Bison Game Day October 8 2022

It’s taking a Bison village to help raise Michael Tutsie’s daughter

By Jeff Kolpack The Forum Fargo

The multiple cameras from media outlets covering the North Dakota State football program were waiting in the NDSU football team room late Saturday afternoon, with Bison players Michael Tutsie and Joe Stoffel walking in to answer a few questions. Tutsie brought a special guest.

His 1-year-old daughter Sarai patiently hung out in his right arm while her father talked about the challenges of facing the Youngstown State offense and its record-setting running back Jaleel McLaughlin. The Bison defense did its job when it had to in a 27-14 win at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome.

Tutsie had one interception and almost grabbed another that would have turned into a defensive touchdown.

“That’s a safety’s dream right there,” he said. “I’d be lying to say that didn’t hurt but it’s tough to be upset when you go home and you have this one right here to go home to.”

The 24-year-old Tutsie, in his sixth year of school and using an extra year of eligibility because of the pandemic, is living a world quite unlike he did when he was a freshman from Indianapolis. He’s grown up, and balancing the real world of family and football.

While players were probably looking for ways to celebrate a homecoming victory, Tutsie had other responsibilities to consider. He’ll tell you he was nervous when he found out he was going to be a father.

Then he looked around at his support group.

“I saw that it’s going to be hard for me to fail in that situation just because of the village that I do have,” Tutsie said. “The NDSU community, the coaches, my teammates, everybody here is like a manager and I trust her with a lot of people here. It does take a village and it has definitely taken that and I’m blessed to be able to be a Bison for sure.”

Sarai has been a regular around the team, many times with her toddler Bison cheerleader outfit on. She was at Media Day in August, she’s been at practices and the team helped celebrate her 1-year-old birthday.

NDSU head coach Matt Entz has seen fellow defensive backs like Jayden Price or Dawson Weber with Sarai walking into the football office because Michael had an errand or something else to do.

“One big family, like we talk about,” Entz said. “These are great examples of it. He’s responsible for making sure she has appropriate care and getting her to and from places. If you know Steve, his dad, you can see why Michael wants to be a great dad because Steve poured into his son his whole life and Michael is going to do the same thing for Sarai.”

Steve Tutsie is a former college assistant coach who retired as a high school educator, but took an assistant coaching position this year at Warren Central High School in Indianapolis, where Michael graduated. He’s got his schedule figured out where he’ll be able to see every Bison game this year, usually getting to the Indianapolis International Airport very early on Saturday morning to catch a flight.

This weekend, the travel plans are reversed. The NDSU charter is flying into Indianapolis and staying there on Friday night before taking the one-hour bus ride to Terre Haute on Saturday for the noon (CST) kickoff against Indiana State.

Sarai has been with her grandparents this week, with Steve taking her after last Saturday’s home victory over

Youngstown State.

“You want a story, you should have seen coach Tutsie going through an airport with two bags and Sarai,” Steve said with a chuckle.

Said Michael: “This is the longest I’ve been away from her, for a week, so it’s been different. It’s been kind of nice to get a little break. Everytime I make a decision I have to do something for her and then I realize she’s not here so it’s been a relief in a sense but I definitely miss her and can’t wait to see her in Indy.”

As a football coach, Steve appreciates other Bison parents taking turns looking after Sarai during a game. He’s a coach at heart, after all, and is all in on the action.

“They’ve treated her so well, as good as they’ve treated Michael,”

Steve said. “You know, a lot of people talk about family and then they just throw that out. It’s as is at North Dakota State. You can tell just how everybody is engaged and not just the players and coaches, but everybody. In football, you need everybody on board and you need as many people as you can on board.”

There will be plenty of family and friends on board at Memorial Stadium in Terre Haute; Michael said the latest count he’s heard is about 50. Surprisingly, it will be his first game at Indiana State.

He was a redshirt freshman in 2017 the last time NDSU played there. The Sycamores went off the Bison schedule because of the Missouri Valley Football Conference schedule rotation in 2018 and 2019 and the 2020 game was canceled because of the pandemic. The Bison would

have played at ISU in the delayed spring season of 2021 but Indiana State opted out of all games, the only Valley member to do so.

“Once I decided I was coming back and I saw that we were playing at Indiana State, I knew that was going to be a game I was going to be looking forward to,” Michael said. “It’s going to be really fun just to see all of them supporting me and supporting my team.”

And once again, there will be no shortage of people to watch Sarai.

