📅 Published on: 2024-12-10 20:35:55
⏱ Duration: 00:19:47 (1187 seconds)
👀 Views: 3067 | 👍 Likes: 51
📝 Video Description:
Head Coach Tim Polasek spoke with media about their upcoming matchup against No. 7 Mercer.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel for new videos and visit GoBison.com for the latest in NDSU athletics.
🎙 Channel: NDSU Athletics
🌍 Channel Country: United States
📂 Tags:
NCAA,North Dakota State,NDSU,Bison,Tim Polasek,NDSU Football,Bison Football
🕵️♂️ Transcript:
just recapping that the eelyn Christian game number one I thought we were tight two weeks in a row we haven’t been able to start fast and dictate the terms of the pace and Us control the game the way we want to do it and dictate the terms of the fight you know I think we need to find you know some pure joy in this competition Saturday you know there there nothing in the future can occur without respecting what it’s going to take to win on Saturday and so you know from the time we start pregame meal and the prep there and the prep starts we have to be confident looking forward and being excited about 60 Minutes of football um I you know I gave some thought to this today you know it’s interesting just talking about this week’s upcoming game I have oftentimes have had people ask me you know hey are you a Packer fan being from Wisconsin I say no I’m a packer we need uh all bison to show up for this game whoever considers themselves a bison we need everybody to be ready to go and be excited we’re excited to be at home and to play and get the defend the Dome again um you know this is our dirt right we need bison Nation to be the 12th participant in this game we need to be playing with 12 so let’s get to the game early let’s be loud and let’s be proud uh for 60 minutes you know Mercer right now um coach Jacobs has got these guys thinking right you know I just listened to their press conference um their players are talking right they’re focused on them you know playing their style of football uh and quite frankly if I was them you know they beat East Tennessee State and it took a hill Mary you know uh po off of a comeback Victory against them and so I don’t think they have any reason to be afraid of us right now our best football is still out there uh four quarters all three phases playing together playing really sharp and clean and tough football you know we’ve been excellent in spurts the last two weeks I mean absolutely lights out but there’s just too many times we’re phasing out on offense and too many times that we’re giving up big plays whether it’s the pass game or the Run um on defense and so we’ll need to sharpen that up in order to get the the win Saturday Mercer is the only thing on our mind they have our full attention and we’ll be ready to go questions how do you instill the kind of fast start mentality especially you know this late in the year or is that just kind of something you have to it’s not about that it’s not about a fast start it’s about being ready to go in in valuing what’s right in front of you my general sense okay my general sense is this we’re looking for bigger and bigger and bigger moments prior to getting the job done so you don’t go out there and warm up efficiently you don’t go out there and enjoy each other and warmup there’s not enough connection okay I knew it at the 27 minute Mark that we were a little off Saturday okay well that’s getting to be a little bit late you know coach can only say a few things you know motivation Jake dickard said this motivation is fleeting okay playing to the standard and being ready to go is another thing and that goes for the coaching staff the equipment staff and the most importantly our leadership and the players why do you think that the last two weeks I I I think we’re looking ahead Dom I just said it like it’s not big enough for us you know it’s not big enough for anybody just to be in a quarterfinal game or the second round of the game the second round of the playoffs it is damn big enough it it is and that’s got to be the main focus it’s it’s the Super Bowl is this weekend and it’s Mercer and we’re zeroed in it’s another brand new opponent for you second one in a row is that kind of a fun aspect of the playoffs it’s it’s a lot of fun and it just you know I’m thinking right now you know Chris kimman did some fun things things when he got here you know he started ins steing this thing like respect the process just work the process you know if we work the process respect the process you know you’re going to go one and0 I that’s really all I’m interested in today in this press conference coach this team likes to use the time of possession you know rushing attack you know what have you seen in the game film preparing for for well they’re very good on defense I mean quite frankly I like let’s go there first I mean they’ve got the defensive end player of the year on defense you know they have um The Freshman of the year is the other defensive player you know other DN um they’ve got two guys with seven interceptions they got a D tackle that made honorable mention um a linebacker that’s been honored three times in their league that was a first team performer number three um and I’m talking I’m not naming their names today because this is a faceless opponent we we’ve we’re going to get I went into the archives we’re going to get back on some topics that we’ve used in the past they’re plus 11 in the turnover ratio most impressively they get off the field 75% on third down okay so you know 42 sacks number one in the country 23 ints