近距离内射合集

LAS VEGAS 鈥� To Nathan Hayes, they were just rumors.

For as long as the 6-foot-3, 228-pound fifth-year senior had been with North Dakota State, there were rumblings after every season: The Bison, long the toast of the FCS, might finally be making their long-awaited move up to the FBS.

鈥淟ike, 鈥榳e鈥檙e going to the Mountain West this year!鈥欌�� Hayes said Wednesday. 鈥淲ell, we didn鈥檛. And then the next year 鈥� 鈥榳e鈥檙e going to the Mountain West this year!鈥� We didn鈥檛.鈥�

And at the end of last season, Hayes and the rest of his teammates heard the same rumor 鈥� NDSU to the Mountain West. The Bison instinctively dismissed it.

鈥淲hen we finally heard, we were like, 鈥榦h, it鈥檚 just this again,鈥欌�� Hayes added.

But in February, Hayes heard a team meeting was being called. Nobody knew exactly what it was about, but they had an idea.

鈥淲e鈥檙e like, 鈥榦h, this might actually be a thing,鈥欌�� Hayes said.

Indeed, it was.

After news of the Bison鈥檚 move was first announced in February, NDSU is officially a football-only member in the 10-team Mountain West 鈥� arguably the biggest splash addition the league has made since landing Boise State from the WAC in 2011.

And while they鈥檙e not the only new team in the league this year 鈥� hello, UTEP and Northern Illinois 鈥� no program dominated discussion at Mountain West Media Days quite like the Bison, winners of 10 of the last 15 FCS national championships.

Specifically: Can NDSU immediately contend for a league title?

If that remains to be seen, some players and coaches seemed to think so. 

鈥淚 know what that place is built for,鈥� Nevada head coach Jeff Choate said Thursday. 鈥� 鈥� Storied program, championship pedigree (like) that adds a lot of value to the Mountain West.鈥� 

鈥淚 expect them to be in the top half of the conference, top three or four teams, right away,鈥� New Mexico head coach Jason Eck said.

Of course, Eck speaks from a unique vantage point: A longtime South Dakota State assistant and coordinator, he coached against the Bison for years in the Dakota Marker rivalry, and notably helped the Jackrabbits snap an eight-game losing streak to NDSU in 2016.

That game (a 19-17 SDSU win) also served as Eck鈥檚 introduction to the best of the Fargodome, a 19,000-seat venue he believes will be the toughest place to play in the Mountain West 鈥� if the crowd is right.

鈥淏oise State was probably the toughest place to play last year in the conference,鈥� he added. 鈥淏ut if they can get that thing rocking and sold out like it was for a lot of those South Dakota State games, I think it鈥檒l probably be tougher to play (in). The noise that you deal with 鈥� When I played in Fargo, you gotta have a plan for the noise.鈥�

Choate also has experience coaching against the Bison, especially in the Fargodome. The former Montana State coach took two Bobcat teams back-to-back years in the FCS playoffs, losing by a combined score of 94-10.

If it isn鈥檛 the nicest venue he鈥檚 ever coached at, Choate said it鈥檚 certainly among the most difficult.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a very unique place, right?鈥� he added. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no frills 鈥� literally, (it鈥檚) a straight-up barn. It can get really, really loud 鈥� They鈥檙e right on top of you, so it鈥檚 kind of a fun place to play from that perspective.鈥�

Both Eck and Choate even offered unprompted compliments to NDSU head coach Tim Polasek, a longtime Bison assistant who was named head coach after serving as Wyoming鈥檚 offensive coordinator from 2021-23. Polasek led NDSU to an FCS national championship in 2024, his first season leading the Bison.

Choate called Polasek a 鈥渞eally good football coach鈥� while Eck remembers thinking he鈥檇 have a bright future in coaching when the two used to face off for the Dakota Marker.

鈥淢oving鈥檚 kind of a pain in the ass,鈥� Eck chuckled. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a pretty good deal for (Polasek) 鈥� he became an FBS coach and he鈥檚 still on the same couch in the same living room.鈥�

But if there鈥檚 plenty of optimism about the Bison 鈥� NDSU (+300) has the third-best consensus betting odds to win the league, behind only UNM and UNLV 鈥� there are some questions. While NDSU has a proven track record of success against FBS teams, it only plays those teams once a year 鈥� what will it look like when the Bison play an FBS team each week?

Polasek admitted that鈥檚 something NDSU will have to navigate.

鈥淲e鈥檝e had a lot of success in FBS games, but those were one-game settings,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd I鈥檒l go on record right now and say we beat Iowa (in 2016), but that was seven months of game-planning for that one game, right? 鈥� The challenge is, can you do it week in and week out with a tough schedule?鈥�

The third-year NDSU coach also pointed to the league鈥檚 talent level and schematic variance as something he needs to get a better feel for. In the Bison鈥檚 old home, the physical Missouri Valley Conference, Polasek said it was less about talent and more that teams 鈥渒new you had to show up and hit 鈥� otherwise you would get steamrolled.鈥�

In the Mountain West? There鈥檚 dynamic skill players to deal with at UNLV and Hawaii. Extremely up-tempo offenses like UTEP鈥檚, the spread-and-shred attack at San Jose State and the modified option at Air Force. Fast, rangy athletes and a variety of unusual schemes from each team, each week.

Then again, to those who have seen both sides, the Bison might not have too much to worry about. 

鈥淢aybe some of the skill position speed will be a little different from the Missouri Valley Conference,鈥� Eck said, 鈥渂ut I still think football is won more on the line of scrimmage.鈥�

At the end of the day, that鈥檚 what NDSU has been all about 鈥� why change what got them to the Mountain West in the first place?

鈥淲e鈥檙e just gonna keep doing us,鈥� Hayes said. 鈥淭eams in the past, when they beat Iowa, when they beat Iowa State, Minnesota, Kansas, they didn鈥檛 change anything. They just played NDSU football and they just kept pounding away until the fourth quarter, until that last whistle blew.鈥�

Sean Reider contributed to this story on behalf of the Journal. You can reach him at sreider@abqjournal.com or via X at .