Stampeding Into the BCS; A North Dakota State Dynasty

[GridironGamer75]

Broncos Run Wild on The Bison Defense

In what turned out to be more of a defensive affair than anticipated, the Boise State Broncos welcomed the North Dakota State Bison to the FBS with a hard fought loss. Although neither team found much offense through the air, Boise State was able to win the battle in the trenches and run roughshod over the Bison front seven. If north Dakota State can't get improved play on the lines they could in for a long season.

On offense the Bison showed flashes, but they were ultimately doomed by two interception by Senior QBC. wentz. The running game was there, but the HB's had trouble getting the yards when they needed them.

At the post game press conference Coach Wheeler was asked about the performance of his offense.

"Execution, execution, execution. The plays were there, we just chose not to make them. We've got to hold onto the ball and cut down on the mental errors. I thought the boys played hard, but now they know they gotta play harder. They are four time champions, they need to start playing like it. "

Strong words from Coach Wheeler. Hopefully the team improved before next weeks road showdown against Texas.

Boise State Broncos at North Dakota State Bison
Sep 7, 2015	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Boise State Broncos (1-1 (0-0))	7	7	3	7	24
North Dakota State Bison (01 (0-0))	0	0	7	0	7

Team Stats Comparison
	BSU	NDSU
Total Offense	371	216
Rushing Yards	266	90
Passing Yards	105	126
First Downs	24	7
Punt Return Yards	35	29
Kick Return Yards	41	94
Total Yards	447	339
Turnovers	1	3
3rd Down Converstion	10-19	2-11
4th Down Conversion	1-1	0-1
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	4-3-1	2-1-0
Penalties	8-55	7-45
Posession Time	37:59	22:01

Boise State Broncos PASSING C/A YDS TD INT R. Finley 11/26 105 1 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD K. Young 29 190 6.5 2 R. Finley 13 47 3.6 0 J. McNichols 10 22 2.2 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD J. Roh 5 48 9.6 1 K. Young 2 24 12.0 0 S. WilliamsRhodes 2 18 9.0 0 T. Sperbeck 2 15 7.5 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD B. Weaver 8 0 0 0 S/ McCaskill 5 0 0 0 J. Martarano 5 1 0 0 J. Moxey 4 0 0 0 R. McNair 3 1 0 0 T. Horn 3 0 0 0 C. Anderson 2 0 1 0 D. Thompson 1 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG T. Rausa 1/1 3/3 6 24 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 S. Wale 7 261 37.2 2 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD C. Anderson 2 41 20.5 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD C. anderson 5 35 7.0 0

North Dakota State Bison PASSING C/A YDS TD INT C. Wentz 10/26 126 1 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD S. Ojuri 11 51 4.6 0 C. Wentz 7 12 1.7 0 J. Crockett 5 22 4.4 0 D. Lang 1 5 5.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD K. Vaadeland 3 46 15.3 1 R. Smith 3 42 14.0 0 A. Grothmann 2 7 3.5 0 Z. Vraa 1 10 10.0 0 S. Ojuri 1 21 21.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD T. Beck 9 0 0 0 C. littlejohn 9 0 0 0 AJ Van Voorhis 8 0 0 0 G. Olson 8 0 0 0 K. Emanuel 7 0 0 0 L. Perry 7 1 0 0 M. Williams 6 0 0 0 C. Jirik 2 1 0 0 C. Dudzik 1 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG A. Keller 0/0 1/1 1 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 B. LeCompte 8 317 39.6 3 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD M. Williams 5 94 18.8 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD M. Williams 3 29 9.6 0

[GridironGamer75]

Thanks guys. I was really hoping Coach Blake would have stayed at North Dakota State. Your dynasty and their uniforms were the reason I chose them. Had he stayed I would have went with Cincinnati instead.

[GridironGamer75]

It time to fill the cooler full of frosty beverages and fire up the barbecue folks, because its game day for our beloved Bison. Today they face the Longhorns of Texas in what is sure to be a barn burner.

Last week the bison lost to a fired up Boise state team and now look to get their first win in the BCS verses a tough Texas opponent. In talking with the players and coaches during the week,I've learned that they are fired up and ready to go. Can that translate onto the field? We'll find out in just a few short hours.

