In one sense, North Dakota State didn't get much of a rush in beating Northwestern State (La.) last week. The Bison running game was virtually nonexistent.
NDSU had 111 yards on 39 carries - an average of 2.8 yards per attempt. Moreover, 67 of those yards came on the final drive of the game when the Bison were running out the clock and the Demons appeared to have lost their defensive steam.
Take away the last drive and the Bison had just 44 yards rushing. Most of it had to do with the Demons, who consistently put eight players near the line of scrimmage and often blitzed their linebackers.
"They sold out for the run," NDSU offensive coordinator Pat Perles said. "They had linebackers who were almost like defensive linemen."
Said Bison right guard Justin Buckwalter: "It's tough to run when they have more guys than we can block."
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So the running game was subject to much more emphasis with the offensive linemen this week leading up to tonight's game against Weber State.
"We had some mistakes up front, but we've moved on," Buckwalter said. "This week is big. It's back to the o-line. We want to put the game on our shoulders."
Last week wasn't the first time NDSU has struggled to run the ball in I-AA. Last year, the Bison had 53 yards in 35 carries in a win against Southern Utah, and 84 yards on 23 carries in a loss to California Poly.
And that was with an NDSU offensive line that led the Great West Football Conference in rushing, averaging almost 200 yards a game, and boasted the top center in Division I-AA in Rob Hunt, now with the Denver Broncos.
Perles said last week's low output was not a result of missed assignments.
"It was just a credit to them," he said of Northwestern. "They did a good job at it."
Readers can reach Forum reporter Jeff Kolpack at (701) 241-5546
