North Dakota State (Missouri Valley Conference -- FCS) 2019

Team:     North Dakota State Bison

Year:       2019

Game:     ND State 9 Illinois State 3

Rating:    7
Cost Index:  Low

Stadium: FARGODOME

If you want to make it part of a larger trip:  Minnesota
Don't Miss:   FARGODOME

Avoid:  Nothing to really avoid

Attendees:  Bones

Overview:   I've been angling to get up to NDSU for the past several years, ever since they won five FCS titles in a row. I went to an FCS school so I have a fondness for the this under the radar football league that started in the late 70s.  It's generally hard to justify the expense of getting to Fargo but given the time of year I was able to wrangle an affordable flight so I got it done in kind of a last minute move.

Pre-game:  The game kicked off at 11AM local time and it was cold (-4 degrees FH) so there wasn't much of a pre-game to speak of.  I did go out the night before.  Hit a few breweries, an Irish bar grabbed dinner at the local fried chicken spot.  Given how cold it was there were a decent amount of people out.  

Game Experience:  The game was not sold out and this was a subject of debate in the Fargo media.   The NDSU playoff games haven't been competitive over the past few years so either people have gotten bored or they are saving their money to travel down to Frisco for the FCS championship game.  

The crowd was kind of quiet, but it was a low scoring slog of a game.  

Post Game:  Again, too cold to have much of a post game scene.  I ended up getting lunch at Junkyard brewing before my flight home.

Stadium: Fargodome, actually I think it's official name is FARGODOME (yes, all CAPS).  I liked FARGODOME it's  very interesting given it's location, it was the only unique thing I saw in Fargo.  It was built in the early 90s, so to think that a dome stadium (even a small one) was built for a Division II program is kind of crazy.

Summary:  It was....fine...I'm glad I saw the FARGODOME and got to see NDSU while they are still in the midst of their dominant run.  Would not be in a rush to head back to Fargo in the winter months.

Game Summary: The game wasn't quite as bad as the final score indicated.  ISU came in as a massive underdog (+28) with a game plan and executed it, they just couldn't get the break they needed to win.  Their defense played great, their offense didn't complete a pass until the third quarter (they finished with 38 yards passing). NDSU moves on to the semi's, as expected, because they were the better team. However, ISU made them earn it.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/game?gameId=401188396