“I definitely couldn’t have done it on my own,” Michael said. “I mean, it was a jump-starter for me. Life hit fast. It came quickly, but it was also instinctual and a natural thing when she was born. I just have to make decisions for somebody else every single day now, it has affected me greatly and made me mature faster than I was supposed to.”

Steve treats the extra year of eligibility like a gift. It’s still emotional, if not more knowing it’s Michael’s last collegiate year, when the team comes out with its lights-out pregame entrance. Now he goes to games as a grandfather.

“I tell this story all the time, I was 32 years old when I became a father and I wasn’t ready; I was a teacher already for 10 years,” Steve said. “I think he’s done a pretty good job, especially last year when he was student teaching and raising a child. It forces you to grow up maybe faster than you want it to be. I know he is a good dad, which Lorri and I are very proud of the dad that he is.”

Readers can reach Forum reporter Jeff Kolpack at jkolpack@forumcomm.com. Twitter@KolpackInForum

David Samson / The Forum

North Dakota State defensive back Michael Tutsie wheels in his daughter, Sarai, to the delight of his teammates Oscar Benson, RaJa Nelson, TK Marshall and DJ Hart during Bison Football media day at the Fargodome in August.

Michael Vosburg / The Forum

North Dakota State’s Michael Tutsie intercepts a pass in front of teammate Courtney Eubanks (1) intended for Youngstown State’s Bryce Oliver during their football game Oct. 1 in Fargo.

Waege’s versatility vital with injuries along Bison defensive front

By Jeff Kolpack and Eric Peterson The Forum Fargo

North Dakota State senior Spencer Waege has done his best to be a leader on defense in the midst of his sixth season in the football program.

His experience and ability has become more critical for the Bison with injuries along the defensive line, including junior defensive tackle Eli Mostaert and senior defensive end Jake Kava. Waege’s versatility to play multiple positions is taking on an even bigger role.

“I’ve thought all year I’ve done my best to always try and lead guys along, whether it was the D-end room, the D-tackle room,” Waege said. “With guys getting hurt, my role where some of my snaps go changed a little bit, not a whole lot.”

The Bison play at noon Saturday, Oct. 8, at Indiana State in Missouri Valley Conference Football play. NDSU (4-1, 2-0 MFVC) is looking to remain undefeated in the conference.

The 6-foot-3, 280pound Mostaert had a season-ending, lowerleg injury in the second game of the season, while the 6-foot1, 243-pound Kava suffered an undisclosed upper body injury last weekend in a 27-14 home victory against Youngstown State.

“You hate seeing guys get hurt,” Waege said. “It’s the terrible thing about this sport and the sad thing is you know it’s just a part of it that happens.”

The 6-foot-5, 282pound Waege leads the team with 3 1/2 sacks through five games and also has 6 1/2 tackles for a loss. Bison head coach Matt Entz said redshirt freshman defensive end Kole Menz, a West Fargo Sheyenne graduate,

and true freshman defensive end Kelton McCaslin, from St. Charles, Ill., could see game action in the coming weeks due to the injuries along the defensive front.

“There always seems like there’s a freshman every year that steps up in the defensive line room,” Entz said.

“It’s always cool with those young guys because you see them from right when they get on campus to as they develop through camp and stuff like that,” Waege added. “Kole has made a lot of strides.”

Bison junior defensive end Dylan Hendricks could also see his first game action this season against the Sycamores. He suffered a hamstring injury in the week leading up to the season opener against Drake that has prevented him from playing in the first five games.

“Dylan will be a huge help,” Waege said. “I’m really excited to see what he can do in a game.”

Entz: Fired Wisconsin coach Chryst won right way

Another week, another head coach from a Power Five conference getting fired. The latest last

Sunday was University of Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst, who was let go despite a 67-26 overall record.

Chryst was 6-1 in bowl games with the only defeat a one-point loss in the Rose Bowl. All of the movement has Entz wondering if the increased influx of millions of dollars of television revenue to Power Five programs is cause to quickly pull a change trigger.

Other coaches who have been let go are Karl Dorrell at Colorado, Herm Edwards at Arizona State, Scott Frost at Nebraska and Geoff Collins at Georgia Tech. NDSU plays at Colorado in 2024. Entz was asked earlier this week if the pressure to win is even more than it was two years ago.

“It would sure make you feel that way just by looking at some of the recent decisions,” he said.

Entz had nothing but praise of the job Chryst did, especially with recruiting. NDSU is a frequent visitor to Wisconsin high schools and routinely finds players who have made championship impacts to the program.

