Now Who Do The Fighting Bison Play?

If you recall back several months ago, back when all of the Covid 19 was ramping up, I told you that the North Dakota State University Fighting Bison (having attended UND, it's how I can cope with cheering for NDSU football, so bear with me) probably wouldn't be playing the University of Oregon this Fall.  Now we have a new chapter and SOMETHING YOU NEED TO KNOW: 

The Ducks are supposed to be the Bison's first game this season in a game that many North Dakotans were planning to attend in Eugene, OR, myself included.  Back when I broached the subject, it was due to the fact that the PAC 12 Conference was looking at an "in-conference" schedule only, due to the Corona Virus.

This weeks announcement that the Ivy League and the Big 10 Conferences are going the "in-conference" only route and that reports of the PAC 12 planning to announce the same protocols at any minute mean that the September 5th game is all but dead.  I hope that many of you have been following this closely and hadn't booked your flights.

What does this mean for the Fighting Bison?  At the moment, we're not sure.  First of all, loss of the game will leave a glaring hole in NDSU's schedule.  Second, many fans and the program were looking at the game as a benchmark as to how good the team is.  Playing and potentially beating (or at least competing with) a perennial power house like the Oregon Ducks is quite a bit different than rolling over a lack luster Minnesota Gopher team in the past.  Third, there are always those people who yell for NDSU (usually right after they win another National Championship) to play Alabama or whoever the big boy National Champion is, this game would've been at that level.  These are also the same people who want to see NDSU actually step up to the big boy division.  Fourth, NDSU is looking at losing $650,000 if the game doesn't take place.  Smaller schools get paid to step up for a game with a bigger school (what is considered a paycheck for taking a loss).  And finally, many, many NDSU fans were looking forward to the road trip!  If there is one thing that unites all North Dakotans, whether an NDSU football or UND Hockey fan, it's a good road trip.  We, as a state, travel better than any fans in the country.

At this point, I'm hoping that the game at least gets rescheduled, but it would've been nice to get the Ducks with a new quarterback and a team with a lot of rookies this year.  It's 99.9999% that NDSU will not be playing the University of Oregon Ducks this Fall so Now Who Do The Fighting Bison Play?  SOMETHING YOU NEED TO KNOW! 

 

 

 

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