Well I took some flak from the bearkat fans for picking against them for two straight weeks, but I guess you have to hand them the big sky crown for beating the three top teams in that league to setup a rematch against North Dakota State. I honestly can’t predict who is going to win this one, so football fans enjoy the meaningless bowl season while you await my predict to come shortly before the title game.
Tag Archives | North Dakota State
What did we learn? Week 5
Well boys and girls sorry for not writing I know your lives are worse off of because of it, here are my thoughts on the past couple of weeks of FCS football.
Eastern Washington, while I was skeptical at first after their Idaho win, they beat an already reeling Grizz team, which ovbiously puts the eagles in the driver seat for the Big Sky title and top four slot, their only true test yet coming in Bozeman against Montana State on Oct. 13
Despite playing a vanilla schedule the NDSU bison came into the dome and made the Panthers pay for their tough schedule by sending the Panthers to 0-4 in DI compeition. The Bison looked legit on both sides of the ball while the panthers looked tired and made mistakes that cost them the game because of those mistakes. The Bison host the up and rising Youngstown State in the Fargodome for homecoming then the ever dangerous Sycamores also in the dome for the true meat of their schedule.
The Citadel played lke the Citadel of old when they turned out a terrible effort against a Moc team that brought their A game and earned a W against the Bulldogs, leaving Wofford as the only unbeaten in Socon play.
the CAA, what to say just wow, it is all over the place there is a Reason the CAA has been so dominant recently is that any given saturday case in point UNH over UD this weekend.
Sorry for you ECB but it is what it is, sending me your own thoughts and I will use it to exppand the East coast.
MVFC Preseason synapsis
8/3/2010
With the season right around the corner, I decided it was time to start the conference by conference breakdowns.
X Southern Illinois 9-2 7-1 – Only slipping up once in conference and owning a win over UNI, SIU earns the MVFC auto-bid.
Y Northern Iowa 9-2 7-1 – Northern Iowa returns to the playoffs with an at-large bid.
Y Illinois State 9-2 6-2 – Illinois State makes their return to the playoffs with at at-large bid.
Z North Dakota State 7-4 5-3 – NDSU is a bubble candidate for their first playoff appearance.
South Dakota State 6-5 5-3 – The Jacks fall a little short this year.
Youngstown State 6-5 4-4 – The Penguins are rebuilding, just a year away from contention.
Indiana State 3-8 1-7 – The Sycamores take a step in the right direction.
Western Illinois 2-9 1-7 – Bad situations in Macomb carry over to 2010. Maybe the healing can begin.
Missouri State 1-10 1-7 – Terry Allen says his goodbyes and cleans out his office.
The Battle In The Trenches, Finale: The Recap From Fargo
Rob Weiss, FCS Update
I arrived in Fargo around noon on Saturday, welcomed by tempatures in the low 30s and occasional flurries.
After a few minutes of adjusting to the cold, I was offered food, drink, and some warmth by one of the best tailgating atmospheres in FCS football. I have never seen so many custom painted buses, RVs and vans. Special thanks to the crews at the Rainforest and Rollin Thunder tailgates. I met a lot of Bison posters throughout the West lots and appreciate their hospitality.
Inside the Fargodome the media relations crew was very friendly and I had a great time with the local Fargo media.
We’ll be getting a photo gallery posted here at cs.com in the upcoming week, so stay tuned for that.
The focus of this last week was North Dakota State RB Pat Paschall and his challenge of facing the Northern Iowa defense. All in all the battle was pretty even. Let me break it down for you.
Here’s the lowdown:
Paschall rushed for 115 yards-
Paschall tied his season low this week with 115 yards on 19 carries. This was about 35 yards below his season average. The result is that Paschall no longer leads to country in yards per game. That title has moved to Deji Karim who faces the Northern Iowa defense on Saturday. Advantage: Northern Iowa
North Dakota State rushes for 206 yards-
The Bison rolled up a team total of 206 yards on Saturday. The Bison had 5 different players with carries, including QB Nick Mertens. The 206 yards of rushing offense was 141 yards more than UNI was averaging, and the most the UNI defense has allowed this season. Advantage: North Dakota State
Overall, both parties played the game under their averages. Obviously in the end the outcome favored the Panthers, but I would say that it was a successful game for Paschall and the Bison offensive line.
