To say one season has been unlike any other during North Dakota State’s dominating Division I era, one with an FCS national championship is surely the first thought. Actually, it’s the 2009 campaign, when the Bison finished 3-8 for their only sub-.500 record in those 21 seasons.
The North Dakota State football program has been outstanding for so long that it’s hard to think of anything but that scenario.
On the FCS level, the Bison have forged a dynasty that many would consider to be the greatest in college football history – they’ve captured a record 10 national championships in the last 14 seasons, including five in a row – a first on any NCAA level – starting with the 2011 season.
That was all set up by NDSU’s first FCS playoff season in 2010, when the Bison advanced to the national quarterfinals before falling in overtime to the eventual champion, Eastern Washington.
It’s the season before that one that is unlike any other since the Bison made their jump to Division I in 2004 – but not for the usual good reason. The 2009 Bison finished 3-8, marking their only record below .500 in the program’s first 21 FCS seasons.
To anyone unfamiliar with that season, it must sound unfathomable.
It’s proven to be an anomaly, of course, as North Dakota State has only other losing season since 1975 – 2-8 in 2002 as a Division II program. The tradition was strong long before the D-I move as the Bison had already captured eight national titles (three College Division via national polls and five through the D-II playoffs).
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6 months ago Craig HaleyThe feeling is, NDSU was probably stronger than its 2009 record suggests, especially with its Missouri Valley Football Conference on the verge of becoming the strongest league in the FCS.
Regardless, the 2009 season is quite forgettable in the lore of Bison football.
“It was an average Bison team at best, and they lost a lot of close games, too. It wasn’t a horrible team,” said Jeff Kolpack, who has covered the program for The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead since 1995. His 2016 book “Horns Up: Inside the Greatest College Football Dynasty” is a definitive look into the school’s FCS success.
What Happened With the 2009 Bison?
The struggles on the field were compounded by off-the-field issues, including players with drug and DUI arrests and team suspensions. Add that to the Bison finishing 6-5 one year earlier in 2008 after being a combined 35-9 in their first four FCS seasons, and some people were questioning whether it was time to move on from head coach Craig Bohl.
That would have been a mistake – Bohl was the architect of NDSU’s FCS dynasty, guiding the 2011-13 national championship teams before he moved on to Wyoming to become head coach.
Graphic by Graham Bell.The Bison, or Bizon as they pronounce the school nickname throughout North Dakota, simply did not find rhythm with their 2009 season. They opened with a loss at Iowa State, as expected, then fell on a late field goal at Sam Houston State, a program they would later beat in their first two FCS championship games, but also one that finished just 6-5 that season. They then hammered Wagner in their home opener, which wound up being their only win inside the Fargodome that season (in contrast, they’ve gone 120-9 there since 2010).
NDSU lost its first five conference games and, like the Sam Houston State game, fell two more times on an opponent’s score in the final two minutes. Overall, the Bison were 1-5 in games decided by 10 or fewer points, often failing to make the right play at the right time.
“We weren’t just getting blasted in each of those eight losses. We were a competitive outfit,” said Brent Vigen, the team’s offensive coordinator and a member of the program as a player of assistant coach from 1993 to 2013. Today, he’s Montana State’s head coach, having lost to NDSU in the 2021 and ’24 national championship games.
“I think we felt like we had some good, young pieces,” Vigen added. “Somehow, someway, through my stretch there, out of that ’09 season, we probably had our best recruiting year. So I think there was a collective effort by the coaches to keep forging ahead (and believe) we aren’t that far away.”
Future Buck Buchanan Award recipient Kyle Emanuel, offensive lineman Billy Turner, running back John Crockett, wide receivers Ryan Smith and Zach Vraa, linebackers Travis Beck, Carlton Littlejohn and Grant Olson, and defensive backs Christian Dudzik and Colten Heagle were among players recruited that year. Other upcoming stalwarts, including quarterback Brock Jensen and cornerback Marcus Williams, were being redshirted in 2009.
The Stats Don’t Lie
A program staple, NDSU ran the ball well behind a solid offensive line, averaging nearly 220 rushing yards per game, as Pat Paschall totaled 1,397 yards and 16 touchdowns, and was backed by the younger D.J. McNorton, who would surpass 1,000 yards in 2010 and ’11. The passing attack struggled, however, as season-opening quarterback Nick Mertens battled injuries. He and backup Jose Mohler combined on a 55.4 completion percentage that ranks 18th of NDSU’s first 21 FCS seasons.
The defense was led by tackle Matthew Gratzek and linebacker Preston Evans, but allowed 62.8% passing and 361.5 yards per game, with opponents averaging 28.6 points – all season lows during the Bison’s FCS era.
“In 2009, the togetherness wasn’t as good and we lost sight a bit in the pride of the program,” is how Tim Polasek, then the running backs coach – now the NDSU head coach – described the season in “Horns Up.”
Graphic by Graham Bell.North Dakota State Catapults Into the 2010s
Still, out of the eye-opening season came the North Dakota State dynasty. The next year offered not just a new season, but a new decade, and the Bison turned it into the greatest in FCS history with eight national titles, 137 wins and a .913 win percentage.
They opened the 2010 season with a win at Kansas – the first of their FCS-record six straight victories over FBS competition through 2016 – and basically haven’t looked back since to their ill-fated season. In fact, while the North Dakota State Bison finished 3-8 in 2009, it took them six more seasons before even having the same number of losses combined.
Disappointed, embarrassed, stunned, maybe all of the above, the 2009 season created a lot of motivation for the North Dakota State Bison.
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