AP Photo North Dakota State head coach Matt Entz watches his team play against Central Arkansas on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020, in Fargo. North Dakota State won 39-28.

In less than 50 days, head coach Matt Entz and the North Dakota State Bison football team will open their season against Eastern Washington University. The beginning of the 2023 season against the Eagles will bring a different and historic moment to the table.

Being the first-ever college football game played at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn., home of the Minnesota Vikings, the Bison will be on a big stage to begin the year and Entz couldn’t help but share his excitement for the opportunity, as well as the other benefits it will bring.

“For us to be able to the first-ever college football game at US Bank Stadium, it will create some energy. Minneapolis has the most alumni base in it, so hopefully we get a ton of people from that area to come to the game,” Entz said.

He added, “I know Bison Nation is going to travel, so I think there’s a lot of win-win there. For a team that has half of its members come from the state of Minnesota, for us to play a game there is critical. It’s no different than in 2019 when we played at Target Field in front of 35,000. That was huge for our Minnesota contingent on our football team.”

Heading into this season, the Bison are coming off a 2022 campaign that saw them post a 12-3 record and a loss to South Dakota State in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) title game. While that is an excellent season for some, for the Bison it leaves them hungry for more as they look to take a leap forward this year.

“I don’t know if there was one particular thing, but I think the cumulative learning is that we need to be better fundamentally. I thought there were some things tackling wise, some of the things that we prided ourselves on in years past, that wasn’t as sharp as it could’ve been.”

Being able to create depth from top to bottom of the roster, as well as getting more creative on offense are two other points of emphasis that Entz and the team learned from last year, that they believe will help them this season if executed properly.

“We have to find more creative ways to get the ball to our playmakers in space. If that means we have to open the playbook a little bit offensively to throw the ball, I’d like to see us try to establish some of those things early in the season. It will help our run game as the year progresses,” he said.

When discussing other areas for improvement, Entz mentioned tackling and the passing game on offense being critical to their success this year and are two things they have placed an emphasis on as they get ready to start the season. He also wants to see the Bison continue to be a disciplined football team by holding onto the ball and avoiding penalties.

As the regular season is right around the corner, Entz and his staff have the Bison going through summer workouts, where they have had roughly 120 players in town to participate. The vibes surrounding the team are positive, and the coaching staff has done a good job of making the most of the time they have with the players.

“Our coaches have done an outstanding job of utilizing the access time that’s provided to them from the NCAA. We have tried to push the envelope with some of our younger kids who are on campus, as far as shortening that learning curve, getting them involved in things early on, skill and fundamental development, making sure they understand what’s required to be a Bison, what it looks like to be a Bison and how Bison play.”

Even though pushing the envelope and the development of new members of the program is something the staff has been working on, Entz believes the experience the Bison are bringing back can be a strong point of the team and is something that will be of benefit once game action takes place.

“We have a number of young men that have experience. We have nearly 40 players that have played over 200 snaps for us, so we have kids that have game experience. We just need to make sure that we put them in the right spots.”

Some of those experienced players and leadership is expected to come from the offensive line, which Entz said, “that’s the position group that emulates what we want to be as a program.”

Seniors Jalen Sundell, Grey Zabel and Mason Miller, and local product and senior Jake Kubas out of Dickinson are all expected to be key contributors in helping the Bison get to where they want to be this year.

Under center, quarterback Cam Miller returns for his senior season and Entz knows how important it is to have a veteran signal caller. “It’s always comforting to know that you have an experienced player at that position.”

On the defensive side of the ball, Entz is pleased with the depth on the defensive line. Jaxon Duttenhefer out of Mandan and brothers Eli and Will Mostaert are expected to heavily contribute on the line, while Logan Kopp will be leaned on out the linebacker group.

While those position groups will provide plenty of experience for the Bison, the team has less depth than usual at the cornerback position. Guided by senior Jayden Price at corner and returner, Entz and Co. will have to evaluate the rest of the group but likes the athleticism they have.

“We got some work to do on that backend, but I’m excited about the athleticism that we have, it’s just inexperienced athleticism. We might scale back some of the things we do in fall camp so we can play at a fast level and make that a priority,” Entz said.

Practices will begin for the Bison on Aug. 3 as they officially start their preparation for opening weekend against the Eastern Washington Eagles. That game will take place at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 2 at U.S. Bank Stadium.

The following week, the Bison will have their first home game when they host the University of Maine Black Bears at 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 9 at the Fargodome.