ESPN: College football's most intriguing 2020 games (North Dakota State at Oregon, Sept. 5)

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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I didn't expect to see this game on the list.

Per ESPN:

North Dakota State at Oregon, Sept. 5
A 12-win season and a Rose Bowl win was great and all, but now what? With quarterback Justin Herbert gone, whom will Oregon turn to behind center? Coach Mario Cristobal has a lot of questions to answer, and not much time to do it. North Dakota State is no ordinary cupcake FCS season-opening opponent. The Bison are a powerhouse, having won three consecutive FCS National Championships and riding a 37-game winning streak.

www.espn.com

Kiffin vs. Saban highlights the 12 games we're already excited for in 2020

New quarterbacks at LSU, Alabama and Oklahoma and familiar coaches in new places have us eager to kick off the 2020 season.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

Go Gophers!!
 

Yeah, just three consecutive nattys. Not 8 of the last 9.

This has the makings of the Bison beat the Hawk-Pigs in Iowa City the year after their Rose Bowl season.
 







Goldteam said:
Oregon all the way. I hope Oregon runs them by 50. I know some Bison fans who seriously think they could win the big 10.

I just laugh and cry at the same time.
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Total sympathy for this viewpoint
 




Doubt NDSU will win, I dont think they have ever played a spread air raid type fbs team. I think they match up better with power run teams that play the same style of football as them. I think Oregons speed and athletes will give them trouble.
 

BigGopher69 said:
Doubt NDSU will win, I dont think they have ever played a spread air raid type fbs team. I think they match up better with power run teams that play the same style of football as them. I think Oregons speed and athletes will give them trouble.
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While I don't care for the hubris of the herd, I would like to see them win merely to create chaos.
 

BigGopher69 said:
Doubt NDSU will win, I dont think they have ever played a spread air raid type fbs team. I think they match up better with power run teams that play the same style of football as them. I think Oregons speed and athletes will give them trouble.
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They play a lot of spread teams. They know how to defend them, on paper, as well as anyone.

If Oregon genuinely has a QB dropping dimes to edge athletes that are Bateman level, then yes, they won’t be able to stop them. They’ll have to try to keep up with them on offense.

Like all their FBS opponents before, they’re going to be shell-shocked at how strong and how well they run up the middle. Not many teams in the country have committed to and made an identity out of running gap schemes (power, trap, counter) in the interior gaps, like the Bison have the last 10-15 years. Wisconsin is another, off the top of my head.
 

Goldteam said:
Oregon all the way. I hope Oregon runs them by 50. I know some Bison fans who seriously think they could win the big 10.

I just laugh and cry at the same time.
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This. 100% this.
 



Goldteam said:
Oregon all the way. I hope Oregon runs them by 50. I know some Bison fans who seriously think they could win the big 10.

I just laugh and cry at the same time.
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Win the B1G? . . . that certainly sounds like fake news to me. Winning the B1G means beating Ohio St. MN, IA, WI dream about doing that. As a bison fan, it would be fun to compete in the B1G west teams, that’s all I’ve ever heard. And yes, Bison fans think they could win some of those games.
 
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NDSU has a remarkable football culture. It doesn't seem to matter who the head coach is, or who the players are, they just plugin and another title turns on. This should be a good match up.
 


NDSU always seems to be able to pull one of these off, so I wouldn't bet against them.
 

I don't think the NDSU Bovines are a secret anymore. They won't sneak up on Oregon.
 

BroncoRedux said:
NDSU has a remarkable football culture. It doesn't seem to matter who the head coach is, or who the players are, they just plugin and another title turns on. This should be a good match up.
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It looks as if the Bison will return a veteran squad especially on O. I think they lost 3 DL and two DBs. I hope they make a good showing against the Ducks and don't get distracted by the weird uni combo's.
 


GoldenRodents said:
Is this game in Fargo?
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no. But your question sparks a different question for me: Has a Power 5 team ever played AT an FCS opponent's field? I'm not being sarcastic. I'm just curious if this has ever happened before. I recall the Gophers turning some heads by playing at places like Bowling Green. I would think it would be fairly newsworthy if a Power 5 team played on the road at an FCS location. Perhaps to open a new field or something like that?

And, I should clarify: has a power 5 team played at an FCS team the modern era? (I know that current Power 5 teams probably played all over the place - at high schools, little colleges, etc. - in the early years).
 

Schnauzer said:
no. But your question sparks a different question for me: Has a Power 5 team ever played AT an FCS opponent's field? I'm not being sarcastic. I'm just curious if this has ever happened before. I recall the Gophers turning some heads by playing at places like Bowling Green. I would think it would be fairly newsworthy if a Power 5 team played on the road at an FCS location. Perhaps to open a new field or something like that?
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Probably way back in the day... but that would be before any of the modern concepts like P5....


Maybe some local state psudo rivalry ... neutral site type situation and maybe technically it was an "away" game? Hard to imagine even that.
 

