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Missouri State football vs North Dakota State: Scouting report, score prediction for Saturday

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Missouri State football vs North Dakota State: Scouting report, score prediction for Saturday


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By the end of Saturday afternoon’s matchup with FCS No. 1 North Dakota State, Missouri State could call itself a champion of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

The FCS No. 14 Bears (8-2, 6-0 MVFC) have put themselves in this position by winning eight consecutive games for the first time since becoming a Division I program. They’ll have to win somewhere they haven’t since 2009 when they play in the 2:30 p.m. game at the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota.

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A win would give the Bears a share of the league for the first time since the 2021 spring season. They could then win the Valley outright with a win over South Dakota State on Nov. 23 in Springfield.

“We want the culture in our program to be the fact that if you come to Missouri State and are a good football player, you should expect to win championships and play in future bowl games,” second-year head coach Ryan Beard said. “They’ve wrapped their arms around that and they trust our process.”

NDSU (9-1, 6-0 MVFC) is as good as it gets in the subdivision with its lone loss coming to FBS Colorado to open the season. The Bison came four yards short of completing a hail mary to win the game which would have handed Deion Sanders a loss to rock the college football world.

The Bison have won nine FCS national championships since 2011. They have a consistent, championship-level program the Bears strive to be, even with Missouri State’s upcoming move to Conference USA in 2025. This game will serve as a good measuring stick for how far the Bears have to go when competing at the Group of 5 level next year.

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“It’s a special opportunity we have,” Beard said. “We knew what kind of football team we could have. We are making a run at a school where traditionally, you’re onto another sport or you’re talking about different things this time of year. Now, it’s about football and it’s about putting your best plan together.”

North Dakota State football QB Cam Miller is among the best FCS players

If there’s a quarterback who has played as well as Jacob Clark has in the FCS this season, Bison QB Cam Miller would be it. The NDSU quarterback is ranked the most efficient gunslinger in the subdivision with Clark third.

Miller has thrown for 18 touchdowns and zero interceptions when completing 77.6% of his passes. In a run-first offense, he’s thrown for 201.1 yards per game and rushed for 267 yards and six scores.

“He is an elite player,” Beard said. “I talk about Jacob’s vision a lot, (Miller) sees the field similarly. He does a nice job running their offense and understanding where the ball needs to go and when it needs to go there and then he doesn’t turn the ball over. That’s why they’re so efficient on offense because they’re smart football players, they’re tough, they take care of the ball and he is as elite as it gets.”

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Missouri State coach Ryan Beard sees no weaknesses in Bison

Beard went rat-a-tat-tat when listing what NDSU does well. The Bison are deep, there are countless players the Bears need to keep an eye on, they’re explosive offensively, they run the ball down your throat, they’re fast, physical, aggressive and bring pressure when they need to. They play zone and are effective in getting turnovers with elite special teams.

“There’s a reason they have such big trophy cases at North Dakota State,” Beard said.

Asked if he was getting much sleep, he said “not really.”

Asked if the Bison had any weaknesses, he replied “Not that I can see. They seem pretty unstoppable.”

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Where could some NDSU weaknesses be defensively?

The Bison have one of the best run defenses in the nation but their play against the pass could lead to some success for the Bears through the air. It will be critical for the Bears to protect Clark when the Bison tend to get after the passer and could make them one-dimensional.

NDSU hasn’t been the best on third downs, something Bison coach Tim Polasek is aware of, allowing teams to convert 42.1% of the time. The Bears have the 14th-best third-down offense in the FCS, converting on 46.4%. The Bison still only allow just 15.7 points per game and haven’t allowed more than 20 since Sept. 21 vs. Towson.

Time of possession will be something to watch when the Bison are so good at controlling the ball and the clock. They’re ranked third in the FCS in time of possession. Missouri State needs to capitalize on its opportunities and make sure the defense gets some needed rest when the Bison try to wear it down.

What NDSU coach Tim Polasek said about Missouri State

“They’re driven by their offense. We’re not slighting the defense but they’re productive. I’ve been challenging our defense to get a pulse on knowing where their quarterback is going with the ball. We have to be Johnny on the spot. The quarterback is more than capable of having a big day if we let him get started. In all areas of the field, they have some athletes.”

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Score prediction: North Dakota State 27, Missouri State 20

North Dakota State is by far the best team the Bears will have played up to this point. Whether you want to acknowledge it or not, the FCS is not as good as it once was and Missouri State hasn’t played very many good teams with its best win being against FCS No. 16 Illinois State. The Redbirds being ranked 16th may speak more about how down the subdivision is than how good the Redbirds are. That doesn’t take away from an eight-game winning streak which is difficult to do at any level.

The Bison are legit and should have beaten an FBS Colorado team with a path to the College Football Playoff. The Bears have as good of a quarterback as you can have in the subdivision and an explosive offense. But there are some flaws in the offensive line and defense that the Bison, of all teams the Bears will face, can take advantage of.



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North Dakota

Hastings senior signs with North Dakota softball

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Hastings senior signs with North Dakota softball


HASTINGS, Neb. (KSNB) – Hastings Senior High held a National Signing Day ceremony in the gymnasium on Wednesday. Grayce Beck inked a National Letter of Intent with North Dakota, where she will play at the Division I level in the Summit League.

Beck, a catcher for the Tigers, said it’s been a goal of hers to play college softball at the highest level. She helped lead Hastings to a state runner-up finish in Class B this season.

