FARGO — Sure, North Dakota State has a recreation Saturday in opposition to North Carolina A&T. No, faculty soccer groups can not afford to miss any opponent. Sure, the Aggies shall be a greater group than Drake, the foe the Bison dispatched 56-14 within the season opener final week.

However for those who squint onerous sufficient, you possibly can see cactus on the horizon.

These can be within the Sonoran desert of Arizona, the place subsequent week NDSU will play its first recreation in opposition to a Soccer Bowl Subdivision opponent in six years. The College of Arizona is in Tucson and it’s the most-anticipated Bison non-conference recreation in, properly, six years.

The apparently much-improved Wildcats, 1-10 final yr, walloped San Diego State 38-20 of their season opener. They tackle Mississippi State of the mighty Southeastern Convention this Saturday in a ten p.m. Central kickoff. Many eyes in Fargo and North Dakota shall be on that recreation.

NDSU is favored by 33 1/2 factors over A&T, a proud program with a successful custom. So the Bison wish to be sharper than they had been final week in opposition to overmatched Drake. A sooner begin would assist.

But when the Bison do what they’re anticipated to do in opposition to the Aggies, it’s time for Arizona Week to start. Lastly.

Listed here are 5 issues to look at within the Bison-North Carolina A&T recreation.

Drake, one of many poorest offensive groups in FCS a season in the past, opened final week’s recreation with a nine-play, 75-yard landing drive that took almost 5 minutes. The Bulldogs accomplished a 17-yard move, a 31-yard move and had runs of 10 and 9 yards on the drive.

It was just one drive, and Drake wasn’t going to win the sport, but it surely was a weak begin for a Bison protection once more anticipated to be excellent. As an alternative of popping out on fireplace within the first recreation of the season and smothering the Bulldogs, the Bison seemed flat.

Bison head coach Matt Entz took duty.

“I am going to take a bit little bit of the blame. We most likely anticipated that perhaps we might get ourselves fired up. I am most likely going to should do a greater job pregame of perhaps lighting the fireplace, no matter who we play,” Entz stated in his postgame remarks, including that maybe the Bison overprepared and had “paralysis by evaluation.”

It is comprehensible, given NDSU knew it was going to have little bother in opposition to the non-scholarship Bulldogs. It occurs. It is a lengthy season. The gamers who watch movie are human.

Regardless, count on the Bison to have a sooner begin in opposition to the Aggies as NDSU ramps up in preparation for Arizona and the approaching Missouri Valley Soccer Convention season.

If that does not occur, then it is one thing to revisit.

I wrote about North Carolina A&T and head coach Sam Washington this week, specializing in the Aggies’ proud historical past as an HBCU (traditionally Black faculty or college) and Washington’s lifelong devotion to these colleges.

HBCUs largely have great followings and some of the colleges, together with well-known Jackson State, are among the many top-drawing FCS packages. A&T ranked twelfth final yr in attendance with a mean of greater than 12,000 followers per recreation.

One aspect be aware: It is too unhealthy the A&T marching band, the Blue and Gold Marching Machine, could not make the journey to Fargo. One of many nice faculty marching bands.

Anyway … NDSU has an extended historical past of enjoying HBCUs. Washington, actually, was the defensive coordinator for the Mississippi Valley State group that got here to the Fargodome in 2006 (a 45-0 Bison win). NDSU has performed the Delta Devils thrice.

Going again to the Bison’s Division II days, they performed Central State of Ohio twice within the Nineteen Eighties within the playoffs and squared off in opposition to Virginia Union within the 1982 playoffs.

NDSU hosted Prairie View A&M in 2012 in a non-conference recreation and adopted that with a recreation in opposition to Delaware State in 2013, the sport following Fargo’s first internet hosting of ESPN’s “Faculty GameDay” program.

However the greatest recreation in opposition to an HBCU got here within the 1965 Pecan Bowl, when NDSU secured its first nationwide championship (in what was then referred to as the Faculty Division) by defeating famed Grambling State and head coach Eddie Robinson 20-7 in Abilene, Texas.

Wrote Fargo Discussion board sports activities editor Eugene “Fitz” Fitzgerald within the subsequent morning’s newspaper:

“ABILENE, Tex. — The North Dakota State College Bison eliminated any vestige of doubt about their proper to a declare on the 1965 nationwide small faculty soccer championship right here Saturday.

