FARGO -- Crop circles. Stonehenge. Bermuda Triangle.
And now you can add the latest phenomenon to the world's mysteries: How on earth can the North Dakota State offensive line be so good against one defensive front, and so inconsistent against another?
NDSU hosts Missouri State on Saturday as the fifth-ranked team in Division I Football Championship Subdivision. The Bison are unbeaten in the Missouri Valley Football Conference at 2-0 and own a résumé geared toward postseason.
But you would have a hard time convincing the offense of that this week. In Missouri State, the Bison will see another 3-4 defense, which is an alignment that has three down linemen and four linebackers.
All the Bears did with it last year was shut out the Bison in a year when they gave up an average of 37.4 points in their other 10 games. Two weeks ago, Bison running backs had just 87 yards on 22 carries against Illinois State's 3-4.
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"There will be some changes and some adjustments," said offensive line coach Scott Fuchs.
Last week, the Bison struggled against Southern Illinois' 3-4 defense in a 9-3 win.
"After not getting a first down until five minutes left in the third quarter, it does put a burden on you," said center Joe Lund. "But with us five in the middle, we have to keep going. We came out with a win, but that doesn't mean anything. We have to keep going."
Asked if the problems were technical with the scheme or physical with the players, Fuchs said it was a combination against the Salukis.
"We took a hard look at the stuff we did vs. Southern," he said. "We decided to make a few different changes on it. We felt good about the game plan and I still do. Executing it? Probably a different story."
That's probably why the coaches did not award a top offensive lineman from the game. Fuchs said these questions arose following the group's film session of the SIU game:
"We said, 'All right, what do we have to do to improve?'" he said. "What do we have to do to make the offense better? What can you do to make what we do work? Everybody saw that, and I think our guys will respond positively."
No personnel changes are planned for the Bears, although Fuchs said "potentially" that could be an option. More familiarity with the 3-4 after game-planning all last week with it could help.
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Whatever the case, senior running back D.J. McNorton said "we're all taking ownership in it and trying to practice better."
"The last six, seven quarters haven't been the best and we know that as a team and as an offense," he said. "Getting better is the only thing we can do, but it's definitely fixable."
This article is by The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. The Forum and the Herald are both Forum Communications Co. newspapers.
