No. 8/9 North Dakota State Football Returns Home to Host Mississippi Valley State on Oct. 14
10/9/2006 5:00:00 AM | Football
GAME SIX:
After three straight weeks on the road, No. 8/9-ranked North Dakota State (5-0, 0-0 Great West) is scheduled to host Mississippi Valley State (3-3, 2-3 SWAC) at 1 p.m. (CST) Saturday, Oct. 14, at the Fargodome (18,700, Artificial) ... It is the annual Homecoming/Hall of Fame weekend at North Dakota State ... The Bison Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 13, at the Holiday Inn ... A pair of football All-Americans, offensive lineman Cliff Carmody and running back Doug Lloyd headline the Class of 2006 ... NDSU is 46-36-3 in homecoming games ... The Bison are 33-7 over the past 40 homecoming events including a 20-14 loss to UC Davis last season ... The Bison have won five straight games to start the season including a 34-14 victory over No. 21 Georgia Southern on Oct. 7 ... The 5-0 start is the first since the 2000 campaign when the Bison started 7-0 ... The Bison five-game winning streak is tied for the sixth longest current streak in I-AA ... San Diego has won 13 straight and Charleston Southern has won 10 in a row ... Georgia Southern, which rushed for 65 yards, was held under a 100 yards rushing for the first time since Dec. 2, 1995, in a I-AA playoff game against Montana State ... The Eagles came into the contest averaging 241 yards rushing per game ... The Delta Devils lost 28-25 to Grambling on Saturday ... National Football League great Jerry Rice is a Mississippi Valley State graduate ... His quarterback was current Delta Devils' head coach Willie Totten ... The last time North Dakota State played three straight road games in one season was in 2000, during the NCAA playoff run that ended in a loss at Delta State ... The Bison did win three straight road games in 1964 at South Dakota, Idaho State and Wisconsin-Milwaukee.TICKETS: Tickets are available for purchase online at GoBison.com/tickets or at the Bison Sports Arena ticket office between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday ... For more information, contact the NDSU ticket office at 1-888-231-NDSU (6378).
THE SERIES:
This is the first meeting between North Dakota State and Mississippi Valley State, members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference ... The Bison have played one current member of the SWAC, Grambling State ... NDSU defeated Grambling 20-7 in the 1965 Pecan Bowl to cap a perfect 11-0 season and take firm hold of the No. 1 national ranking in College Division football.RADIO BROADCASTS:
WDAY-AM 970, Fargo ... WDAY Radio sports director 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 Steve Hallstrom will handle the sideline interviews ... Air time is set for 12:15 p.m. ... Bismarck (KLXX, 1270 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 Darrin Schroeder will serve as the color commentator on the NDSU student radio station ... Air time is set with a pregame at 12:45 p.m. ... The free webcast is available at www.thunderradio.fm.
STRONG BEFORE HALFTIME: Over the past three weeks, North Dakota State has scored with no time, six seconds and nine seconds remaining on the clock before halftime ... Steve Walker connected on a "Hail Mary" that Travis White tipped to Kole Heckendorf against Ball State to bring NDSU to within 14-13 ... Walker hit tight end Jerimiah Wurzbacher on a 30-yard pass against Stephen F. Austin to extend the Bison lead to 17-3 ... Walker connected with White on a 4-yard scoring play to tie the game at 14-14 with Georgia Southern.
IN THE ZONE: North Dakota State has scored 20 of 23 times it has reached the red zone with 13 touchdowns and seven field goals ... The Bison stumbled twice on downs in the season opener against Concordia-St. Paul and once on a missed field goal attempt ... NDSU opponents have only reached the red zone 10 times through the first five games, scoring on nine occasions.
THIRD DOWN, BISON DOWN: North Dakota State has converted 50 percent (34-68) of its third down attempts this season including 11 of 17 against Georgia Southern ... The Bison converted 7 of 7 third downs in the second quarter against GSU and were 11 of 14 on third down attempts through three quarters ... In the second quarter, North Dakota State has converted 16 of 21 third down attempts for 76.2 percent ... NDSU's opponents have found third down difficult, converting 19 of 68 attempts for 27.9 percent.
