to you. But the Bison will go into
the Dakota Marker Game, number one in the nation, with
a thirty eight to seven win last Saturday over the
Indiana State Sycamores. That's a tree and it wasn't pretty.
(00:42):
I told you last week. This could be a trap game,
very easily could be a trap game, and boy, after
the first quarter kind of looked like it. Bison give
up their first interception on a tip ball. They can't
get off the field. Indiana State finally gets a fourth,
they fake the punt, get the first down, they go
down and score. We have a dog fight on our
(01:05):
hands because all of a sudden, Indiana State's got some
life and they're feeling good about themselves. The Bison just
can't get off the field. They can't stay on the
field on third down, and by the end of the
first half, it's it's it's a tie ball game. The
Bison finally get a fifty four yard field goal from
(01:26):
Eli Osik, which is a little there's a strange situation.
The Bison actually had a fourth and nine, got a
false start when they line up their kicking unit, or
not a false start, they drew off sides, so they
got five yards. So it's now fourth and four. The
bon kicked your kicker on the field, and they get
a delay a game, and they go back the five yards.
(01:47):
Osik made the kick and that's great. And then as
if you watch the game or if you read about it,
then the weather came in Tarre Haute and there was
about a two hour rain delay, lightning delay. They started
the game, it was still raining and the Bison come
completely took over the game after that, outscoring Indiana State
twenty eight nothing. Indiana State had ten first downs in
the whole game, five of them on their first drive
(02:09):
and then five in the second half, and that was it.
They shut down, giving up one hundred yards one hundred
and seven yards passing to Indiana State. Indiana State only
rushed for eighty five on twenty nine carries, and because
of the weather, we finally see that lopsided statistics for
the Bison. Cole Payton was twelve of eighteen. I want
to melt that he had three drops in the game,
(02:31):
which is not good. Twelve of eighteen he had three drops,
so he had one hundred and forty nine yards touchdown interception.
They really didn't throw it much in the second half
because of their rain. The Bison focused on the running
attack and shoved it right down Indiana State's throat. They
finished with twohundred and eighty three yards rushing. That's a
five point four yard clip on fifty two carries and
(02:54):
they get out of there. Lil Harry their opponent coming
up for the Dakota Marker in Brookings on ESPN U
at seven pm. And I think ESPN, I know you
listen to this. I think you're making a big mistake.
I think you should move that game to ESPN two.
I really really do. I think your ratings will be
very solid. But the Bison's going to head down to
(03:17):
Brookings and take on a South Dakota State team that
I told you I don't think looks real sharp at times.
And we saw some things last weekend with SDSU. They
beat Murray State, the one of the worst teams in FCS,
but they let Murray State hang around for a half.
I just can't put my finger on this SDSU team.
(03:39):
I don't think they're getting very good. I don't think
they're getting very good offensive production throwing the ball especially.
Their defense is much better than we anticipated, but there
are times they struggle to get off the field on
third down. And so we're going to have just a
a clash of one versus two. And I'm gonna try
(04:02):
to break this down as best as I can, and
I have so many notes, gonna take me forever to
go through these notes to get through this, but I'm
going to talk about the history of this of this rivalry.
NDSU leads all times sixty five wins, forty seven losses,
(04:23):
and five ties. Of course, we know the Bison one.
The last two times they played, both in Fargo in
the FCS era, the Bison lead eleven wins to ten losses.
So there's a one game difference between these two teams
at the FCS level. Both teams came in together. There's
(04:45):
a lot of history with these teams. They both came
in together. The Jacks have won the last two Dakota
Markers and Brookings and nineteen or excuse me, twenty twenty
one and twenty twenty three. The bison last win at
Dana J. Daikal Stadium came in nineteen on a in
less than one where I know if it was Adam
(05:05):
Colfield took the handoff from from from from Lance and gosh,
there's fourth and yeah, fourth and fourth in a yard
deep in their own territory. Trey Lance handed up. I'm
sure it was Adam Colfield off right tackle, big hole.
(05:28):
He hot kind of hopped through the hole and spread
it from the touchdown sealed the deal for nd s U.
And that was the last time the Bison have won
in Brookings. Even though I've said that the Jacks are
a little off this year, it's still interesting to know.
And I got some other stats here. First of all,
(05:49):
this is the tenth time in SCS history that number
one and number two have faced off. So and the
other couple of times have been.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Nd s U and sd s U.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
One time was in I think twenty three and the
other time was last year. I'm gonna look at my notes.
There's so many notes here. Twenty twenty two, the buys
that were number two and they won twenty three to
twenty one. And then last year, as I said, NDSU
was number two and they beat the Jacks when they
were number one at a score of thirteen two nine.
(06:28):
So let's break this down in terms of both sides
of the ball. NDSU defensively is gonna come in with
a couple question marks. They're leading tackles with Nathaniel Staling
He's got forty seven tackles. Keenan Wilson at that defensive
tackle has really taken off in the last three four games.
He's really had an impact. And on the other side
(06:50):
of defense, Colin McShane Colin McShane midbout it with fifty
one tackles. Joe Olmen has thirty tackles, including three sacks.
Both lines are gonna to be really stout. Even though
STSU lost so many players in the portal, they've still
really recovered well. There's very little question as to SDSU's
(07:14):
ability to play defense, and looking at some of the statistics,
statistically speaking, this team's fairly close defensively, we stay in
the defense. SDSU ranks ninth in FCS and rushing, averaging
one hundred and giving up one hundred and five point
nine yards a game and three point six yards per carry.
(07:34):
North Dakota State is seventh in FCS and rush defense
giving up three yards of carry and their seventh, and
then they're giving up ninety five yards a game and
they're seventh. That says something. Pass defense. STSU is tied
for twenty first, giving up one hundred and thirty three
point three yards a game, and this is where some
(07:56):
of the differences do come in. The Bison are number
one in FCS only get went up one hundred and
thirty three point one yards per game through the air,
which is an amazing stat considering we are in such
a pass happy era.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
It is.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
It's quite amazing. So the Bison are, They're up there,
They're they're number one. SDSU is number overall total defense.
