Bison Game Day December 16, 2023

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BISON GAME DAY NORTH DAKOTA STATE

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2023

►When: 3:30 p.m., at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, Missoula, Montana ►TV: ESPN2

MONTANA

►Radio: 1660-AM, 107.9-FM

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North Dakota State’s Jayden Price runs past the South Dakota bench on his way to a 82-yard punt return touchdown during the NCAA FCS quarterfinals on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, S.D.

In the holiday season, FCS playoffs seeing many happy returns Special teams have played a crucial factor in four teams reaching the FCS semifinal round

BY JEFF KOLPACK The Forum FARGO

W

hen Jayden Price fielded the punt from the University of South Dakota inside his own 20-yard line, the green sea began to part. The North Dakota State senior immediately found some space on the DakotaDome artificial turf, made a couple of moves near midfield and took it the distance.

The return in the FCS quarterfinal win at South Dakota last Saturday was the fifth for a touchdown in Price’s career, which set a Bison team record breaking the mark set by Richard Lewis in 2000-01. Setting that new mark for Price was a personal goal at the start of the season.

It took 14 games but he got there.

“Personally it does mean a lot to me,” Price said. “Just knowing I was right there on the cusp of it but I wouldn’t be in this position if it wasn’t for my special teams coaches, if it wasn’t for the unit that’s blocking for me so just extremely grateful for everyone that’s been involved.”

Price wasn’t the only player in the FCS playoffs to do some damage on the punt return. This postseason is turning into Special Teams Central, with multiple teams making game-changing plays on the punt or kickoff teams.

“Just the way some teams emphasize it,” said NDSU head coach Matt Entz. “Some just get by with it. I think it’s something here that we put a ton of effort and energy into and you saw it on Saturday.”

Entz said there were six perfect blocks on Price’s return.

“Yes, 100 percent,” Price said.

“That was the most clinical, quality return that you could probably ever have.”

In the quarterfinals alone, South Dakota State and Montana made crucial plays with special teams. Montana’s Junior Bergen returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown and if that wasn’t enough, he added a 59-yard punt return for a score that gave the Grizzlies a 28-21 lead against Furman.

Montana eventually won 35-28 in overtime, which advanced the Grizzlies to Saturday’s semifinal game against NDSU. The Bison are well aware of what Bergen can do. He returned a punt 27 yards in NDSU’s 49-26 second round win last year at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome.

SDSU turned the tide in its quarterfinal win over Villanova on the other end of the punting game. Sophomore Matthew Durrance blocked a Wildcat punt, scooped it up after one bounce and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown. The play gave SDSU a 10-6 lead four minutes before halftime, an advantage the Jackrabbits would not surrender in a 23-12 victory at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

At the University of Idaho in the second round, Southern Illinois was moving into position for a game-winning field goal at the end of regulation, but a 41-yard field goal was blocked.

Moreover, the Salukis had a couple of time outs and time to run a couple of more plays to try and get closer but opted not to.

The Vandals eventually won 20-17 in overtime, with Idaho’s premier kick returner Jermaine Jackson figuring into the outcome with an 86-yard punt return for a touchdown. Idaho’s placekicker Ricardo Chavez had a pair of field goals including a key 40-yarder on the last play of

the first half.

The difference for NDSU is not just in the return game. The Bison made a decision to take two kickers on their 64-man playoff roster limit, which isn’t the norm for most teams. At 64 players, which isn’t a lot considering the importance of backups at each position, the Bison adding true freshman Eli Ozick to handle kickoff duties took some serious consideration.

“He’s added an element to us on the kickoff,” Entz said. “Now we have a guy who can put it five, six yards deep in the end zone and all of a sudden you’re negating some threats of big returns. When you have two really good teams, what’s the area that can tip it one way or the other and special teams is one way. It has helped some people solidify wins and it has gotten people right back in the game.”

In Price’s case, it was the major deflation piece to the Coyotes. It gave NDSU a 21-3 lead to close the first quarter and sent a statement to USD that an earlier loss to the Coyotes may be different this time.

South Dakota led 21-3 at halftime of that September game in Fargo. This one was a major reversal, with a 45-17 victory sending the Bison to Montana, where one of the matchups includes two of the best punt returners in the FCS in Price and Bergen.

Price will be playing in his 71st career game and is averaging 14.4 yards on 63 career punt returns. He’s had one touchdown in each of the last four seasons with his career long coming on his first to the house, an 85-yarder in the spring 2021 season against Illinois State.

In those earlier years, Price said he took to punt returning as a way to get him on the field

besides the depth chart at cornerback.

“I’m extremely confident in my ability and another thing is I’m fearless back there,” he said.

“I know at any time if they give me a chance and with my trust in teammates that I can take it the distance. At the end of the day, you’re looking up and they’re running straight down at you. Sometimes it hasn’t worked out for me. I think adrenalin is the biggest thing for me, it’s a big adrenalin high so I love it.”

Entz says that job is not one that many players volunteer for when practice gets going in early August. For one, it’s completely different from a kickoff return where time and space are a luxury. It helps that Price is a former standout outfielder in baseball who has a good sense of tracking down a fly ball, in this case the punt.