“He’s won 70% of his games and he’s done it the right away,” Entz said. “He’s recruited the state of Wisconsin and he’s recruited the

state of Minnesota as good as anybody has. He’s won with probably a very similar recipe as NDSU has. They’ve gone out and hit their remote areas and you go back, that was ‘Running Back U’ for a long time while he was an assistant coach and as the head coach.”

Bison better, but need tackling to improve Entz said his team’s tackling was better against Youngstown State, but added improvement is still needed in that department.

Penguins running back Jaleel McLaughlin rushed for 150 yards in NDSU’s 27-14 victory last weekend. McLaughlin also added a 35-yard TD catch with less than five minutes to play in the fourth

quarter.

The 5-foot-9, 183pound McLaughlin had a long run of 44 yards during the second quarter on a thirdand-long play. He broke a would-be NDSU tackle near the line of scrimmage on that big play, which set up a YSU field goal.

“I thought we improved tackling, but when I say better, better doesn’t mean good. It just was better,” Entz said.

“Overall, I think there were fewer missed tackles. I think there are areas that we can continue to work on, but I saw some of the things that we’ve been stressing happening on game day.”

The Bison missed 14 tackles against the Penguins, according to Pro Football Focus. Etc, etc, etc

► Bison kicker Griffin Crosa had a solid day

against YSU, making field goals from 39 and 38 yards in the fourth quarter. The junior from Dublin, Ohio, was 2-for-2 on field goals for a second consecutive game: “(We’re) seeing more and more consistency out of him,” Entz said.

► Bison running back Kobe Johnson set the school record for longest touchdown run with his 97-yarder against Indiana State last year in Fargo.

► NDSU is making its first trip to Terre Haute, Ind., since 2017 when quarterback Easton Stick was a junior for a team that won 52-0.

► Bison senior Jayden Price is the FCS active career leader averaging 14.9 yards per punt return. It currently ranks second in school history behind Travis White, who averaged 16.0 per return from 2002-06.

David Samson / The Forum

North Dakota State defensive end Spencer Waege is one of the key veterans along the Bison defensive line.

Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum

North Dakota State’s Courtney Eubanks (1) and James Kaczor (26) take down Youngstown State’s Jaleel McLaughlin during their football game on Oct. 1 at the Fargodome.

FCS lifeblood is as much smaller conferences as national powers

By Craig Haley STATS Perform

Let’s face it, the national champion in FCS college football is not coming out of a conference such as the Big South, Patriot or Pioneer.

We also know an Ivy League school won’t be fighting for No. 1 in Frisco, Texas, come early January.

But the lifeblood of the FCS is as much the smaller conferences as it is national powers North Dakota State, South Dakota State and the Montana frenemies, where a conference championship can mean everything to the schools battling their brethren from week to week.

As title races take shape, the outcomes in October set up a November to remember.

Here are some of the leading Week 6 games across FCS college football:

MVFC: South Dakota (1-3, 0-1) at No. 2 South Dakota State (4-1, 2-0)

Kickoff: 2 p.m. (Midco SN/ ESPN+)

Notable: Will it be a red or blue state? Three of the last four meetings have been decided by three points, including USD’s 23-20 win last season on a gameending, Carson Camp “Hail Mary” TD pass. This season, with Camp one of the more sacked FCS QBs (15), the Coyotes need production out of RB Travis Theis, who has team highs with 297 rushing yards, 12 receptions and three TDs (one in each of the last three games). SDSU RB Isaiah Davis is coming off a career-high 27 carries against Western Illinois, which led to a season-high 199 yards and the first two TDs of his junior campaign. The Jackrabbits are plus-six in turnover margin.

The Pick: South Dakota State

MVFC: No. 17 Southern Illinois (3-2, 2-0) at No. 20 Missouri State (2-3, 0-2)

Kickoff: 2 p.m. (ESPN+)

Notable: The early season fortunes have been in reverse with SIU on a three-game winning streak and Missouri State on a three-game losing streak. Both defenses have already been hurt by the pass, and it’s one of the better QB duels in the MVFC, if not nation with SIU’s Nic Baker (4,327 passing yards, 36 TD passes in the last 18 games) vs. MSU’s Jason Shelley (average of 307.8 yards of total offense with 45 total TDs in last 17 games). The all-time series is tied 22-22.

The Pick: Southern Illinois

Big Sky: No. 24 Eastern Washington (1-3, 0-1) at No. 7 Weber State (4-0, 1-0)

Kickoff: 7 p.m. (ESPN+)

Notable: EWU has a short week after a Sunday game at Florida and now a trip to Weber State, where the Eagles seek to avoid a fourth straight loss to the Wildcats since 2017 and their first four-game losing streak since 2011. QB Gunner Talkington seeks to build on an 11-to-3 TD pass-to-interception ratio against WSU’s pass defense (50 completion percentage, 10 interceptions). The Wildcats, who have the longest active FCS winning streak at six, is 13-0 when sixth-year senior Josh Davis reaches 100 or more rushing yards.