WHAT'S THE RUSH: North Dakota State's defense has shut down the running game of the opposition ... The Bison are tops in NCAA Division I-AA in rushing defense, allowing 36.2 yards per game ... The minus-14 yards rushing allowed against Concordia-St. Paul was the lowest since the 2003 season opener when NDSU allowed Tusculum (Tenn.) minus-4 yards on 17 carries ... The Bison are also No. 8 in scoring defense (12.8 ppg) and No. 10 in total defense (245 ypg) ... NDSU will be tested by the Mississippi Valley State offense ... Delta Devils' tailback Johey Hargrett has rushed for 546 yards and five TDs on 117 carries ... Quarterback Aries Nelson is averaging 145 yards passing per game with wide receivers Tyrone Timmons (22-328, 2 TDs) and Clarence Cotton (21-402, 3 TDs) as his favorite targets.
WALKER, BISON NO PASSING FANCY: North Dakota State quarterback Steve Walker inked his name into the record books against Ball State and posted one of the top passing efforts Sept. 23 in NCAA Division I-A or I-AA ... Walker's 29 completions and 451 yards topped the previous single-game records of 27 and 416 set by Graig Gorder against Nebraska-Omaha in 2002 ... His 46 pass attempts tied the 55-year old record set previously by Frank Esposito against North Dakota in 1951 ... NDSU set team single-game records for completions, passing yards and first downs passing (18 vs. UNO, 2002) ... The 47 pass attempts tied the single-game record set previously against UNO in 1998 and North Dakota in 1951.
Walker ranks high among the leaders in NCAA I-AA statistics this week ... He is No. 11 in pass efficiency (153.9), No. 13 in passing (18.40 completions per game) and passing yards (228.40 ypg), No. 15 in passing yards (1,142) and No. 16 in total offense (234.0 ypg) ... Walker has completed 92 of 138 passes with one interception for 1,142 yards and eight TDs ... He has completed 66.7 percent of his passes.
On the NDSU career charts, Walker is No. 4 in completions (276) and in passing yards (3,628) ... He has been intercepted just eight times in 443 attempts and has thrown 32 TD passes ... The NDSU career touchdown pass record is 37 set by Kevin Feeney (1995-98) ... He threw a school record 116 passes without an interception dating back to the second quarter of the Southern Illinois game on Nov. 19, 2005 ... The streak was snapped against Georgia Southern ... The NDSU record was 99 passes without an interception set by Ryan Johnson in 1999.
STEFFES MOVES UP TO NO. 4 ALL-TIME IN RUSHING: North Dakota State halfback Kyle Steffes enters the Mississippi Valley State contest at No. 4 all-time in rushing at NDSU ... Steffes became the fifth Bison running back to surpass 3,000 yards in a career after rushing for 77 yards on 18 carries against Ball State ... He has 3,269 yards and 36 touchdowns on 672 carries in 34 games ... Steffes passed Tony Satter (430-3,212/1987-90) against Georgia Southern ... He recorded his 16th career 100-yard rushing game and fourth of the 2006 season with 128 yards on 26 carries at Georgia Southern ... Steffes needs 45 yards to pass No. 3 Chris Simdorn (599-3,313/1987-90) ... In the NCAA statistics, Steffes is No. 16 in rushing (113.40 ypg) and No. 19 in all-purpose yardage (133.80 ypg).
DRAGOSAVICH BOOMING AGAIN: North Dakota State All-American punter Mike Dragosavich has punted 16 times this season for an average of 47.4 yards per kick ... He had a season-best punt of 67 yards against Stephen F. Austin ... "Drago" has eight punts inside the 20 this season and three touchbacks, and leads the Great West Football Conference in punting ... He needs to average 3.6 punts per game to qualify for the NCAA I-AA statistics, but the NDSU net punting average of 42.44 yards per kick is tops in I-AA ... Dragosavich is the program's career and single-season punting average leader.
