Ok, NDSU folks--I just have to be real here since everyone else seems to be content messing around with you.
In the general landscapes of college academics and athletics, nobody knows who you are. Nobody cares who you are.
For the past few years, NDSU football has been a big fish in a (very) small pond. Your team has won a few games against teams people actually recognize, and every once in a while it turns into a nice news story. But like the news stories about a water skiing squirrel or that cat that saved the little kid from an attacking dog that one time, people only care about the story. They don't care what the squirrel's or cat's names were, and after a week or so they don't care at all.
Multiple FCS championships do not make you relevant when it comes to big boy football any more than multiple hot dog eating championships does. If you want your program to matter, then push the NDSU athletics department to make the jump into the FBS. But be forewarned: you'll have to beat more than 1 FBS team a year to make that work.
Until then, I'm begging you to be realistic about the state and status of your program. There is a reason the NDSU football team was in tears when they beat a rebuilding KSU squad on opening weekend by a few points. If you as fans cannot appreciate how monumental those kind of upsets are now, then you are doomed to disappointment and frustration with NDSU sports for the rest of your lives.
If nothing else, just show some class leading up to the ISU game. It might be the last time anyone outside the state of North Dakota pays any attention to your program.
Good post. I've been ready to go FBS since 2011.
NDSU needs to be striking while the irons hot. I bet about 90% of college programs can never claim they've hosted a gameday week which had NDSU on the national spot.
I dont get what you mean by being realistic? NDSU had a top 25 team, in the land last year. They didn't beat a rebuilding team...they demoralized you. After a missed FG and dropped TD pass, you're looking at a 10+ pt defeat, at home.
NDSU doesn't schedule Alabama, LSU, Oregon...because they know they'd get ran off the field. They schedule Kansas State, Iowa, Iowa State, Minnesota and CSU because theres a punchers chance with that.
No FBS team, at home, with 22 extra scholarship players, should be getting their ass beat like KState got. NDSU fans knew it was probable because of the talent you lost on defense, but thats no excuse when you have the recruiting, scholarship, homefield advantages that KState had. You just look more and more pathetic typing that.
Iowa St is a bad program in FBS standards. What, 3 total bowl wins, an all time record that has over 100 losses than wins, coming off another bad year. Why shouldn't NDSU fans expect to win? We know what the Bison have returning. They rightfully too, lost a lot, but its not like they're getting replaced with spring chickens either.