number one in the country 75 % win rate on third down number one in the country we’re going to have to be on top of our stuff offensively Player of the Year in their league is a running back number three he’s a good player averaging 5.2 uh four yards per carry and then they still throw for 200 yards they want to establish the run and they want to run the football I think they they want to do a really as good a job as they can you know on Third and Longs and on Third and you know plus six7 of protecting the football making it a six 60-minute game they’re really comfortable um playing in that um you know kind of that Strike Zone and that’s kind of who they are they’re well coached and they’re well PR prepared um like I said I have a lot of respect for the things they were talking about you know let’s focus on us it’s not about North Dakota State I think this squad’s going to be um ready to go and thinking right we’re going to need to play our best football this season had to sh things up a little bit on the offensive line front just thoughts on guys you know plugging in playing in different positions here especially this late year well yeah I mean I don’t know if we chose to shake things up it’s unfortunate with Jake you know rock you know gets a season in injury it’s sad for his family it’s it’s unfortunate for him cuz he was writing a little bit of a comeback story you know one of those things that we were going to be able to really we still will be able to but you know hang in there good things are coming right um we’ve got a six-year option on the left side in Pontius I think we’ve got two really really good uh options as far as Jake Lewinsky and Bo Johnson it’s just a matter of okay where are their best players and where’s our game plan going to go because um we do have some options I I know that’s going to be leading up to the game that’s going to be a question mark it should be it’s exciting like who are they going to settle on and I think a lot of it’s going to have to do with okay where are the matchups and what kind of run you know game are we going to run dual or is it inside Zone you know are we going to run AAP power and the trap play you know what things are we going to do is that flid then you move Miller inside to put ball yeah I mean that’s what we would do right now we’re very conscious I told when we get to this point of the Year where have guys gotten the majority of their reps in preseason spring I think we need to be flip flop at them fall Camp all those things um I think I think you know B would go to right tackle Mason would slide into Right Guard okay we have an option of playing greay zel at left guard and playing pontious at left tackle um playing pontious at left guard he’s got a lot of reps at on the left side I think right now at this stage of the game whoever’s performing the best today’s practice is critical because tomorrow and Thursday are basically spiders practices and we still have some leeway on that they’re number one Rush defensively what’s stands out as a team you want to run the football that they’re so good at stopping it well and it’s interesting right it’s a it’s a good question and it goes deeper than that their DC was at Youngstown State um for two years 23 and 22 and faced us right is that accurate and so I think for a long time when youngstown’s been good they played heavy techniques You Know cover up o lineman not let you um necessarily advance to the second level as fast as you would want so they play very well they play very well out of a four-point stance they get their hands on your chest you know they’re working to reestablish the line of scrimmage and get knockback out of heavy techniques um that stands out um they’re opportunistic obviously with I mean they’re plus 11 in the turnover margin and that’s not even like the most impressive thing because they’ve turned it over 10 times fumbling it and they’ve thrown 11 ints so that number I mean you know what I mean like something’s got to give they’re they just the really opportunistic I think their DBS have good hands I mean 23 interceptions right that means that you’re you’re closing um and then when they do pick the ball off or pick it off pick it up um they’ve scored five or six times on defense and so those are probably the qualities that stand out the most to me um I like I mean I like I I respect you know their pass rush ability you know if you give them an inch they’re going to take it we got to make sure that we’re setting the man okay we make him go through us and make him beat us and then if we do do that I think there’s some success on the other side if we respect our fundamentals what’s to say about Hunter sixe guy hanging in there a chance to start yeah you know Hunter’s another one of those kids that um well number one Fargo’s been so good to him the education he’s taken full advantage of that I think he’s really pleased with where he’s at in his stage of of life but you know just the stick to itness and the the willingness to do that doesn’t happen everywhere you know even a guy like in his fifth or sixth year might say well I don’t have a shot at starting you know and he blocks the the kick last year against Montana State I think I think those are um the foundation of this program um a lot like a lot of our former players you know there’s stories there right like guys just hanging in there and so it says a lot about his family the way he was raised in the person he is uh brayan’s 71st career game as a lifelong college guy like you you are doesn’t that seem almost