“When I got the call with the offer, I started crying and my family started crying,” Beck said. “It was just a, ‘We made it,’ type thing. I’ve thought about it since I was a little kid. It’s all I’ve ever wanted, so to finally put it in writing is amazing to me and my family. It’s like a weight lifted off our shoulder.”

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Summit carbon pipeline decision coming Friday from North Dakota PSC • North Dakota Monitor

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Summit carbon pipeline decision coming Friday from North Dakota PSC • North Dakota Monitor


The North Dakota Public Service Commission will meet Friday to vote on the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline project that aims to permanently store carbon emissions underground west of Bismarck. 

The commission will meet at 10 a.m. in the Pioneer Room on the ground floor in the Judicial Wing of the Capitol Building. 

The PSC denied Summit a permit in 2023, but the company made changes to its route in North Dakota and appealed the decision. 

The three-person commission has held multiple public hearings on the $8 billion pipeline network that would gather carbon emissions from ethanol plants in five states, including Tharaldson Ethanol at Casselton, North Dakota. 

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Supporters view the project as vital to helping the ethanol industry compete in low-carbon fuel markets. Ethanol is a key market for corn growers.

Opponents cite safety concerns, damage to farmland and property values and an infringement on property rights. Some landowners also have complained about Summit’s business practices. 

Iowa has granted Summit a permit, and the company says it plans to try again for a permit in South Dakota. Minnesota’s Public Utilities Commission is expected to vote Dec. 12 on a 28-mile segment near the North Dakota state line.

The project also includes Nebraska, which has no state agency in charge of issuing permits for CO2 pipelines.

Summit would benefit from federal tax credits of $85 per ton of CO2 that it plans to put underground in North Dakota, and would sequester 18 million tons of carbon dioxide per year. 

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Iowa-based Summit will need a separate storage permit from the North Dakota Industrial Commission.



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‘Horrifying’ human trafficking story becomes full-length movie filmed in North Dakota

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‘Horrifying’ human trafficking story becomes full-length movie filmed in North Dakota


BISMARCK — Ejaz Khan was in the middle of filming a movie about horses in Linton, North Dakota, when he waltzed into a gas station for coffee.

Standing behind him with no shoes on — in the dead of winter — was a young woman who he later learned was a survivor of child sex trafficking. While also battling addiction, she was still shackled to the industry as a sex worker.

That was over four years ago. The New Yorker was still completing

“Before They Vanish”

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— released in 2022 — when he became friendly with the woman after buying her food.

Upon hearing the shoeless woman’s “horrifying” life story, Khan’s focus whipped from horses to victims and survivors of child sex trafficking.

“After that, I just was devastated. I went back home, spoke to my wife and said, ‘Here we are creating this film on horses and donating proceeds,’ ” he recounted. “But yet, look at this human. Look at what her family members have done to her.’”

The moment was the inspiration for “Trapped,” which follows the story of a young girl who is being sex trafficked by her mother’s boyfriend.

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Official movie poster for “Trapped,” which was filmed in North Dakota.

Contributed / Ejaz Khan Cinema

Filmed

entirely in subzero Linton,

Khan said the plot was inspired by the woman he met at the gas station.

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Sex trafficking is a form of human trafficking.

According to the North Dakota

Human Trafficking Guide,

the term is used to describe the process of recruiting, harboring, transporting and/or soliciting a person to perform forced, coerced sex acts for money. Victims and survivors can be of any age but are often people who were minors at the time of the crime.

Statewide data from North Dakota’s annual

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Human Trafficking Report

documents 102 sex trafficking victims and just two arrests made in 2023.

Nearly one in four of those women trafficked identified as American Indian or Alaska Native, according to the report.

Khan told Forum News Service that the movie doesn’t specifically point to the disproportionate effects sex trafficking has on Native American communities since it follows the story of the woman he met in Linton, who he said didn’t identify as Native American.

However, the director said Native American women still inspire aspects of the movie, having made up a notable portion of the more than 80 survivors with whom he spoke throughout the production process.

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BTS EJAZ OF TRAPPED.jpg

Ejaz Khan films a scene of “Trapped” in Linton, North Dakota.

Contributed / Ejaz Khan Cinema

A screening of the movie will take place Wednesday, Nov. 13, at the Grand 22 Theater in Bismarck. Lt. Gov.-elect Michelle Strinden is set to attend as an audience member along with Attorney General Drew Wrigley, who is currently on the list as a “maybe.”

Audience members are by invitation only, including people who belong to related organizations in addition to community leaders.

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There will also be representatives from the 31:8 Project,

a resource based in Bismarck

for survivors of human and sex trafficking. Khan worked with the organization while filming the movie.

“Trapped” will be officially released on Jan. 31, 2025, during Human Trafficking Prevention Month. It will be available on Amazon, Google Play and iTunes.

Though the movie is not yet rated, Khan said the crew has worked “very hard” to bring down its rating to PG so that all audiences can learn from its subject material.

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“As a director, I’m saying that it’s going to be very uncomfortable. But just imagine what an hour and a half can do. Put yourself in that hour and a half-hour, 40 minutes, of discomfort to help your own children. That’s all I’m asking for,” Khan said.

“Don’t sweep it under the rug,” he said. “We have to face it. Period.”

Peyton Haug

Peyton Haug joined The Forum as the Bismarck correspondent in June 2024. She interned with the Duluth News Tribune as a reporting intern in 2022 while earning bachelor’s degrees in journalism and geography at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Reach Peyton at phaug@forumcomm.com.





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