College Gameday: Bison Homecoming, Gophers

Note: As of this writing the Bison trail the Southern Illinois Salukis 6-0.

The Bison got a much needed bye week after suffering consecutive losses to the Wyoming Cowboys and Missouri Valley Football Conference foe Youngstown State. QB Nick Mertens lost his mojo in these games for NDSU by throwing 7 interceptions, and this was the biggest factor in their losses.

But with the bye week the Bison are able to get healthy, with RB Tyler Roehl back near 100% and S Cyrus Lemon, and MLB Tyler Henry returning to strengthen the defense.

The Salukis are coming off a big victory over perennial power Northern Iowa and should provide a tough opponent for the Bison, but with their week off and the return to the Fargodome for Homecoming, look for Coach Craig Bohl to have his squad more than prepared and ready to come out and get back on the winning track.

The crowd plays a big factor and the Bison win a close one at home to claim their first MVFC victory.

NDSU Bison 24 - SIU Salukis 20

Gophers:

They lead the Hoosiers 13-7 in the 4th as I write this, for two teams that seem to give up and score a lot of points against eachother in recent history, this one has been kept close.

Gopher QB Adam Webber left the game briefly in the 1st quarter with an injury, but has returned to the lineup. WR Eric Decker is having yet another big game as he approaches 200 yards receiving on the day. Lets hope the Gophers can hold on and get that first big ten victory of the season.

'Til next time...

10/6/2008 - RECAPS

-NDSU Bison 35 - SIU Salukis 27

After falling behind 20-0 with 2 minutes left in the first half, the Bison came storming back, started by a 9 yard TD connection from NDSU QB Nick Mertens to TE Jeremiah Wurzbacher in the 2 minute drill to close the second quarter, and scoring on 4 0f 6 possessions in the second half, missing a field goal and running out the game clock on the other two.

RB's Tyler Roehl and Pat Baschall contributed 202 yards and 2 TDs on the ground, and Mertens finished with 195 yards passing and 2 TDs to go along with a rushing TD of his own and 0 interceptions (after throwing 7 in the past 2 games) to bring the Bison back for a Homecoming victory.

It was an entirely different team in the second half, and I give all the credit to NDSU's fantastic head coach Craig Bohl, who has shown a knack for making in game adjustments and getting the most out of his players. I hope this guy stays around a long time.

-UMN Golden Gophers 16 - Indiana Hoosiers 7

The Gopher defense stepped up big in this game and the Gophers gutted out a victory at home to improve to a surprising 5-1.

WR Eric Decker had another monster game, posting 13 receptions for 190 yards and the rest of the offense did enough to pull it out.

Was not a Tim Brewster fan the day they hired him or at all last season, but its looking like he's got his team moving in the right direction, lets hope they keep it up.

'Til next time...