The Bison are number one, giving up two hundred and
twenty nine yards a game. South Dakota State's number eight,
giving up two hundred and eighty nine yards a game.
(08:34):
And there's some weird teams that are in this total defense. Uh.
The Bison's number one, Harvard's number two, Presbyterians number five
in the University of Texas, Rio Grand Valley's number seven,
and then here comes SDSU. Still good stats for for sdsure.
I mean they'll only giving up eleven touchdowns. The twelve
(08:57):
touchdowns excuse me, so they played well. The Bison only
given up eight touchdowns. Offensively, yeah, scoring offenses, the Bison's
number six, averaging forty three point six yards or forty
three point six points a game. This is where this
(09:19):
is where I'm telling you that stsu's offense just isn't
what it has been. SDSU ranks nineteenth offensively, they're averaging
thirty four point one yards a game. Saint Thomas and
Minnesota it is right behind him at number twenty. Teams
like Southeast Louisiana and Idaho State and Southern Utah rank
(09:41):
higher than SDSU in scoring offense. And this is what
we're looking at, scoring offense, passing offense, and break it
down passing and rushing. The Bison are twenty eighth in
the nation of two fifty one a game. SDSU is
fortieth at two thirty four a game. Again, that supports
(10:02):
some of my questions about STSU and that offense. Rushing
the Bison or fifth in the FCS at two hundred
and forty two yards a game. They're averaging five point
five eight to carry. SDSU is thirty seventh at one
hundred and seventy seven yards of game, averaging just four
yards of carry. So who's gonna prevail When you look
(10:23):
at offense, let's quick just stay in the offense here
for a second look at the offense. The Bison defense
have been phenomenal. Most of the yards and points they've
given up has been in garbage time in the mid
third quarter to fourth quarter with second and third stringers starters. Wise,
the Byson defense, though they gave up some yards here
(10:43):
recently in the last three weeks, the first quarter has
been rough for the Bisons. Take them a while to
get adjustments, and then they stiffened up as the second
quarter came in, and then especially in the second half,
they shut down. But you're not playing Tennessee State. You're
not playing the city. Even though STSU is struggling, if
they get there, if they get clipping and the Bison
(11:06):
are showing that sluggish start that they have for the
last three weeks, exactly how much is that going to
affect NDSU. Can they get down big early? Could it?
Could they get big, could they get behind early. It's very,
very possible. So I think that's kind of the question.
You look at these stats and you think, hey, NDSU
(11:27):
should be in good shape, but I just don't know
the way that Bison have the way the Bison have
started defensively. A couple more stats here, The Bison lead
the Missouri Valley in scoring offense and scoring defense. Sd
s U is fourth and scoring offense second and scoring defense,
(11:49):
and then they are sixth in total offense and second
in total defense. Again sixth in total offense, So that
that's a struggle. But if you're taking on a team
and that's not really coming out sharp to start a
game defensively, your home, if you're STSU, the crowd is loud,
(12:10):
you're on energy, you're on adrenaline, and you get that
momentum because your opponents in the last three weeks have
played real sluggish off the gate man, that could be
enough to put the Bison in a little bit of problem,
a little bit hurt. And it does bother me that
they struggle so much. It really is a problem that
(12:31):
if they struggle so much now, the Bison offensively, it's
it's been pretty amazing what Cole Payton's been able to
do Cole Payton is getting a lot of talk. And
remember Cole. Many of us thought Cole should replace cam
Miller last year and even the year prior, which we
found out to be wrong. The Cole's been great. Seventy
(12:54):
four point four percent of his passes have been completed.
He's got fifteen hundred yards, fifteen sixty five, eleve touchdowns,
just one pick and that was on the deflection and
the opening drive of Indiana State last week. And he's
rushed for five hundred and thirty five hundred and thirty
yards six touchdowns. He's averaging six point seventy yard carry.
So he's been very, very dangerous as well. But you're
(13:17):
playing against a real good good morning, good afternoon, good evening.
Wherever and wherever you're listening to this, I thank you.
It's TJ, it's Bison Bits, and it is the Koda
Marker Week. We all know what that means. If you don't,
(13:38):
I'll explain it to you. But the Bison will go
into the Dakota Marker Game, number one in the nation,
with a thirty eight to seven win last Saturday over
the Indiana State Sycamores. That's a tree and it wasn't
pretty I told you last week this could be a
trap game, very easily could be a trap game, and
(14:00):
after the first quarter kind of looked like it. Bison
give up their first interception on a tip ball. They
can't get off the field. Indiana State finally gets a
fourth down, they fake the punt, get the first down,
they go down and score. We have a dog fight
on our hands because all of a sudden, Indiana State's
got some life and they're feeling good about themselves. The
(14:23):
Bison just can't get off the field. They can't stay
on the field on third down, and by the end
of the first half, it's it's it's a tie ball game.
The Bison finally get a fifty four yard field goal
from Eli Osik, which is a little there's a strange situation.
The Bison actually had a fourth and nine, got a
(14:44):
false start when they line up their kicking unit, or
not a false start, they drew off sides, so they
got five yards. So it's now fourth and four. The
bon kick your kicker on the field and they get
to lay a game and they go back to five yards.
Osik made the kick and that it's great and then
as if you watch the game, or if you read
about it. Then the weather came in Terre Haute and
(15:05):
there was about a two hour rain delay, lightning delay.
They started the game, it was still raining and the
Bison completely took over the game after that, outscoring Indiana
State twenty eight nothing. Indiana State had ten first downs
in the whole game, five of them on their first
drive and then five in the second half, and that
was it. They shut down, giving up one hundred yards
(15:26):
one hundred and seven yards passing to Indiana State. Indiana
State only rushed for eighty five on twenty nine carries,
and because of the weather we finally see that lopsided
statistics for the Bison. Col Payton was twelve of eighteen.
