Twenty-four hours to get over a game that wasn’t played.
“It’s an adjustment,” said Bison defensive end Logan McCormick. “It’s weird, our last game was a few weeks ago but I think whenever we get the notice we weren’t playing it was almost immediate that we were onto the next game.”
This week, the next game is at Northern Iowa on Saturday. In the case of the cancellation at the University of South Dakota two weeks ago, that started on the bus ride back to Fargo. McCormick said defensive coordinator David Braun was already breaking down film of South Dakota State, which was supposed to be last weekend’s opponent.
“If we want to stay sane, we can’t worry about everything that’s going on outside of us, games not being played,” McCormick said. “It’s all within our best interest to keep moving forward with anything that comes at us.”
The SDSU postponement to April 17 was announced early in the week. The USD cancellation came the morning of the game. The players found out after their pre-game meal at a Sioux Falls, S.D., hotel and right before head coach Matt Entz addresses the team.
It’s a time when McCormick said he begins to get amped up for the game.
“It was deflating, it was like a shock,” he said. “I had to call my parents, told them the game was canceled. My dad made the eight-hour drive from back home and it was unbelievable, honestly. But like I said, there was nothing we could do so we had to move on.”
And 24 hours later, it was on to the next opponent.
“It is weird having two weeks off in a row," McCormick said. “We might not get every opportunity (this spring), but we are going to prepare like we are.”
Bison true freshman running back Nathan Goldade has been put in a position this spring to where he may see game action with some of the injuries in the Bison backfield.
Sophomore running back Kobe Johnson injured his knee against the University of North Dakota on March 20 and sophomore Hunter Luepke, who is a dynamic ball carrier, has played only one game this spring due to a shoulder injury.
True freshman Dominic Gonnella is listed as the starting running back on the depth chart heading into the Northern Iowa game, with redshirt freshman Jalen Bussey listed as the backup. True freshman running back TK Marshall, along with Goldade, is another young player who could be called on to contribute in the backfield.
“You are always on top of your toes. You never know when the next man is up,” said Goldade, a former West Fargo Sheyenne standout. “You are always preparing every day. Preparation is huge and just watching the upperclassmen, how they perform and what they do, you can just learn a lot from the upperclassmen. It’s been a great learning process.”
Goldade didn’t play during his senior year of high school due to a knee injury. The 5-foot-11, 198-pound Goldade said he’s ready to go if his number is called.
“I’m feeling great, the knee is back to 100%,” Goldade said. “I have confidence in it, it feels great.”
After missing his senior high school season, Goldade is excited to get on the field again.
“It will definitely be hard to contain the emotions,” he said. “They are definitely going to be sky high.”
UNI quarterback Will McElvain will return to his starting spot against the Bison after missing a couple of weeks with COVID-19 testing protocols. The sophomore was one of the few returning QBs who had previous experience in the Missouri Valley coming into the spring season.
Redshirt freshman Justin Fomby was under center in the Panthers' last game, a 34-20 win over Western Illinois two weeks ago. Fomby, from Lawrenceville, Ga., the same hometown as NDSU's Johnson, had a good day completing 15 of 23 passes for 218 yards and one touchdown.
But the UNI offense struggled under Fomby three weeks ago in a 13-6 loss to Missouri State. He did complete 18 of 29 passes for 215 yards but the only points the Panthers could muster came on a pair of field goals.
McElvain last played March 13 in a 17-16 loss to Southern Illinois. He was scheduled to play last weekend at South Dakota before that game was canceled.
"He'll start this weekend," said UNI head coach Mark Farley. "I think he's probably fresh again coming off two weeks. He was rusty, but he was fresh. There's a tradeoff on that after sitting out two weeks. Fourteen days in a house can get you anxious to get back out but at the same time he was a little rusty when he got back, too."
- NDSU defeated UNI 46-14 in 2019, the last time they played. Quarterback Trey Lance passed for three touchdowns, running back Adam Cofield ran for 104 yards and cornerback Josh Hayes led the Bison defense with six tackles. All three players could have returned to NDSU but have moved on.
- NDSU's Missouri Valley-leading 218.8 yards per game will be tested against the No. 2-ranked rushing defense in the Valley in UNI, which is allowing 102.2 yards per game.
- The game is the Missouri Valley game of the week, meaning it can only be accessed with a subscription to ESPN-Plus.
- NDSU has won six straight games in the series and is 9-4 against the Panthers since joining the Missouri Valley. The teams have split the six games at the UNI-Dome, although the Bison have won two straight.
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April 10, 2021 at 06:15PM
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Game Day notebook: For Bison players, their 24-hour rule has taken on a new meaning - INFORUM
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