North Dakota State Opens 2005 Football Season With Arkansas-Monticello On Thursday Night
8/30/2005 5:00:00 AM | Football
GAME ONE:
No. 22-ranked North Dakota State University is scheduled to open the 2005 season at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1, against the University of Arkansas at Monticello (0-1) in the Fargodome (18,700) ... It is the first of six home games for the Bison this season ... UAM is a member of the NCAA Division II Gulf South Conference ... The Boll Weevils lost to Henderson State 37-7 on the road at Arkdelphia, Ark., in a matchup of two first-year coaches in UAM's Gwaine Mathews and HSU's Scott Maxfield ... Henderson State jumped out to a 24-0 halftime lead ... Arkansas-Monticello was held to 77 yards of offense and three first downs in the opening half, and also came up short on two fourth down plays in its own territory ... UAM did have a bright spot in fullback John L. Williams, who rumbled for 91 yards and a fourth quarter touchdown on 22 carries ... Henderson State rolled up 568 yards of total offense.2004 REWIND: North Dakota State finished the 2004 season with an 8-3 record under the direction of head coach Craig Bohl. It was NDSU's first year of Division I-AA football. The Bison finished 23rd in The Sports Network's Top 25 poll, 23rd in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25, 20th in the AGS (Any Given Saturday.com) Final Poll, 17th in the GPI (Gridiron Power Index) Final Poll and 15th in the Football Gazette's Top 40.
TICKETS: Through Monday morning, an estimated crowd of 12,000 is expected for Thursday's game at the Fargodome (18,700) ... For more information, contact the NDSU ticket office at 1-888-231-NDSU (6378).
THE COACHES: North Dakota State head coach Craig Bohl (Nebraska, 1979) is in his third season at the helm of the Bison with a 16-6 mark to date ... Bohl came to NDSU in 2003 from the University of Nebraska, where he was an assistant coach for eight seasons including defensive coordinator over the final three years ... He was an assistant at North Dakota State, Tulsa, Wisconsin, Rice and Duke prior to Nebraska ... He played his college ball at Nebraska (1977-79).
Gwaine Mathews (Delta State, 1988) is in his first season at Arkansas-Monticello with a 0-1 record ... He was an All-Gulf South Conference performer for Delta State in 1987 ... Following graduation, Mathews spent two seasons in the Canadian Football League ... Mathews served as the defensive coordinator at Tennessee-Chattanooga (2003-04), North Alabama (2001-02) and Delta State (1998-00) ... He was also the head coach at DeLaSalle High School in New Orleans, La., from 1992-97.
NDSU 2005 CAPTAINS: North Dakota State University head football coach Craig Bohl announced the captains for the 2005 season. On offense, sophomore quarterback Steve Walker (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Township H.S.) and senior tackle Tim Popowski (Brookings, S.D./Brookings H.S.) were voted by teammates. On defense, senior linebacker Kole Zimmerman (Windom, Minn./Windom H.S.), senior defensive end Alvin Robinson (Sumrall, Miss./Sumrall H.S./Pear River C.C.) and junior strong safety Craig Dahl (Mankato, Minn./Mankato H.S.) were selected.
CRAIG BOHL FOOTBALL SHOW: The Craig Bohl Football Show airs every Sunday throughout the season at 10:30 p.m. on WDAY-TV in Fargo, and on KBMY-TV in Bismarck and KMCY-TV in Minot on Wednesdays at 10 p.m.
Former NDSU and Buffalo Bills star Phil Hansen, in his third year as a radio commentator for Bison broadcasts on WDAY-AM, will host the show.
OPENING NIGHT: Thursday will be the 109th season opener in North Dakota State's tradition-rich football history ... The Bison have compiled an impressive 72-29-7 (.699) record in opening games ... NDSU has won six straight openers ... The last loss was to Emporia State (Kan.) by the score of 23-21 in 1998 at the Fargodome ... The Bison have won 12 of the last 14 season openers since 1991 ... Arkansas-Monticello is the 47th different opening day opponent for NDSU.
