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NDSU Notes
Southern Illinois Notes

THIS WEEK:  No. 1-ranked North Dakota State (5-0, 1-0 MVFC) hosts Southern Illinois (5-1, 2-0 MVFC) in the annual homecoming game Saturday, Oct. 11.  Kickoff is scheduled for 1:07 p.m. at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome (18,700).
 
TELEVISION:  Saturday's game will be televised live on the NBC North Dakota network, ESPN3 and ESPN GamePlan with Brian Shawn calling the play-by-play, Lee Timmerman and Kevin Feeney providing analysis from the booth, and Jamal Spencer and Beth Hoole reporting from the sidelines.  Live video will be available by subscription at GoBison.com/allaccess.
 
RADIO:  KFGO-AM 790 and KRWK-FM 101.9 of Fargo along with the Peterson Farms Seed Bison Radio Network will have live coverage beginning at 12:30 p.m.  KFGO's Scott Miller will describe the play-by-play with NDSU and Buffalo Bills Hall of Famer Phil Hansen as color analyst and NDSU's Jeremy Jorgenson reporting from the sidelines.  A live audio stream will be available free of charge on GoBison.com/allaccess.
 
THE SERIES:  This is the ninth meeting between North Dakota State and Southern Illinois dating back to 1963.  NDSU leads the series 5-3 and has won four straight including last year's 31-10 victory in Carbondale.  The Bison have won all three meetings in Fargo.
            NDSU-SIU Series
            1963 - in Carbondale, SIU 20-15
            2005 - in Carbondale, SIU 9-0
            2008 - in Fargo, NDSU 35-27
            2009 - in Carbondale, SIU 24-14
            2010 - in Fargo, NDSU 20-6
            2011 - in Carbondale, NDSU 9-3
            2012 - in Fargo, NDSU 23-17
            2013 - in Carbondale, NDSU 31-10
 
HOMECOMING: This is the 94th annual homecoming game for North Dakota State and the Bison are 53-37-3 all-time since 1919 (no game in war years 1943 or 1944).  The Bison have won three straight homecoming games including last year's 41-26 triumph over Missouri State.  SIU was the opponent for NDSU's 2008 homecoming game, a 35-27 Bison victory.
 
RECORD WINNING STREAK:  North Dakota State's 29-game winning streak is an MVFC record and the longest in NDSU and Football Championship Subdivision history.  The Bison won 24 straight games spanning three seasons 1964-66, Penn set the previous FCS record of 24 from 1992-95, and Montana tied the FCS record over two seasons from 2001-02.  NDSU has beaten 13 ranked teams and outscored its last 29 opponents by an average of 34-11.
            Active Division I Overall Winning Streaks
            29 - North Dakota State (MVFC)
            21 - Florida State (ACC)
            8 - Mississippi State (SEC)
            7 - Harvard (Ivy)
 
BISON TIE LEAGUE RECORD FOR WINS:  North Dakota State's win at Western Illinois was its 14th straight against a Missouri Valley Football Conference opponent and tied the league record set by Southern Illinois from 2008 to 2009.
 
BISON SCORE LATE TO BEAT WESTERN ILLINOIS:  Running back John Crockett threw a touchdown pass and ran for another in the fourth quarter to lift North Dakota State to a 17-10 win at Western Illinois.  Crockett connected with quarterback Carson Wentz on a 16-yard pass to tie the game 10-10 with 11:17 to play, and the Bison got a three-and-out on defense before Crockett scored from seven yards to cap a 10-play, 67-yard drive with 3:51 left.  Western Illinois reached the NDSU 36 before safety Christian Dudzik's pass breakup on fourth-and-3 stalled the drive.  Crockett rushed 22 times for 79 yards, Wentz was 19-for-29 passing for 240 yards (all career highs), and RJ Urzendowski caught seven passes for 114 yards (both career highs).
 
SECOND HALF SHUTDOWN:  NDSU's school- and FCS-record 29-game winning streak has been marked by second-half dominance.  The Bison have shut out 9 of their last 14 opponents after halftime allowing just 31 second-half points in those 14 games.  The fourth quarter has been even better with NDSU allowing just 16 points in the last 25 games, including six straight scoreless fourth quarters.
 
DEFENSE CLAMPS DOWN LATE:  North Dakota State allowed an uncharacteristic 253 rushing yards at Western Illinois, but the Bison were back to their usual selves in the fourth quarter.  Western's JC Baker ran for a career-high 175 yards through three quarters before being held to zero yards on three tries in the fourth quarter.  NDSU allowed just eight rushing yards and two first downs in the final period.  The 253 rushing yards was the first 200-yard game by an NDSU opponent since Ferris State in 2013 and the most since Georgia Southern's 271 in the 2012 NCAA semifinals.
 
