Bison FB Spreading Message of Ball Security against Montana State

Both NDSU and Montana State are in the top 10 nationally in turnover margin

FARGO, N.D. — North Dakota State and Montana State football square off in four days. That means in four days, one of those teams will see its season end.

Both teams are in the top-10 nationally in turnover margin, so taking care of the football is a big point of emphasis this week.

One thing the bobcats have not been especially great at is keeping teams off the scoreboard once they are in the red zone.

More than 91 percent of the time an opponent gets inside the Bobcat 20-yard line, they put points on the board, which is the sixth-worst mark in the country.

“I think people have just done a good job once they’ve gotten in the red zone of taking care of the football, and if you take care of the football, you have a good opportunity to score points, be it touchdowns or field goals,” NDSU offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham said. “That’s one of the main things we’ve got make sure that we do, and that’s take care of the football and not allow them to make big plays.”

Quarterback Easton Stick says they are always working on that.

“Every week we spend a lot of time in the red zone, and coach mess does a really good job of finding tweaks to concepts that we’ve run before,” Stick said. “We can find new formations or different ways to run it. So, we spend a lot of time in there, and obviously it’s a really important part of the game.”