OPENING ODDS-N-ENDS: North Dakota State has averaged 44.8 points on offense and allowed 13.5 points defensively in opening games since 1999 ... NDSU and Ferris State hooked up in the highest combined scoring opener in school history ... The Bison defeated Ferris State 55-35 in a game that featured 830 yards and back-to-back kickoff returns for TDs ... North Dakota State has posted 29 opening game shutouts including the 52-0 win over Valparaiso in the I-AA opener -- its first in 30 seasons ... The Bison have blanked 20 times in openers, the last coming in 1981 to Northern Michigan (38-0).
THE SERIES: This will be the first meeting between NDSU and the University of Arkansas at Monticello.
BISON NO STRANGERS TO THE GULF SOUTH: North Dakota State is no stranger with the successful Gulf South Conference ... The Bison are 4-1 against current members of the the Gulf South: 1-1 vs. Delta State, 1-0 vs. North Alabama, 1-0 vs. Valdosta State and 1-0 vs. West Georgia ... The other GSC losses were to Jacksonville State (0-2) and Troy State (0-1) ... Three of the four losses to the Gulf South Conference came in the NCAA Division playoffs including the 34-16 setback to Delta State in the 2000 NCAA semifinals at muddy Cleveland, Miss.
RADIO BROADCASTS: WDAY-AM 970, Fargo ... Scott Miller will handle the play-by-play. Former NDSU All-American and 11-year NFL great Phil Hansen will handle the color duties, while WDAY-TV sports director Steve Hallstrom and radio personality Jack Michaels will handle the sideline and locker room interviews ... Air time is set for 6:15 p.m. (CST) ... Bismarck (KXMR, 710 AM) and Williston (KEYZ, 660 AM) are on the Bison Radio Network.
KNDS-LPFM 105.9, Fargo ... Jim Otis will call the play-by-play and Brad Jones will add the color commentary on the NDSU student radio station ... Air time is set with a pregame at 6:30 p.m
KWRF 105.5 FM, Warren, Ark./KXFE 106.9 FM, Dumas, Ark. ... UAM sports information director Paul Smith will handle the call of Thursday night's broadcast beginning with a 30-minute pregame show.
POLL WATCHING: North Dakota State was ranked No. 22 in The Sports Network I-AA Top 25 preseason poll released in early August ... The first regular season poll is scheduled to be released Monday, Sept. 5 ... The first ESPN/USA Today I-AA Coaches Top 25 poll, a preseaon ranking, is slated for Wednesday, August 31 ... The first regular season ESPN/USA Today I-AA Top 25 will be released on Monday, Sept. 12.
GREAT WEST FOOTBALL CONFERENCE: North Dakota State will begin its second season at the Division I-AA level in the Great West Football Conference. The conference is comprised of six schools located in five states and three time
zones. League membership includes NDSU, Northern Colorado, South Dakota State, Cal Poly, Southern Utah and UC Davis.
The Bison open Great West Football Conference play against defending league champion and preseason favorite Cal Poly at 8 p.m. (CST) Saturday, Oct. 8, at Mustang in San Luis Obispo. The Mustangs were 9-2 last season.
North Dakota State had offensive tackle Tim Popowski, halfback Kyle Steffes and strong safety Craig Dahl named to a Preseason All-Great West Football Conference first team selected by GWFC correspondent Chris Kelly. Linebacker Joe Mays was listed as the Super Sophomore.
The Bison were well represented on the I-AA.org preseason magazine conference watch list including offensive tackle Tim Popowski and halfback Kyle Steffes on the first team offense; defensive end Alvin Robinson and strong safety Craig Dahl on the first team defense; halfback/return specialist Shamen Washington on the first team special teams; offensive guard Justin Buckwalter, quarterback Steve Walker and halfback Cinque Chapman on the second team offense; cornerback Bobby Babich and linebacker Mike Maresh on the second team defense, and punter Mike Dragosavich on the second team special teams. NDSU was picked to win the GWFC title by the I-AA.org writers, while Steffes and Popowski were named the top performers at their respective positions.
