NDSU v Colorado: Week 1 Preview

welcome back to Valley News Now Adam shord joined by the director Devin fry and Devin uh so great to see you uh it's a Monday in late August you know I'm getting Goosebumps I'm not going to lie to you yeah yeah it's game week um gosh I I really don't know where to start I we we've both been you know covering the buy and following the buis if you will for a few years now it's the beginning of a new era uh there's no denying that and you have such a amazing match up yeah it's super fun and like the season opener would be excited no matter who they were playing but to go out to Colorado a team that's had National headlines for the last couple seasons and to be able to open up the season in that kind of environment which from what you've told me I'm very excited to experience now oh it's so it's amazing at fome field there so no I'm I'm very excited to get into that and uh it's it would be exciting anyway especially because of the uh coach poex era really starting and it's been cool to see him go through the spring fall as he kind of returns to Fargo and makes the team his own makes the team his brand and it it's it's cool to see and you know through the summer even with the recruiting news we have not stopped talking about coach paex since he got the job yeah and it's welld deserved and so it's it's really cool to kind of be at this point now we're we're actually in a game week we're we're actually getting into what we need to get into as far far as game preparation we got to talk to coach Paul today we talked about we were finally able to talk about Colorado for the entirety of the press conference which is rare at this point and I should have brought the two deep with me but we got to learn who the uh starters are going to be don't worry I took a picture of it I'm well prepared as you know I'm always ready but no uh uh we we got to learn some stuff about the the team we're going to see this year um that not there's some unsurprising spots that are filled like uh obviously cam Miller starting a quarterback um Raja Nelson at one of the W starting wide receiver spots the other starting wide receiver this is fun for this name pops a lot of intrigue out there Bryce Lance wide receiver number one right now and so uh coach PA got really fired up too at the press conference saying that he can't believe he's had one career catch and so he's very excited to get pumping him up a little bit Yeah and and that's that's a guy that I've talked to candidly you know off off camera like that's the guy I want to see the most kind of continue to grow and evolve in this game so uh another things that a few things that they got figured out we knew that greay AEL and Mason Miller would be starting on the offensive line on either side of it it's the the spots in the middle that they were working on filling out uh guard Center guard uh left guard is going to be Griffin empty EMP uh Trent fry going to be starting at Center he's a sophomore his dad is the uh offensive line coach for the Lions okay that's that guy exactly and uh Jake Rock who is he's been a name floating around as a backup for quite some time there um and now he gets his starting spot at Right Guard so very exciting times for the uh offensive line Raja Nelson and brayan Henderson to the other couple wide receiver spots uh Joe Stuffle starting at tight end defensively this dline is it looks incredible on paper and it needs to be thisch exact and that's where we were talking before this that's where this game is going to be won or loss for North Coast 8 is in trenches absolutely athlete wise Colorado has the edge on athletes and they're go what coach PA actually had a very uh good point towards the tail end of his press conference there if this was 2012 or 2014 we there would be a little bit more of a gap as far as athletes go but that's just how the FCS was at the time but now the game has grown so much NDSU really has some athletes that can compete with Colorado so that that is still a slight Edge for Colorado in the athletics department it's going to come down to in the trenches there and this defensive line uh Dylan Hendricks at 1 D end Eli moar at D tackle Jackson duen heer at nose guard and laka Roes at D end um and then even the backups Cole men's and Hunter zenzen at the end uh will Mo start another uh backup D linan and so both the mostarts are healthy exactly yeah we're going to get both mostarts uh Hunter zenzen who missed all of last year uh he's back in the lineup this year and Coach Paul even told us the that this death chart could probably looked at as more of like a seniority thing these guys are all going to see time well the depth is crazy crazy well it it's the exact opposite situation that we had last year last year we were talking about these we're trying to fill some holes on defense who's going to step up and then Logan cop and Cole wisneski did and now it's like oh they have all this depth uh funny I should mention Co wineski do you like how I segwayed into my own well done um co wineski uh he's not starting this game and injuries are that foot injury that he did have to get surgery on it's still giving him issues and so he's going to be out coach uh paet called it an extended period of time um and it sounded like right now they're kind of just making him basically a player coach right now uh he's going to be more leading the team from the sidelines which you you got to hate it for that coming in as a preseason All-American and him and uh Hunter brosio suffered a bad injury in Camp uh and so H brosio preseason All-American fullback also out thankfully he's it sounds like he's done correct yeah his his career is going to be this was going to be his last season the injury is going to keep him out for the entire