No. 14-ranked North Dakota State (2-0, 0-0 Great West) is scheduled to play Ball State University (1-2, 1-0 Mid-American Conference) at 5:30 p.m. (CST), Saturday, Sept. 23, in Scheumann Stadium (22,500, natural grass), Muncie, Ind. ... The Bison improved to 2-0 on the season with a hard-fought 23-10 win over Northeastern on Sept. 16 before a crowd of 16,134 in the Fargodome ... The Cardinals opened the season with a 38-20 win over Eastern Michigan ... Ball State has lost back-to-back games to Big Ten Conference in-state opponents Indiana (24-23) in Muncie and Purdue University (38-28) in West Lafayette.
FOOTBALL VIDEO WEBCAST: The video Webcast of the NDSU-Ball State football game Sept. 23 will be available through www.GoBison.com "All Access" ... If you haven't already purchased a membership to All Access, those can be purchased monthly for $7.95 ... Click on "Live Events" and the Webcast will begin at 5:25 p.m. (CST) from Muncie, Ind. ... The live stream will be provided by Ball State University athletic communications and the Mid-American Conference ... The kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
TICKETS: For more information, contact the NDSU ticket office at 1-888-231-NDSU (6378) or www.GoBison.com/tickets ... Tickets for the game are available online at www.ballstatesports.com or by calling 1.888.BSU.TICKET
THE SERIES:
This is the first meeting between North Dakota State and Ball State University ... NDSU has played three games against current Mid-American Conference opponents ... The BIson 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.
BIBEAU ON THE MARK, EARNS SECOND GWFC SPECIAL TEAMS HONOR: A true freshman, 5-foot-11, 200-pound kicker Shawn Bibeau (White Bear Lake, Minn.) hit three field goals of 25, 32 and 26 yards in the 23-10 win over Northeastern before a crowd of 16,134 at the Fargodome in his second career start ... He also converted a pair of PATs and handled all six kickoffs ... In the NCAA Division I-AA statistics, Bibeau is tied for No. 5 in field goals (2.00 fg/gm) with a 4-of-4 effort through the first two games and is No. 12 in scoring at 11.5 points per game.
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 will handle the sideline interviews ... Air time is set for 4:45 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 Brad Jones will serve as the color commentator on the NDSU student radio station ... Air time is set with a pregame at 5:15 p.m. ... The free webcast is available at www.thunderradio.fm.
WLBC FM 104.1, Muncie, Ind. is in its 51st year as the flagship station for the Cardinals ... The game can be heard on Gold 95.9 (Indianapolis) and ESPN 1380 (Fort Wayne) ... Morry Mannies, who is in his 51st year as the "Voice of the Cardinals", will handle the play-by-play ... Former Ball State quarterback Mark O'Connell will provide the color commentary . . . Jaime Lemna will handle the sideline duties at all Ball State home games . . . The games can also be heard on Ball State's student radio station WCRD-FM 91.3.
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 15.5 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 No. 2 in total defense and tied for 19th in passing defense ... NDSU will be tested this weekend against Joey Lynch and the high-powered Ball State offense.
MOVING UP THE CHARTS: With the win over Northeastern University, NDSU head coach Craig Bohl improved to 25-10 in three-plus seasons with the school and moved to No. 6 on the career victory list ... Bohl was tied with former coaches Darrell Mudra (1963-65), Jim Wacker (1976-78) and Earle Solomonson (1985-86), who each had 24 victories.
DRAGOSAVICH BOOMING AGAIN: North Dakota State All-American punter Mike Dragosavich punted twice against Northeastern University and recorded kicks of 55 and 51 yards ... Dragosavich needs to average 3.6 punts per game to qualify for the NCAA I-AA statistics, but the NDSU net punting average of 48.5 yards per kick is tops in I-AA ... Dragosavich is the program's career and single-season punting average leader.
FIRST TIME PICKS: Freshman cornerback Derrius Colvin and sophomore linebacker Mike Maresh each recorded their first collegiate interception in the season opener against Concordia-St. Paul on Aug. 31 ... Sophomore free safety Nick Schommer also recorded an interception and has four picks in his career ... The Bison have intercepted three passes this season.