HEAGLE ON THE STOP:  Strong safety Colten Heagle made a game- and career-high 16 tackles at Western Illinois, the most tackles for him since making 15 stops in the 2011 NCAA semifinal win over Georgia Southern.  Heagle made 13 solo tackles and now leads the Missouri Valley Football Conference and ranks 11th nationally with 6.0 solo tackles per game.
 
EMANUEL ADDED TO BUCHANAN WATCH LIST:  Senior defensive end Kyle Emanuel was added to the Buck Buchanan Award watch list Sept. 30, joining NDSU strong safety Colten Heagle and 18 other players under consideration for the award, which is presented annually to the top defensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision.  Emanuel ranks 11th nationally in sacks (1.00/game) and 18th in tackles for loss (1.7/game).
 
50+ GAMES:  Three NDSU players will take the field for the 51st time in their four-year careers Saturday against Southern Illinois.  Linebacker Travis Beck, free safety Christian Dudzik and defensive end Kyle Emanuel have each played in all 50 games and the Bison have a 48-2 record in that span.  Dudzik has made all 50 starts, Beck has 44 starts and Emanuel 43 starts.  The FCS record for games played is 62 by Appalachian State linebacker Pierre Banks, who made 47 starts from 2004 to 2008.
 
THORTON SEMIFINALIST: Senior linebacker Esley Thorton is a national semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy.  The award, a 25-pound bronze trophy in its 25th season, recognizes the best football scholar-athlete in the nation and the winner receives a postgraduate scholarship of $25,000.  Up to 16 of the candidates will receive $18,000 scholarships as part of the National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete program.
 
NATIONAL HONORS FOR KELLER:  Senior kicker Adam Keller was selected as a National All-Star by the College Sporting News and the National Placekicker of the Week by the College Football Performance Awards after kicking a school-record five field goals in NDSU's 22-10 home win over No. 3/4-ranked Montana.  He was the Missouri Valley Football Conference Special Teams Player of the Week.  Keller connected from 41, 22, 32 and a season-long 47 yards in the first half, and his 30-yarder in the second half snapped the record of four FGs set in 1983 by Ken Kubisz and tied by Keller in 2012 at Northern Iowa.
 
NATIONAL HONORS FOR EMANUEL, CROCKETT:  Defensive end Kyle Emanuel and running back John Crockett each earned national Player of the Week awards for their performances in North Dakota State's 34-14 win at Iowa State.  Emanuel was named the FCS National Defensive Player of the Week by The Sports Network after making a team-high nine tackles. He led the FCS with four tackles for loss including two sacks and also forced one fumble.  Crockett was selected as an FCS National All-Star by College Sporting News after rushing 17 times for 139 yards and a career-high three touchdowns.  His 80-yard touchdown run in the second quarter cut NDSU's deficit to 14-7 and sparked the Bison to 34 unanswered points.  The Missouri Valley Football Conference picked Crockett as Offensive Player of the Week and Emanuel as Defensive Player of the Week.
 
HAEG NAMED O-LINEMAN OF THE WEEK:  Left tackle Joe Haeg was named Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week for the second time in his career after grading out at 100 percent with six knockdown blocks and zero sacks or quarterback hurries in North Dakota State's win at Iowa State.  It was Haeg's first start at left tackle after playing right tackle in his first 29 career games.  NDSU put up 506 yards of total offense highlighted by touchdown runs from John Crockett (80 yards) and Chase Morlock (66 yards) and an 18-for-24 passing day for QB Carson Wentz, who had 204 yards in his first start.
 
LITTLEJOHN NATIONAL ALL-STAR:  Middle linebacker Carlton Littlejohn was named a College Sporting News FCS National All-Star after making 12 tackles and scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a 5-yard fumble return in the 24-7 win at Weber State.  Littlejohn also had a key tackle at the NDSU 2 on a fake field goal that preserved a 21-7 lead early in the fourth quarter.  He had one tackle for loss and one pass breakup.
 
SUCCESS VS. THE FBS:  North Dakota State has an 8-3 record and has won five straight games against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents after beating Iowa State 34-14 in the season-opener.  The Bison are 5-0 against the FBS since 2010 with wins at Kansas (6-3), Minnesota (37-24), Colorado State (22-7), Kansas State (24-21) and Iowa State (34-14).
 
THREE PEAT:  North Dakota State is just the second team in FCS history to win three straight national championships joining the Appalachian State teams of 2005-07.  NDSU set a school record for wins with a 15-0 mark and become the first undefeated national champion since Southern Conference champion Marshall went 15-0 to win the 1996 title.
 