bizarre me I mean I know the co obviously but oh jeez I I still Yes it’s bizar you know why I still think like 56 is good you know I remember when dudzik had his thing there and we thought that was like some great feat you know we’re coming up on some other records potentially being broke but 71 games he’s played in I didn’t know that I mean that’s just unbelievable that’s uh that would be an NFL career in most cases coach your uh your guys’s defense you know had some rough spots against Evelyn Christian you know really turn up there in that second half at times you know what are you seeing from them as they prepare for you know this offense that you know you guys are wanting to take them take them on yeah it’s going to be okay so our goal is to give up three or less explosive plays we did that in that game you know that 90 yard run chaps me as much as it chaps you guys we had a secondary player Misfit the football play okay that wasn’t in his spot where he should be in an unbalanced formation I believe okay that’s what happens when you have a misfit in a gapped out defense it’s happened to us before and my good old buddy Colton heagle and uh um Nick delca were right at the point of the attack in the national title game Illinois State and one Misfit and there it goes when you’re playing gapped out defense I actually look back on it I think defensively you take that 90 yards out of there and The Way We Were deploying coverage The Way We Were deploying um and helping Corners at times and then we settled in and said the corners don’t need as much help as they honestly played pretty well and anytime you get three takeaways that’s just huge I mean it’s just it’s gamechanging I think that’s the equivalent okay two takeaways my mind would be the equivalent of giving up a 90 yard run I mean it’s just college football today and I thought abene Christian and I’m with Jeff on This I think eelyn Christian was was was good they weren’t better than we thought they weren’t this or that they just were good and well prepared and ready to go and like I said at the opening remarks we we were not in the right State of Mind to go out and have fun compete have pure joy on defense fly around swarm them high-fiving I think we’re going to do that this week we did it last night on a Monday practice this program appears to be investing in football on an in an age when a lot of FCF teams have moved up how important is that for the FCS you know it’s really important I mean for eight years I was away right or seven seasons I was away and I was like gez you know is there something I think FCS football’s in in pretty good shape and I don’t know like about the top or who can win it and then all the conversation pieces but abene Christian is going to be an issue here moving forward they got athletes they’re going to be well coached um I respect these guys in the ball they’re playing um you know they’re scheduling people um I’m not trying to learn about the socon again and those kind of things like what exactly are we looking at but I think it’s really important for as many programs as possible to reinvest into their their outfits hire the best people they can hire so that it is competitive right we all want to be in a competitive competitive world I think our fan base wants that and so I think that’s critical Jee you watch anything of them playing Alabama or is that you throw that out you know typically I like looking at an FBS opponent and then like their last two because okay somewhere in the middle you know that’s kind of where this thing’s going to fall I just didn’t you know when Alabama I I don’t think they went out and tried to establish the run or any of that stuff I knew what kind of game I would be turning on I just didn’t look at it this time you mentioned Jackson Williams to us early on what was it about it was it just even in with summer workout say this guy can help us right away this fall just he’s so levelheaded and inside there’s this humble confident calm cool collected but he’s on the attack all the time I just that’s the right mindset you know what um Ryan Smith did it as a young returner and I I would compare those guys’ demeanor like just Workman like all the time and then you just don’t see him put the ball on the ground much I mean it was two three weeks in the fall Camp before he had a a drop you know I thought he should have made um and so he’s real consistent performer I think he’s real aware of his fundamentals and technique if you guys would go back and look at his returns you know his shoulders right he’s Square to the field he’s circling the ball properly you know he was a center fielder right and baseball player I mean he’s just he’s been not a pleasant surprise he’s been on this and I guess we called our shot early in Camp but the opportunity arose for him to be a returner and we ran with it and it’s I think it’s paid off for all parties cuz it’s going to give him a chance to compete this spring for a major major role at receiver probably hasn’t been quite would I’m sorry excuse me I go s the tailback Run game the last couple weeks probably hasn’t been quite up to standard but Marty Brown Clips 1,00 yards first running back I think seven years is that kind of what you were yeah that’s what we’re I’d take two of them we’ve done that multiple times I the tailback Run game against South Dakota was going to be tough guys they are an elite front they are really good okay this week they deployed you know what’s interesting right Bara had a 40 yard run well that was the end of that you