BISON QUICK-HITTERS: Former NDSU football standout and Bison Athletic Hall of Famer Walt Odegaard passed away Saturday ... The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday Sept. 20 at the PLC Prairie Learning Center Gym, 5 miles South of Raleigh, N.D. ... Public Visitation: 1p.m.-9 p.m., Prayer Service: 7 p.m. Tuesday Sept. 19, at the Weigel Funeral Home in Mandan ... An All-American middle guard, "The Big O" starred on NDSU's first national championship football team when they defeated Grambling in the 1965 Pecan Bowl ... A pair of North Dakota State seniors, running back Kyle Steffes and wide receiver Travis White are ready to attack the school's top-five list in their respected disciplines ... Steffes enters the Ball State contest No. 5 in rushing ... He has rushed for 2,964 yards and 34 touchdowns on 604 carries in 31 games ... Steffes passed No. 5 Jeff Bentrim (1983-86, 603-2964, 64 TDs) and No. 6 Chad Stark (1983-86, 406-2837, 30 TDs) ... Steffes recorded his 14th career 100-yard rushing game with 153 yards on 29 carries vs. Northeastern ... Steffes became the third NDSU player named to the AFCA Good Works team ... Symeon Cabell recorded his first 100-yard game with 111 yards on 14 carries ... It was the first time since 2003 the Bison have had two running backs over 100 yards (Kyle Steffes, 23-140/Rod Malone, 20-112 vs. Nebraska-Omaha, 10-11-03) ... White has caught a pass in 16 games in a row dating back to South Dakota on Nov. 1, 2003 ... He missed last season due to a knee injury ... White is No. 2 in receptions (126), tied for No. 5 in TD receptions (13) and No. 7 in pass receiving yardage (1,387) ... On the radar is junior quarterback Steve Walker, who is No. 7 in pass completions (213) and No. 9 in passing yards (2,789) ... Senior strong safety Craig Dahl is No. 3 in career solo tackles with 105 ... He had three solo stops against Concordia-St. Paul ... Dahl trails only Jared Essler (123, 2001-04) and Mike Sheppard (111, 2000-03).
NDSU NO. 14 IN THE SPORTS NETWORK TOP 25: North Dakota State was ranked No. 14 in the third regular season The Sports Network I-AA Top 25 poll released on Sept. 18 ... NDSU was No. 14 in the CSN Coaches I-AA Top 25 and No. 11 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.
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 2-0 record in 2006 ... He has compiled a 25-10 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 the 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.
Brady Hoke (Ball State, 1982) is in his third season at Ball State ... He has a record of 11-26 with the Cardinals ... Hoke is one of only 18 NCAA Division I-A head coaches in the country who coach their alma maters in 2006 ... Prior to being named Ball State's head coach, Hoke spent the previous eight seasons on the staff at Michigan under the guidance of Wolverine's head coach Lloyd Carr ... Hoke spent the 2002 season as the associate head coach and defensive line coach ... He helped the Wolverines to a 9-3 overall record in 2002 and a berth in the Outback Bowl vs. Florida ... Hoke began his coaching career at Yorktown High School, located just outside of Muncie, where he was defensive coordinator and offensive line coach in 1982 ... As a student-athlete at Ball State, Hoke helped the Cardinals to the 1978 MAC Championship ... He ranked third on the team in tackles as a sophomore with 99 and was second on the squad with 95 tackles as a junior ... As one of four captains of the 1980 team, Hoke led the Cardinals and ranked sixth in the MAC with 150 tackles ... He managed seven tackles for loss, including two sacks, en route to earning All-MAC Second-Team honors as a senior.
PURDUE DEFEATS BALL STATE: Ball State's football team scored first and last, but the Purdue Boilermakers of the Big Ten Conference tallied a 38-28 victory in West Lafayette, Ind., on Sept. 16.
Ball State led at 7-0, was tied at 7-7 and was within four points at 14-10 early, but Purdue's offense proved too much for the Cardinals in the second half.
After falling behind 21-10 at the half, Ball State's Brian Jackson managed a 32-yard field goal with 11:02 left in the third and closed the gap to 21-13. But Purdue responded with a touchdown drive and a 27-yard field goal of their own to claim a 31-13 advantage at the end of three quarters.
The Boilermakers opened the fourth quarter scoring with a TD drive to take a 38-13 lead with 10:21 left to play.
Ball State's Brad Salyer scored on a one-yard run at the 7:16 mark, and Darius Hill caught a 30-yard TD pass from Nate Davis with 3:39 remaining to make the final score 38-28.
Purdue took a 21-10 lead at halftime, before a Jackson 32-yard field goal closed the gap to 21-13. But Purdue mounted two scoring drives to take a 31-13 advantage with 4:12 to go in the third quarter.
In the first half, Ball State started the scoring with a Joey Lynch to Louis Johnson five yard pass to give the Cardinals a 7-0 lead. Purdue answered three plays later on a 60-yard scoring strike to tie the game at 7-7. Jackson kicked a 41-yard field goal with 4:13 left in the first quarter to close out the first period scoring and give Ball State a 10-7 lead. Purdue closed out the half with two scores to take a 21-10 lead at the half.
