Getty Images Head coach Bubba Schweigert of the North Dakota Fighting Hawks.
North Dakota and Southern Illinois suit up for their first action of the spring season as they face off on Saturday at Alerus Center.
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The game (1 p.m. ET start time) will be televised locally on MidCo SN, but if you don’t have that channel or you don’t live locally, anyone in the US can watch Southern Illinois vs North Dakota football live on ESPN+ right here:
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You can also watch on your computer via ESPN.com.
Southern Illinois vs North Dakota Preview
North Dakota makes its Missouri Valley Football Conference debut on Saturday against Southern Illinois, which is a bit of a homecoming for head coach Kyle “Bubba” Schweigert, who was the defensive coordinator for the Salukis before taking over the head coaching role for the Fighting Hawks.
“They know what Valley Football is like,” SIU coach Nick Hill told reporters Monday. “They haven’t played a full season yet, but they played in the Big Sky (Conference) – another great conference, but not as good as what we feel like ours is, or the style of play might be a bit different after watching their tape from last season. But they have played North Dakota State and the other Dakota schools. With Bubba spending so much time in our league as our defensive coordinator, and Austin Flyger (former defensive line coach here from 2012-2018) spending some time in the league, they know what the Valley is like. We have to go out there ready to play if we want to come out with a win.”
Southern Illinois played one game in the fall, besting Southeast Missouri State 20-17 behind 135 yards from Javon Williams Jr.
“He’s willing to go and fight for those extra tough yards,” Hill said of Williams. “We’re going to get all different types of looks of ways to stop Javon, they’ll have their plan and practice. Sometimes there’s going to be an extra guy in the box, Javon’s special talent is usually making that guy either have to tackle him, or he makes him miss.”
The game marks the first action of the year for North Dakota.
“It’ll be fun to be at home in front of our home crowd,” Schweigert said. “Our guys wanted to play last summer when we told them in August (about the delayed season). You work so hard and put in so much time to get ready for the season, and they wanted to play this spring. I know our guys have worked hard, and we’ve seen really good effort in workouts, the practice field and meeting rooms.”
There’s a sense of thankfulness on both sides with football back and now they’re hoping the preparation pays off after a long layoff.
“You put in the work and once you get to game day, you trust your preparation and that is what will get you through,” Hill said. “You don’t rise to the occasion all of the sudden, if you put in the work and you are prepared, you will go out there and play that way.
“It’s an exciting thing to think about. We only got one game day in 2020, so we are appreciative of the opportunity to play.”
Odds to win Spring 2021 FCS National Championship
North Dakota State +125
Weber State +300
Northern Iowa +450
James Madison +600
South Dakota State +600
Kennesaw State +1000
Villanova +1400
Eastern Washington +1600
Illinois State +1600
Sam Houston State +2000
Nicholls State +2500
Southern Illinois +2800
Furman +3300
Jacksonville State +3300
North Carolina A&T +3300
Austin Peay +4000
New Hampshire +4000
Southeastern Louisiana +4000
Wofford +4000
Delaware +4000
Albany +5000
San Diego +5000
Chattanooga +6600
South Carolina State +6600
Southeast Missouri State +6600
Idaho +6600
Elon +8000
Richmond +8000
UC Davis +8000
Alcorn State +10000
Samford +10000
Northern Arizona +15000
VMI +15000