GREAT WEST FOOTBALL CONFERENCE PREDICTIONS: North Dakota State was picked by I-AA.org and The Sports Network to win the 2005 Great West Football Conference title ... Street & Smith's College Preview and the conference media members had the Bison at No. 2, while the league coaches had NDSU at No. 3.
STEFFES, WALKER ON THE RADAR: Halfback Kyle Steffes and quarterback Steve Walker have received some preseason notice. Steffes was named the Great West Football Conference's top offensive player in 2005 Street & Smith's College Football Preview. He was also listed at No. 12 in I-AA running backs to watch this season by The Sports Network:
12. Kyle Steffes, North Dakota State (Jr., 5-11 1/2, 206)--After a good freshman season, Steffes broke through as a potential emerging star in 2004. The junior from Dickinson, North Dakota averaged 5.4 yards per carry while running for 1,055 yards and 13 touchdowns in the Bison's first year at the I-AA level. Steffes ran for 141 yards and two touchdowns as the Bison scored an impressive 24-14 win at Nicholls State on Oct. 2. Steffes went for a career-high 176 yards and two scores to lead the Bison to a victory at Weber State, and teams with emerging quarterback Steve Walker to form a solid duo for a Bison team that should reside in the top 25 in 2005.
Walker was listed "Five (Quarterbacks) Ready for a Breakthrough:" Five quarterbacks who started only parts of 2004 that showed the potential to make a major name for themselves in 2005:
2. Steve Walker, North Dakota State (So., 6-0 1/2, 207)--Walker took over the starting spot for the last three games and played superb in leading NDSU to wins against Northwestern St., UC Davis and Weber State. Walker completed 78 percent of his passes with 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions while playing parts of 10 games.
NORTH DAKOTA STATE 15TH IN I-AA ATTENDANCE: North Dakota State University's football program ranked No. 15 in NCAA Division I-AA attendance figures with an average of 13,269 fans over six home games at the Fargodome.
However, because NDSU is reclassifying from II to I-AA, the Bison were listed as a Division II school by the NCAA. NDSU would have claimed its sixth Division II national attendance title.
Annually one of the top draws in the country, the Bison drew a school opening game record of 18,665 against Valparaiso University in their first NCAA Division I-AA tilt.
The Bison won five Division II national attendance crowns including 1987 (14,120), 1989 (16,833), 1997 (12,512), 2000 (12,723), and 2003 (11,567). Here is the list of the top five attendance schools in Division I-AA in 2004 according to the NCAA:
2005 NCAA Division I-AA Football Attendance
School Games Attendance Avg./G
1. Southern U.6 138,285 23,048
2. Montana 10 221,183 22,118
3. Delaware 7 147,385 21,055
4. Alcorn State 4 70,737 17,684
5. Grambling 4 66,652 16,663
15. North Dakota State 6 79,614 13,269
NCAA DIVISION I-AA STATISTICS: The Bison would have been in the Top 25 in sixth I-AA team departments. However, because NDSU is reclassifying from II to I-AA, the Bison were listed as a Division II school by the NCAA in 2004.
Teamwise, the Bison was second in kickoff returns, third in scoring defense, fifth in total defense and pass effiency defense, and sixth in turnover margin.
Here's a look where the Bison ranked:
TEAM
Total Offense G Plays Yds. AVG TDs YPG
1. Southeastern La. 11 896 5,908 6.6 56 537.1
43. North Dakota State 11 695 4,163 6.0 43 378.5
Total Defense G Plays Yds. AVG TDs YPG
1. Dayton 10 616 2,631 4.3 17 263.1
5. North Dakota State 11 737 3,135 4.3 16 285.0
Rushing Offense G No. Yds. AVG TDs YPG
1. Ga. Southern 12 761 4,439 5.8 56 369.9
27. North Dakota State 11 438 2,116 4.8 21 192.4
Rushing Defense G No. Yds. AVG TDs YPG
1. Cal Poly 11 385 927 2.4 10 84.3
27. North Dakota State 11 324 1,389 3.2 11 126.3
Passing Offense G Att. Comp. Int. Yds. YPG
1. Southeastern La. 11 576 383 13 4,488 408.0
71. North Dakota State 11 257 173 11 2,047 186.1
Pass Efficiency Defense G Att. Comp. Int. Yds. TD Eff.