know Oki cover four seven on seven football that was the last time we saw it and I just think what what I want to come back to is the job that Jake Landry and Randy Hedberg and crutch and Joel and Dan have done to get our pass game to where it is now that we can win in different Fashions Mike asked me earlier can you guys win a shootout you damn right I believe we can do that and I wish I could have it back okay we want to talk about two weeks ago let’s talk about it we should have got to the throw game a little earlier as tough as it was to run it against South Dakota mention Anthony as well there’s another guy who’s played you know he caught your attention right away for coming in what about his his experience has really helped you at a spot where you’re pretty green still yeah he had a big tackle in the game too the one play almost came out and he he made a great play just that I mean you’re talking about a kid that’s highly intelligent you’re talking about a guy that’s work habits are very consistent I think that’s important at that position you know to be an up and down guy is really hard to achieve your full potential Anthony has some things he has to work on and he would love to improve but his consistency and and we can count on him right his you know again Shep you know thank God Shep recognizes hamstring getting a little bit tight from the lack of work probably the week before and so I don’t think it was a major hamstring but you know here come three new guys in there and just that he’s got a great personality he’s got a bright future he’s going to be successful healthwise anything else besides I just I’m hoping like heck we can have ws and alter Peter because the relief it gives whether it’s during the week um or during the game is just unbelievable it’s just so connected the Special Teams and and one guy’s getting run a lot ran a lot the next guy has to take more reps so forth and so on it w it’s an alter Peter at the top of my mind um you know I didn’t didn’t realize this to answer your question from Saturday you know Kelton played a little more CU will was still coming off that shoulder a little bit and than the type of game it was so I think will Mozart’s 100% or dang close to it who’s 100% this time of year but otherwise our health is pretty good kind of off that that works Factor kubitz has you know played basically the full game hope have you seen him he hasn’t really done that yeah we gave him a Payday right him and him and Logan CPP are the uh linebackers you know they got player of the game recognition from Grant and that’s the most important Ward because we give that at the team meeting they both played really good you know it’s like I said to Grant I you know even though with all the fits and stuff you’d still like to see them from time to time make a play that’s not necessarily theirs and I think kubitz is is really running you know he almost had a block punt I think kubit is playing at a pretty good level and so is Logan cop we all are we just have to eliminate the big play whether that’s in the air or we have to eliminate the explosive play uh you know in the Run game and when I say explosive play we got to get it tackled I thought some of our Pursuit angles like defensively we focused really hard this week on Pursuit angles some of the M tackles on the perimeter screens and stuff weren’t missed tackles they were missed angles and I know that’s part of tackling but we just have to pursue and close down the ball with Better Effort and um better angles coach with the injuries and potential changes in the offensive line how important is the leadership with you know players like gray and and Mason Miller for for this offensive line to keep together yeah I mean like o line like o Line’s probably where we’re at I wouldn’t be as concerning as some of these other spots you know what I mean like we kind of still know what you got you know how to protect it can do some things protection wise to give a little help to somebody and and build Concepts and hot routes away from somebody if you had to um I’m confident in punch I’m confident in Bow I’m confident in Lewinsky it’s just a lack of uh repetition and experience that you hope uh a missed assignment don’t all of a sudden catch up with you with Ponch I don’t worry about that at all and with those two younger guys you know you would have concerns that it’s a pretty big moment stay in age for everyone’s on TV it’s the first time the far’s going to be on Network television ABC how big a deal is that on Saturday I you know we’ve talked about it right like get everybody to the Dome and man those people that were there were awesome last week but this would be a hell of a recruiting tool if that Dome is packed and people can see our brand and our colors in the support that we have up you know here at NDSU and I think this is an opportunity um no different than going down in Minnesota years ago and capturing a w and all of a sudden applications increase you know and so I hope everybody recognizes the the the moment uh national televised game you can record it and go home and watch it afterwards and then just take the Saturday to tailgate have a good day with your family and and cheer loud and and be proud
🚀 Related Hashtags: #NDSU #Football #Press #Conference #December
Disclaimer: This video is embedded directly from YouTube. All rights to the video and content belong to the original creator, NDSU Athletics. For more details, please visit the original source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBYwWmwJp8Q.
