North Dakota State has almost everything clicking going into the Mountain West Conference opener against Air Force.
A big part of that is quarterback Nathan Hayes, who has a 72.7% completion rate for 370 yards and four touchdowns versus an interception. Hayes has led the Bison to a 2-0 start to the season with his efforts, and Air Force head coach Tory Calhoun is intent on improving the one area that could hinder Hayes the most.
That’s the pass rush, and the Falcons didn’t shine in that area during a 34-0 victory over Duquesne on Sept. 6. Air Force only had a sack.
“Got to be a little sharper that way,” Calhoun told reporters afterward. “I thought our get-off was really, really good. You know, once the ball was snapped, the aggressiveness and the pursuit. And we’ll get better that way.”
If the Falcons can get to Hayes, that could be a problem for the Bison. NDSU’s offensive line has surrendered four sacks with Hayes under center thus far.
Hayes has mostly been able to get time to throw, and he only has one interception this season. He hasn’t taken off in the run game with 12 yards on 13 carries, and Air Force will likely want to key on that to take away another option for the Bison in Colorado Springs.
NDSU Coach Tim Polasek Talks New Target For Nathan Hayes
Against the Fordham Rams on Sept. 6, Hayes found a new target in wide receiver Chris Kiel. Hayes threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Kiel to put the Bison up 17-0, and Kiel finished with four catches for 50 yards — including a long of 19 yards. A sophomore, Kiel didn’t have any catches last season, but he was on the radar.
“I’ve kind of been talking about him maybe since the middle of last year,” NDSU head coach Tim Polasek told reporters on Sept. 5. “He had a little bit of a shoulder [injury] … and at that time he was really starting to trend as one of our top three, four targets. He got back out there and this kid is a highly competitive kid who earned a scholarship this year.”
Jackson Williams leads all Bison receivers with nine receptions for 96 yards this season, but Kiel is third on the team for receptions already after Sept. 5.
NDSU Passed Significant Test vs. Rams
Fordham posed a unique challenge for the Bison since NDSU had just debuted as an FBS team the week before. The Bison returned to playing an FCS team in the Rams on Sept. 5 for the only time this season.
Polasek acknowledged that his team didn’t rest on the laurels of the opening win over Jacksonville State on Aug. 29. He admitted “that moment last week was really high” regarding NDSU’s first-ever victory over a visiting FBS team at the Fargodome.
“Over time, we have to learn how to be a consistent outfit that learns how to knock down Mondays, how to knock down Tuesdays,” Polasek said about preparation for Fordham. “I thought Wednesday was great but Thursday lacked a little bit of spirit in comparison to last week, so we worked hard at pointing out the limited opportunities you get to play together.”
Air Force Coach Subtly Puts NDSU on Notice