WHITE MOVING UP THE CAREER CHARTS: North Dakota State wide receiver Travis White became the school's career leader in pass receptions at Stephen F. Austin ... He caught three passes for 22 yards in the first half ... Through 36 career games, White has made 138 receptions and passed T.R. McDonald (134, 1990-93) on the all-time chart ... He is No. 5 in pass reception yardage (1,544) and career TD receptions (15) ... White has caught at least one pass in 19 straight games dating back to the South Dakota game on Nov. 1, 2003 ... He recorded his second career 100-yard game with the six catches for 112 yards and one TD vs. Ball State (9-23-06).
BISON QUICK-HITTERS: Senior strong safety Craig Dahl is No. 2 in career solo tackles with 119 ... He had five solo stops against Georgia Southern ... Craig Dahl trails only Jared Essler (123, 2001-04) ... Brother Brian Dahl, a senior defensive end, is second in the GWFC in sacks and third in tackles for loss ... Brian Dahl is tied for No. 21 in sacks in the NCAA statistics ... Wide receiver John Majeski is No. 20 nationally in kickoff returns (25.75 ypr) ... The offensive line is leading the way for an offense that leads the conference in rushing offense, pass efficiency, total offense and scoring offense ... Nationally, NDSU is tied for No. 13 in sacks allowed ... Sophomore wide receiver Kole Heckendorf has been making spectacular catches this season and the Ball State game was no different ... Travis White tipped the ball to Heckendorf in the end zone on a 39-yard TD pass with time running out in the first half ... He made a catch on his back against Concordia-St. Paul after it appeared the defensive back had broken up the play ... Against Northeastern, Heckendorf made a one-hand grab down the right sideline with a defender draped over him.
NDSU RANKED NO. 8 IN CSN COACHES POLL, NO. 9 IN THE SPORTS NETWORK TOP 25: North Dakota State was ranked No. 9 in the fifth regular season The Sports Network I-AA Top 25 poll released on Oct. 9 ... NDSU was No. 8 in the CSN Coaches I-AA Top 25 and No. 10 in Don Hansen's Football Gazette I-AA Top 40 ... There will not be a ESPN/USA Today Coaches I-AA Top 25 this season ... The Bison were third in both Great West Football Conference coaches and media preseason polls.
GPI POWER RATINGS:
The Gridiron Power Index (GPI), the ranking for I-AA and top indicator of at-large playoff selection debuted for the 2006 season on Oct. 4 with New Hampshire and Montana knotted at the top spot ... North Dakota State was No. 6 ... The Great West Football Conference is the top ranked conference with NDSU, No. 11 Cal Poly and No. 14 UC Davis in the BCS-style rating system ...I-AA's largest league, the Atlantic 10 Conference has seven of their teams in the top 25; the Gateway Football Conference placed five; the Great West Football Conference placed three; the Ivy League, the Big Sky and the Southern Conferences placed two each; the Pioneer Football League, the Mid-Eastern and Ohio Valley Conferences placed one each ... There is one Independent ranked in the top 25.
THE COACHES:
Craig Bohl's impact on North Dakota State's football program has been impressive ... Bohl is in his fourth season and has a 5-0 record in 2006 ... He has compiled a 28-10 record overall including a 17-3 record at the Fargodome ... Bohl directed the tradition-rich Bison program to a 7-4 record during the 2005 season ... NDSU was ranked in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches and The Sports Network Top 25 polls for 10-of-12 weeks during the regular season climbing as high as No. 8 in both polls on Sept. 19 ... Charter members of the Great West Football Conference, North Dakota State won its final three league games to finish with a 3-2 record and tie for third place in the standings ... Bohl started his NDSU career with back-to-back 8-3 seasons ... The Bison closed out the 2004 campaign with three straight wins including victories over nationally ranked Northwestern State (La.) and UC Davis ... North Dakota State was ranked No. 23 in the final 2004 ESPN/USA Today and The Sports Network Top 25 polls to highlight their first season at NCAA Division I-AA ... His first season was highlighted by North Dakota State's stunning 25-24 road win over perennial Division I-AA power Montana in just his second game at the helm ... His first full-time coaching position was as the defensive secondary coach for the Bison under Don Morton in 1984 when NDSU finished second in the nation with a 12-1 record ... Since then, Bohl has coached on the Division I level for 18 seasons including stops at five different