I want to melt that he had three drops in
the game, which is not good. Twelve of eighteen he
had three drops, so he had one hundred and forty
(15:47):
nine yards touchdown interception. They really didn't throw it much
in the second half because of their rain. The Bison
focused on the running attack and shoved it right down
Indiana State's throat. They finished with twohundred and eighty three
yards rushing. That's a five point four yard clip on
fifty two carries and they get out of there. Lil
Harry their opponent coming up for the Dakota Marker in
(16:12):
Brookings on ESPN U at seven pm. And I think, ESPN,
I know you listen to this. I think you're making
a big mistake. I think you should move that game
to ESPN two. I really really do. I think your
ratings will be very solid. But the Bison is going
to head down to Brookings and take on a South
(16:32):
Dakota State team that I told you I don't think
looks real sharp at times. And we saw some things
last weekend with SDSU. They beat Murray State, the one
of the worst teams in FCS, but they let Murray
State hang around for a half. I just can't put
my finger on this SDSU team. I don't think they're
getting very good. I don't think they're getting very good
(16:55):
offensive production throwing the ball especially. Their defense is much
better than we anticipated, but there are times they struggle
to get off the field on third down. And so
we're gonna have just a a clash of one versus
two and I'm gonna try to break this down as
best as I can, and I have so many notes
(17:20):
gonna take me forever to go through these notes to
get through this, but I'm going to talk about the
history of this of this rivalry. NDSU leads all times
sixty five wins, forty seven losses, and five ties. Of course,
we know the Bison one. The last two times they played,
(17:40):
both in Fargo in the FCS era, the Bison lead
eleven wins to ten losses. So there's a one game
difference between these two teams at the FCS level. Both
teams came in together. There's a lot of history of
these teams. They both came in together. The Jacks have
one the last two Dakota Markers and Brookings in nineteen
(18:02):
or excuse me, twenty twenty one and twenty twenty three.
The Bison last win at Dana J. Daikal Stadium came
in nineteen on a fourth in less than one where
I know if it was Adam Colfield took the handoff
from from from from Lance and gosh, there's fourth and yeah,
(18:27):
fourth and fourth in a yard deep in their own territory.
Trey Lance handed up. I'm sure it was Adam Colfield
off right tackle, big hole. He hot kind of hopped
through the hole and spread it for the touchdown sealed
the deal for NDSU, and that was the last time
the Bison have won in Brookings. Even though I've said
(18:52):
that the Jacks are a little off this year, it's
still interesting to know. And I got some other stats here.
First of all, this is the tenth time in SCS
history that number one and number two have faced off.
So and the other couple of times have been NDSU
and SDSU. One time was in I think twenty three
(19:16):
and the other time was last year. I'm gonna look
at my notes. There's so many notes here. Twenty twenty two,
the Buys that were number two and they won twenty
three to twenty one. And then last year, as I said,
NDSU was number two and they beat the Jacks when
they were number one at a score of thirteen two nine.
(19:39):
So let's break this down in terms of both sides
of the ball. NDSU defensively is going to come in
with a couple of question marks. They're leading tackles with
Nathaniel Staling, He's got forty seven tackles. Keenan Wilson at
that defensive tackle has really taken off in the last
three four games.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
He's really had an impact.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
And On the other side of defense, Colin McShane Colin
McShane modbut it with fifty one tackles. Joe Olmen has
thirty tackles, including three sacks. Both lines are going to
be really stout. Even though STSU lost so many players
in the portal, they've still really recovered well. There's very
(20:21):
little question as to stsu's ability to play defense, and
looking at some of the statistics, statistically speaking, this team's
fairly close defensively. We stay in the defense. STSU ranks
ninth in FCS and rushing averaging one hundred and giving
(20:41):
up one hundred and five point nine yards a game
and three point six yards per carry. North Dakota State
is seventh in FCS and rush defense, giving up three
yards of carry and their seventh and then they're giving
up ninety five yards a game and their seventh. That
says something. Pass defense, SDSU is tied for twenty first,
(21:03):
given up one hundred and thirty three point three yards
a game, and this is where some of the differences
do come in. The Bison are number one and FCS
only giving up one hundred and thirty three point one
yards per game through the air, which is an amazing
stat considering we are in such a pass happy era.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
It is.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
It's quite amazing. So the Bison are they're up there,
They're they're number one. SDSU is number overall total defense.
The Bison are number one, giving up two hundred and
twenty nine yards a game. South Dakota State's number eight,
giving up two hundred and eighty nine yards a game.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
And there's some.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Weird teams that are in this total defense. Uh, the
Bison's number one, Harvard's number two, Presbyterians number five, in
the University of Texas, Rio Grand Valley's number seven, and
then here comes SDSU. Still good stats for STSU. I mean,
they'll alway given up eleven touchdowns. The twelve touchdowns excuse me,
(22:09):
so they played really well. The Bison only given up
eight touchdowns. Offensively, scoring offenses, the Bison's number six, averaging
forty three point six yards or forty three point six
points a game. This is where this is where I'm
(22:30):
telling you that stsu's offense just isn't what it has been.
SDSU ranks nineteenth offensively, they're averaging thirty four point one
yards a game. Saint Thomas and Minnesota. It is right
behind him at number twenty. Teams like Southeast Louisiana and
Idaho State and Southern Utah ranked higher than SDSU in
(22:55):
scoring offense. And this is what we're looking at, scoring offense,
passing offense, and break it down passing and rushing. The
Bison are twenty eighth in the nation of two point
fifty one a game. SDSU is fortieth at two thirty
four a game. Again, that supports some of my questions
about SDSU in that offense. Rushing, the Bison are fifth
(23:17):
in the FCS at two hundred and forty two yards
a game. They're averaging five point five to eight to carry.