The Texas Longhorns are coming off a narrow victory against New Mexico and look to show the NCAA that their rather lackluster performance last week was a fluke. Both teams are coming into the game a chip on their shoulder and will look to score early and often.

See you at the after party. Go Bison!

[GridironGamer75]

Bisons Fall short in Texas shootout. Fall to the Longhorns 63-42.

What a game folks. We knew this was gonna be a barn burner, but we didn't expect this. The teams combined for over one hundred points as, the offenses took turns driving the ball down the field.

The game started out slow with neither team scoring until until M. Johnson caught a 12 yard TD pass from Texas QB, T. Swoopes. The Bison offense would answer right back driving down the field with QB C. Wentz finding T. Gebhart over the middle for a 9 yard TD score. Then with forty seconds left i the first, Texas HB J. Gray would scamper in from 1 yard out making it 14-7 at the end of one.

North Dakota State drove down the field to start the second. HB S. Ojuri would power his way into the endzone from a half yard out to tie it at 14 a piece. But then tragedy would strike as Texas DB D. thomas would pick off a C. wentz pass and streak 61 yards for the pick six. Not to be deterred a determined Wentz methodically drove the Bison down the field before finding R. smith in the corner of the endzone for an 8 yard score. Yet again the Bison defense could not contain the longhorn's running game leading to a Texas score by HB A. De La Torre from 2 yards out. Texas then turned up the heat with Swoopes finding a wide open S. Johnson for a 16 yard score. But the second half scoring frenzy wasn't done yet. with eleven seconds left on the clock C. wentz hit N. Moody over the middle, who then turned on the afterburners for a school record 75 yard TD bomb. The bisons found themselves trailing by a mere seven points heading into the break.

The third quarter belonged to Texas. They took the opening kick off and proceeded to drive down the field, with J. Gray capping off the drive with a tackle breaking 12 yard TD run. They weren't done yet as they scored on on their next possession with an 8 yard pass from Swoopes to D. Clarington. They would score yet again to close out the third stanza with Swoope using his legs to sneak in from the 1 yard line.

If the third quarter belonged to Texas, then the fourth mostly belonged to the Bison. HB S. Ojuri would power his way into the endzone for a 5 yard score with 7:45 left on the clock. He would again score from 2 yards out with 3:01 left in regulation. Unfortunately the nail on the coffin came via a J. Gray who punched it in from 5 yards out for the final score of the game.

Despite the loss there is reason celebrate. it was a record setting day for the Bison. QB C. wentz broke the school record for passing yards, slinging the rock for 508 yards. The team also set the school record for the longest TD reception. The defense may be a work in progress, but the offense proved it is ready to hang with the big boys.

Next week will be a true test for our beloved Bison as they make they way back up north for a showdown with the #10 ranked Fighting Irish of Notre dame. Notre dame is 2-0 and looking to stay that way. North Dakota will be severe underdogs in this match up, but if the offense plays like it did today and maybe just maybe if our defense remembers how to keep the opposition out of the endzone...then maybe just maybe The Bison can can do the impossible and score an unheralded upset victory over the Fighting Irish. Hey sometimes dreams really do come true right?

Until next week. Go Bison!

North Dakota State Bison at Texas Longhorns
Sep 14, 2015	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
North Dakota State Bison (02 (0-0))	7	21	0	14	42
Texas Longhorns (2-0 (0-0))	14	21	21	7	63

Team Stats Comparison
	NDSU	TEX
Total Offense	541	572
Rushing Yards	33	162
Passing Yards	508	410
First Downs	24	29
Punt Return Yards	9	7
Kick Return Yards	110	117
Total Yards	660	696
Turnovers	1	1
3rd Down Converstion	5-11	10-13
4th Down Conversion	0-2	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	6-5-0	8-8-0
Penalties	7-62	2-20
Posession Time	16:35	15:25

North Dakota State Bison PASSING C/A YDS TD INT C. Wentz 31/55 508 3 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD S. Ojuri 18 40 2.2 3 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD N. Moody 6 160 26.6 1 S. Ojuri 6 47 7.8 0 R. Smith 5 96 19.2 1 Z. Vraa 5 65 13.0 0 T. Gebhart 4 79 19.7 1 C. Wahlo Jr 4 54 13.5 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD T. Beck 10 0 0 0 C. Heagle 6 0 0 0 M. Williams 6 0 0 0 C. Jirik 6 0 0 0 C. Smith 5 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG A. Keller 0/0 6/6 6 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 B. LeCompte 4 176 44.0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD R. Smith 4 83 20.7 0 M. Williams 1 27 27.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD M. Williams 1 9 9.0 0