universities ... He was the linebackers coach at Tulsa for two seasons (1985-86), the linebackers coach at Wisconsin for two seasons (1987-88), the defensive coordinator at Rice for five seasons (1989-93), the linebackers coach and defensive coordinator at Duke for one season (1994), and the linebackers coach at Nebraska for eight years ... The final three seasons at Nebraska also included the defensive coordinator duties ... His seasons at Nebraska included a number of Top 10 defensive national rankings for a team that compiled an 85-18 record including national championships with a Fiesta Bowl win in 1995 and an Orange Bowl win 1997 ... At Duke, he helped mold one of the biggest turnarounds in college football, working with a program that posted an 8-4 record in 1994 after the Blue Devils had gone 3-8 the year before his arrival ... A number of athletes who have played for Bohl while at Nebraska have played or been drafted in the National Football League ... A native of Lincoln, Neb., he was a reserve in the Cornhusker secondary from 1977 through 1979 under Tom Osborne and played on NU's 1979 Orange Bowl and 1980 Cotton Bowl teams.Willie Totten (Mississippi Valley State, 1986), the newest member of the
College Football Hall of Fame, is in his fifth year at the helm of the Delta Devils football program ... Totten has a record 19-31 including a 3-3 record in 2006 ... A 1986 graduate of Mississippi Valley State, the former offensive coordinator was named to the post December 21, 2001 and became the 14th coach in the history of this storied program ... The former standout quarterback who is partially credited with bringing Valley into the national spotlight, continues to strive to bring the Delta Devils back to the "Golden Age," an age when he earned the nickname "Satellite" by passing himself and MVSU into the NCAA national record books while embedding their feats into the hearts of Valley faithful ... After a short-lived professional career that spanned two stints in the Canadian Football League (he was drafted by the British Columbia Lions and the Toronto Argonauts), Totten moved on to the Buffalo Bills and the Arena League's Pittsburgh Gladiators before pursuing a master's degree at Grambling State University and embarking on his coaching career ... In 1988-89, Totten worked as a graduate assistant under GSU's legendary coach Eddie Robinson ... He received his master's of science degree in sports administration from GSU in 1989 ... In 1998, Totten assumed the position of head football coach and athletics director at Eastside High School in Cleveland, Miss. ... He re-joined the MVSU coaching staff after serving two seasons at EHS, returning to the MVSU staff before the start of the 2000 campaign ... Already a member of the Mississippi Hall of Fame, in August 2005, Totten was enshrined as part of the 2005 Class of the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind.
NDSU DOMINATES SECOND HALF IN 34-14 WIN AT GEORGIA SOUTHERN: No. 11 North Dakota State outscored No. 21 Georgia Southern 20-0 in the second half and scored the last 27 points in the Bison's 34-14 victory before a crowd of 13,892 at Allen E. Paulson Stadium on Oct. 7.
North Dakota State is off to its first 5-0 start since 2000, when the Bison went 7-0 to begin the year.
After a scoreless first quarter, the two teams scored touchdowns on the first four possessions of the second quarter. Georgia Southern (2-3) got on the board first with a 1-yard TD run by running back Chris Covington to make it 7-0.
The Bison responded on the ensuing drive when quarterback Steve Walker scored on a 2-yard TD run to tie the game at 7.
The Eagles came back with their second touchdown when Lamar Lewis scored from five yards out to give the Eagles the lead at 14-7.
But for the third straight week, North Dakota State scored with under 30 seconds left in the first half. Walker connected with Travis White on a 4-yard touchdown pass with 9 seconds left to tie the game at 14. The Bison converted three important third downs during the drive which included Walker scrambling 12 yards for one first down and hooking up with wide receiver Kole Heckendorf to secure two more. Heckendorf led all Bison receivers with four catches and 71 yards.
Third downs were key for the NDSU offense. The Bison converted 11 of 17 third down plays in the football game.
NDSU's defense was the story of the second half. After Walker connected with Heckendorf on a 38-yard TD pass to make the score 21-14, NDSU's Justin Frick recovered a fumble which was forced by defensive end Joe Lardinois to stop the Eagles' momentum.