SDSU is thirty seventh at one hundred and seventy seven
yards of game, averaging just four yards of carry. So
who's gonna prevail when you look at offense, let's quick
just stay in the offense here for a second look
at the offense. The Bison defense have been phenomenal. Most
(23:43):
of the yards and points they've given up has been
in garbage time in the mid third quarter to fourth
quarter with second and third stringers starters. Wise, the Byson defense,
though they gave up some yards here recently in the
last three weeks. The first quarter has been rough for
the Bisons. Take them a while again adjustments, and then
they stiffened up as the second quarter came in, and
(24:03):
then especially in the second half, they shut down. But
you're not playing Tennessee State. You're not playing the Citadel.
Even though STSU is struggling. If they get there, if
they get clipping and the Bison are showing that sluggish
start that they have for the last three weeks, exactly
how much is that going to affect NDSU. Can they
(24:25):
get down big early? Could it? Could they get big,
could they get behind early? It's very very possible. So
I think that's kind of the question. You look at
these stats and you think, hey, NDSU should be in
good shape, but I just don't know the way that
Bison have the way the Bison have started defensively. A
(24:49):
couple more stats here. The Bison lead the Missouri Valley
in scoring offense and scoring defense. STSU is fourth and
scoring offense, second in scoring defense, and then they are
sixth in total offense and second in total defense. Again
sixth in total offense. So that's a struggle. But if
(25:09):
you're taking on a team that's not really coming out
sharp to start a game defensively your home, if you're
stsu the crowd is loud, you're on energy, you're on adrenaline,
and you get that momentum because your opponents in the
last three weeks have played real sluggish off the gate man,
(25:32):
that could be enough to put the Bison in a
little bit of problem, a little bit hurt. And it
does bother me that they struggle so much. It really
is a problem that if they struggle so much now
the Bison offensively, it's it's been pretty amazing what Cole
Payton's been able to do. Cole Payton is getting a.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Lot of talk.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
And remember Cole, many of us thought Cole should replace
cam Miller last year and the year prior, which we
found out to be wrong. But Cole's been great. Seventy
four point four percent of his passes have been completed,
he's got fifteen hundred yards, fifteen sixty five, eleven touchdowns,
just one pick and that was on the deflection and
the opening drive of Indiana State last week. And he's
(26:17):
rushed for five hundred and thirty five hundred and thirty
yards six touchdowns. He's averaging six point seventy yard carry,
so he's been very very dangerous as well. But you're
playing against a real good South Dakota State team that
hasn't missed a beat.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
Even though the.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
Transfer portal got him when Jimmy Rodgers left for Washington State,
they're still playing really good. They're real solid. Their linebackers
maybe weren't weren't quite once what they were last year,
but they're very solid. They're front four and this is where, folks,
this is where our keys to the game. As Polisics said,
(26:59):
to our plays in the game. You don't know where
they are, but there's about six plays that will determine
the contest. My key to one of this game is
that South Dakota State defensive line because they have some
experience on that defensive line. They just brought guys up
that could fill in after the transfer portal guy has
left for Washington State and Northwestern and god only knows
(27:20):
where the hell they went.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
It was a man scatter.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
But they're going to take on as young and I
understand North Dakota State's offensive line has been really solid.
I mean, we couldn't ask for much better that they're
going to take on. Remember this offensive line, Bo Johnson's
a first year starter as a sophomore. Nate Tostad, red
(27:44):
shirt freshman's a first year starter. Center Trent Freeley now
he's a fourth year player because he spent two years
at Marshall. He's about the biggest veteran they have. He
is actually Griffin Mpy, a second year starter. He was
a freshman last year. Now a sophomore. Josh Megan who's
three hundred and four pounds on that right tackle, first
year starter. He started his career, as I said when
(28:05):
we started the show, as a defensive tackle. That's a
young offensive line going against a pretty pretty seasoned, pretty
experienced defensive line.
Speaker 1 (28:19):
For SDSU.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
And I think that's one of the keys to the
game right there, right there, if that young offensive line,
because they haven't handled they haven't hadn't handled too much pressure.
They've they've held everyone at BAB, They've made good adjustments
on the blitzes. They have held everyone off pretty well.
And there's times even against ranked teams like Illinois State
(28:43):
in southern Illinois and then last week against the lower
opponent like Indiana State where Cole Payton's had all day
to throw and I mean all day. I know it's
an exaggeration with god, you know, six seven, eight seconds
and the fact nobody gets opens a little bothering too.
But he's athletic enough. He's up the field and it's
a problem for defenses that front not just a front
(29:06):
seven for STSU, but that front not just a front four,
but the front seven whose spies on Peyton. Is it effective?
What different looks are they going to give him against
that young offensive line? That is going to be so key.
The second key to this game is the unfortunate injury
(29:31):
to Jackson, butan huffer. Jackson Dudenhoffer is two hundred and
ninety pounds of just.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Rawness.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
You can't move him. He's been a beast last year.
He's gotten so good this year. He's made such a
difference in the middle and having him beside Keenan Wilson's
been quite the one two punch. But he had that
terrible neck injury. If you didn't see it, it was
it was one of those things where there's a tackle
and Jackson was making a tackle and another Bison was
(30:02):
coming from the other side to make a tackle, and
I forgot who it was, but he hit Jackson square
on the crown of the helmet and Jackson's next snap
back and he went to the ground and it was
you saw it. At first, you weren't quite sure what
to make of it, but then you realize how serious
it was, very serious, very scary. They hauled him away,
(30:24):
They took the face mask off, they got the helmet off.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
He went away in a stretcher, and.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
What I saw was the left side moving, the right
side not moving in terms of his extremities. But an
hour or so, well it had been many hours later
because there was a two hour delay, but an hour
into the second half, Jackson showed up and he was
walking around in a neck brace. He went through all
the senses of that of first the tingling, the pain,
(30:54):
the numbness, and then the pain and the aches as
everything started to come back, because he went number.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
For a little bit.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
But he's okay, And poul Sick was asked, is he
gonna play? Can he play? Poul Sick said, it's very doubtful.