“He’s fearless back there,” Entz said, echoing Price’s thoughts. “Sometimes we all hold our breath a little bit when he’s back there because he’s not afraid to catch it in traffic. He has great trust with the other 10 guys on the team. It takes a unique individual to be back there and he’s embraced it.”

Bergen seems to have embraced it as well. And that will put the pressure on the Bison kick coverage teams to have a plan to control him and it starts with directional kicking.

“We have to hit our spots and that’s on Eli and (punter Kaedin Steindorf) to hit their spots,” Entz said. “You can’t hit back down the middle so execution is going to be a big thing.”

Readers can reach Forum reporter Jeff Kolpack at jkolpack@ forumcomm.com. Twitter@ KolpackInForum

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North Dakota State’s Cole Wisniewski celebrates his second interception against South Dakota during the NCAA FCS quarterfinals on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, S.D.

NDSU safety Wisniewski joins elite company with his takeaway ability North Dakota State senior Cole Wisniewski has eight interceptions this season to lead Division I FCS

BY ERIC PETERSON AND JEFF KOLPACK The Forum FARGO

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orth Dakota State senior Cole Wisniewski didn’t have the football program’s single-season interception record on his radar this season, his first as a full-time defensive back for the Bison.

However, mission accomplished in last weekend’s road victory against No. 3-seeded South Dakota. Wisniewski intercepted two passes to make it eight for the season, tying Frank Esposito who also had eight picks in 1953.

“I had no idea,” said Wisniewski, from Sparta, Wisconsin. “I hadn’t even looked at what the season record was before that game.”

The unseeded Bison (11-3) play No. 2-seeded Montana (12-1) at 3:30 p.m. (CST) Saturday, Dec. 16, in the Division I FCS semifinals at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Wisniewski has four interceptions over the past four games.

That takeaway spree helped Wisniewski draw even with Esposito.

“I knew of a bunch of guys who had a ton of picks, I think of Marcus Williams and Michael Tutsie,” said Wisniewski, who started his Bison career at linebacker. “Tre Dempsey had a lot I know. What an honor. A really cool accomplishment.”

The aforementioned Williams had two seasons (2011, 2012) with seven interceptions, while Tutsie had one season (2019) with seven. Dempsey had two seasons (2016, 2017) with six interceptions.

Wisniewski credits the coaches and defensive line play for his big season. His eight interceptions are also the most in the FCS this season.

David Samson / The Forum

North Dakota State’s Cole Wisniewski celebrates his second interception against South Dakota with teammate Marcus Sheppard during the NCAA FCS quarterfinals on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, S.D. “I’m put in really good positions by my coaches,” Wisniewski said. “I’m coached really hard throughout the week and I ask for hard coaching throughout the week. I ask a lot of questions and made a lot of mistakes and it’s a lot of fun when you can go out there on Saturday and fix it. ... Our D-line has done a tremendous job. That’s led to a lot of interceptions.”

The 6-foot-4, 217-pound Wisniewski leads the team with 81 tackles heading into the FCS semifinals. Wisniewski joked that he didn’t look like he was on the verge of a record-setting season after dropping what looked like a sure interception interception in the season opener against Eastern Washington at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

“In the first game, people would probably argue otherwise,” Wisniewski said with a laugh. “I don’t have hands if you would have looked at the first game.”

Bison head coach Matt Entz isn’t surprised Wisniewski has thrived in his transition to safety from outside linebacker.

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Montana Grizzlies head football coach Bobby Hauck.

NOTEBOOK CONTINUED from G4 “He’s done the unrequired,” Entz said.

“The minute we made that decision he changed his body, he went from 235 to 220. He worked on change of direction, worked on a skill set that would be required for him in the secondary. ...

He’s just a good football player.”

Montana’s Hauck impressed with Bison QB Miller Montana head coach Bobby Hauck is impressed with Bison quarterback Cam Miller, who has completed 75% of his passes to lead Division I FCS. Miller has completed 199 of 267 passes for 2,531 yards and 18 touchdowns with four interceptions through 14 games. The

6-foot-1, 213-pound has also rushed for 645 yards and 13 touchdowns on 128 attempts.

“I think he’s the best we’ve seen by a large margin to date,” Hauck said earlier this week.

“He’s played great all year.”

The Bison are coming off a 45-17 road victory against USD in the quarterfinals.

“They played really well at South Dakota. It

was a dominating win over the No. 3-ranked team in the country,” Hauck said.

Etc. Etc. Etc. • NDSU has a 6-4 edge in the series, including a 3-1 record as Division I opponents since 2014. The teams first played in 1914.

The Bison earned a 49-26 victory against the Grizzlies in the second round of the FCS playoffs last season at the Fargodome.

• The Bison are only the sixth unseeded team to make the semifinals of the 24-team FCS playoff field since 2013, joining New Hampshire (2013), Sam Houston State (2014, 2015), Youngstown State (2016) and South Dakota State (2021).

• Montana senior quarterback Clifton McDowell has completed 60% of his passes (122 of 205) for 1,701 yards and 12 touchdowns with three

interceptions. The 6-foot4, 224-pound McDowell has also rushed for 734 yards and nine touchdowns on 144 attempts.

His 734 rushing yards are the most for a QB in modern Montana program history since 1991.

McDowell was named the Big Sky Conference’s newcomer of the year helping lead the Grizzlies to an outright conference championship.

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