ESPN College Football

FARGO, N.D. -- North Dakota State head football coach Craig Bohl says this weekend's game at Minnesota gives his team a chance to feed its appetite for national attention.

The Bison (6-0, 1-0 Great West Football Conference) are rated No. 1 by coaches and No. 2 by media in polls of the Football Championship Subdivision, formerly known as NCAA Division I-AA. They're not eligible for playoffs until next season.

"Our guys in our program are starving for national recognition," Bohl said Monday at his weekly press conference.

"I'm sure (Minnesota) coach (Tim) Brewster will have a confident football team," he said. "We feel like we'll have a confident football team. It should be a whale of a game."

Bohl said neither he nor his players care whether they're considered favorites or underdogs against the Gophers (1-6, 0-4 Big Ten). A rating system of Division I teams by USA Today's Jeff Sagarin lists NDSU at No. 53 and Minnesota at No. 95.

"You can throw all that stuff out the window," Bohl said. "We're going to throw the football out there at 11:07, tee it up, and see how we do."

Bohl did joke that the morning start time may help his team.

"That's one of the advantages of having a bunch of farm kids," Bohl said. "They've been used to getting up in the morning and milking cows."

The Gophers, who held off NDSU 10-9 last season by blocking a last-second field goal, are coming off a 49-48 loss to Northwestern in double overtime. It was Minnesota's second one-point overtime loss of the season.

"I think Minnesota's record is a little bit deceptive," Bohl said. "They've been in a lot of games and lost a lot of close games. So we see them as being a talented football team."

The Bison have won 10 straight games since losing to the Gophers, the longest streak in Division I.

Before last season, Minnesota and NDSU hadn't played since 1937. This may be the last meeting. Brewster has said that playing FCS opponents doesn't help his team in recruiting.

The Bison had 33 players from Minnesota on their preseason roster. Those expected to be in the starting lineup Saturday are offensive lineman Tyler Lekang of New Brighton, defensive end Nick Compton of Rosemount, linebacker Mike Maresh of Champlin, linebacker Ramon Humber of Brooklyn Park, safety Kyle Belmont of Battle Lake, and kicker Shawn Bibeau of White Bear Lake.

None of the Minnesota players on NDSU's roster were recruited by the Gophers, Bohl said.

"I think any guy, when you're playing your home state, it means a lot," Bohl said.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

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