The Battle In The Trenches, Part 2: Purple Haze
Rob Weiss, FCS Update
Through 5 games of the season, the Northern Iowa defense is only giving up 7.6 points per game. That includes holding FBS #12 Iowa to 17. The Panther defense is 5th in the country in rushing defense, allowing 65.6 yards per game. This is the challenge that awaits North Dakota State running back Pat Paschall, the number one running back in yards per game in FCS football.
This year’s Panther defense has left off exactly where last year ended, replacing last year’s man in the middle, Everette Pedescleaux, who graduated last spring and is currently with the NFL’s Denver Broncos. Pedescleaux, listed at 6-6 305 lbs, has been replaced by Chuck Kinney and Wes Lane. Both senior leaders are listed at 290 pounds.
But the biggest push on the defensive line comes from James Ruffin, a senior defensive end from Burnsville, MN. Ruffin was highly decorated after his junior season. He was named as a first team all-american by the American Football Coaches Association, Defensive Player of the Year in the Valley, first-team all-MVFC pick , second-team All-America pick by the Associated Press , third-team All-America honoree by The Sports Network. Ruffin finished last season with 18 tackles for loss and 10 sacks.
As a unit, the most ground yardage the team has given up this season was against South Dakota. The Coyotes ran for 151 total yards(90 net) on 35 attempts, an average of 4.3 yards per carry. The Coyotes only scored one TD in the game, and that came on a flea-flicker pass.
Their season low was last weekend against Indiana State. The Sycamores ran for 56 yards (42 net) on 25 attempts.
Looking forward to this battle on Saturday. We’ll finish this series with a recap over the weekend. Look forward to a photo gallery of gameday pictures from inside the Fargodome.
The Battle In The Trenches, Part 1: Meet Pat Paschall
Rob Weiss, FCS Update
This weekend, those of us in the Fargodome are in for what should amount to be an epic battle. North Dakota State’s running back, Pat Paschall, is currently the number one running back in all of FCS football. Paschall, coming into the game averaging 150.8 yards per game, is going to be up against the defense from the University of Northern Iowa. The Panther defense comes into Saturday’s game ranked in the top 10 in 3 major statistical categories.
Paschall, The Bison’s fifth year senior from St. Louis, Mo., was originally recruited to Georgia Southern University, where in his redshirt season he was named scout team player of the year. Unhappy with the situation in Statesboro, Paschall headed to Dodge City Community College, where he would eventually be recruited by North Dakota State.
In his sophmore season, his first with the Bison, Paschall would run the ball 84 times for a total of 530 yards and five TDs. He also had one reception for 16 yards and a touchdown.
His junior year was very similar to his sophmore campaign. He would run the ball 108 times for 601 yards and two TDs, so more carries, a little more yardage, but less TDs. He would also catch nine passes for 51 yards.
The 2009 season has already been great to Pat. Through 5 games he has rushed the ball 100 times for 765 yards (7.65 yards per carry) and 5 TDs. Career highs less than halfway through the season in both yards and TDs. He also has 6 receptions for 120 yards.
This week the Bison’s running game faces a highly ranked Panther defense.
We’ll turn to the Panther defense on Thursday and will finish next week with a post game commentary on what should be a great battle.
FCS Update hits the road
Rob Weiss, FCS Update:
FCS Update will make it’s first in-person reporting appearance a week from Saturday in Fargo, ND. Our feature story will be the #1 RB in the country, Pat Paschall of NDSU facing the highly ranked Northern Iowa defense.
We will feature Paschall and the Panther defense leading up to the game and will follow up with a feature on the game after the weekend.
Also debating a road trip on Halloween weekend. I appear to be freed up and would like to get some suggestions on the best games in the country. If money and time works out, we’ll be there to cover another great game(or two games in the same area if possible).
Give me your suggestions in the comment section, the cs.com board, or email me at (my name with no spaces at cs.com)
Polls: Who can you trust?