He's there are more things in football and then in life,
and that's just the truth. They're gonna have to see.
He's gonna run some tests, but I wouldn't expect him
for probably a couple of weeks to maybe maybe the
(31:22):
und game maybe. So that's a problem because you take
you take that gosh, you take that out of the equation,
you're gonna replace him with Zach Vanderpool, who's who's twenty
pounds lighter, six or five. He's taller, but he's twenty
(31:44):
pounds lighter, And that makes you a little nervous against
that big, that big offensive line that STSU have. They
called the six soul five Hogs, and they're big boys.
But my second key is Vanderpool and Wilson in the
middle of that defensive line trying to handle those the
(32:06):
two big guards in the big center for.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
South Dakota State.
Speaker 2 (32:10):
I really do believe that that and Elijah Wayne. I
think you see Elijah Wayne getting a lot of reps too.
He's a little bit bigger, a little bit bigger Elijah
Wayne than Vanderpool. Member Elijah Wayne was recruited by STUCU
and was going to go there and then polled his
commitment and went to North Dakota State. Who's had a
(32:30):
good years as a as a true freshman. But I'm
worried about that Kelmuth Caskell on one defensive end, I'm
not all that worried about and Toby and Ana is
just he's been a beast. I'm not really worried about them.
I'm worried about the two interior defensive tackles for North
Dakota State against the interior offensive line. If Jackson was
(32:55):
in the game, I wouldn't worry as much. I think
they'll handle themselves and they'll rotate. They'll go through their rotations.
But that's gonna be key because STSU would just as
soon run the hell out of the football and get
those Bison linebackers up so they can run the play action.
But who's going to throw off that play action is
the next question. My third key to the game Chase Mason.
(33:18):
Is he healthy. We saw him score against last week
against Murray State, scored a touchdown and then gingerly went
back to the sideline, went to the trainer's table, sat
on the trainer's table, and never left, never played again. Obviously,
something was banged up, and according to the voice of
(33:38):
the Jack Rabbits that I listened to on our friend
dom Izzo show just this afternoon, I saw it that
he may have gotten hurt a few plays prior. He
got up and was a little ginger. Something wasn't right.
But he finished that series and when he scored his touchdown,
he didn't celebrate with his team. They went to go
high five of them and do the little check bump.
(34:00):
He didn't have nothing to do with it. He just
jogged over and gave the official the ball and went
to the sideline, So you knew something was up. Tyler Merriam,
the voice of the jack Rabbits, said he saw something
a few plays before that didn't think much of it.
That's the third key. I'm assuming he's gonna play Comhell
or high Water. He probably have to amputate that leg
before he would not play. But if he doesn't play,
(34:23):
that will create a little bit of a that'll be
a big hindrance because if he is playing, and if
he is not quite one hundred percent, the run game
is going to be vital to South Dakota State, vital
and not everyone's been able to run the ball off
the Bison, but in the first half of these last
three games, part of that slow start for the Bison
(34:44):
defense is the fact that the opponent's been able to
run the football. Now if Mason can't run it himself,
because he's a great runner. We watched him run for
a big touchdown last year in the Fargo Dome a
year ago. But if he can't run or it's hard
for him to run, they're gonna lean on that interior line.
And that's where with Jackson Duton have for being out,
(35:06):
that's gonna make a difference. Who's gonna win that battle.
Will that experience front four defensive line for SDSU be
able to really make that young, inexperienced offensive line for
ENDSU struggle, You bet?
Speaker 1 (35:23):
And then.
Speaker 2 (35:25):
This game, this game's gonna be close. You're gonna see
a lot of punts, I think at times, you're gonna
see some nice drives, and you're gonna see a little
bit of scoring. Six plays, Poulsis says, makes a game.
You don't know what six it is. There's going to
be a big special teams play here, whether it's a
long kickoff or probably a punt return to set up
(35:45):
a score that could be crucial late, or there's gonna
be the dreaded turnover. It never fails, and NDSU has
done a great job of turning the damn ball over
in Brookings. The turnover battle and the special teams battle
that's that's number four. In this environment, Dana J. Daikal
Stadium is going to be loud. The Bison aren't used
(36:07):
to that. They're used to playing in the Fargo Dome
where it's loud for the other team. They go to
these other stadiums, it's never that loud. There's nobody there.
This is going to be the first time in a
long time that they're going to have that kind of
hostile crowd. And it's important for North Dakota State on
that opening drive, which they've been good at until last week,
(36:28):
but it's important for them to even get a fueld goal,
to go down and get points. Take that crowd out
of it. And that's a cliche with every football game
my Minnesota Vikings. You know, they're as I'm recording this,
they will be going tomorrow night out to LA to
play the Chargers. They're telling their offense, you got to
(36:48):
take the crowd out of it. We need to get
points early. Same thing here in Brookings. The Bison have
got to go down and get points. They've got to
stay disciplined. They got to stay controlled and focused on
the game plan and execute. Football is all about out
executing your opponent, and that's going to be interesting that
(37:09):
special teams. Part of special teams plays is not executing
right or out. You're either getting out executed or you're
executing right. One of the two. Something's going to happen
in that game. There's going to be a turnover that's
going to be crucial in the fourth quarter, or a
kick return or something. Tim Politics press conference this week,
(37:34):
he talked about this game is more than just holding
on to the number one seed nationally, holding on to
the top spot in the Missouri Valley Conference. It's even
more than potentially keeping that number one seed for the postseason.
He says, this is a rivalry game. You want this
(37:54):
for those reasons I just stated, But you want this
because it's a rivalry game. You want this because that's
your that's your our trivel at. You respect as a team,
but you don't are as people. But as a team,
you don't like them.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
You don't like them.
Speaker 2 (38:12):
Cam Miller said it last year. They hate the jack Rabbits.
