Football team to face an explosive I-A team
Anytime a college football team goes on the road, it’s a challenge.
But facing the first major college team in fifty years on the road poses an even greater deed.
On Saturday, the NDSU football team, ranked 14th in Division I-AA, will travel to Muncie, Ind. for the daunting task of playing I-A school Ball State University.
The last time NDSU faced a major school in football was in 1956, when the Bison lost to Missouri 42-0.
On Monday, NDSU head coach Craig Bohl spoke very bluntly about the challenge.
“ To win the game we have to be playing at our peak,” Bohl said at his weekly press conference. “Anytime you go on the road, there’s a challenge there and particularly when you are playing a I-A school like Ball State, that’s another challenge as well.”
Ball States’ record of 1-2 is not very reflective of their caliber as a football team.
After opening the season with a 38-20 victory over conference foe Eastern Michigan, Ball State lost to Big 10 Conference team’s Indiana and Purdue.
In the contest with Indiana, Ball State led 23-7 at half, but the Hoosiers scored 17 unanswered points to defeat the Cardinals 24-23. Last week at Purdue, Ball State scored first and last but lost 38-28 to a team that has contested for a Big 10 title in recent years.
Bohl was well aware of both losses and realized the caliber of competition definitely played a large factor in both cases.
“ They have a 1-2 record but I think that needs to be tempered because of their competition level,” Bohl said. “They lost a heartbreaker at home to Indiana and went on the road and lost to Purdue, but I think Purdue is a good football team.”
Likewise, NDSU has a record of 2-0, but their first win came in a blowout over Division II Concordia-St. Paul, and their second came against a I-AA school that hasn’t had a winning record in three years.
For the first time of the young season, the Bison won’t be favored coming into the game.
Bohl says his team will be hindered because Ball State is much deeper than his team at most positions, especially on the offensive and defensive lines.
This is largely because Ball State gives out 80 scholarships, something that comes in handy when recruiting.
The Bison got even thinner with depth after the Northeastern game when they discovered backup running back Symeon Cabell broke his collarbone and will likely miss the rest of the season.
Bohl said freshman Pete Blincoe, a 5-foot-7 speedster from California, would be elevated to backup.
To add more depth, sophomore linebacker Mike Brower will be moved to offense.
In high school, Brower set the Nebraska state record with 6,099 yards in his career.
The other aspect of the Cardinal’s game that Bohl said will give the Bison troubles were the explosive playmakers, especially at the wide receiver position.
Ball State uses a wide-open passing attack that went for over 230 yards in the team’s first two games.
The Cardinal’s are members of the Mid-American Conference, which has produced NFL stars Randy Moss, Byron Leftwich and Chad Pennington.
Despite NDSU being written off as the underdog by most, Bohl says that they are playing to win the game, not just stay close.
“ Our players are competitors, our coaches are competitive and this university is competitive, so every time we go out on the gridiron, the attitude is to go out and win the football game,” Bohl said.