year so his career is over you ha see and so thankfully though with fullback and tight end they have plenty of depth in there as well uh Truman weer out of Fargo Davies he's going to be starting fullback for on this to deep here so I didn't mean to gloss over the fullbacks for anybody listening NSU you cannot afford to oh and uh so those are the those are the big injury injury to look out for Cole wineski obviously out so it's going to be Ryan Jones and Sam young uh in the defensive backfield uh Tony shami Alfaro I probably messed that name up all the way is playing corner and then Marcus Shepard at the other corner and so th those are going to be the final defensive guys to look for and injury-wise stepping in for Cole wineski has got to be got to be a tough task there especially with all the things they were expecting from him uh Hunter brosio out like we mentioned Berea uh penu out of Cheyenne he he was uh he was dealing with a leg injury around media day yeah no it was uh I believe the day of media day because we were interviewing him and we had to actually go move to him because he couldn't come all the way to us that was how fresh that leg injury was but uh coach PK said he's going to be a Wednesday decision uh so whether or not uh he'll be playing so uh U Marty Brown and TK Marshall they're going to be taking the brunt of the carries there so this is just exciting we finally have like an idea of who exactly is going to be out there and who we're expecting big production from and uh they're going to need every single one of these because this is obviously a game that they're going to uh need their big contributors to step up for anytime you play an FBS oppon we saw it against Arizona last year who was you know the not exactly in FBS power last year but they they have that edge just by the the recruiting and the the brands that they have that the athletes are able to bring in so it all comes down to uh preparation in the trenches like we were talking about earlier and that's kind of where Colorado has seen a lot of their biggest shakeups offensive line especially and and that's where you have this just unique uh I guess there's so many different matchups where it's like strengths against strengths maybe strengths against weaknesses uh you know it's if you get NDSU and you put them against Georgia yeah I think the Bulldogs get the job done right you know but like FBS is obviously you're you're getting the best of the very best but then Colorado's this unique program where you had some of these FCS kids like shadur right like Travis Hunter who played at Jackson State follow Dion over and and I want to make that very clear shador Sanders and Travis Hunter are both FBS guys like they would have been coming out of high school oh absolutely they wanted to go play want play for Dion Sanders so uh and that's another guy that the bis are going to have to uh they He's listed as the nickel on Colorado's 2 deep I believe uh and so he he could be covering anyone from tight end out to the X yeah they they could they're going to be moving Travis Hunter all around that's going to be the biggest thing to watch for they got to contain those two guys and then when when you chase down shadur yeah I mean the thing is you if you can't then contain the pocket right you are in trouble big time well and shador is he has improved so much as a dropback passer you know what I mean like he's a really good quarterback training under Tom Brady famously right and he's but he's also an athletic freak so absolutely it it it's coach PA called him the best player that North Dakota state has played against and not just like oh best player we've seen he he said best player North Dakota state has played uh they played Cooper cup a few years ago yeah so I mean that's as far as praise goes and this both those guys are going to be uh top half of the first round of the NFL draft had to take yeah and uh uh sh was a a Heisman candidate right now for the pre it's preseason obviously so I could be a Heisman favorite if I say if I say besides the week zero teams but no it it's it's such an intriguing matchup and like again I I just it's so fun to see how this game is evolved because before this was kind of the backup option because they could play Oregon um really yeah so uh they were supposed to play Oregon and then Co happened okay uh they they moved that game and then that game got just kind of canned outright and so they found another pack 12 team at the time and it and at the time it's like I guess we'll settle for Colorado we'll go to Boulder whatever uh and now they're a massive National brand would yeah you think it's going to be Mel Tucker and the boys yeah no it's a little bit of an upgrade from that no offense but uh no and uh I talked to coach paek a little bit as well I I asked him straight up I was like your first game as a head coach Deion Sanders is on the other sideline and he you know he he gave a very a very good composed answer I truly don't think that it's like in his brain at all that Deion Sanders is over there but it it's kind of cool and it has to be looked at that way and you can especially if you're the coach you know the players are looking up to you you can't be you know like when I was at socks fan Convention as a college student I couldn't stop staring at Bo Jackson ex you can't just be like that's that's Dion Sanders you know they're going to look to you for the leadership there you can't have the moment be bigger than the team right and he brought it around to that at the end of his answer he was like but he was like I I he's a football guy so he respects and admires everything that Dion has done and like how incredible of a player he was and then he was like but at the end of the day this isn't about you know