Now, outside of Wisconsin, this is probably the toughest game we'll play all year. That being said, we actually performed pretty well in the first half against Wisconsin (and most of our opponents). We come out strong, but then fade in the second half. To win against the Bison, we need to play like we did against Wisconsin or Northwestern the first half, but for the entire game.
I think there are two things we have going for us this game:
- We have a pretty strong run defense. We held Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon (outside of our game, average of 191 ypg and 2.6 TDs per game) to 38 yards and 0 TDs, and we've done well against the run (at least in the middle of the field) all season. NDSU is primarily a running team, preferring to get a few scores ahead and grinding out long drives of short runs to eat up the clock. If we continue to have that success against the run, NDSU could be forced to be more one-dimensional on their offense.
- It's Homecoming...should be great weather and the largest and loudest crowd of the season. We obviously can't match the volume of the Fargodome, but we might still be able to make things a little difficult for them to hear (especially since the visiting team sideline is directly in front of the band and the student section).
Also, just wanted to mention that the trees are just starting to turn, so with the colder weather coming in Friday and Saturday, the campus should be beautiful and game atmosphere should be excellent.
Scott Lawson - Board Admin
