The talk all of this week was if anyone was going to touch North Dakota State on its way to a No. 1 seed in the FCS playoffs. The toughest part of the Bison's schedule appeared to be behind them and Youngstown State was coming off an embarrassing 43-17 home loss to Indiana State.
Since the MVFC opener, a 21-17 win against South Dakota State, NDSU has beaten its opponents by a combined score of 177-66 entering today. A down week just didn't look like it was in the cards.
[divider]
MORE FCS FOOTBALL:
FCS Home | FCS Rankings
Compare FCS Teams | Compare FCS Players
[divider]
But it happened, in a way, today if you consider a 17-7 win a "down performance."
The Bison, and the Fargodome crowd, just didn't seem to have the juice today. The Penguins showed fight and it was 7-7 entering the fourth quarter before the Bison scored 10 unanswered.
Down weeks on previous NDSU teams usually resulted in a loss at some point in the Valley schedule. But with 25 seniors and 18 juniors, this veteran team takes an off day and wins by 10 points.
The Bison are 9-0. With the number of upperclassmen on the team, a wake-up call probably wasn't needed. And the fact that a 17-7 win could be considered a wake-up call goes to show just how dominant the Bison have been this season.
[divider]
NEXT: Easton Stick Chasing All-Time Wins Record
