Game 2: Northern Alabama. (Beat Big Sky Champion in opener)

[HerdBot]

This game is starting to look like a good one. North Alabama, in their first D1 game, beat Southern Utah who won the Big Sky last year

UNA isnt your typical team. They were are powerhouse D2 team who were the only team to win 3 straight National and appeared in 5 National Championship games. As a D2 team, they went 6-7 against FCS opponents and 2-2 against FBS opponents. They were ranked #1 for 27 straight weeks and have a .716 winning percentage since 1990. Tons of great athletes in Alabama.

They made the D2 playoffs 10 out of 11 years and made the Championship game as recently as 2016

They are transitioning from D2 to D1, but much like our transition years where we were playoff ineligible, all these games are their Super Bowl and we are at the top of the list.

Kind of similar to NDSU going to Montana back in 2003

[CaBisonFan]

They've been a competitive program for a long time. I agree. This video also has Phil Ostlie playing TE.

[Vet70]

[89MTBISON]

There's a blast from the past! Alfred E. Newman in the house. Wasn't MAD magazine a blast? Spy vs. Spy anyone? North Alabama will likely give us the best OOC test, who woulda thunk. Sounds like their QB is legit.

[HerdBot]

Wow I can't even get the name right. North Alabama. Not Northern

[Honeybooboo]

Wow I can't even get the name right. North Alabama. Not Northern

I thought it was Northern also, Im not sure its going to be that great of a game

[Vet70]

There's a blast from the past! Alfred E. Newman in the house. Wasn't MAD magazine a blast? Spy vs. Spy anyone? North Alabama will likely give us the best OOC test, who woulda thunk. Sounds like their QB is legit.

You mean like this (sorry for the thread drift)?

[HerdBot]

I thought it was Northern also, Im not sure its going to be that great of a game

Probably the same thing a lot of people thought about NDSU during our transition years. Lots of similarities in the programs. Top 5 D2 attendance. Great tradition. They spend money on football and have a proud fan base that doesnt know losing and they have a winning culture. They are 2nd all time in playoff appearances and wins. I expect them to eventually be a perennial playoff team in the FCS. Their offensive line looks to be all 300 pounders too.

[X-Factor]

North Alabama looks like a good team this year and should likely be ranked near end of season. However, that still doesn’t mean the game is going to be good. The Bison are just that much better than everyone else. More of a game than Cal Poly, but still be blowout, IMO. I don’t think we will have very many “good games” this year at the Fargodome, no matter the opponent

[Vet70]

I thought it was Northern also, Im not sure its going to be that great of a game

It could be an interesting game. Their QB is a Juco transfer and he will have to be dealt with. Against SUU he was 24/43 passing with 3 TDs and 1 int. The kicker is that he also ran for 105 yards on 15 carries (7 ypc) and a TD. Overall he accounted for about half of the teams rushing yards. It sounds like we will need a spy and hog the ball.