Everyone lost their mind over it. Let me tell you something,
he said what everyone else was thinking. Even on the
other side. South Dakota State hates the Bison. Coach Stigelmeyer
busted his butt to get a blueprint similar to nbsu's
(38:33):
and he got there. He got there because he had
to beat the Bison. He was sick of watching them win.
They hate the Bison as much as the Bison hate
the Jacks. Not off the field, I mean, don't hold
onto your hats. The Paul Sick is right, that's your
dreaded rival. You've got to win that you take you
(38:56):
got to you drop that marker off and you need
to take it with you and the games over. And
this team in Policic looked like he was ready to
run through a wall. I think he is ready to go.
And I think they're gonna do a lot of studying.
They're gonna have to study for two quarterbacks. And that's
that's probably the biggest issue. Is they're gonna have to.
(39:18):
They're gonna have to. They're gonna they're gonna plan for
Chase Mason. They've already said that. They're they're not worried
about they're not worried about him not playing. They're pretty convinced, Uh,
he's gonna play. And then that and I agree with him.
I think that's I think that's gonna happen too so
(39:38):
they're gonna have to plan for Chase Mason. He only
threw six times last week. But his backup is Luke Marble,
whose father is in the Atlanta Falcons organization. I believe
he's from Smyrna, Georgia's six four two ten. He's a
tall dude. It's not that he hasn't thrown. He's seventeen
to twenty six this year, sixty five two touchdowns and
(39:59):
a pick for two hundred and twenty two yards. Maybe
not quite as athletic as and probably not. Mason's very
comparable to our Cole Peyton, not very much so, but
he probably doesn't run as much. He only ran three
times last week. Of course, they probably didn't want him
(40:20):
to run. They don't need him getting hurt. But he's
the backup, so they're gonna worry about him a little bit.
They're gonna look at some tendencies based on what they
saw with Murray, but they're gonna They're gonna focus on Chase.
But how healthy is he? That was a fourteen to
seven game with Murray State, who's zero and six at
the half. He was twenty one seven at the end
of the third quarter. Took fourteen points in the fourth
(40:41):
quarter for STSU to pull away. How healthy is Chase
Mason and how are the Bison gonna have to look
at his backup in those tendencies. So they're gonna game
plan for one, but they're also gonna have a subgame
plan for two. They got a lot of work to do.
But poul Sis ready to go? Are the Bison ready
to go? I don't know Jackson Williams as at. I
think it's Jackson Williams with the high ankle spring. They're
(41:03):
gonna test him here I think tomorrow, which would be
Thursday or Friday, in one of the two days.
Speaker 1 (41:09):
They think it's.
Speaker 2 (41:10):
Possible, but they're not sure. But the Bison are deep
at wide receiver, so that's not a problem.
Speaker 1 (41:17):
So are the Jacks.
Speaker 2 (41:17):
They may not have the big names, but they're deep
at wide receiver. You gotta really, I know, statistically, it
gave you some stats. It looks like offensively, the Jacks
struggle in places and they're not what they're used to.
But you have two really even well coach teams. So
who's gonna win? Oh boy, it's gonna be a hell
(41:41):
of a war. And anyone The problem with ESPNU is
not every cable provider as ESPNU. As a matter of fact,
I gotta make sure I do because if not, I'm
gonna be pissed. I gotta go figure out what to
do because getting tickets is damn near impossibility. But that
being said, I see a law scoring game. I really
really do, I really really do, and I'm looking somewhere
(42:09):
around twenty three seventeen game.
Speaker 1 (42:17):
Maybe strike that.
Speaker 2 (42:19):
Let's go twenty three twenty bys and win twenty three
twenty bys and win.
Speaker 1 (42:23):
There you have it.
Speaker 2 (42:25):
The Iatola of Bison Rock and Roller has spoken. And
with that, I'm gonna say good night. Get ready for
a fun Saturday if they win. If not, I'll be
a little crabby on the next broadcast, but hey, we'll
get over it. And I thank you for listening as always,
and until next week, take care of yourself at each other.
Bye Bye, South Dakota State team that hasn't missed a beat.
(42:51):
Even though the transfer portal got them when Jimmy Rodgers
left for Washington State, they're still playing really good. They're
real solid. Their linebackers maybe what weren't quite once what
they were last year, but they're very solid. Their front four.
And this is where, folks, this is where our keys
to the game. As Politics said, there are six plays
(43:13):
in the game. You don't know where they are, but
there's about six plays that will determine the contest. My
key to one of this game is that South Dakota
State defensive line because they have some experience on that
defensive line. They just brought guys up that could fill in.
After the transfer portal guys left for Washington State and
Northwestern and God only knows where the hell they went.
Speaker 1 (43:35):
It was a man scatter.
Speaker 2 (43:37):
But they're going to take on as young and I
understand North Dakota State's offensive line has been really solid.
I mean we we couldn't ask for much better that
they're going to take on. Remember this offensive line. Bo
Johnson's a first year starter as a sophomore. Nate Tosstad,
(43:57):
red shirt freshman's a first year starter. Center Trent Fray
Now he's a fourth year player because he spent two
years at Marshall. He's about the biggest veteran they have.
He is actually Griffin Impy, a second year starter. He
was a freshman last year. Now a sophomore. Josh Meghan,
who's three hundred and four pounds on that right tackle.
First year starter, he started his career, as I said
(44:18):
when we started the show, as a defensive tackle. That's
a young offensive line going against a pretty pretty seasoned,
pretty experienced defensive line.
Speaker 1 (44:32):
For SDSU.
Speaker 2 (44:33):
And I think that's one of the keys to the
game right there, right there, if that young offensive line,
because they haven't handled they haven't had to handle too
much pressure. They've held everyone at babe, They've made good
adjustments on the blitzes. They have held everyone off pretty well.