Lynch completed 17-of-26 passes for 193 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Davis completed 7-of-11 passes for 98 yards with one TD. Larry Bostic led Ball State in receiving with 10 catches for 99 yards. MiQuale Lewis led the Cardinals in rushing with 56 yards on nine carries.
STEFFES, DEFENSE LEAD BISON PAST NORTHEASTERN: Halfback Kyle Steffes rushed for 153 yards and two touchdowns to help No. 17-ranked North Dakota State defeat Northeastern 23-10 on Sept. 16, before a crowd of 16,134 at the Fargodome and spoil the return of former Bison head coach Rocky Hager.
The Bison, who had 15 days off after winning their season opener, shook off a sluggish start and three fumbles to score 20 unanswered points. True freshman
Shawn Bibeau kicked three field goals for NDSU. The Bison had 358 yards of total offense including 221 rushing and held the ball for 33-minutes, 42-seconds.Hager, the third-year Northeastern coach who guided NDSU from 1987-96, received a standing ovation when introduced before the game. He's the all-time winningest coach at NDSU with 91 victories.
Current NDSU head coach Craig Bohl improved to 25-10 in three-plus seasons with the school and moved to No. 6 on the list by passing former coaches Darrell Mudra (1963-65), Jim Wacker (1976-78) and Earle Solomonson (1985-86), who each had 24 victories.
Northeastern scored first on a 31-yard field goal by Matt Johnson midway through the first quarter. It was set up when Steffes fumbled on NDSU's first offensive play, and Jason Vega recovered at the Bison 48.
The Bison took command with two short touchdown runs by Steffes in the second quarter, both of them capping hard-fought 11-play drives. It was 14-3 at halftime.
Bibeau booted a pair of field goals in the third quarter, from 25 and 32 yards, to give the Bison a 20-3 lead. The Bison defense limited Northeastern to 169 yards of total offense including only 45 yards rushing. Junior middle linebacker Joe Mays led NDSU with 11 tackles, his fourth career double-figure tackle effort. Sophomore outside linebacker Ramon Humber added a career best 10 tackles.
The Huskies drove 80 yards in eight plays early in the fourth quarter, capped by a 26-yard pass from Anthony Orio to Kendrick Ballantyne, to make it 20-10. Orio completed 16 of 19 passes for 117 yards.The Bison countered with an 15-play, 72-yard march that took 8 minutes off the clock and ended with Bibeau's 26-yard field goal.
Steffes, a senior from Dickinson, N.D., moved up two slots among all-time rushers at NDSU and has 2,964 yards in 31 career games. He passed both Chad Stark (2,837/1983-86) and Jeff Bentrim (2,945/1983-86) to move into fifth place.
Steffes is bidding to become the fifth Bison runner to rush for 3,000 yards in a career. He has 14 career 100-yard rushing games including the 29-carry effort against Northeastern.
BUCKWALTER RETIRING: After 27 career starts, North Dakota State senior offensive lineman Justin Buckwalter (Lake Preston, S.D.) hung up his helmet ... He made the decision prior to the Concordia-St. Paul game on Aug. 31 ... A degenerative disc problem in his lower back forced the 6-foot-4, 313-pound offensive guard to make a tough choice ... "What if I was one-on-one and couldn't hold up and Steve Walker gets hurt," Buckwalter said. "I don't think it's a good decision for me to do that." ... He will stay with the program as a student assistant coach.
CLOSING OPENING NIGHT: North Dakota State has won eight straight opening games since 1999 ... The 66 points vs. Concordia-St. Paul was the most since 1910 when the Bison defeated the Wahpeton Indians 79-0 ... It was the most points scored by a Bison team since 2001 when NDSU defeated Western State 66-10 ... NDSU defeated Minnesota State Moorhead 80-0 in 2000 ... North Dakota State has compiled a 74-29-7 (.705) record in the first game of the season ... The Bison have won 14 of the last 16 season openers since 1991 ... Concordia-St. Paul was the 48th different opening day opponent for NDSU.
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 was 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 was 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.
CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN: North Dakota State head coach Craig Bohl announced that senior defensive tackle Justin Frick (Yankton, S.D.), senior strong safety Craig Dahl (Mankato, Minn.), senior running back Kyle Steffes (Dickinson, N.D.) and junior quarterback Steve Walker (Lockport, Ill.) were named captains of the 2006 Bison football team ... Dahl and Walker served as captains last season.
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 228 of the last 294 games (228-64-2, .780).
-Won 202 of the last 257 regular-season games (202-53-2, .790) 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.
