Wow. That is awful and a credit to the rest of your roster and staff that you've made at least a quarterfinal run despite that.

I wasn't able to watch that game live last year so it's hard for me to say how bad it really was, but you were certainly the better team that day. I don't really think we were all that great, but coasted to a high seed thanks to 9-3 in the Valley despite not really beating anyone of consequence in the regular season and getting embarrassed by NDSU and Missouri State. Playoff caliber, sure, but I think #12 was generous.

It does help that we're a little bit less injured this year than last. We were missing our RB1 Wright and multiple starting offensive linemen vs NDSU, and QB Rittenhouse was playing through a minor injury, but we were hit hard last season. Not sure the status of any of that right now. I've heard you guys are pretty beat up, more than we are, but of course I don't know much about that.

Good luck to you too, thanks! Even if we lose here it's hard to be too unhappy about this season. The Bison have had our number forever and this is a huge weight off of us. I do agree it might be the biggest win in our program history... only competition is probably the win that brought us to the title game 11 years ago. I wasn't around back then to know how it felt, though.

An aspect of this that is pretty obscure is that this was our first win over a team ranked above us (in the polls - we were tied with SELA) since 2019. What a way to break that streak! The team that went to Fargo can clearly compete with anyone and I'm glad to get a test against a great opponent that isn't on our schedule almost every year.

Hi, Davis. I'm a reader rather than a poster on the Redbird forums, but since none of us have come here yet I figure I'll chat.

Glad to have another shot after you dismantled us last season. I think (and hope!) that we'll put up a better fight this time around. This ISU team is better than last year's, with a slightly worse record largely because we dodged all of the top Valley teams except NDSU last season - all four of our 2024 losses were by at least 32. I think we'll be a little sluggish this week after the drain of the NDSU game so that will be tough.

As mentioned we're pretty inconsistent, mostly between home and on the road. We went 3-3 at home with a Pioneer win, a 2OT win over a pretty bad UNA, and our best home win against UNI, the 8th-best team in the conference. On the road, we are 7-0 against the FCS plus a loss to Oklahoma, with wins at three Dakotas. Last year was similar, though, with our only road loss also to an FBS team, and it did not continue here.

Should be a good one. I hope whoever wins goes on to Nashville.