Code Green Dominant Through First Two Weeks; Entz Details Improvement
NDSU is 2-0 with one of the best defenses in the FCS through the first two weeks of their season
FARGO — North Dakota State Football took down the Maine Black Bears 44-7 Saturday afternoon and continued to show major improvements on the defensive side of the ball. While it may be early and conference play does not begin until October, the first two weeks of the regular season, North Dakota State’s defense has been among the best in the nation thus far. The Bison are second in the FCS with four interceptions. They have five takeaways total and have held opponents to just 89 yards rushing per game. Code Green is also tied for the fewest points allowed with just 8.5 per contest and most defensive touchdowns with two. Coach Entz talked about a a defensive unit that has been more consistent and has cleaned up the details under their new defensive coordinator Jason Petrino.
“I don’t see exaggerated missed tackles. If we miss one it’s in a close quarters and someone else is right there. I see a lot of effort and energy. Saturday we probably played 11-12 defensive lineman. I think once we probably get into the league we will play 8-10. We feel like we have some really good depth there. We may not have the marquee defensive end but I think we can generate some pass rush, I think we’ve seen that the last couple weeks. Our safeties are savvy football players. My biggest concern two weeks ago was that they both thought they needed to be around the line of scrimmage on playaction and/or RPO stuff and they’ve done a good job at layering out what we’re doing defensively. This week will be another challenge for them just to make sure they let the guys up front play. We need to protect and not give up explosive plays and keep the ball in front of us but the maturity, but also just the energy that they play with, it’s a close knit group. It’s fun to be around. Coach Petrino and the defensive staff have done a tremendous job to believe in themselves and have some fun playing football,” said Matt Entz.