“They did it with convincing 20-7 victory over the Grambling Faculty Tigers of Grambling, La., within the second annual Pecan Bowl recreation earlier than 8,500 paid followers.

“The Bison, rated No. 1 within the Related Press and the United Press Worldwide weekly polls, supposedly had taken on an excessive amount of in Grambling’s massive and speedy individualists, three of them excessive on the draft lists {of professional} soccer groups.

“The North Dakota opportunists misplaced no time in convincing their extremely rated opponents, victors in 9 of 11 bowl video games, that they’d come to play.”

That historical past continues in opposition to A&T.

NDSU entered the season with the same old excessive expectations, however with two apparent questions. Who would turn out to be the No. 1 receiver with Christian Watson transferring on to the NFL? And which gamers would make up the linebacker corps, notably at center linebacker?

It is not clear something was cemented after Week 1.

The Bison threw simply 13 passes within the blowout over Drake and solely two broad receivers made catches — senior Zach Mathis had a 31-yard landing reception and senior Phoenix Sproles made a 15-yard catch.

Mathis’ landing got here on a large receiver display screen, so was it was a catch-and-run as an alternative of a run-and-catch.

The Bison offense will proceed to search for readability in that state of affairs.

In opposition to Drake, NDSU break up snaps fairly evenly among the many gamers listed on the two-deep depth chart at every linebacker place, in accordance with Professional Soccer Focus.

Nick Kubitz performed 32 snaps at center linebacker, in comparison with 30 for Luke Weerts.

James Kaczor performed 32 snaps at weakside linebacker, in comparison with 29 for Logan Kopp.

Oscar Benson performed 29 snaps at strongside linebacker, in comparison with 24 for Julian Wlodarczyk.

Entz indicated at his Monday press convention the Bison would probably rotate linebackers in opposition to A&T, too.

Kaczor, Benson and Kubitz acquired the best grades from PFF, in accordance with the analytics agency. Kopp and Wlodarczyk acquired decrease grades.

With speedy Arizona and its cellular quarterback Jayden De Laura up subsequent, this shall be an space to look at.

Jayden Worth is turning into a must-see on particular groups together with his punt return skill.

The cornerback returned his third punt for a landing in opposition to Drake, taking a second-quarter boot and operating 67 yards untouched to the tip zone. Bulldogs coach Todd Sepsis stated after the sport his punter made a mistake kicking the ball down the center of the sphere as a result of it gave Worth the whole width of the sphere to navigate.

“I put lots of belief in my teammates,” Worth stated postgame. “I seize that factor and run for my life.”

He additionally ran one again 85 yards in opposition to Illinois State within the spring 2021 season and returned one 45 yards final yr in opposition to Valparaiso, like Drake, a Pioneer Soccer League program.

There have been a number of events over the previous two seasons when Worth almost broke punt returns for touchdowns.

Worth is the lively FCS chief with a profession punt return common of 15.85, which ranks second at school historical past behind Travis White’s 16.0 common from 2002 to 2006.

Do not take your eyes off the sphere when No. 23 jogs again to obtain a punt.

Straight from the pregame notes:

“After going over 100 profession complete offense makes an attempt final week in opposition to Drake, Jalen Bussey at the moment ranks first in NDSU historical past averaging 8.75 yards per play. Bussey had landing runs final yr of 61 yards in opposition to Youngstown State and a career-long 72 yards in opposition to Valparaiso. He additionally has a 50-yard kickoff return to his credit score.”

The little operating again from Tampa (5-foot-5, 160 kilos) is a big-play man even with the restricted carries he receives.

In opposition to Drake, Bussey had simply three carries for 10 yards. He is coming off a foot harm suffered throughout final yr’s playoffs in December, so it was a constructive to see him observe all fall camp and get carries within the first recreation.

This week, there could be a chance for Bussey to bust a giant play. NDSU’s offensive line will probably management the road of scrimmage in opposition to the smallish Aggies, who allowed North Carolina Central to transform on 10 of 16 (63%) of its third downs final week.

If Bussey will get a handful of alternatives within the Bison’s backfield rotation, this would possibly arrange as a recreation wherein he breaks an extended landing run. Eight totally different operating backs, and 11 gamers total, had carries in opposition to Drake.

(Discussion board reporter Eric Peterson contributed to this story.)