No. 18 North Dakota State Football Has This Week Off, Hosts Northeastern at 6 p.m. Sept. 16
9/4/2006 5:00:00 AM | Football
TICKETS: For more information, contact the NDSU ticket office at 1-888-231-NDSU (6378) or www.GoBison.com/tickets.
BUCKWALTER RETIRING: After 27 career starts, North Dakota State senior offensive lineman Justin Buckwalter (Lake Preston, S.D.), is stepping away from football ... 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.
BIBEAU ON THE MARK, EARNS GWFC SPECIAL TEAMS HONOR: A true freshman, 5-foot-11, 200-pound kicker Shawn Bibeau (White Bear Lake, Minn.) accounted for 12 points in NDSU's 66-7 win over Division II Concordia-St. Paul ... He was 9-for-9 in extra points and also nailed a 26-yard field goal against the Golden Bears ... The NDSU record for extra points made and attempted in a game is 10 set by Ken Blazei vs. Augustana during the 1968 season ... Bibeau also kicked off eight times in the game and helped to keep Concordia-St. Paul under 18 yards per return.
BISON QUICK-HITTERS: North Dakota State All-American punter Mike Dragosavich didn't attempt a punt against Concordia-St. Paul ... Freshman cornerback Derrius Colvin and sophomore linebacker Mike Maresh each recorded their first collegiate interception ... 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 Northeastern game ranked No. 7 in rushing ... He has rushed for 2,811 yards and 32 touchdowns on 575 carries in 30 games ... Steffes is 27 yards away from passing No. 6 Chad Stark (1983-86, 406-2837, 30 TDs) ... Steffes recorded his 13th career 100-yard rushing game with 109 yards on 12 carries ... 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 15 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 (124), tied for No. 5 in TD receptions (13) and No. 7 in pass receiving yardage (1,375) ... On the radar is junior quarterback Steve Walker, who is No. 8 in pass completions (198) and No. 9 in passing yards (2,652) ... 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).
THE SERIES:
This is the first meeting between North Dakota State and Northeastern University ... It is also the first meeting between NDSU and a team from the Atlantic 10 Conference.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 1-0 record in 2006 ... He has compiled a 24-10 record overall including a 16-3 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.Rocky Hager enters his third season as Northeastern's head football coach ... He has a record of 7-16 with the Huskies ... Hager, who has 27 years of college coaching experience, was introduced as the 10th head football coach in Northeastern history on March 10, 2004 ... He has enjoyed enormous success throughout his career, having won four national championships while at North Dakota State ? two as a head coach, two as an assistant ... Hager was an assistant at Temple from 1997-2004 ... Before his tenure at Temple, Hager spent 12 seasons (1985-1996) at North Dakota State, the first two as as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, the last 10 as head coach ... During that time, the Bison were one of the elite programs in the country, capturing four national championships and seven North Central Conference titles ... He compiled a 91-25-1 record (70-18-1 NCC), good for a .782 winning percentage from 1987-96 ... The 1988 and '90 Bison teams both went 14-0 and claimed North Dakota State's seventh and eighth national championships ... Following both of those seasons, Hager was named National Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association ... He also coached at Augustana College (1981-84) and Morningside College (1980). He started his college coaching career in 1979, serving as a graduate wide receivers assistant at North Dakota State ... His coaching career started at Sherwood High School and Dickinson High School ... A standout player at Harvey High School, Hager graduated from Minot State College in 1974 with a degree in physical education and received his master's from NDSU in 1986 ... He and his wife, Peggy, live in Boston and have three children: Joshua (31), Tiffanee (27) and Rebecca (23) ... Joshua is currently an assistant coach at Central Connecticut State University.
TELEVISION BROADCASTS: The North Dakota State-Northeastern football game at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, at the Fargodome will be broadcast by WDAY-TV (Channel 6, ABC, Fargo), and carried statewide by KBMY-TV (Channel 17, ABC, Bismarck), KMCY (Channel 14, Minot) and WDAZ-TV (Channel 8, ABC, Grand Forks) ... WDAY-TV sports director Steve Hallstrom will call the play-by-play, former NDSU standout quarterback and Bison Athletic Hall of Famer Mark Speral will serve as color analyst and new WDAY-TV weekend sports anchor Dominick Izzo will cover the sidelines.
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 5:15 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 Brad Jones will serve as the color commentator on the NDSU student radio station ... Air time is set with a pregame at 5:30 p.m. ... The free webcast is available at www.thunderradio.fm.
GoBISON.COM VIDEO WEBCAST: All Access will offer a video Webcast of the Northeastern University football game Sept. 16 ... Memberships to All Access can be purchased monthly for $7.95 ... The Webcast will begin at 5:45 p.m. and will allow Bison fans around the world to see their team perform live from the Fargodome ... The live stream will be provided by NDSU athletic media relations and Fargodome video productions ... In addition to the game, the stream will include pregame footage and special features prior to the 6 p.m. kickoff ... The audio provided will be that actually heard in the stadium.
GoBISON.COM LIVE STATS: Follow the game on the Internet at GoBison.com with live in-game statistics ... Click on the "Live Stats" link at the left side of the page.
NDSU OVERPOWERS CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL 66-7: Symeon Cabell, Kyle Steffes and Travis White combined for seven touchdowns to help North Dakota State to a 66-7 victory over Division II Concordia-St. Paul on Aug. 31 before a crowd of 15,609 at the Fargodome in the season opener.
The Bison held Concordia to 100 yards of total offense, including minus-14 yards on the ground. The Golden Bears scored their only touchdown on a fake field goal.
Steffes, a senior running back from Dickinson, went over 100 yards rushing for the 13th time in his career. He had 89 yards on his first six carries and 109 yards at halftime. He didn't carry the ball in the second half. Cabell, a backup running back from Milwaukee, rushed for 111 yards and three touchdowns.
Steffes scored on touchdown runs of 40 and 2 yards. White, a senior receiver from Cedar, Minn., caught a pair of touchdown passes from Steve Walker, from 4 and 20 yards.
Walker, a junior from Lockport, Ill., completed 15 of 19 passes for 166 yards. His longest completion was a 38-yard pass to tight end Jerimiah Wurzbacher.
Walker and White are both coming back from knee injuries. Walker was hurt in the final game of last season. White missed the whole year.
Backup quarterback Ryan Parsons and defensive end Joe Lardinois added touchdowns for the Bison. Lardinois recovered a fumble in the end zone, Parson sprinted 20 yards for a TD.
The Bison spotted Concordia the first seven points by fumbling the opening kickoff. Brad Scherer recovered Nick Jackson's fumble at the Bison 9, and Jay Schauder scored from the 2 on fourth down after the Bears had set up for a field goal.
A 26-yard field goal by Shawn Bibeau cut the advantage to 7-3 at 10:19 of the first quarter, and the Bison took a permanent lead on a 40-yard touchdown scamper by Steffes at 4:58 of the opening frame.
NDSU led 38-7 at half and 52-7 after three quarters.
NDSU NO. 18 IN THE SPORTS NETWORK TOP 25: North Dakota State was ranked No. 18 in the first regular season The Sports Network I-AA Top 25 poll released on Sept. 4.
NDSU was No. 12 in the Any Given Saturday Top 25 and No. 15 in Don Hansen's Football Gazette I-AA Top 40.
The ESPN/USA Today Coaches I-AA Top 25 has not announced its poll schedule for this season.
The Bison were third in both Great West Football Conference coaches and media preseason polls.
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 selections, 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 has 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.
