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Home > Bison Media Zone > Bison prepare for Samford with Luepke officially out for season
Podcast: Bison Media Zone
Episode:

Bison prepare for Samford with Luepke officially out for season
Category: Sports & Recreation
Duration: 00:00:00
Publish Date: 2022-12-05 21:18:16
Description: FARGO For the 11th time, North Dakota State will face a different opponent in the Division I FCS quarterfinals, with all except Eastern Washington in 2010 being at home. This opponent likes to turn football into a track meet.

This is not a middle-distance race team, either. It’s all about the sprints for Samford University (Ala.), which comes to Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome for a 6 p.m. Friday kickoff.



NDSU will officially have to do it without fullback Hunter Luepke, who head coach Matt Entz said is done for the season. Luepke was injured at Southern Illinois last month and faces extensive rehabilitation after a second opinion came back that he’ll need to undergo surgery on his left shoulder.



He will not be able to play in the Feb. 4 Senior Bowl, for which he received an invitation along with Bison left tackle Cody Mauch. Luepke’s status for the NFL Combine is not clear, but it appears he has a tougher road to recovery than once hoped.



Meanwhile, the Bison are getting ready to face a team in Samford that averages 84 plays a game in its up-tempo offense, which had Entz opening his weekly press conference on Monday with a plea to NDSU fans.



“I’ll throw it out there, I’d like to see the dome packed,” he said. “A team that likes to go 1,000 miles per hour and run as many plays as they can. Our fans can significantly impact how an opponent’s offense can operate.”


It’s not clear who will start at quarterback for Samford, which has one of the most prolific arms in the FCS this season in junior Michael Hiers. He’s completed 331 of 431 passes (77%) with 35 touchdowns and just 3 interceptions.



“We all need to be on the same page,” Entz said, “but we practice against this tempo every week. We have two or three periods that we dedicate to it with the idea that we don’t know if we’ll ever play a team that goes fast but we’re not going to get caught unprepared.”



Hiers was hurt late in the team’s second round win over Mercer and tried to go last week in the first couple of series against Southeast Louisiana State. The Bulldogs didn’t miss much with backup Quincy Crittendon, a redshirt freshman who completed 30 of 46 passes for 361 yards and four touchdowns.



“I don’t know the extent of the injury of the starter, he’s a tremendous quarterback,” Entz said.



Samford features a two-headed receiving monster in Chandler Smith and Kendall Watson with 94 and 80 receptions, respectively. Both have 10 touchdown catches.



At least the Bison got better news on the injury side than Luepke’s status. Entz said fullback Logan Hofstedt, who left the 49-26 win over Montana last Saturday with a shoulder injury, is fine and will be back at practice this week. Defensive end Spencer Waege, who left the Griz game with an apparent lower back injury, is also OK and will practice, Entz said. Also good to go is linebacker Luke Weerts, who left last Saturday with an ankle issue.



The Bison appear to be closer to getting standout defensive tackle Eli Mostaert back from an early-season injury.



“Don’t know yet, haven’t talked to our medical people,” Entz said. “I know last week he was complaining of how poorly out of shape he was, so that tells me he’s getting closer to playing because he’s complaining now.”


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