Monday nights are set aside for video review sessions for the North Dakota State football players. And this week, it wasn't exactly family night at the movies.
It was a horror film that had a scary beginning, middle and conclusion, particularly for the offensive line. The Motion Picture Association of America could have given it a "PG-13" rating because some material was inappropriate for fans to watch.
"Watching the film, it kind of sank in that we did get moved around," said junior Paul Cornick. "It's not going to happen again."
Cornick is moving from right tackle to right guard and freshman Billy Turner will start at right tackle in the home opener against Morgan State (Md.) on Saturday night. It will be seven days after what is statistically considered the worst running performance in NDSU school history.
The Bison finished with minus-40 yards rushing. Most of that was because of 11 quarterback sacks, but running backs D.J. McNorton, Mike Sigers and Matt Voigtlander only combined for 7 yards on 13 carries.
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"That's not North Dakota State," said offensive line coach Scott Fuchs, who also played at NDSU.
The NDSU he was referring to had the leading rusher in Division I Football Championship Subdivision last year in Pat Paschall. It's the same NDSU that physically beat Football Bowl Subdivision teams Central Michigan, Ball State (Ind.) and Minnesota at the point of attack in recent years.
Heck, it's the same NDSU that moved Kansas just enough to take a 6-3 upset victory two weeks ago.
"It was definitely a humbling thing," tight end Landon Smith said of Monday's film review. "They flat out took it to us. But it's also one of those things that is a motivator - I think the guys watched it and said that can't happen it again. It can't happen again."
Smith said the UNI game is forgotten, albeit the lessons remain.
"Last weekend was a wakeup call," Cornick said. "I'm glad it happened early because it showed us what we have to work on, how we have to improve. It's a good thing it didn't happen down the season a ways."
Turner played more than 50 snaps against UNI, and Fuchs said he graded out just fine. And moving Cornick from tackle to guard isn't a big deal, either.
Cornick has played both spots already.
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"Paul has always been the adjustor," Fuchs said. "Tackle to guard isn't that hard and guard to center isn't that hard. I probably wouldn't be moving a tackle over to center, anything like that."
Forum reporter Jeff Kolpack can be heard on the Saturday Morning Sports Show, 9-11 a.m. on WDAY-AM (970). He can be reached at (701) 241-5546.
Kolpack's NDSU media blog can be found