1. Coastal Carolina 11 359 159 27 1,909 14 86.79
5. North Dakota State 11 305 165 17 1,746 5 96.45
Scoring Offense G TD PAT PAT-2 Def. FG Safety Pts. PPG
1. Ga. Southern 12 77 65 2 0 9 3 564 47.0
29. North Dakota State 11 45 43 0 0 7 2 338 30.7
Scoring Defense G TD PAT PAT-2 Def. FG Safety Pts. PPG
1. Southern Illinois 12 19 15 0 0 9 1 158 13.2
3. North Dakota State 11 16 15 0 1 9 0 150 13.6
Turnover Margin G +F Int. +TO -F Int. TO- +/- Avg.
1. Coastal Carolina 11 11 27 38 10 6 16 +22 2.00
6. North Dakota State 11 11 17 28 4 11 15 +13 1.18
Punt Returns G No. Yds. TD Avg.
1. Jacksonville St. 11 25 466 3 18.64
30. North Dakota State 11 29 320 0 11.00
Kickoff Returns G No. Yds. TD Avg.
1. Hampton 12 38 1,157 6 30.5
2. North Dakota State 11 26 656 2 25.2
Net Punting G No Yds. Avg. Ret. Yds. NetAvg.
1. Northern Arizona 11 57 2,736 48.00 26 178 44.88
14. North Dakota State 11 55 2,229 40.52 28 223 36.47
INDIVIDUALS
Rushing Yr. G No. Yds. TDs YPG
1. Charles Anthony, Tennessee St. Sr. 11 306 1739 14 158.09
33. Kyle Steffes, NDSU So. 11 197 1,055 13 95.9
Passing Efficiency Yr. G Att. Comp. Int. Yds. TDs Eff.
1. Erik Meyer, Eastern Wash. Jr. 13 382 259 9 3,707 31 171.4
37. Tony Stauss, NDSU Jr. 8 195 125 11 1,323 11 128.4
Receptions Per Game Yr. G No. Yds. TD No./G
1. DaVon Fowlkes, Appalachian St. Sr. 11 103 1,618 14 9.36
T46. Travis White, NDSU Jr. 11 57 776 9 5.18
Scoring Yr. G TD PAT PAT-2 FG Def. Pts. PPG
1. Chaz Williams, Ga. Southern Sr. 12 25 0 0 0 0 152 12.67
T44. Kyle Steffes, NDSU So. 11 13 0 0 0 0 78 7.09
Punting Yr. G No. Yds. Avg.
1. Paul Ernster, Northern Ariz. Sr. 11 55 2631 47.84
18. Mike Dragosavich, NDSU Fr. 11 54 2,229 41.27
WHITE OUT FOR SEASON:
North Dakota State University wide receiver Travis White suffered a season-ending knee injury during practice Aug. 22. White plans to return for the 2006 season.White, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound senior from Cedar, Minn., had 119 receptions for 1,336 yards and 11 touchdowns in 29 career games. He is No. 3 all-time at NDSU in receptions.
A second-team All-Great West Football Conference performer last season, White caught 57 catches for 776 yards and nine touchdowns.
White caught a career-high 10 passes for 127 yards against Northern Colorado last season. He had caught at least one pass in 14 straight games dating back to Nov. 1, 2003 vs. South Dakota.
Six-one, 185-pound redshirt freshman Kole Heckendorf (Mosinee, Wis) has stepped into the vacated starting spot. Also figuring into the wide receiver rotation are sophomores, 5-11, 190-pound John Majeski (Hastings, Minn.) and 6-foot, 178-pound Nick Jackson (East Cleveland, Ohio).