Texas Longhorns PASSING C/A YDS TD INT T. Swoopes 26/43 410 3 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD J. Gray 26 115 4.4 3 T. Swoopes 10 45 4.5 1 A. De La Torre 1 2 2.0 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD D. Johnson 8 137 17.1 1 A. Foreman 7 127 18.1 0 M. Johnson 5 83 16.6 1 D. Clarington 2 37 18.5 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD H. Ridgeway 8 0 0 0 H. Hill 8 0 0 0 D. Haines 7 0 0 0 B. Echols 5 0 0 0 D. Thomas 4 0 1 1 S. Evans 4 0 0 0 N. Hughes 4 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG N. Rose 0/0 9/9 9 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 N. Jordan 2 80 40.0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD D. Thomas 3 52 17.3 0 D. Johnson 3 65 21.6 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD D. Johnson 1 7 7.0 0

[GridironGamer75]

Hello again Bison fans and welcome to the First Quarter Edition of Bison Illustrated. The Bison have gotten off to a not unexpected rocky start to their season and are currently sitting at 0-2 going into week four against the daunting Fighting Irish of Notre dame. There is hope however as the offense came alive last week in Texas, as the Bison nearly pulled off an upset victory over the Longhorns.

In this edition we are going to take a look at the team and give a breakdown of team and player stats. We'll also take a look at where the team plans to go from here and what adjustments if any the coaches might make. Let's dig into the stats, shall we?

First up the offense. Senior QB Carson Wentz is having a pretty descent season Completing 50% of his passes and averaging 317 yards per game. He has 4 Touchdowns compared to 3 Interceptions with a passer rating of 125.3. If he can avoid the turnovers and continue to find his receivers downfield he could end his time at North Dakota state with a memorable season. He has already broken the school record for yards in a game and could break it again before seasons end.

The running game has struggled to find traction so far. While the offense is heavily swayed toward the passing game, the Bison need to get the tough yards on the ground to keep the defense honest. Red shirt Senior Sam Ojuri has 91 yards on 29 attempts for a mere 3.3 yards per carry average. He did show a knack for getting into the endzone scoring 3 TDs. Junior John Crockett has averages 4.4 yards on his 5 carries and could possible push Ojuri for the starting role if the running game continues to struggle.

As one might expect the receiving corps is putting up big numbers. Red shirt Junior Nate Moody leads the way out of the slot with 160 yards on only 6 catches. He also has 1 TD. Senior playmaker Ryan Smith has 8 Receptions for 138 yards and 1 TD. Red shirt Junior Trevor Gebhart only has 4 receptions but is averaging 19.7 yards per catch and also has 1 TD. Despite their stellar play the receiving corp has a severe case of butterfingers. Smith and Moody both have 2 drops so far this season most of the other receiver have a drop as well. Coach Wheeler has been working on fixing the issue at practice. He has them catching balls coated in vaseline They must catch ten passes in a row. If they drop one they have to start over. The guys hate it, but and it is quite amusing to watch at times, but if it works then I say "good on ya coach."

And now the elephant in the room. The defense or lack thereof. Although not the Defensive Coordinator we asked Coach Wheeler what he would do to fix the defense.

"It's funny you should ask, because we just discussed this a few days ago in one of our coaches meetings. I suggested to the Coach Entz give the D-Line and Linebackers red capes. The way I figure they're playing like matadores in a bull fight, they might as well play the part. But, in all honesty the boys just need to settle down and play their game. We have some good ball players, but they've let the hype get to them. The media says we can't hang with the big boys and so our guess are trying to hard. you always want your guys to play their hearts out, but sometimes when you play all out you overextend or go for the kill shot instead of playing fundamental football. Coach entz is doing a heck of a job coachin' them boys up and I think they will show a marked improvement very soon. And if not, then I guess the offense will just have to put even more points on the board."

