2008 North Dakota State Bison football team

American college football season

2008 North Dakota State Bison football

Conference| Missouri Valley Football Conference
Record| 6–5 (4–4 MVFC)
Head coach|

* Craig Bohl (6th season)

Offensive coordinator| Patrick Perles (4th season)
Offensive scheme| Pro-style
Defensive coordinator| Willie Mack Garza (4th season)
Base defense| 4–3
Home stadium| Fargodome

Seasons

<- 2007

2009 ->

2008 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

|
|
|
|

Team |  | W |  | L |  |  |  |  | W |  | L |
No. 4 Northern Iowa +^  |  | 7  | - | 1  |  |  |  |  | 12  | - | 3  |
No. 11 Southern Illinois +^  |  | 7  | - | 1  |  |  |  |  | 9  | - | 3  |
South Dakota State |  | 6  | - | 2  |  |  |  |  | 7  | - | 5  |
Western Illinois |  | 4  | - | 4  |  |  |  |  | 6  | - | 5  |
North Dakota State |  | 4  | - | 4  |  |  |  |  | 6  | - | 5  |
Missouri State |  | 3  | - | 5  |  |  |  |  | 4  | - | 7  |
Youngstown State |  | 3  | - | 5  |  |  |  |  | 4  | - | 8  |
Illinois State |  | 2  | - | 6  |  |  |  |  | 3  | - | 8  |
Indiana State |  | 0  | - | 8  |  |  |  |  | 0  | - | 12  |

* \+ - Conference co-champions
* ^ - FCS playoff participant

Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 2008 North Dakota State Bison football team represented North Dakota State University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The team was led by sixth-year head coach Craig Bohl and played their home games at the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota. The Bison finished with an overall record of 6–5, tying for third place in the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) with a 4–4 mark.[1] After being ranked in the polls every week to that point, North Dakota State was bumped out of a likely playoff spot with a home loss in the season finale to South Dakota State by one point.

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Time| Opponent| Rank| Site| TV| Result| Attendance| Source

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

August 28| 7:00 pm| Austin Peay*| No. 2|

* Fargodome
* Fargo, ND

| | W 41–6| 18,701| [2]
September 6| 6:00 pm| Central Connecticut State*| No. 1|

* Fargodome
* Fargo, ND

| | W 50–14| 18,868| [3]
September 13| 2:00 pm| at Wyoming*| No. 1|

* War Memorial Stadium
* Laramie, WY

| | L 13–16| 19,156| [4]
September 20| 5:00 pm| at Youngstown State| No. 2|

* Stambaugh Stadium
* Youngstown, OH

| KXJB-TV| L 24–32| 14,331| [5]
October 4| 1:00 pm| No. 13 Southern Illinois| No. 6|

* Fargodome
* Fargo, ND

| NBCND| W 35–27| 18,942| [6]
October 11| 6:00 pm| No. 17 Western Illinois| No. 6|

* Fargodome
* Fargo, ND (Trees Bowl)

| NBCND| L 22–27| 17,043| [7]
October 18| 4:05 pm| at No. 6 Northern Iowa| No. 16|

* UNI-Dome
* Cedar Falls, IA

| FCS/NBCND| L 13–23| 13,416| [8]
October 25| 1:30 pm| at Illinois State| No. 25|

* Hancock Stadium
* Normal, IL

| | W 25–7| 8,004| [9]
November 1| 6:00 pm| Indiana State| No. T–24|

* Fargodome
* Fargo, ND (Harvest Bowl)

| | W 34–7| 16,211| [10]
November 15| 1:00 pm| at Missouri State| No. 25|

* Plaster Sports Complex
* Springfield, MO

| | W 48–27| 3,920| [11]
November 22| 6:00 pm| South Dakota State| No. 24|

* Fargodome
* Fargo, ND (Dakota Marker)

| NBCND| L 24–25| 18,428| [12]

* *Non-conference game
* Homecoming
* Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game
* All times are in Central time

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "2008 NDSU football schedule". North Dakota State Athletics. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
2. ^ "Merten's sparkles in debut". The Bismarck Tribune. August 29, 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
3. ^ "Bison defeat Blue Devils". Hartford Courant. September 7, 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ "Back from the brink". Casper Star-Tribune. September 14, 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "Bad day for Bison". The Bismarck Tribune. September 21, 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Tale of two halves for SIU". Southern Illinoisan. October 5, 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "Leathernecks snap Bison's home streak". The Bismarck Tribune. October 12, 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ "Preseason snub lights fire as UNI stops Bison". The Courier. October 19, 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ "ISU leveled by Bison stampede". The Pantagraph. October 26, 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ "Bison shut down Sycamores". The Bismarck Tribune. November 2, 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
11. ^ "Bears struggle in shutout". The Springfield News-Leader. November 9, 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ "Berry rallies South Dakota State to defeat rival North Dakota State". Rapid City Journal. November 23, 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.

* v
* t
* e

North Dakota State Bison football

Venues|

* Dacotah Field (1910–1992)
* Fargodome (1993–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* North Dakota: Nickel Trophy
* South Dakota State: Dakota Marker

Culture & lore|

* Thundar
* "On Bison"
* Gold Star Marching Band

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees

Seasons|

* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919
* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943–1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

National championship seasons in bold
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[No.]: Number