BULK OF DEFENSE RETURNS:  NDSU returns 10 total starters including six players from the nation's No. 1 scoring defense All-America strong safety Colten Heagle.  Seven of the top nine tacklers are back led by linebacker Carlton Littlejohn (89 tackles) and including free safety Christian Dudzik (6 interceptions) and right end Kyle Emanuel (7.5 sacks).  NDSU's defense was in usual form at Iowa State, holding the Cyclones to just 102 yards on the ground and only 57 yards of total offense in the second half.
 
DEFENSIVE LINE YOUNG:  North Dakota State returns a pair of defensive ends, all three linebackers, and 3 of 4 defensive backs that all played in the FCS championship game, but the Bison will have a new look at defensive tackle, where junior Brian Schaetz is the only returner from last year's four-man rotation.  Redshirt freshmen Nate Tanguay and Grant Morgan will play along with sophomore Austin Farnlof, who missed last year with an injury.
 
TWO FRESHMEN PLAY:  Wide receiver RJ Urzendowski out of Creighton Prep in Omaha and defensive end Greg Menard from Lakeville North in Minnesota are the only true freshmen who have played for NDSU this season.  Urzendowski caught one pass for six yards in his debut at Iowa State in the season opener.  Menard joined the travel squad for Weber State, where he made one tackle in his first game.
 
WENTZ STEPS IN:  Junior quarterback Carson Wentz takes over the reins of the Bison offense in place of All-American Brock Jensen, who went 47-5 as NDSU's starter and totaled an FCS-record 48 victories at quarterback.  Wentz completed 18 of 28 passes for 204 yards and ran eight times for 38 yards at Iowa State in his first career start.  He ranks second in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and 12th nationally completing 66 percent of his passes.
 
RUNNING BACKS:  North Dakota State had dual 1,000-yard running backs each of the past three seasons and part of that equation the past two seasons was John Crockett, who ranks ninth in school history with 2,879 career rushing yards.  He has 12 career 100-yard games including a season-high 144 against Montana.  Crockett is on pace to finish as one of NDSU's top five rushers despite splitting the carries in 2012 and 2013.  Chase Morlock returns after getting 47 carries as a true freshman, and sophomore King Frazier joins the mix after transferring from Nebraska.
            NDSU Career Rushing Leaders
            1. 4696 - Lamar Gordon, 1998-01
            2. 3952 - Kyle Steffes, 2003-06
            3. 3694 - Sam Ojuri, 2009-13
            4. 3688 - Jake Morris, 1994-97
            5. 3313 - Chris Simdorn, 1987-90
            6. 3212 - Tony Satter, 1987-90
            7. 2985 - DJ McNorton, 2008-11
            8. 2945 - Jeff Bentrim, 1983-86
            9. 2879 - John Crockett, 2012-14
            10. 2837 - Chad Stark, 1983-86

VRAA AMONG NATION'S BEST:  Wide receiver Zach Vraa was third in the FCS last year with a school-record 15 touchdown catches, and ranked 10th nationally with a school-record 1,191 receiving yards.  Vraa has caught a pass in 26 consecutive games and 33 of 34 games in his career.  He ranks fifth in NDSU career receiving yards (2028), sixth in career receptions (128), and fourth in touchdown catches (19).
            NDSU Career Receiving Yards
            1. 2732 - Kole Heckendorf, 2005-08
            2. 2544 - TR McDonald, 1990-93
            3. 2332 - Tim Strehlow, 1996-99
            4. 2232 - Warren Holloway, 2008-11
            5. 2028 - Zach Vraa, 2011-14

            NDSU Career Receptions
            1. 178 - Kole Heckendorf, 2005-08
            2. 163 - Travis White, 2002-06
            3. 161 - Warren Holloway, 2008-11
            4. 147 - Ryan Smith, 2010-13
            5. 134 - TR McDonald, 1990-93
            6. 128 - Zach Vraa, 2011-14

            NDSU Career Receiving TDs
            1. 26 - Tim Strehlow, 1996-99
            2. 24 - Len Kretchman, 1985-88
            3. 22 - TR McDonald, 1990-93
            4. 19 - Zach Vraa, 2011-14
 
VAADELAND BACK FOR SIXTH YEAR:  Tight end Kevin Vaadeland returned to the Bison program for a sixth season due to a 2010 injury and is coming off his most productive season.  Vaadeland caught 20 passes for 233 yards and his eight touchdown receptions ranked third overall in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and second in the FCS among tight ends.  He made a career-high five catches in the win over Montana, including his 11th career TD reception, which ranks second in NDSU history among tight ends.
 