FredCoxRocks said:
Is Eugene, Oregon ready for this?...
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My guess is they'll fit right in. Even though it was Portland that I went to for a niece's wedding a few years back, whole sections of downtown Portland side walks smelled like urine. My hunch is Eugene is not too far off the beaten path.
 
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BroncoRedux said:
NDSU has a remarkable football culture. It doesn't seem to matter who the head coach is, or who the players are, they just plugin and another title turns on. This should be a good match up.
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It’s really a product of what FCS has become, and the unique geography situation that NDSU finds itself in.

Truth be told, if NDSU was located in Ohio or Michigan, it would’ve been in the MAC years ago. And the lack of MAC level schools in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Dakotas, Iowa, Nebraska, and Missouri, means that the Missouri Valley FCS teams are the defacto MAC schools for that region. Their players are pretty much equivalent of MAC players.

So, with NDSU being the best of the MV, there are very few other FCS confs/programs in the rest of the country that can put up much of a fight.


One of two things will happen:
a) there is a massive reorganization of NCAA DI football, with the P5 + ND (and maybe a few others) breaking off into a distinct, separate (sub-)division. Then NDSU would opt up into, or be merged into, the (sub-)division with the current G5. That’s what they hope happens and what they’re biding their time for.
b) it becomes clear that scenario a isn’t happening, and NDSU + SDSU petition for a waiver to become FBS independents in football only, as Liberty did. Summit League wouldn’t care one bit.
 


MplsGopher said:
It’s really a product of what FCS has become, and the unique geography situation that NDSU finds itself in.

Truth be told, if NDSU was located in Ohio or Michigan, it would’ve been in the MAC years ago. And the lack of MAC level schools in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Dakotas, Iowa, Nebraska, and Missouri, means that the Missouri Valley FCS teams are the defacto MAC schools for that region. Their players are pretty much equivalent of MAC players.

So, with NDSU being the best of the MV, there are very few other FCS confs/programs in the rest of the country that can put up much of a fight.


One of two things will happen:
a) there is a massive reorganization of NCAA DI football, with the P5 + ND (and maybe a few others) breaking off into a distinct, separate (sub-)division. Then NDSU would opt up into, or be merged into, the (sub-)division with the current G5. That’s what they hope happens and what they’re biding their time for.
b) it becomes clear that scenario a isn’t happening, and NDSU + SDSU petition for a waiver to become FBS independents in football only, as Liberty did. Summit League wouldn’t care one bit.
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I completely disagree that SDSU/NDSU would want anything to do with being an FBS independent. That would be the kiss of death on any G5 level FBS team. See NMSU, Idaho, UMass, UCONN, etc. A move to FBS GS level would need to be in a conference. If there would be separation between G5/P5, you'd probably see G5 MVFC, which would compete well against the MAC.

When you take away the ability to win a national championship, it will do damage the fan base. The new carrot would be winning conference titles, being the top G5, or getting good/high tier bowl games. Being independent does damage to those new goals. Being an FBS Independent is suicide for a G5 team, with the possible exception of Liberty where money is not an issue, and where their expectation is to BE. People say, why doesn't NDSU move up? Well, it's very specific to geography and the need to be in a conference. NDSU would go for the right offer in football. (MWC, CUSA, AAC)
 

BroncoRedux said:
NDSU has a remarkable football culture. It doesn't seem to matter who the head coach is, or who the players are, they just plugin and another title turns on. This should be a good match up.
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NDSU is a freakishly great FCS team. I think they could easily play in the G5 FBS Mountain West or MAC and contend for the conference title each year or most years. When I looked them up 10 years ago they were a dominant power in D2 and didn't skip a beat when the moved to FCS. The last time I looked they were 6-3 against G5 & P5 programs. P5 or G5 teams that underestimate them do so at their own risk!
 

GSUsTALON said:
NDSU is a freakishly great FCS team. I think they could easily play in the G5 FBS Mountain West or MAC and contend for the conference title each year or most years. When I looked them up 10 years ago they were a dominant power in D2 and didn't skip a beat when the moved to FCS. The last time I looked they were 6-3 against G5 & P5 programs. P5 or G5 teams that underestimate them do so at their own risk!
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Unfortunately we are well aware. We played em three times over the last 20ish years and IIRC they beat us twice.
 


Herd said:
I completely disagree that SDSU/NDSU would want anything to do with being an FBS independent. That would be the kiss of death on any G5 level FBS team. See NMSU, Idaho, UMass, UCONN, etc. A move to FBS GS level would need to be in a conference. If there would be separation between G5/P5, you'd probably see G5 MVFC, which would compete well against the MAC.

When you take away the ability to win a national championship, it will do damage the fan base. The new carrot would be winning conference titles, being the top G5, or getting good/high tier bowl games. Being independent does damage to those new goals. Being an FBS Independent is suicide for a G5 team, with the possible exception of Liberty where money is not an issue, and where their expectation is to BE. People say, why doesn't NDSU move up? Well, it's very specific to geography and the need to be in a conference. NDSU would go for the right offer in football. (MWC, CUSA, AAC)
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I'll file this under "who gives a sh$t?"
 

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