Know your enemy: Inside look at North Dakota State

We joke. How can the North Dakota State Bison be the enemy? Illinois State and North Dakota State share a lot in common.

They are both based in small cities in America’s heartland. They both draw students from around the world, but their main constituencies are regional. They both started with different names and with singular missions (Illinois State Normal University and North Dakota Agricultural College) and have expanded their offerings, notably into business, nursing, and the arts and sciences at Illinois State and into pharmacy and the STEM fields at North Dakota State. And our beloved Redbirds were gracious enough to share the Missouri Valley Football Conference title with the Bison this season.

That act of generosity will be forgotten Saturday when the Bison (14-1) and the Redbirds (13-1) meet in a historic FCS national championship game, the first such title game to feature two members of the same conference.

In order to provide some fodder for Redbird chants at the big game, we offer the following (light-hearted) comparison between the two universities. We tried to get North Dakota State to play along and rib the Redbird faithful a little bit. But our rivals to the west wouldn’t take the bait.

“Our fans aren’t the common fan. They really know the Bison. They know everything about Bison football. They are a very respectful (fan base),” Bison Athletic Director Matt Larsen said. “It sets up to be a very good matchup.”

I guess. Well, let us take the lower road.

Which university is older?

Illinois State was founded in 1857, with an assist from Abraham Lincoln, and was already into its 33rd year when North Dakota State belatedly opened its doors, in 1890.

Advantage: Illinois State

Which university is larger?

Illinois State enrolled about 37 percent more students in fall 2014 than North Dakota State, 20,272 to 14,747. Bigger isn’t always better, but in this case it is: It is better to be a large school with a small school feel, than a school that is just small.

Advantage: Illinois State

Which university boasts the better academic credentials?

North Dakota State likes to go on and on about its placement among the nation’s top 108 public and private universities in the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education’s “elite” (our quotes) category of Research Universities/Very High Research Activity. La-di-da. But in the only ranking that anyone pays attention to—U.S. World News & World Report’s 2015 rankings of America’s top public universities— Illinois State came in it at 74, more than two first downs ahead of North Dakota State’s 102nd ranking. Scoreboard.

Advantage: Illinois State

Which university has produced more star power?

Illinois State: Sean Hayes, Jane Lynch, John Malkovich, Craig Robinson, et al.
North Dakota State: (crickets)

Advantage: Illinois State (by a tower of Emmys)

Which campus has the nicer quad?

Illinois State’s Fell Arboretum is an internationally recognized 490-acre swath of idyllic green graced by thousands of trees representing over 154 species. North Dakota State doesn’t have a quad.

Advantage: Illinois State

Which campus is colder?

If you find it hard to believe that it can get colder than a winter night on the Central Illinois prairie, then you haven’t visited Fargo, the home of North Dakota State. It’s so cold in Fargo that the Bison—an animal whose hide kept generations of Native Americans warm—play football indoors. Fargo’s average low in January is zero degrees. Its three coldest months are all colder, on average, than Normal’s coldest month, January, when average temperatures range between 33 and 15 degrees. In fact, Fargo’s March is as cold as Normal’s December.

Advantage: North Dakota State (congratulations)

Who has the better team colors?

Yellow and green may work with traffic signals and may look good together in a vegetable spread, but the two colors that most conjure up the cold and flu season don’t make for a sharp team uniform. Even the Oregon Ducks are ditching those colors for their national title game. Also, I have yet to see a yellow and green bison, that is other than on North Dakota State’s logo. Illinois State keeps it colors a traditional red and white. We keep our Redbird red, as well.

Advantage: Illinois State

Which university has the stronger football tradition?

North Dakota State has won the last three FCS Championships and has accumulated 11 national titles and 31 conference titles in its football program’s 120-year history. That success has engendered a multigenerational lovefest between the fans and their team. “Bison football has a unique following in the town,” Larsen said. “It’s very much a lifestyle out here.”

The upcoming game will be Illinois State’s first national title game appearance since football arrived on campus in 1884*. The Redbirds have won two Missouri Valley Conference titles.

Advantage: North Dakota State (but just barely)

Which university has the stronger team this season?

The Redbirds and the Bison did not meet in the regular season despite playing in the same conference. Both teams lost to Northern Iowa. Illinois State’s best victory probably came in the FCS playoff semifinals against top-seeded New Hampshire. Early in the season, North Dakota State took down Big 12 minnow Iowa State, making it the fifth consecutive year it has beaten a FBS school. The Bison have also won 15 consecutive playoff games. But, as the saying goes, they appear due for a loss.

Advantage: Illinois State

* This date comes from John B. Freed’s history of Illinois State, Educating Illinois: Illinois State University, 1857–2007. He wrote that by 1893, games were being played against local colleges and high schools.

Kevin Bersett can be reached at kdberse@IllinoisState.edu.