The Bison scored again right before the end of the third quarter when running back Kyle Steffes ran it in from three yards out to make the score 28-14 heading into the fourth quarter. Steffes ended the game with 128 yards on 26 carries, his fourth 100-yard game of the season and the 16th of his career. He also moved to No. 4 on the all-time rushing list, passing former Bison great Tony Satter (3,212 yards). Steffes now has 3,269 yards on 672 carries in 34 career games.
The lone score in the fourth quarter came by way of the Bison defense when redshirt freshman cornerback Courtney Mitchell returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was blocked making the score 34-14.
Mitchell's interception return for a TD was the first since 2005 when Scott Walter returned one 29 yards for a score in NDSU's 35-7 victory over Northwestern State on Sept. 10, 2005 .
North Dakota State's defense shut out the Eagles in the second half and held them to just four first downs. For the game, Georgia Southern was held to just 65 yards rushing. It was the first time the Eagles were held under 100 yards rushing since Dec. 2, 1995, a streak of 137 games.
Covington, the No. 4 rusher in I-AA heading into the game, was held to 22 yards on 11 carries.
Cornerback Craig Dahl led the Bison with nine tackles and linebacker Ramon Humber had 1.5 tackles for loss.
The Bison outgained the Eagles 349-286 and were able to control the ball almost twice as long in the second half.
Walker shook off a rough start to finish the game going 14-of-26 for 171 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. The interception was his first interception in 116 pass attempts. Walker also moved up to No. 4 on NDSU's all-time passing yards list (3,628) passing Graig Gorder (3,559).
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE FALLS TO GRAMBLING STATE: Mississippi Valley State quarterback Aries Nelson threw for 208 yards and a score and rushed for another 92 yards, but it wasn't enough as the Delta Devils dropped a squeaker 28-25 to the Tigers of Grambling State on Oct. 7.
Following a scoreless first quarter the Tigers opened the scoring in the second on an 11 yard scamper by Ab Kuuan to take a 6-0 lead after place kicker Tim Manuel missed the PAT. Less than six minutes later Valley responded with a 13 yard Johey Hargrett touchdown run to take a 7-6 lead following the PAT by Zack Gilarski. The Delta Devils would push their lead to 13-6 at the half when Nelson found receiver Clarence Cotton on a 71-yard strike with 3:26 remaining.
The second half opened with the Tigers' Keantwon Gray returning the opening kick off 98 yards for a touchdown. Valley responded on the ensuing drive going 71 yards in eight plays with fullback Walter Burnette finding pay dirt on an eight yard plunge to give the Delta Devils a brief 19-13 lead.
The back and forth scoring continued on Grambling's next possession, and quarterback Brandon Landers found the end zone with 3:08 remaining in the quarter to give them a 20-19 lead going into the fourth.
Both teams would once again find the end zone as the final period opened. Valley struck first as Burnette broke threw from five yards out for his second his second trip to the end zone; with the Tigers answering back with the final score of the evening on an 18 yard pass from Landers to receiver Clyde Edwards.
Nelson's 92 rushing yards was a game high as tailback Hargrett finished with 85 yards on 20 carries. Receiver Tyrone Timmons had five receptions for 68 yards, with Cotton picking up 99 yards on three caches.
Defensively linebacker Julius Love led all tacklers with seven solos and eight assisted for a total of 15, including two for a loss of yards and a fumble recovery.
For the Tigers Landers completed 15-of-26 passes for 213 yards, with Kuuan carrying the ball for 60 yards on 14 carries. On defense Dimitri Carr had four solo tackles and nine assisted for a total of 13.