Red shirt Junior Travis Beck leads the defense with 19 tackles, 12 solo and 2 for losses.Star DT Senior Leevon Perry has 9 tackles, 7 solo and 4 for losses and is tied for sacks at 1 with Senior RE Cole Jirik.The defenses sole Interception is by Junior FS Christian Dudzik. For the year the defense has forced 2 fumbles recovering 1.

The next the game stretch will tell a lot about how the Bisons season should pan out. After Notre Dame the Bisons travel to Colorado to take on Colorado State, before returning home to kick off MAC play against Miami University. If they can pull off wins against Colorado State and Miami they will still be in good shape going into conference play and have an outside chance at becoming bowl eligible.

That's all for this edition. In the Second Quarter Edition we'll take an in depth look at NDSU's top recruiting prospects as well as go over team needs. Until next time Bison faithfull. Go Bisons!

[GridironGamer75]

Heisman Watch - Updated: Sep 21, 2015
NAME	POS	SCHOOL		SEASON STATS
Kyle Allen	QB	TAMU		37/78-561yds-6TD-0INT
Delton Williams	HB	MSU		72-375-10TD
David Cornwell	QB	Bama		0-0-0-0
Ezekiel Elliott	HB	Ohio St.		60-385-6TD
Vernon adams Jr.	QB	Oreg		29-59-4TD-0INT

NCAA Football Rankings - Coaches Poll - Updated: Sep 21, 2015
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	1	Ohio State	3	0	1500
2	2	TCU	2	0	1455
3	3	Oregon	3	0	1393
4	4	Michigan State	3	0	1332
5	5	USC	3	0	1255
6	7	Auburn	2	0	1138
7	8	UCLA	2	0	1083
8	10	Notre Dame	2	0	971
9	12	Clemson	1	0	865
10	13	Arizona State	2	0	813
11	14	Georgia Tech	1	0	763
12	15	Wisconsin	1	0	713
13	16	LSU	2	1	633
14	17	Oklahoma	2	0	617
15	6	Florida State	1	1	601
16	18	Virginia Tech	3	0	585
17	19	Stanford	1	0	525
18	9	Ole Miss	2	1	461
19	11	Alabama	1	2	446
20	21	Baylor	1	1	395
21	22	Arizona	2	0	395
22	23	Arkansas	2	1	328
23	--	North Carolina	2	0	326
24	24	Miami	2	0	313
25	--	Missouri	1	2	285

NCAA Football Leaders - Updated: Sep 21, 2015
PASSING LEADERS		RUSHING LEADERS
1. C. Kessler (USC)	831 yds	1. R. Williams Jr. (Minnisota)	432 yds
2. P. Mahomes (TTU)	776 yds	2. T. Greene (BG)	423 yds
3. G. Krstich (SMU)	767 yds	3. A. Taylor (Buffalo)	410 yds
4. J. Lindquist (Wash)	710 yds	4. J. Owens (AF)	408 yds
5. J. Johnson (FAU)	704 yds	5. L. Scott (MSU)	393 yds
RECEIVING LEADERS		TACKLES LEADER
1. D. Joseph (SMU)	458 yds	1. K. Beckwith (LSU)	14
2. C. Harris (North Texas))	370 yds	2. D. Mkemdiche (Ole Miss)	14
3. J. Grant (TTU)	301 yds	3. S. poti (Hawai'i)	13
4. D. Harden (GSU)	297 yds	4. N. Smith (Temple)	13
5. D. paschal (Arkansas St)	279	5. G. Stewart (UConn)	13
SACK LEADERS		INTERCEPTION LEADERS
1. N. Hughes (Texas)	4.0	1. D. Bass (Ohio)	4
2. L. shawley (Hawai'i)	3.5	2. P. Nickerson (Tulane)	4
3. T. Cockran (Minnisota)	3.5	3. J. Williams (Uconn)	4
4. J. Obioha (TAMU)	3.0	4. K. Seymour (USC)	3
5. E. Boateng (ASU)	3.0	5. P.Vea (UNLV)	3

[Cheese2121]

Wow overall not too shabby at all against a very good Texas team. If the offense can play that well in some of the other games, you could be in for a very good season.

[GridironGamer75]

Yeah, I was surprised they played so well. It's too soon for me to tell if I need to adjust my sliders or not. The receivers are like Jeckle and Hyde. One drive they will drop everything and the next drive they catch em all.

Thanks for checking in.