Bears relish shot at vaunted Bison

University of Central Arkansas Coach Nathan Brown is shown in this file photo. (AP file photo)
University of Central Arkansas Coach Nathan Brown is shown in this file photo. (AP file photo)

When you're atop the college football throne, teams often want a piece of you.

That's not always the case for North Dakota State.

The Bison have won eight of the past nine Football Championship Subdivision titles, including the past three. They've gone 127-8 over the past 10 years and are the only college football team to win five consecutive national championships, a feat they accomplished from 2011-15.

North Dakota State also has posted a 71-15 (82.6%) mark in 33 playoff appearances since 1964, not to mention its current run of 34 victories in its past 35 postseason games.

The last time the team even lost a game was Nov. 4, 2017, when it suffered a 33-21 defeat at South Dakota State. The Bison have since won 37 in a row.

Just those gaudy numbers alone are enough to have teams think twice about scheduling a game with North Dakota State, but there was no second-guessing for the University of Central Arkansas.

"We know exactly what we're up against when we face those guys, and we're ready for the challenge," said UCA Coach Nathan Brown, whose team will get a crack at trying to knock off the three-time defending champions today at 2:30 p.m. inside the Fargodome in Fargo, N.D. "You're talking about one of the best programs in all of college football. When you have ultra-disciplined kids like that team does and combine it with the kind of talent they're able to bring in there, then you're probably going to have something special.

"I think that's why North Dakota State has developed the culture that they have up there. They're certainly the standard right now in FCS football."

The game will be the first of three between the teams over the next five years. The two will meet again in 2023 in Fargo, then play the the third game in 2025 in Conway.

But today's matchup is the first of its kind for both, considering how it unfolded because of coronavirus. While UCA has put together a 10-game nonconference schedule complete with home-and-home games against Missouri State and Eastern Kentucky, North Dakota State is playing this one game in the fall before embarking on an eight-game Missouri Valley Conference schedule that begins in February.

So for the Bison, it's a one-and-done scenario until they reconvene in the winter. According to Coach Matt Entz, his team has been looking forward to the game.

"Excited that Central Arkansas wanted to come up and play us," he said. "They were one of the few teams we could find for a game.

"We treated really about the first three or four weeks [of the season] as if it were fall camp, trying to install everything we might use during a normal season. That way, our players have a chance to maybe retain it and pull it back up when we need it, knowing that we're ultimately going to play games in the spring.

"And then, really the last 12 to maybe 13 practices have been dedicated to mostly Central Arkansas. All of our work that we've put in over the course of the last few months is finally going to be recognized on the field."

North Dakota State has had everyone's attention for the better part of the past decade. Brown acknowledged the talent level within the Bison program is undeniable, as evidenced by their five preseason All-Americans, the 11 former players that made opening-day NFL rosters this year and the horde of professional scouts expected to be in attendance today to get a look at North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance.

The 6-4, 226-pound redshirt sophomore, who's expected to be a first-round draft pick in the NFL Draft in the spring, became the youngest player to win the Walton Payton Award as the FCS offensive player of the year last season after accounting for nearly 4,000 yards of offense and 42 touchdowns.

The Bears aren't blinking.

"We're a battle-tested group," Brown said. "This team knows how to win, but we also know it won't be easy to do so up there. They've got a quarterback who'll likely be taken in the top five of the NFL Draft running a pick-your-poison type of offense. That's going to pose challenges for us.

"But I think we've got a couple of good corners that can really size up one-on-one coverages and play well against them. We'll commit to the run and see what happens."

Attendance at the Fargodome, which seats nearly 19,000 and is routinely near capacity during home games, will be limited to players' families.

The game also will be the first for North Dakota State, which means mistakes and miscues that occasionally accompany teams in their season openers could be key.

Entz said those elements are the very reason why he's spent extra time getting his team ready.

"We're gonna approach it like it's the first game of our season," he said. "We're trying to cover every detail, every situation to make sure our kids are prepared the best they can. Now we've done some things [in practice] NDSU vs. NDSU, so we can continue to see good on good, see speed on speed."

The Bison are expected to keep a close eye on UCA junior quarterback Breylin Smith, who drew considerable praise from the Bison's second-year coach. The junior had a rough outing a week ago against Missouri State when he completed 9 of 24 passes for 79 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception, but Entz isn't getting caught up in that game.

"He's a winner," Entz said of Smith. "Anytime you have a returning quarterback that's used to winning, that always causes concern on the defensive side.

"He does a nice of finding check downs, especially when he's pushed out of the pocket. He's got weapons with [Lajuan] Winningham and [Tyler] Hudson, two outstanding receivers. So we're going to make sure we do everything we can to come out victorious."

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CENTRAL ARKANSAS AT NORTH DAKOTA STATE

WHEN 2:30 p.m. Central today

WHERE Fargodome, Fargo, N.D.

TV None

RADIO KUCA, 91.3 in Conway; KKPT-FM, 94.1, in Central Arkansas

INTERNET ESPN3

RECORDS Central Arkansas 2-1; North Dakota State 0-0

COACHES Nathan Brown (17-10 in third season at Central Arkansas and overall); Matt Entz (16-0 in second season and overall at North Dakota State)

SERIES First meeting

Coach Matt Entz
Coach Matt Entz

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