Minneapolis - It was four years ago when North Dakota State quarterback Steve Walker gathered about 20,000 of his friends and threw a party at the Metrodome. Why the quarterback as the master of ceremonies? Because he runs the show.
On Saturday night, a newbie of sorts was handed the MC job. It was a new venue, an outdoor jewel, Brock Jensen handed out over 15,000 invites to his Bison friends and he took along cornerback Marcus Williams as his Best Man.
Two sophomores. Two players who have never played better and they did it this time in front of 48,802 fans at TCF Bank Stadium.
These big city celebrations don't get old for North Dakota State. Too bad the next one won't be until the current set of junior high kids or elementary lads grow up. Somewhere in the Twin Cities on Saturday, there was a fifth-grade kid playing football who will be passed up by the Gophers in 2019. It's just a staple with this game.
It was NDSU 37, Minnesota 24 and you can take it two ways: the Gophers have a long way to go to get up to Big Ten standards, which they do, or the Bison can't get enough of the Minneapolis big stage.
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They can't.
"I've never had this feeling before," said offensive tackle Billy Turner, one of the several Bison with homegrown motivation. "I was passed up. The feeling I have is the feeling everybody else from Minnesota has."
For the third straight Bison-Gopher game, the visitors were the better team and here's a prime example from Saturday night: It took until the first play of the fourth quarter before the Gopher defense stopped the Bison.
NDSU had three long touchdown drives that ate up a couple of days and a field goal - it was 31-17 heading into the final 15 minutes.
The balance was still in doubt until Williams cranked out his second big play - a 40-yard interception return with 2:36 remaining. It turns out the basketball player from Hopkins is a pretty good football player.
"It was emotional being from here," Williams said. "People thinking I was not good enough to play here."
That wasn't the case with Jensen. People thought he was good enough to play most anywhere after leading his high school team to an unbeaten state championship in Wisconsin. His debut last season was inconsistent and injury riddled, perhaps one being the cause of the other.
NDSU coaches wanted a higher completion percentage this season and they're getting it. Jensen came within one completion of tying Walker for a team record for most consecutive completions.
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Walker, naturally, has the mark at 16 in a row over the course of the first three games of the 2004 season. Jensen hit his first six attempts against the Gophers to bring his streak to 15, but it ended on an attempt to Warren Holloway.
He finished 16 of 21 for 197 yards and no turnovers. Walker was 20 of 25 for 191 and no turnovers in '07.
Flawless.
Execution.
"He was outstanding," said NDSU head coach Craig Bohl. "He got us in and out of the right checks and delivered the ball right on time. When they were covered, he took off and ran. He's really maturing as a football player."
NDSU had 24 offensive plays in the first half for 207 yards, a model of efficiency no matter who the opponent is. They were 6 of 9 on third down conversions.
They turned downtown Minneapolis into another green and yellow celebration. The NDSU academic recruiters hit the jackpot again.
"It was the same feeling at the end," said running back D.J. McNorton, who was at the Metrodome in '07 as a redshirt freshman in his jersey and jeans. "But I wasn't really a part of it. To play in this was great."
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Forum reporter Jeff Kolpack can be reached at (701) 241-5546. Kolpack's NDSU media blog can be found at www.areavoices.com/bisonmedia
