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Podcast: Bison Media Zone
Episode:

Bison are No. 1 in Athlon FCS preseason rankings
Category: Sports & Recreation
Duration: 00:00:00
Publish Date: 2022-06-06 16:38:16
Description: FARGO North Dakota State will begin the 2022 season at a familiar spot in at least one Football Championship Subdivision preseason ranking at the top.

The Bison are No. 1 in the Athlon Sports Top 25 preseason ranking.



The rating is not surprising, given that NDSU won the national championship last season and return much of its team. The Bison beat Montana State 38-10 in the title game in January, their ninth national championship in 11 seasons.



Longtime FCS expert Craig Haley, a contributer to Athlon, compiled the rankings.



"Head coach Matt Entz's Bison return 13 starters when including defensive end Spencer Waege. The 6-foot-5, 275-pound pass rusher missed much of last season with an ACL injury, yet the defense surrendered only 11.1 points per game the fewest in the program's Division I era (since 2004). Besides Waege, the defense has All-America candidates in defensive tackle Eli Mostaert, linebacker James Kaczor, and safety Michael Tutsie," Haley wrote. "The depth in the offensive backfield is particularly impressive, starting with returning quarterback Cam Miller. Fullback Hunter Luepke was the outstanding player of the national championship game after scoring three touchdowns, and Tamerik Williams, Dom Gonnella, and Kobe Johnson would be 1,000-yard rushers in any other program."



NDSU also returns nine of its 10 offensive linemen from a squad that averaged 280.6 yards a game, including 304.8 in four playoff games.



Missouri Valley Football Conference rival South Dakota State was ranked No. 2. Montana was No. 3, followed by Montana State and MVFC member Missouri State.



Other MVFC teams in the top 25 include Southern Illinois at No. 7 and Northern Iowa at No. 21.



North Dakota was among the "5 more teams to watch."


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