YSU is coming off a bye week after getting shutout at #9 Kentucky 31-0. NDSU is coming in after a road MVFC win over USD after an impressive 2nd half against the Coyotes.

NDSU will come in as heavy favorites. Massey has it at 31-13.

I do think this will be an intriguing match-up as NDSU's offensive strength (running the football) will be put up against YSU's defensive strength (defending against the run). In three games thus far, YSU has given up just 51 yards on the ground against Duquesne, 55 yards on the ground against Dayton, and 103 yards on the ground against Kentucky, which is good enough for 69.9 yards per game (#11 in FCS). NDSU on the other hand is averaging 265.5 yards per game on the ground, well ahead of the 120 yards per game passing they have through 4 games. I would expect NDSU to utilize the play-action quite a bit as they will try to exploit the much weaker pass defense of YSU. However, it is worth mentioning that YSU does have 9 sacks and 7 interceptions (#2 in FCS) through 3 games, including 2 interceptions and 4 sacks in Lexington.

Just saying that based on the strength vs. strength, this could be a bit closer than Massey has it. However if YSU wants to have any chance of an upset, they will have to find a way to throw the football as their pass offense was anemic against Kentucky and I believe they will struggle to rush it consistently against the Bison.

BeamMeUp