The Pick: Weber State

Pioneer: Davidson (4-1, 1-0) at St. Thomas (3-1, 1-0)

Kickoff: 1 p.m. (TommieSpots.com)

Notable: Davidson, the two-time defending PFL champion, once again leads the FCS in rushing yards per game (389.4), spreading the touches well with RBs Dylan Sparks (63 carries, 369 yards, 5 TDs) and Coy Williams

(62, 346, 5) and QB Jayden Waddell (51, 337, 3). St. Thomas is 6-0 at home as an FCS program, but the winning streak at O’Shaughnessy Stadium is 23 straight since 2017. In the four career games RB Hope Adebayo has been given 15 or more carries, he’s had 100 or more yards, including at Marist last Saturday.

The Pick: St. Thomas

SWAC: No. 8 Jackson State (4-0, 2-0) at Alabama State (3-2, 1-1)

Kickoff: 2 p.m. (ESPN3)

Notable: JSU is allowing 185.5 yards per game, which would rank in the FCS alltime top 10 if averaged over a full season. QB Shedeur Sanders ranks second nationally in completion percentage (75.5) and third in passing yards per game (345.3), and is tied for fourth in TD passes (14). ASU committed 14 turnovers in its first four games, but didn’t have any in a 16-13 win at Texas Southern last Saturday. The Hornets handed JSU coach Deion Sanders his first career loss at ASU Stadium in

March 2021, but the Tigers won at home 28-7 last October.

The Pick: Jackson State

CAA: No. 6 Delaware (5-0, 3-0) at No. 16 William & Mary (4-1, 1-1)

Kickoff: 2:30 p.m. (Cox Yurview/FloSports)

Notable: UD’s Nolan Henderson (15-2 career as starter) ranks 10th among FCS QBs in passing yards per game (291.4) and third in touchdown passes (16), while W&M’s offense rolls with the No. 6 rushing offense (241 ypg), led by RBs Bronson Yoder (416 yards, 4 TDs) and Malachi Imoh (306, 7). In defending third downs, UD is third-best in the FCS, allowing just 23.6 percent of conversions, and W&M is seventh-best at 26.2. The Blue Hens have allowed only one first-half TD, and LB Johnny Buchanan is tied for the FCS high with 11.8 tackles per game. OLB John Pius racked up seven sacks in W&M’s first three games, but only has a half-sack in the last two.

The Pick: William & Mary

Florida A&M (3-2) at South Carolina State (1-3)

Kickoff: 1 p.m. (ESPN+)

Notable: FAMU has won three consecutive games after a tumultuous start to the season. Transfer QB Jeremy Mousa wisely targets WR Xavier Smith, who has 29 receptions and six TD catches and gone over 3,000 career receiving yards during the winning streak. SCSU needs to rev up an offense that is averaging only 254.3 yards per game. With 40 tackles, LB BJ Davis is well on his way to leading the Bulldogs defense in stops for a third straight season.

The Pick: Florida A&M

Patriot: Fordham (4-1, 1-0) at Lehigh (1-4, 1-0)

Kickoff: 11 a.m. (SEN/ESPN+)

Notable: Overshadowed by the dominance of QB Tim DeMorat (430.6 passing ypg, 26 TDs) and WR Fotis Kokosioulis (49 receptions, 728 yards, eight TDs) is the way RBs Trey Sneed and Julius Loughridge have fueled the Rams to 199.4 rushing yards per game. Lehigh will seek to play keep-away, having rushed for 268 yards in a 35-28 loss to the Rams last season, and a winner of four straight league games since last November.

The Pick: Fordham

Ivy: Dartmouth (1-2, 0-1) at Yale (2-1, 1-0)

Kickoff: 11 a.m. (ESPN+)

Notable: Dartmouth has dropped back-to-back overtime games and faces a must-win to remain a realistic contender for a third straight Ivy title (the Big Green haven’t lost three straight games since 2011). Yale will don throwback uniforms to commemorate its 150 years of football, and the team-high carries and rushing totals of Bulldogs QB Nolan Grooms and Dartmouth counterpart Nick Howard feel like yesteryear. The Pick: Yale

Michael Vosburg / The Forum

South Dakota’s Myles Harden celebrates an interception against North Dakota State on Sept. 24 in Vermillion, South Dakota.