him or it's not about either coach on either side it's about the players on the field and uh you brought up a good point too the coach PA told us that he's been preparing his guys for the hoopla that a Colorado match up brings yeah we're probably going to see a little way probably well no he's got to evolve now because he had little way he had L Wayne last year yeah and that was just against like Colorado State like but you're going to have that random person like I guarantee there's going to be a musical performance that we didn't know about coach said he like there might be a concert before the game we don't know and like it's just the the national brand that Colorado has become and uh NDSU just kind of has to and they they've always been very good at that the coaching staff the program as a whole they've always been very good at looking past distractions they don't let the moment get to them and I don't see that being any different against Colorado and the players are there on a mission they know that they have an opportunity to do something pretty pretty special if they're able to be Colorado that's a a heck of a way to start the year well I mean I was thinking about it earlier in the day and what that could do for even if they give Colorado even like the cover the spreads 9 and a half even if they cover the spread what that's going to do for recruiting Because the eyes of the nation of you know college football fans this is in some ways a bigger platform than NDSU gets in in FCS national championship game because the platform that comes with the viewers the eyes in in the glamour that comes with a Deion Sanders Colorado team and then if NDSU can go out there and punch him in the mouth and be that the Clubber Lang if you will we're like wow this team's tough you know if they can really showcase their identity as a program it's the almost the antithesis and that's what I love about this matchup you got the buffalo against the Bison but you got two teams that are so very different like one uh I'm going to use the word Frankenstein team with Colorado it's all transfers it's all you know like players from everywhere very flashy and then you have NDSU and it's this we're going to beat you through the line we're going to be more tough than you we're going to be more physical than you and we're going to beat you with oldfashioned just Smashmouth football yep and that's that's I they're going to have to lean into that identity so much if they win that's how they're going to do it oh yeah definitely and uh this with how much of a spotlight this is it it's the only game that at that time slot on ESPN nationally broadcast uh not ESPN 2 not the oo not the oo not yet and so the reach there is huge and it kind of just serves as a reminder like hey this is North Coast State this is who they are they used to get that quite a bit when they would play uh when back when FBS teams were scheduling them they would go beat Kansas State and then the recruiting uptick would be huge and then that's how you get uh more National Championship caliber players and so this is just kind of I think a good NA Nationwide reminder for North Dakota state if they go out there and play their brand of football and do it well and like you mentioned the spread's n and a half Colorado is almost a double- digit favorite here they just have to make an impact that's all they have to do obviously they're they want to win the game they want to go out there and win but all they have to do is make an impact well I would even say like when you look at the spread that puts the pressure on Colorado yeah yeah NDSU hey you know whether whether we think or the fans think no matter what anyone thinks NSU is coming out there and hey well we're supposed to lose by about 10 right and so you have an opportunity opportunity to do something special and as a former former college player let me tell you of course maville State not necessarily the biggest not exactly Colorado Boulder but nobody was expecting us to beat Dickinson State and like you have that chip on your shoulder going into that game because you know that the small section of fans that are paying attention they don't expect you to win and that that that that helps you now this is Nationwide in Colorado probably like some of these guys are probably insulted like oh how are we not bigger favorites against this FCS program I do think Dion has done a very good job of expelling that because he was asked right and well he knows and he he was asked very early on uh about scheduling North Dakota State first game and uh he was straight up like I I I'm mad at my athletic director for scheduling this game uh because he knows what kind when these teams schedule FCS teams they tend to do it as a tuneup game and from to but that's the whole reason why theate wi over Michigan was as B of a deal as it michig scheduled this team assuming it would be a win and uh and that's very clearly not what Colorado was doing they wanted a really good game apparently and that's what they're going to get and so I'm I'm excited for it I I really don't have this could go so many different ways you know and there's worlds where I see NDSU winning there's worlds where I see them getting blown out right there's really no way to to call this match up cuz and and frankly we haven't seen th this year's version of this team play together we haven't seen this defensive line as healthy as they are we haven't seen this offensive line play as a unit new offensive coordinator Colorado has so many portal kids I don't know how to coach PA had like a print out with the receivers that all had transferred in with like uh and so like we we don't know what they're going to look like either playing as a team we know shador Sanders is going to do