Five things to watch in the Missouri State-Bison game – InForum

FARGO — When the announcement of an upcoming big-act concert is dubbed a farewell tour, your favorite five-something columnist usually rolls her eyes more often than a bowling ball rumbling down the alley. Taking the ego of performing in front of thousands out of the rock star is almost impossible.

Elton John once had a farewell tour in 1977 and said he was done performing, citing burnout and drugs. Well, Sir Elton came clean and went on to do his thing for a boatload of years.

He played the Fargodome in 2022 in what was billed as his “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Tour” and confirmed to Vanity Fair last summer that the tour was his last. We’ll see.

Well, here comes Missouri State to the dome on Saturday, a place where Elton played four times, including twice with Billy Joel. It’s the swan song for the Bears this year in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, with the school moving to FBS Conference USA next season.

It’s been a season of standing Us and a lot of happy Saturday nights for the Bears, who are 8-2 and 6-0 in the Valley.

“I have the utmost respect for everybody in the Valley,” MSU head coach Ryan Beard said, “but it’s a good feeling to know that we’ve been able to have a decent farewell tour up to this point and the work isn’t done yet.”

It’s a weekend of farewell tours in the region. On Saturday, Valley City State will play at the University of Jamestown in what will be the 78th and final game for the foreseeable future for The Paint Bucket, a traveling trophy that started in 1961. Jamestown will move to NCAA Division II next season.

On that note, the Five Things caution against, like that 1977 Elton tour, closing the door on NDSU vs. Mo State yet. The Bison may have eyes on joining the Bears in the FBS. Here are five things to watch in Bears at Bison:

A Springfield-area media member at Beard’s weekly press conference earlier this week prefaced his question with a quote from noted professional wrestler Ric Flair: “To be the man, you gotta beat the man.”

Wooooo.

The Bears are on one of their biggest runs in program history, winning eight straight after dropping their first two to Montana and Ball State.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re in youth football or Pop Warner, it’s a hell of a race,” Beard said. “I believe in the men in that locker room and I think they’re going to put their heart and soul on the line and believe in each other and it’s time to get after it.”

The Flair comment came later when Beard was asked if being in a position for a league title was personally satisfying.

“It’s what you want, it’s why you train year in and year out,” he said. “You said it earlier, if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. The best thing about this football game is that we have nothing to lose. They have everything to lose. They are the top dog. They have the trophies. They have the $100 million facility.”

Combined, these teams enter this game on a 17-game winning streak. The Bison have snapped nine in a row since the season-opening 31-26 loss at Colorado. The Bears have racked up eight straight after losing 29-24 at Montana and 42-34 at FBS Ball State to open the season.

MSU’s streak is the school’s longest since 1989. A Bears win would trigger a history of “firsts” for the program, such as the first win over a top-ranked team. The winner would earn at least a share of the conference title.

“If I were those guys right now, I’d be focused on winning a conference championship, really selling in recruiting that we’re taking the next step up,” NDSU head coach Tim Polasek said. “(They) need to position this program to compete with X, Y and Z.”

NDSU knows a thing or two about streaks. The Bisons hold the FCS record 39-game winning streak from late 2017 through the 2021 spring season.

This matchup could be downright offensive if the stats hold true. The Bears are second in the FCS in scoring at 38.8 points per game. game, while the Bison are fourth with 37.8 points per game. match. That could create an interesting over/under bet line at kickoff.

Mo State has scored at least 38 points in all six of its Valley games, an eye-popping number that threatens NDSU’s improved defense over that span. The Bears enter having scored in 21 straight quarters.

But MSU has yet to face the top three scoring defenses in the league, starting with NDSU this weekend and South Dakota State to close out the regular season. The Bears do not play South Dakota this season due to the rotating schedule.

Five Things is allergic to cliches, and the old adage that it’s not so much how you start but how you finish doesn’t necessarily apply here. The Bison have been impressive out of the gate, scoring touchdowns on their first drive of the game in seven of their 10 games.

They ended their opening drives in two other games with field goals, and only once did they come up with nothing — a punt against South Dakota State after reaching midfield. NDSU has outscored its opponents 104-27 in the first 15 minutes.

The Bears have taken a slower route to their high-scoring offense, outscoring opponents 83-41 in the first quarter. They scored five times on their first drive, scoring four touchdowns and recording a field goal.

Not only is it a matchup between two of the top teams in the FCS, it will be a matchup between two of the best quarterbacks in the subdivision in NDSU’s Cam Miller and Mo State’s Jacob Clark. Both are veteran seniors and both are in the conversation for the Walter Payton Award, which goes to the best offensive player in the FCS.

Miller set the school record for completion percentage last year, completing 208 of 289 passes for 72%. He is ahead of that pace this season hitting 163 of 210 for 77%, which leads the FCS.

“I talk a lot about Jacob’s vision, (Miller) sees the field the same way,” Beard said. “He does a good job of running their offense and understanding where the ball is going and when it’s going to go there.”

Clark is third in the FCS in completion percentage and passing yards per carry. game, and fourth in passing touchdowns with 25.

Jeff would like to dispel the notion that he was around when Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, but he’s in his third decade of reporting with Forum Communications. The son of a reporter and an English teacher and the brother of a reporter, Jeff has worked at the Jamestown Sun, Bismarck Tribune and since 1990 The Forum, covering North Dakota State athletics since 1995.
Jeff has covered all nine of NDSU’s Division I FCS national football titles and has written three books: “Horns Up,” “North Dakota Tough” and “Covid Kids.” He is a radio host on “The Golf Show with Jeff Kolpack” April through August.