Rob Weiss, FCS Update: The 2009 season is off to a great start. The debate over who is the best team in the country is heating up more and more each week. Between the 3 major polls (AGS, Coaches, and TSN) there are 6 different teams with first place votes. While Richmond is the consensus [...]
2012 CS Top 25 Poll
Week 6 | 10/8/2012
1. North Dakota State Bison
2. Old Dominion Monarchs
3. Montana State Bobcats
4. Wofford Terriers
5. Eastern Washington Eagles
6. James Madison Dukes
7. Georgia Southern Eagles
8. Youngstown State Penguins
9. Stony Brook Seawolves
10. Cal Poly Mustangs
11. Sam Houston State Bearkats
12. Appalachian State Mountaineers
13. New Hampshire Wildcats
14. Lehigh Mountain Hawks
15. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
16. Albany Great Danes
17. Central Arkansas Bears
18. South Dakota State Jackrabbits
19. Towson Tigers
20. Illinois State Redbirds
21. McNeese State Cowboys
22. Tennessee State Tigers
23. Harvard Crimson
24. Samford Bulldogs
25. Eastern Kentucky Colonels
Others receiving votes:
The Citadel Bulldogs, Sacramento State Hornets, Northern Iowa Panthers, Richmond Spiders, Montana Grizzlies, Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens, Indiana State Sycamores, Drake Bulldogs, Jacksonville State Gamecocks, Maine Black Bears, Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks, Alabama A&M Bulldogs
2012 TSN Top 25 Poll
Week 3 |9/17/2012 | (1st place votes)
1. North Dakota State Bison (140)
2. Montana State Bobcats (9)
3. Sam Houston State Bearkats (8)
4. Youngstown State Penguins (7)
5. Old Dominion Monarchs
6. James Madison Dukes
7. Wofford Terriers (1)
8. Northern Iowa Panthers
9. Eastern Washington Eagles
10. The Citadel Bulldogs
11. Georgia Southern Eagles
12. Delaware Blue Hens
13. Towson Tigers
14. Montana Grizzlies
15. Illinois State Redbirds
16. Lehigh Mountain Hawks
17. Appalachian State Mountaineers
18. New Hampshire Wildcats
19. McNeese State Cowboys
20. Stony Brook Seawolves
21. Eastern Kentucky Colonels
22. Indiana State Sycamores
23. Maine Black Bears
24. Jacksonville State Gamecocks
25. Central Arkansas Bears
Others receiving votes(points):
Cal Poly 288, Stephen F. Austin 261, Harvard 174, Sacramento State 154, Northern Arizona 149, Samford 99, Bethune-Cookman 88, UT Martin 88, Tennessee State 84, North Dakota 76, South Dakota State 31, Albany 29, Lafayette 29, Eastern Illinois 29, Norfolk State 26, Richmond 19, Tennessee Tech 18, Alabama A&M 16, Alabama State 11, South Carolina State 10, Villanova 10, Howard 4, Florida A&M 4, Yale 3, Southern Utah 3, Jacksonville 3, Western Illinois 1, Brown 1, Chattanooga 1
2012 Coaches Top 25 Poll
Week 3 | 9/17/2012 | (1st place votes)
1. North Dakota State (25)
2. Montana State (1)
T-3. Sam Houston State
T-3. Youngstown State
5. Old Dominion
6. Wofford
7. James Madison
8. Northern Iowa
9. Eastern Washington
10. Georgia Southern
11. Montana
12. Delaware
13. Lehigh
14. The Citadel
15. Illinois State
16. Towson
17. McNeese State
18. Appalachian State
19. New Hampshire
20. Stony Brook
21. Central Arkansas
22. Maine
23. Eastern Kentucky
24. Harvard
25. Indiana State
Others receiving votes (points in parentheses):
Others Receiving Votes: Jacksonville State (33), Cal Poly (25), Stephen F. Austin (21), Samford (19), Bethune-Cookman (17), Norfolk State (15), North Dakota (14), Sacramento State (13), Tennessee State (13), Northern Arizona (10), Alabama A&M (8), Albany (5), Lafayette (4), Florida A&M (1), South Dakota State (1), Tennessee Tech (1).
