Steffes, NDSU bounce back
Bison adjust to radical atmosphere change
CEDAR CITY, Utah – Despite playing against a struggling Southern Utah squad, NDSU had a difficult task on Saturday.
The team had to adjust to a radical atmosphere change from a week ago when they played in front of 62,845 fans at the Metrodome.
Only 3,165 people were in attendance at Eccles Coliseum Saturday, but NDSU came out flying and cruised to a 31-7 victory over Southern Utah in Great West Conference Football play.
“ To tell you the truth, I was kind of worried during the week just how the team would respond,” NDSU running back Kyle Steffes said of coming off a game against a Division I-A team. “I think we showed up and played pretty well.”
Steffes took matters into his own hands in the first quarter.
With less than five minutes remaining in the quarter, Steffes took a handoff to the outside before making a sharp cut toward the middle and running 53 yards untouched. His touchdown gave the Bison an early lead.
Steffes said the reason the play was so open was because the Southern Utah defense was blitzing, leaving a lot of room on the outside for him to run.
“ Our biggest problem was in the first half, giving up that big play,” Southern Utah (3-8, 0-3 GWFC) head coach Wes Meier said of Steffes’s run. “We knew that they had a lot of weapons on offense and Steffes was a big part of that.”
Steffes finished the game with three touchdowns and 126 yards rushing on 15 carries.
The senior has become a nuisance for Southern Utah over the years. Last season, he rushed for two touchdowns against the Thunderbirds.
When asked for an explanation of his success against Southern Utah, Steffes laughed and said, “I just like the mountain air.”
Despite Steffes’s standout performance, many NDSU players had their hand in the offense.
Sophomore fullback Tyler Roehl finished the game as NDSU’s leading receiver with 70 yards on five catches.
Redshirt freshman fullback Matt Kittelson, who was just recently moved to offense from linebacker, scored his first career touchdown on a 32-yard pass reception.
Even backup quarterback Ryan Parsons was a factor in NDSU’s offense, taking some snaps at wide receiver.
“ We are trying to lose a lot of our personnel right now,” NDSU (7-1, 1-0 GWFC) head coach Craig Bohl said. “We will try to use all of our weapons coming down the stretch.”
On defense, the Bison did something they hadn’t all season, but it wasn’t anything the players were bragging about after the game.
With exactly 100 yards rushing, Southern Utah became the first team to rush for 100 yards against NDSU’s defense all year. Mobile quarterback Wes Marshall led the Thunderbirds with 58 yards and a touchdown.
“ It’s disappointing,” NDSU defensive lineman Justin Frick said. “I didn’t think we played our best on defense, but they have a different style offense and you have to give them credit.”
With the final three games on the schedule all conference contests for NDSU, the Bison will need to shore up all facets of the game to attain the team’s goal of a GWFC championship.
The team will travel to California Davis next week before playing at home the final two weeks of the season.
On Saturday, Cal Davis was upset by SDSU 22-21. SDSU’s win marked the second consecutive week it has rallied in the second half to upset a GWFC team. A week before, the Jackrabbits defeated then No.4-ranked California Poly 29-28.
“ The way our conference is structured we have to take them off (conference games) one at a time,” Bohl said of the final stretch of conference games. “To go on the road and win convincingly is encouraging. All the teams have good athletes and are well coached and it will be a challenge each game.”