O-LINE SHAKEUP:  North Dakota State has just one returning starter on the offensive line and that is junior Joe Haeg, who is moving from right tackle to left tackle in place of Miami Dolphins third round draft pick Billy Turner.  The Bison expected three starters back, but center Josh Colville gave up his final two years of eligibility due to injuries, and left guard Zack Johnson is missing the season due to injury.
 
WEARING THEM OUT:  North Dakota State has a habit of wearing out its opponents with its bruising running game in the fourth quarter.  NDSU has held the ball for over 10 minutes in the final quarter in 3 of 5 games and ranks first nationally in time of possession averaging 34:04.
 
KELLER BACK ON PLACE KICKING DUTIES:  Senior Adam Keller is back from an offseason hip surgery to handle North Dakota State's place kicking duties.  Keller set school records for PAT kicks made (76) and attempted (78) for the second straight season and led the Bison in scoring with 103 points.  Keller has converted 74 straight PAT kicks dating back to the fourth game of 2013 and had a streak of 14 straight field goals over nine games snapped at Western Illinois.  He has a career-long of 49 yards against Youngstown State in 2012.
 
PUNT COVERAGE:  North Dakota State's Ben LeCompte has punted 17 times this season for an average of 41.6 yards that ranks second in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.  LeCompte has landed 10 of 17 punts inside the 20-yard line with three touchbacks and two punts of 50+ yards.  Opponents have been held to four punt returns totaling just 24 yards.  LeCompte's 43.15 career punting average is second in NDSU history and third in MVFC history.
 
PRESEASON PICKS:  North Dakota State, ranked No. 1 in the FCS coaches poll and No. 2 in the Sports Network media poll, was picked to win the Missouri Valley Football Conference ahead of South Dakota State and Northern Iowa.  NDSU had a league-high eight players on the preseason all-conference team including fullback Andrew Bonnet, wide receiver Zach Vraa, left guard Zack Johnson (out due to injury), defensive end Kyle Emanuel, linebacker Carlton Littlejohn, strong safety Colten Heagle and punter Ben LeCompte.  Free safety and punt returner Christian Dudzik was an honorable mention.
 
ON THE ROAD:  North Dakota State has won 17 straight true road games and 21 including three national championship games in Frisco, Texas, and one neutral site win against South Dakota in Sioux Falls, S.D.  The Bison have won 26 of their last 30 road games and are 18-7 in MVFC road games.  The Bison have not lost away from Fargo since the 38-31 overtime loss to eventual national champion Eastern Washington in the 2010 NCAA quarterfinals.
            Division I Road Winning Streaks
            17 - North Dakota State (MVFC)
            10 - Ohio State (Big Ten)
            9 - Florida State (ACC)
            7 - Missouri (SEC)
            7 - Harvard (Ivy)
 
BISON AT HOME:  North Dakota State has won 16 straight home games and 46 of the last 47 non-conference home games including 36 straight since a 2003 loss to UC Davis.  NDSU is 9-2 at home against Top 10 teams after beating No. 3/4-ranked Montana.  The Bison have the longest home winning streak in Division I football.
            Division I Home Winning Streaks
            16 - North Dakota State (MVFC)
            13 - Auburn (SEC)
            13 - Northern Illinois (MAC)
            12 - Baylor (Big 12)
            12 - Alabama (SEC)
            11 - Coastal Carolina (Big South)
 
HOME GAMES SOLD OUT:  For the third straight season, all six North Dakota State home games sold out within an hour of single-game tickets going on sale Aug. 1.  The Bison have more than 12,000 season ticket holders plus 4,000 student tickets available at Gate City Bank Field, where capacity is 18,700.  Additional single-game tickets may become available Fridays of each home game week.
 
RECORD ATTENDANCE:  North Dakota State in 2013 set a school record for average home attendance for the third straight year drawing 18,622 over nine games, which ranked sixth in the FCS.  NDSU drew a record crowd of 19,108 for last year's homecoming game against Missouri State.  The Bison have sold out 19 times since 2006 including both home games this season.  NDSU ranks sixth in FCS average home attendance.
            2014 FCS average home attendance
            1. Montana - 25,423
            2. James Madison - 22,085
            3. Alabama A&M - 21,254
            4. Yale - 20,734
            5. Montana State - 18,955
            6. North Dakota State - 18,955
 
THE COACH:  The 30th head coach in team history, Chris Klieman (Northern Iowa, 1992) takes over the North Dakota State program after spending the past three years on staff as the defensive backs coach and handling the defensive coordinator duties in 2012 and 2013.  The head coach at Division III Loras College in 2005, Klieman came to NDSU after five years at Northern Iowa. He also made coaching stops at Western Illinois (1994-96), Kansas (1997), Missouri State (1999) and Loras (2002-04).  He is a native of Waterloo, Iowa, and was a three-time all-conference defensive back at UNI from 1986-90.