some insane Things We Know Travis Hunter is going to be the best athlete on the field which ever Direction he's in U and we know NDSU is going to try to grind this one out whether which way that favors it's up in the air and uh I think that that's the most exciting way to start the season yeah last year was great we were going to us M Stadium we knew that Eastern washingt is an historical power it's a cool FCS versus FCS power NDSU should but NDSU should win that one especially with with the year Eastern Washington was coming off of but this one it's so up in the air either one can win and I think that that read a lot we saw uh a lot of uh I think Hawaii was favored by 40 points over Delaware state so we we don't know exactly how these are going to go uh but like so you don't don't invest in that too much but it it's it's still a good indicator of kind of what the public sees Colorado as which I think is fair uh Colorado has kind of built up this reputation of they're going to have the best athletes on the field and Deion Sanders is going to put his team in a good position and so they get this kind of well-deserved pre season hype every single year sure North Dakota State at the end of the day a lot of the the Casual fans Not Us still view them as an FCS team that they don't know much about yeah uh and they hear North Dakota State and they think oh they won a bunch of national titles a while ago but that's exactly and so it's not Trey Lance not Carson Wentz you know like when you go to the Sports Illustrated preview article cuz I I looked at that today and I'm just wondering like okay what's the national conversation it talks about cam Miller completed 72% of his passes last year only four interceptions 32 touchdowns you know they're going to say all right here's my highlighter guy right but uh it's a lot like I think for the viewers at home North Dakota state has just such a DieHard fan base yes that a lot of times they're more knowledgeable than the ESPN broadcast team because you can't just do a quick study but you know NSU the Die Hard fans they're going to know right they're going to know every mispronounced name they're going to be going to be tweeting about it you know but what I do think is very cool about the matchup and you touched on it was you know with Dion Sanders coming from the FCS coaching level NDSU is no secret right exactly he know he knew and he I I think he truly he he has kept such like a a realistic view of this entire matchup and um are we we've been working a little bit with CBS Colorado because they have a coaches show with Dion I'm very excited to hear that I'm excited to see that and hear a more extended version of what he thinks about this matchup because we got the one clip of him being like ah man I wish they would have given me an easy game week one but I'm curious to see what he thinks of them as a unit what he sees from them on film but also it's a new offensive coordinator this year so there's just a lot of different factors going both ways there were people who wanted the Jackson State match up against NDSU for years right yeah yeah and that would have been God that would have been fun too um but and that's that that also shows the variety of FCS football too that like the fact that Dion Sanders and like because of the the the bubble that so many teams live in in the FCS we never got to see the Jackson State NDSU matchup but I mean now we get it at a much higher level yeah it's going to be um gosh I'm excited I I like I said goosebumps man no I'm I'm very excited and we're we're going to be in Boulder heading out there tomorrow and so Wednesday and Thursday going to be loaded up with NDSU vers Colorado content so hey stay tuned um and so we'll be talking throughout the week I can't wait to see kind of what your first read on that get a good look at the the stadium the digs and excited for you know uh very special night for the program yeah Special opportunity it's huge and um they know that every single uh coach Paula said that he he's he is asked his guys to limit social media starting today love that which I I mean with the uh uh Colorado burner accounts that have been reposting everything I say that they should avoid uh but no they act fast those burner accounts act quick but no um and so they know how big of a deal this is and they don't need to avoid social media to to and like they're still going to know how big of a deal this is and all the if I hear the word excitement one more time about this matchup that's been the big prevailing word of it is just it's an exciting matchup and what a way to start the year and uh starting FCS season with a bang so excited kidding and I also wanted to plug real fast if you don't mind if I do uh speaking of college football we're finishing up our grid iron tour today um we have talked to all nine college football teams in our viewing area now which how crazy is it that we're in a viewing area with nine College foot people forget that some people don't get one so we're uh we we finish it up we're talking to ndscs today okay uh Eric Moon went out there and we had a nice little feature on that as well so we have we have nine teams we've talked to all nine teams uh we're wrapping up the tour right before the FCS season kicks off so that's going to be at 600 you're going to be able to hear from coach POC tonight at 10:00 so be sure to stay tuned uh we're also going to have word from you and D today so I just wanted to plug my sports football season football we're so back we're so back huge for the program uh thank you guys so much for tuning in and checking the score with us we'll see you next time Deon we'll see you real soon keep up with good work stay on the beat my friend always and uh we'll see you next time on Valley News Now