Iowa State football head coach Matt Campbell talks to the media during the program’s football media day at Stark Performance Center on Friday, August 2, 2024, in Ames, Iowa.© NIrmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK

 AMES — The excitement level spikes. The adrenaline flows more freely. Mistakes emerge that must be corrected.

 It’s finally game week for the Iowa State football team, and as the atmosphere changes, head coach Matt Campbell and his staff endeavor to ensure nothing else does in terms of his team’s preparedness and attention to detail.

 “That’s the whole mentality of this program,” Campbell said in advance of the Cyclones’ season-opener at 2:30 p.m. Saturday (FS1) against North Dakota at Jack Trice Stadium. “Your mindset day in and day out for the last six months should match what Tuesday practice in the fall looks like — week one, to week six, to week 12. The great teams that I’ve been around, they’ve had the same mindset every single day.”

 So there’s no mental shift for ISU as it transitions from fall camp to the regular season — except that now the players will be cheered on by 60,000-plus fans. 

 “The energy in the Jack — me personally, I love playing in Jack Trice (Stadium),” said junior defensive lineman Tyler Onyedim, one of six Cyclones whose 13 career starts all came last season. “It should be really fun, really exciting. I love the energy. Ready to go.”

 ISU and North Dakota have never met on the football field, but the Fighting Hawks’ rise though the FCS ranks over the past several years has been impressive. They reached the playoffs in 2023 and return skilled starters at key positions, but are less experienced on the offensive and defensive lines and at quarterback. And despite being prohibitive favorites this Saturday, Campbell and his staff know that danger and adversity often lurk in those on-paper mismatches in week one.

 Case in point: Last Saturday’s “week zero” game between No. 10 Florida State and Georgia Tech in Dublin, Ireland. The Yellow Jackets were double-digit underdogs, but upset the Seminoles, 24-21, on a last-second field goal.

 “Football’s hard to replicate,” Campbell said of the inevitable rust often evident early in the season. “Eleven-on-eleven, it’s really hard to replicate the environment and game day experience. So, man, how you tackle in the first game, how you handle the pressure of some of these guys in new roles — and all of a sudden, now there (are nearly) 70,000 people here and there’s this great environment and great experience. I think all of those things are unknown.”

 North Dakota’s biggest unknown is its quarterback, Simon Romfo. He beat out last season’s backup during fall camp, but nearly all of his college football statistics are sandwiched into mop-up duty in one game. The 5-11, 190-pound junior completed both his passes and rushed for two touchdowns in last season’s 49-10 win over Western Illinois. 

 “He’s a skilled guy,” Cyclones veteran defensive coordinator Jon Heacock said. “He’s athletic. He’s tough. And those guys present problems, too. They run the football, you know, quarterback runs. It’s stuff we’ve prepped for and studied all summer, and we’re just trying to figure out the balance to where it’s all gonna be.”

 Therein lies the uncertainty in week one of any season. That’s why Campbell hopes nothing changes in how his players approach each practice — even as the cheers and hoopla will soon surround each Saturday as “the lights come on.”

 “Now there’s a result,” Campbell said. “A tangible result to the time, the effort, the energy that you spend into it. Not all results will be great, and how you respond to it is defining of who you are and who you’ll become.”

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Shari Glasser has been gardening for more than a decade. However, a few years ago, it became more than just a hobby. Despite the wind and winter, she’s successfully grown exotic flowers in North Dakota.

Just a few years ago, her land was empty. Over time, Glasser has filled a portion of it with exotic flowers that you wouldn’t normally find in North Dakota, like delphinium and lisianthus, which take seven months to grow from seed. That includes lupine, liatris, and dahlias.

Of course, Glasser grows more than just those flowers. For a long time, she just did it for fun, but a few years ago when she was struggling with infertility, gardening became so much more than just a pleasant pastime.

“It was a great way just to distract myself, and just seeing the beauty— I’ve always been an outdoors person,” Glasser said.

Glasser said she loves a challenge when it comes to gardening; growing the flowers she does in North Dakota isn’t easy. She fights against the wind using netting, and when it gets cold, a double-layered low-tunnel system. Glasser said over time, more and more people started asking her for flowers to include in their bouquets, which is what inspired her to make her business, Bogie’s Blooms, official.

Janelle Vaneckhot at Love Always Floral is one of those customers.

“It was brought to my attention that she grew wonderful dahlias, really beautiful varieties, novelty stems, a lot of things that I hadn’t seen any other woman growing in Bismarck,” Vaneckhot said.

She said customers go wild for Glasser’s flowers; she said they’re much better quality than what can be bought wholesale. Glasser is in the process of building a greenhouse so she can grow even more of her flowers.

You can buy Glasser’s flowers either at the Bismarck farmers’ market or through her website. If you want to buy them at the market, you’ll need to go early, because Glasser said she usually sells out within an hour or two of arriving.

Copyright 2024 KFYR. All rights reserved.

The North Dakota State Bison and the Colorado Buffaloes play in a college football Week 1 game on Thursday, Aug. 29, in Boulder, Colorado.

Which team will win the game?

Check out these picks and predictions for the game, which is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. MST and can be seen on ESPN (stream with this free trial from FUBO).

Colorado is coming off a 4-8 season. North Dakota State went 11-4 last season.

Colorado is a 9.5-point favorite in the game, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.

The Buffaloes are -350 on the moneyline. The Bison are +270.

The over/under for the game is set at 59.5 points.

ESPN: Colorado has a 71.3% chance to beat North Dakota State

The site gives the Bison a 28.7% shot at defeating Colorado in Thursday’s game.

Sports Chat Place: Bet North Dakota State with the points vs Colorado

Shane Mickle writes: “Give me North Dakota State here and give me on the money line. College football is a team game, and NDSU is the best team. Sure, Colorado might have the better individual players, but I don’t think the Colorado defense is going to be making many stops in this game. This is an elite NDSU run offense, and they are going to have no issue running up the score here. This Colorado offense will have a couple of bad turnovers and NDSU is going to pull it out late. Back North Dakota State against the spread.”

When does college football start in AZ? First games for ASU, Arizona, NAU this week

Troy Perlowitz writes: “Yes, North Dakota State is not like other FCS programs. Yes, Colorado is probably still a work in progress in terms of competing for national championships. But the elite talent level — especially on offense — should favor Colorado significantly.”

Matthew Postins writes: “Yep, I’ll take the underdog. Look — I’ve seen the Bison in person plenty of times. When one perceives they’re “down,” trust me — they’re not. Hostile environments don’t intimidate them in the slightest. Sanders acknowledged that he knew a challenge was coming when he talked about NDSU during Big 12 Media Days. The Bison aren’t sneaking up on the Buffaloes. But their style of offense can shorten a game and neutralize Colorado’s big-play offense.”

Read more: Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders says Arizona State football stadium is favorite place to play

Pick Dawgz: Take North Dakota State with the points against Colorado

Randy Chambers writes: “The Colorado Buffaloes are getting the benefit of the doubt for obvious reasons and are the more talented team. You’re rarely going to get an FCS team favored over an FBS team. However, there’s a lot of roster turnover with Colorado, especially on the offensive line and on defense. It’s going to take time for Colorado to really get rolling. Also, the North Dakota State Bison are the best FCS program by a long shot, with 9 titles since 2011. North Dakota State is the Alabama of the FCS ranks and certainly will not enter this game intimidated. In fact, I guarantee North Dakota State believes it can win this game outright. This is a dangerous game for Colorado. Give me North Dakota State and the points.”

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

STREAM THE GAME:Watch North Dakota State vs Colorado live with FUBO (free trial)

Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.

Support local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today.