WALKER NAMED I-AA.org WEEKLY ALL-STAR, THE SPORTS NETWORK, FOOTBALL GAZETTE & GWFC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
North Dakota State quarterback Steve Walker was named a I-AA.org Weekly All-Star, The Sports Network Co-Offensive, Football Gazette I-AA Offensive Player of the Week and Great West Football Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 25 ... Walker completed 29 of 46 passes for 451 yards and three TDs in the 29-24 win over Ball State in Muncie, Ind., NDSU's first win over an NCAA I-A program ... He hooked up with Travis White on a 39-yard touchdown pass with 1:25 left in the fourth quarter for the eventual game-winner, and also had TD passes of 17 yards and 39 yards ... The Bison covered 92 yards in seven plays on the winning drive ... Walker set school single-game records for completions and passing yards, and tied the record for pass attempts ... On the NDSU career charts, he moved up to No. 4 in completions (242) and No. 7 in passing yards (3,240) ... Walker picked up the GWFC honor for the second time in his career, the first coming as a redshirt freshman in 2004 ... He is the first NDSU player to earn The Sports Network weekly honor.WALKER EARNS GWFC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS FOR SECOND STRAIGHT WEEK:
North Dakota State quarterback Steve Walker earned Great West Football Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second straight week on Oct. 2 ... He has received the honor three times in his career ... Walker completed 20 of 24 passes for 217 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in the NDSU 17-9 win at Stephen F. Austin ... He connected on a 30-yard TD pass to tight end Jerimiah Wurzbacher to put NDSU ahead 17-3 with 6 seconds left in the first half ... Walker extended his consecutive pass attempts without an interception to a school record 114 ... He broke the previous mark of 99 set by Ryan Johnson during the 1999 season.BIBEAU ON THE MARK, EARNS THIRD GWFC SPECIAL TEAMS HONOR: A true freshman, 5-foot-11, 200-pound kicker Shawn Bibeau (White Bear Lake, Minn.) kicked three field goals in the second half during NDSU's 29-24 comback win over I-A Ball State in Muncie, Ind., to earn his third weekly award of the year ... Bibeau's field goals of 29 and 24 yards helped NDSU climb back from a 24-16 deficit in the fourth quarter ... His 42 yard field goal early in the third period is a season best ... He is 8 of 10 in field goals this season and is 15 of 16 in extra points.
STEFFES NAMED TO AFCA GOOD WORKS TEAM:
Halfback Kyle Steffes became North Dakota State University's third selection to the 2006 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team® released today. Steffes joins former NDSU teammates, free safety Jared Essler and offensive tackle Tim Popowski who were honored by the AFCA in 2004 and 2005, respectively.The Steffes bio includes being featured in the "Eat Smart Play Hard" Program, which emphasizes healthy eating and physical activity and big brother mentorship of 10-year old boy for two years. He's also been involved as a Special Olympics volunteer judge for power lifting events, participated in Fargo (N.D.) Elementary Reading and Recess Program and was involved in sandbagging for the Fargo-Moorhead community during the 2006 spring flood season. Steffes also participated in the Halloween Party sponsored by the NDSU Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) for Fargo-Moorhead area children.
PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS: Return specialist Shamen Washington was named to The Sports Network 2006 Division I-AA Preseason All-America second team.
Washington averaged 13.9 yards per return and two TDs on 28 punt returns to lead the GWFC last season. He also returned 16 kickoffs for an average of 22.4 yards per return including a season-long of 55 yards.
The 2006 I-AA.org preseason All-American football team featured punter Mike Dragosavich and Washington on the second team.
Dragosavich set a NDSU single-season record averaging 46.5 yards per punt including a career best 79-yard blast against nationally-ranked Southern Illinois. He had 11 touchbacks and 10 punts inside the 20-yard line.
Seven NDSU players were named to the 2006 Football Gazette I-AA Preseason All-America team. Defensive tackle Justin Frick and Washington represented the Bison on the first team, while halfback Kyle Steffes and Dragosavich were second-team picks, and linebacker Joe Mays was named to the third team. Strong safety Craig Dahl and offensive tackle Nate Safe were honorable mention.
FRICK WORTH THE PRICE OF ADMISSION: Despite popular opinion, there is an entire galaxy of stars shining brightly outside the SEC. And outside the Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac 10, too. In fact, on the outskirts of the familiar confines of Division I-A athletics, some really good football gets played every autumn in places like Itta Bena, West Long Branch and Thibodaux?towns that may be far from your consciousness, but not nearly as far from civilization as you might imagine.
Defensive tackle Justin Frick was No. 25 on the College Football News.com list of Division I-AA Players Worth the Price of a I-A Admission (The D-IAA players who'd star at the big level).