TRUE FRESHMEN GETTING A LOOK: North Dakota State University head football coach Craig Bohl announced several freshmen will have the redshirt taken off this season. In the defensive secondary, cornerbacks 5-foot-8, 171-pound Richard Bowman (Houston, Texas/North Shore H.S.) and 5-8, 169-pound Nate Agbetola (Sugar Land, Texas/Kempner H.S.) are expected to see playing time. At linebacker, 5-10 1/2, 214-pound Ramon Humber (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park H.S.) has impressed the coaching staff.
BISON-MONTANA STATE ON TELEVISION: The North Dakota State University-Montana State University football game at 2:05 p.m. (CST) Saturday, Sept. 24, at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, Mont., will be broadcast by WDAY-TV (Channel 6, ABC, Fargo) and carried by KBMY-TV (Channel 17, ABC, Bismarck) and KMCY (Channel 14, Minot) ... The Grand Forks area will be able to pick up the telecast on WDAY on Directv or Dish Network ... North Dakota State was 1-2 in TV games during the 2004 season and have compiled a record of 70-43-1 (.618) on the tube ... The Bison snapped a four-game losing streak on television with its 25-7 victory at UC Davis ... The last TV win prior to that was the 25-24 thriller over Montana on Sept. 6.
FOOTBALL 101 BACK FOR ANOTHER SEASON: Bison Athletics is offering a great opportunity for all to learn more about the game of football. Head Coach Craig Bohl will be teaching "Football 101" for those fans who want to learn more about the game ... The goal is for ladies and fun-loving fans to gather in a social setting and learn more about football than the traditional male fan ... Come join us in the locker room area of the Fargodome for four fun and informative sessions starting Wednesday, Sept. 7 ... Classes will meet from 7 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. each Wednesday through Sept. 28. Sessions will include classroom chalk talks, on field demonstrations, offense, defense, kicking game and football rules. Cost is $50. All proceeds will be used in the fight against ovarian cancer ... For more information, call 701-231-7816 or email Margie Trickle at m.trickle@ndsu.edu to request a registration form.
SUCCESS OF THE BISON PROGRAM: The success of North Dakota State football over the past few years has been nothing short of phenomenal. Here is what the Bison have accomplished since the early 1980s:
-Won 161 of the last 207 conference games (161-44-2, .780)
-Won 220 of the last 282 games (220-60-2, .782)
-Won 194 of the last 245 regular-season games (194-49-2, .790) played including a streak of 22 straight wins before losing to Nebraska- Omaha in October 1983.
-Won 202 of the last 222 home games (202-18-2, .909) at home since a 1980 season-opening 10-0 loss to Northern Michigan.
-Appeared in six straight NCAA playoffs from 1981 to 1986 and 15 in the last 23 years including finishing second nationally in 1981 and 1984, making the semifinals in 1982 and 2000, and winning the NCAA title in 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988 and 1990.
NDSU ADDS NCAA DIVISION I-A BALL STATE TO 2006 SCHEDULE: North Dakota State University Director of Athletics Gene Taylor announced NDSU and Ball State University have agreed to play Sept. 23, 2006, at Ball State Stadium in Muncie, Ind.
Ball State is a member of the NCAA Division I-A Mid-American Conference. The Cardinals were 2-9 overall in 2004 and 2-6 in the MAC. Ball State is scheduled to open the 2005 season on Sept. 3 at the University of Iowa.
"Scheduling our first Division I-A opponent is another big step in building our program," said North Dakota State head coach Craig Bohl.
North Dakota State has played three games against current Mid-American Conference opponents. NDSU tied Eastern Michigan 14-14 in the 1970 opener, and defeated Northern Illinois 31-13 in 1968 and 28-0 in 1969. The last major college opponent was Missouri in 1956 when the Tigers defeated the Bison 42-0 in Columbia.
The Bison have seven games on the 2006 schedule with home contests against Northeastern University on Sept. 9, Cal Poly on Nov. 11 and South Dakota State on Nov. 18. Road games include Ball State on Sept. 23, Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 30, Southern Utah on Oct. 28 and UC Davis on Nov. 4.