And there's times even against ranked teams like Illinois State
(44:56):
in southern Illinois and then last week against the lower
opponent like Indiana State, where Cole Peyton's had all day
to throw and I mean all day. I know it's
an exaggeration with god, you know, six seven, eight seconds
and the fact nobody gets opens a little bothering too,
but he's athletic enough, he's up the field and it's
a problem for defenses that front not just a front
(45:20):
seven for STSU, but that front not just a front four,
but the front seven. Who spies on Peyton? Is it effective?
What different looks are they going to give him against
that young offensive line that is going to be so key.
The second key to this game is the unfortunate injury
(45:44):
to Jackson Gutenon Huffer. Jackson Dudeneheffer is two hundred and
ninety pounds of just.
Speaker 1 (45:53):
Rawness.
Speaker 2 (45:54):
You can't move him. He's been a beast last year.
He's gotten so good this year. He's made such a
difference in the middle, and having him beside Keenan Wilson's
been quite the one two punch. But he had that
terrible neck injury. If you didn't see it, it was
one of those things where there was a tackle and
Jackson was making a tackle and another Bison was coming
(46:16):
from the other side to make a tackle, and I
forgot who it was, but he hit Jackson square on
the crown of the helmet. And Jackson's next snap back
and he went to the ground and it was you
saw it. At first, you weren't quite sure what to
make of it, but then you realize how serious it was,
very serious, very scary. They hauled him away, they took
(46:38):
the face mask off, they got the helmet off.
Speaker 1 (46:39):
He went away in a stretcher, and what.
Speaker 2 (46:42):
I saw was the left side moving, the right side
not moving. In terms of his extremities. But an hour
or so, well it had been many hours later because
there was a two hour delay, but an hour into
the second half, Jackson showed up and he was walking
around in a neck brace. He went through all the
(47:03):
senses of that of first the tingling, the pain, the numbness,
and then the pain and the aches as everything started
to come back, because he went numbed for a little bit.
Speaker 1 (47:13):
But he's okay.
Speaker 2 (47:15):
And Paul Sick was asked, is he gonna play? Can
he played? Poul sic said, it's very doubtful. He's there
are more things in football and then in life, and
that's just the truth. They're gonna have to see. He's
gonna run some tests, but I wouldn't expect him for
probably a couple of weeks to maybe maybe the und
(47:36):
game maybe. So that's a problem because you take you
take that gosh, you take that out of the equation.
You're gonna replace him with Zach Vanderpool, who who's twenty
pounds lighter six or five. He's taller, but he's twenty
(47:57):
pounds lighter, and that makes you look all nervous against
that big that big offensive line and stsu have they
called the six Soul five Hogs, and they're big boys.
But my second key is Vanderpool and Wilson in the
middle of that defensive line trying to handle those the
(48:19):
two big guards in the big center for South Dakota State.
I really do believe that that. And Elijah Wayne. I
think you see Elijah Wayne getting a lot of reps too.
He's a little bit bigger, a little bit bigger Elijah
Wayne than Vanderpool.
Speaker 1 (48:35):
Member.
Speaker 2 (48:36):
Elijah Wayne was recruited by STUCU and was going to
go there and then polled his commitment and went to
North Dakota State. Who's had a good year as a
as a as a true freshman. But I'm worried about
that Kelmuth Castle on one defensive end, I'm not all
that worried about. And Toby and ana Is just he's
been a beast. I'm not really worried about them. I'm
(48:58):
worried about the two interior defensive tackles for North Dakota
State against the interior offensive line. If Jackson was in
the game, I wouldn't worry as much. I think they'll
handle themselves and they'll rotate, they'll go through their rotations.
But that's gonna be key because STSU would just as
soon run the hell out of the football and get
(49:20):
those Bison linebackers up so they can run the play action.
But who's going to throw off that play action is
the next question. My third key to the game Chase Mason.
Speaker 1 (49:31):
Is he healthy.
Speaker 2 (49:34):
We saw him score against last week against Murray State,
scored a touchdown and then gingerly went back to the sideline,
went to the trainer's table, sat on the trainer's table
and never left, never played again. Obviously something was banged up.
And according to the Voice of the Jack Rabbits that
I listened to on our friend dom Izzo's show just
(49:56):
this afternoon, I saw it that he may have got
and heard a few plays prior. He got up and
was a little ginger Something wasn't right. But he finished
that series and when he scored his touchdown, he didn't
celebrate with his team. They went to go high five
of them and do the little chess bump. He didn't
have nothing to do with it. He just jogged over
and gave the official the ball and went to the sideline.
(50:18):
So you knew something was up. Tyler Merriam, the Voice
of the jack Rabbit said he saw something a few
plays before that didn't think much of it. That's the
third key. I'm assuming he's going to play Comhell or
high Water. He probably have to amputate that leg before
he would not play. But if he doesn't play, that
will create a little bit of a that'll be a
(50:39):
big hindrance because if he is playing, and if he
is not quite one hundred percent, the run game is
going to be vital to South Dakota State, vital and
not everyone's been able to run the ball off the Bison,
but in the first half of these last three games,
part of that slow start for the Bison defense is
the fact that the opponent's been able to run the football. Now,
(51:02):
if Mason can't run it himself, because he's a great runner.
We watched him run for a big touchdown last year
in the Fargo Dome a year ago. But if he
can't run or it's harder for him to run, they're
gonna lean on that interior line. And that's where with
Jackson Duton have for being out, that's gonna make a difference.
Who's gonna win that battle. Will that experience front four
(51:26):
defensive line for STSU be able to really make that young,
inexperienced offensive line for ENDSU struggle.
Speaker 1 (51:35):
You bet, and then this game, this game's gonna be close.
Speaker 2 (51:41):
You're gonna see a lot of punts, I think at times,
you're gonna see some nice drives, and you're gonna see
a little bit of scoring. Six plays, Poulsis says, makes
a game. You don't know what six it is. There's
going to be a big special teams play here, whether
it's a long kickoff or probably a punt return to
set up a score that could be crucial late, or
there's going to be the dreaded turnover. It never fails,
(52:04):
and NDSU has done a great job of turning the
damn ball over in Brookings. The turnover battle and the
special teams battle, that's that's number four. In this environment,
Dana J. Daikal Stadium is going to be loud. The
Bison aren't used to that. They're used to playing in
the Fargo Dome where it's loud for the other team.