Richard Cirminiello, author of the list, wrote, "25. DT Justin Frick, North Dakota State ? No. 82 in green and gold is why the frick NFL scouts will be trekking up to Fargo later this year. He doesn't possess lights out athletic ability, but he gives you exactly what you'd expect from a lineman that calls Yankton, S.D., home. He's big, nasty to deal with in the trenches and never about to quit on a play. If he can build on last year's breakout junior year, Frick will be the most heralded I-AA defensive tackle in 2006. Location: Fargo, N.D. (225 miles northwest of Minneapolis)."
Frick recorded 54 tackles including 10.5 tackles for loss, four pass breakups, three sacks, a fumble recovery for a TD and a blocked kick last season. His fumble recovery for a touchdown came against Southern Utah.
BISON ON THE RADAR: Several North Dakota State players have been mentioned in I-AA stories and articles:
Quarterback Steve Walker was listed at No. 17 on the top returning I-AA quarterback list. The Sports Network's Matt Dougherty wrote. "Walker, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound junior, made his first big splash as a freshman, when he came on late in the season to lead North Dakota State by tossing 10 touchdown passes with no interceptions. He built on that success for a solid campaign in 2005, throwing for 1,781 yards with 14 touchdown passes and seven interceptions."
Halfback Kyle Steffes is listed at No. 14 on TSN's top returning running back list. Dougherty wrote, "Between playing in the tough Great West Conference and taking on a tougher non-conference slate each season, North Dakota State has a grind of a schedule. And the Bison have a grinding runner in Steffes to help them through it. Steffes notched his second 1,000-yard season in a row with 1,071 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2005. He had a strong early stretch with 100-yard efforts against good defenses from Weber State, Montana State and Nicholls State, and finished in fine fashion with 141 yards and three scores in a win against rival South Dakota State. Steffes tallied 1,055 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2004, and already has more than 2,700 yards and 30 touchdowns in his career."
Offensive lineman Justin Buckwalter is listed at No. 8 on The Sports Network's top returning offensive guard list, while 5-6, 151-pound junior Shamen Washington is listed at No. 2 on TSN's return specialist. Dougherty wrote, "Buckwalter has aided the potent Bison running game by starting the last 27 games at right guard," and "Washington notched nearly 22.5 yards per kick return, and scored twice while tallying nearly 14 yards per punt return." Washington is lost for the season with a knee injury and Buckwalter retired the day before the Concordia-St. Paul opener.
GWFC WEEKLY COACHES TELECONFERENCE: The Great West Football Conference conducts a weekly teleconference beginning at 1:30 p.m. (CST) Monday ... North Dakota State head coach Craig Bohl has the 2:05 p.m. slot in the weekly media opportunity ... For more information, contact the NDSU athletic media relations office at 701/231-8332.
GREAT WEST FOOTBALL CONFERENCE: North Dakota State will begin its third season at the Division I-AA level in the Great West Football Conference ... The GWFC is comprised of five schools located in four states and three time zones. League membership includes NDSU, South Dakota State, Cal Poly, Southern Utah and UC Davis ... The Bison open conference play at Southern Utah at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City. NDSU was 3-2 in league play last season ... North Dakota State had offensive tackle Nate Safe, halfback Kyle Steffes, fullback Tyler Roehl, defensive tackle Justin Frick, linebacker Joe Mays, strong safety Craig Dahl, punter Mike Dragosavich and return specialist Shamen Washington named to a preseason All-GWFC preseason team.
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 11 p.m. in Grand Forks on WDAZ-TV, 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 ... "Bison Feedback" on WDAY-Radio is scheduled to premier Tuesday, Sept. 19 from 6:45 p.m.-7:30 p.m. ... This is the weekly call-in show (in-studio) with Coach Bohl hosted by Scott Miller ... The program will continue to air throughout the season.
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 164 of the last 212 conference games (164-46-2, .778)
-Won 231 of the last 297 games (231-64-2, .781)
-Won 205 of the last 260 regular-season games (205-53-2, .792) played including a streak of 22 straight wins before losing to Nebraska- Omaha in October 1983.
-Won 209 of the last 230 home games (209-19-2, .914) 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.
