Kolpack: Five things to watch for Panthers at Bison – InForum

FARGO — The college trip to the University of Missouri's investigative reporting seminar was an eye-opener, perhaps the starting point for your favorite “Five Things” columnist in the world of wordsmithing. The keynote speaker, New York Times reporter Seymour Topping, was captivating.

No matter, the students found out on Interstate 29 that the university's gas credit card for Pugsley's sandwiches worked at gas stops. Yes, that would be 16 gallons of gas and six submarines, please. By the way, this was before GPS and on the way home we got lost and drove through Chicago.

(Side note: Five Things has since paid back its share of sin to the university).

Seymour was a Mizzou graduate who came back to impart his expertise on what it takes to be a reporter. One of the sessions was about documents, or “documents” as they coolly put it. I have to get the documents, I have to figure out how to get the documents, and then I have to know what to do with the documents.

Documents. Documents. Documents.

That's why it was interesting this fall when Five Things came across the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics' report on spending in Division I football. It's a comprehensive document that may raise questions about how schools report their budgets, but still provides an indication of how FCS schools conduct their football business.

According to the report, the state of South Dakota spends $8.8 million annually on football. Next is North Dakota State with $6.41 million and the rest of the league in millions is as follows: North Dakota $6.02, Missouri State $5.24, Southern Illinois 5.21 US, Illinois State $4.8, Youngstown State $4.71, South Dakota $4.45, Murray State $4.03 and Northern Iowa $3.8.

That may be why the Panthers come to Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome on Saturday with a record of 2-6, while the Bison have a record of 8-1. Cold cash counts.

UNI head coach Mark Farley was despised by Bison fans, perhaps because of his intense nature. But if those numbers are somewhat accurate, give the guy credit: He's done more with less than anyone in the league over the years.

Think about it: Northern Iowa, if the report is even somewhat accurate, has a football budget about $5 million smaller than SDSU. That's probably why the Panthers played two FBS guarantee games this year in Nebraska and Hawaii.

Either way, when UNI comes to town, it's guaranteed to be a physical ballgame. Here are five things to keep in mind when playing Panthers at Bison:

With the season now pushed back to November, stats are no longer just guesses. They are a solid benchmark. A look at the basics – scoring offense and scoring defense – shows a stark contrast to how things are going for each team.

The Bison rank seventh in the FCS with 37.3 points per game and fifth in scoring defense with 15.3 points. Since giving up a combined 63 points to East Tennessee State and Towson, NDSU has limited opponents to 9.7 points per game.

On the other hand, UNI ranks 111th in scoring offense with 16.4 points per night and 95th in scoring defense with 31.3 points per night.

When an underdog finds itself in a hostile environment, nothing changes the character of a game more than losing the ball. For a team like UNI that is struggling, winning this battle at the Fargodome will be of utmost importance.

Turnovers have the ability to change the dynamic in an instant and challenge a favorite. NDSU has been a master at it this season, leading the FCS in turnover margin at plus-14 and inching closer to holy ground. The best two seasons in this department were plus-19 in 2017 and 2018, both national title years.

“You have to learn not to beat yourself to be really good,” NDSU head coach Tim Polasek said. “So taking care of the ball and only turning it over twice is a really big deal.”

The Panthers are now in 106th place in the FCS in terms of turnover margin at minus 6. UNI has yet to make up for a mistake this season.

NDSU has a lot going for it, especially after the NCAA Division I Championship Committee released its top 10 reveal of the 24-team bracket. That puts the Bison at No. 1 ahead of undefeated Montana State with SDSU at No. 3 and USD at No. 4. Plus, the Bison are another slam dunk in the eyes of the Panthers.

There's nothing better for Farley than ruining NDSU's position in a top 10 poll.

“When I think about Coach Farley and his football teams, those guys are ready to go,” Polasek said.

It won't be an easy road for the Bison to stay at the top. This is probably UNI's last attempt to somewhat salvage a season. After a bye, Missouri State comes to Fargo and is ineligible for the playoffs due to an FBS reclassification, so this will be the Super Bowl for the Bears.

And ending USD's season at the DakotaDome won't be a walk in the park.

When it comes to insider football, no one does it like the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Saturday's game will be UNI's fifth straight game in a Dome, starting with a home game against SDSU in the UNI Dome, followed by road games at USD and UND and last week at home against Missouri State.

With two home games remaining in the season, UNI will play seven of its final eight games indoors, excluding the Nov. 16 road game at Youngstown State. What does this have to do with the result? Not much other than not being impressed by an indoor environment like other teams.

If the Panthers want to make a splash, they will most likely have to do it on the ground, which is the strength of the offense. Seniors Tye Edwards and Amauri Pesek-Hickson both average at least 5.0 yards per carry, with Edwards at a productive 6.0 yards.

Edwards is a big guy, standing at 6-foot-4 and weighing 229 pounds. He began his career at Georgia Military College in 2019 before transferring to Hutchinson Community College for two seasons, where he played one year but only three games at Texas-San Antonio before joining UNI last season.

One year at Hutchinson was a COVID year and three games made up a redshirt year at UTSA.

With these two defenders, NDSU's improved run defense will be put to the test once conference play begins.

Jeff would like to dispel the idea that he was there when Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, but he is now in his third decade of reporting for Forum Communications. The son of a reporter and an English teacher, and the brother of a reporter, Jeff has worked at the Jamestown Sun, the Bismarck Tribune and, since 1990, the Forum, where he has covered North Dakota State athletics since 1995.
Jeff has covered all nine of NDSU's Division I FCS national football titles and has written three books: “Horns Up,” “North Dakota Tough” and “Covid Kids.” He is the radio host of “The Golf Show with Jeff Kolpack” from April to August.