(52:26):
They go to these other stadiums, it's never that loud.
There's nobody there. This is going to be the first
time in a long time that they're going to have
that kind of hostile crowd, and it's important for North
Dakota State on that opening drive, which they've been good
at until last week, but it's important for them to
even get a field goal, to go down and get points.
Take that crowd out of it. And that's a cliche
(52:49):
with every football game. My Minnesota Vikings, you know there
as I'm recording this, they will be going tomorrow night
out to LA to play the Chargers. They're telling their offense,
you got to take the crowd out of it. We
need to get points early. Same thing here in Brookings.
The Bison have got to go down and get points.
They've got to stay disciplined. They got to stay controlled
(53:12):
and focused on the game plan and execute. Football is
all about out executing your opponent. And that's going to
be interesting that special teams. Part of special teams plays
is not executing right or out. You're either getting out
executed or you're executing right.
Speaker 1 (53:33):
One of the two.
Speaker 2 (53:34):
Something's going to happen in that game. There's going to
be a turnover that's going to be crucial in the
fourth quarter, or a kick return or something. Tim Polisic's
press conference this week, he talked about this game is
more than just holding on to the number one seed nationally,
(53:55):
holding on to the top spot in the Missouri Valley Conference.
It's even more than potentially keeping that number one seed
for the postseason.
Speaker 1 (54:04):
He says, this is.
Speaker 2 (54:04):
A rivalry game. You want this for those reasons I
just stated, But you want this because it's a rivalry game.
You want this because that's your that's your art travel
at you respect as a team, but you don't are
as people. But as a team, you don't like them.
Speaker 1 (54:23):
You don't like them.
Speaker 2 (54:26):
Cam Miller said it last year. They hate the jack Rabbits.
Everyone lost their mind over it. Let me tell you something,
He said what everyone else was thinking. Even on the
other side. South Dakota State hates the Bison. Coach Stigelmeyer
busted his butt to get a blueprint similar to nbsu's
(54:46):
and he got there. He got there because he had
to beat the Bison. He was sick of watching them win.
They hate the Bison as much as the Bison hate
the Jacks. Not off the field, I mean, don't hold
on to your hats. The Polsek is right, that's your
dreaded rival. You've got to win that you take. You
(55:09):
gotta you drop that marker off and you need to
take it with you when the game's over. And this
team in Poulosek looked like he was ready to run
through a wall. I think he is ready to go.
And I think they're gonna do a lot of studying.
They're gonna have to study for two quarterbacks. And that's
that's probably the biggest issue. Is they're gonna have to.
(55:31):
They're gonna have to. They're gonna they're gonna plan for
Chase Mason. They've already said that they're not worried about
They're not worried about him not playing. They're pretty convinced, Uh,
he's gonna play. And then that and I agree with him.
I think that's I think that's gonna happen too. So
(55:52):
they're gonna have to plan for Chase Mason. He only
threw six times last week, but his backup is Luke Marble,
whose father is in the Atlanta Falcons organization. I believe
he's from Smyrna, Georgia's six' four two ten. He's a
tall dude. It's not that he hasn't thrown. He's seventeen
to twenty six this year sixty five percent two touchdowns
(56:12):
and a pick for two hundred and twenty two yards.
Maybe not quite as athletic as and probably not. Mason's
very comparable to our Cole Peyton, not very much so,
but he probably doesn't run as much. He only ran
three times last week. Of course, they probably didn't want
(56:33):
him to run. They don't need him getting hurt. But
he's the backup, so they're gonna worry about him a
little bit. They're gonna look at some tendencies based on
what they saw with Murray but they're gonna they're gonna
focus on Chase. But how healthy is he? That was
a fourteen to seven game with Murray State, who's zero
and six at the half. He was twenty one seven
at the end of the third quarter. Took fourteen points
(56:54):
in the fourth quarter for STSU to pull away. How
healthy is Chase Mason? And how are the buising them
to have to look at his backup in those tendencies.
So they're gonna game plan for one, but they're also
gonna have a subgame plan for two. They got a
lot of work to do. But politics ready to go?
Are the Bison ready to go? I don't know. Jackson
Williams has a hot I think it's Jackson Williams with
(57:15):
the high ankle spring. They're gonna test him here I
think tomorrow, which would be Thursday or Friday, in one
of the two days. They think it's possible, but they're
not sure. But the Bison are deep at wide receiver,
so that's not a problem.
Speaker 1 (57:30):
So are the Jacks.
Speaker 2 (57:31):
They may not have the big names, but they're deep
at wide receiver. You gotta really I know, statistically, it
gave you some stats. It looks like offensively, the Jacks
struggle in places and they're not what they're used to.
But you have two really even well coach teams. So
who's gonna win. Oh boy, it's gonna be a hell
(57:55):
of a war. And anyone. The problem with ESPN U
is not every cable provider as ESPN you. As a
matter of fact, I gotta make sure I do because
if not, I'm gonna be pissed.
Speaker 1 (58:06):
I gotta go figure out what to do because.
Speaker 2 (58:08):
Getting tickets is damn near impossibility. With that being said,
I see a low scoring game, I really really do,
I really really do, and I'm looking somewhere around twenty
three seventeen game, maybe strike that let's go twenty three
(58:34):
twenty bys and win twenty three twenty buys and win.
There you have it, The Iatola of Bison Rock and
Roller has spoken. And with that I'm gonna say good night.
Get ready for a fun Saturday if they win. If not,
I'll be a little crabby on the next broadcast, but hey,
we'll get over it. And I thank you for listening
as always, and until next week, take care of yourself
(58:56):
and each other.
Speaker 1 (58:56):
Bye bye.
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