FRISCO, Texas (STATS) – The excitement of being recruited by North Dakota State and then stepping in freshman year surely comes with a burden. Considering the program’s goal has become “national championship or bust,” there’s little time for any player to be wide-eyed.
Many of the key upperclassmen who’ve helped maintain the Bison dynasty, which goes after a second straight and record seventh FCS title in the last eight years against Eastern Washington on Saturday at Toyota Stadium, don’t believe they were overly taxed by the winning tradition, they just remember being engrained in it.
“When you’re younger and see how much success this program’s having and the success the upper class is having, it really rubs off on you,” senior running back Lance Dunn said on a rainy Thursday before the team moved indoors for a morning practice. “That’s what our program builds off – following the upperclassman leaders and doing what they. They do the right thing, they’ve been through everything. That’s kind of what us seniors are doing now for the younger guys.”
“Coach (Chris Klieman) does a great job talking about pressure versus stress,” said senior linebacker Levi Jordheim. “There’s going to be pressure, but it shouldn’t be stressful to do what we do. There’s going to be pressure to perform well, but that’s the standard here at North Dakota State. To play at a high level is what we’ve always done and is what we strive to continue to do.”
NDSU has claimed 14 national championships, starting with three College Division titles via the polls in 1965, 1968 and 1969 and then five Division II titles through the playoffs in 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988 and 1990. The Bison are 111-8 since the start of their first FCS title season in 2011.
Whether it’s “Attack the Process” or “Raise the Bar” or whatever mantra is in vogue with the Bison from year to year, the push to keep the success high doesn’t wane from the senior class on down.
The 2018 Bison didn’t only set a goal to win the national title last offseason, Klieman admitted the team wanted a perfect season. If the 14-0 champs from the Missouri Valley Football Conference complete their mission against Eastern Washington (12-2), they would become the fifth unbeaten, untied national champion in the 41 seasons of the FCS championship game – a feat accomplished most recently by NDSU in 2013.
“A lot of people think this is just a natural progression, you should always end up in Frisco. It doesn’t happen that way,” said Klieman, who has been named Kansas State’s new coach and will be ending his NDSU run along with a 24-member senior class. “I think (the upperclassmen) challenge (the younger players) you’ve got to bring your best.”
One of the not-so-young sophomores, All-America linebacker Jabril Cox concurs: “You listen to the coaches and the older guys who’ve been through it, who’ve been through the struggle, who’ve been through everything that the younger guys are going through.”
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