Fresh off of the first victory of the Jerry Kill Era, the Minnesota Golden Gophers will play host to one of the top teams in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) when the North Dakota State University Bison come to TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday night.
The Gophers have hosted the Bison twice in recent history, and the results were two very close games. In 2006, the Bison almost knocked off the Gophers at the Metrodome, but the Gophers came away with a 10-9 victory when the Bison missed a field goal at the end of the game. The Gophers came away with a victory in that one despite being outgained by 140 yards by North Dakota State.
The next season, the Gophers weren't so fortunate, as the Bison came into the Metrodome and walked away with a 27-21 victory over Minnesota. Then-coach Tim Brewster referred to the Bison as "the little guys in green," but nobody was laughing after NDSU's Tyler Roehl rushed for an NDSU record of 263 yards on 22 carries in leading the Bison to the upset. As a team, the Bison rushed for 394 yards in the game, and had a 14-minute time of possession edge over the Golden Gophers.
The Bison come into this one ranked 12th in the latest FCS Coaches poll, and have defeated their first two opponents this season by a combined score of 98-9. The Gophers currently sit with a record of 1-2 after losses to USC and New Mexico State in addition to last week's victory over Miami (Ohio).
This will be a night game for the Gophers and the Bison, with kickoff scheduled for 6:00 PM Central time at TCF Bank Stadium. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.