As it begins its 115th season as a college football program, North Dakota needs only five more wins to reach 600.

The Fighting Sioux hope to hit the milestone at some point this season, but they aren’t planning to inch closer to it this week.

North Dakota running back Catlin Solum is one of seven new offensive starters for the Fighting Sioux, who are headed to Lubbock for Saturday’s season opener against Texas Tech. North Dakota, coming off a 6-4 season in the Great West Conference, is in its second year of a transition from Division II to the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA).

“Obviously, we know what we’re up against with that quality of an opponent,” said second-year North Dakota head coach Chris Mussman, whose team opens its season on Saturday at Texas Tech. “At this time with our program, it’s probably not the best time to be playing that game, but we’re going to try to make the most of it.”

North Dakota is in its second year of a transition from Division II, with a scholarship limit of 36, to the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA), where the limit is 63. Mussman said his program is currently at 61 scholarships, and the Fighting Sioux — the Division II national champions in 2001 — won’t be eligible for the FCS playoffs until 2012.

Saturday’s game will be the Fighting Sioux’s first against a BCS conference opponent since facing Wisconsin in 1976, according to Mussman. And considering they lost all of their top offensive playmakers from a team that finished 6-4 overall and 1-2 in the Great West Conference last season, they don’t expect to keep up with the high-flying Red Raiders of the Big 12.

“Obviously, it’s going to be a challenge,” said sophomore cornerback Dominique Hawkins, who had 50 tackles and a team-high three interceptions last season. “We’re not used to playing athletes of that caliber.”

But Hawkins said it also should a “fun challenge,” and it’s one he and his teammates have been anticipating since the end of the 2008 season. Nose guard Ty Boyle said the Fighting Sioux followed the Red Raiders closely last season, when they won 11 games and rose as high as second in the national rankings.

“It was pretty exciting to say we’re playing that team and get to see how we match up against them,” said Boyle, who had a team-high seven tackles behind the line of scrimmage last year. “It’s a game on our schedule we’ve been looking forward to.”

The Fighting Sioux are just as enthusiastic about the season-opening trip to West Texas, where they’ll play on a major-college stage in front of more than 50,000 fans. Last year, North Dakota’s games drew a little more than 10,000 on average.
Mussman, who played at Iowa State, has told his players to “take it all in” and cherish the experience because they’ll remember it for the rest of their lives — even if it’s a little nerve-wracking.

“I’m pretty sure everybody on the Fighting Sioux sideline is going to have a few jitters on Saturday night,” he said, “including the coaches.”

Although the Fighting Sioux are traveling all the way across the country for the 2009 opener — and are heavy underdogs — Mussman and some of his players said the opportunity has been equally exciting for the school and its hometown of Grand Forks, N.D. Sophomore cornerback Kenny Watkins, one of three native Texans on North Dakota’s roster, said it’s a “pretty big deal around here,” adding that several students were planning to follow the team to Lubbock.

Mussman said facing Tech is a significant step in the program’s transition to a higher level of competition, which has “created a buzz with our fans and alumni base.”

“We’re stepping on to a different stage, and I think our fans are excited that we’re in that mode,” he said. “We’re no longer a Division II team. We’re trying to become a relevant program as a Division I program, not just in football but all sports. This is showing our fan base and alumni that we’re moving in the right direction.”

As for the game itself, Mussman said he hopes his retooled offense, which has only two returning starters, can move the ball effectively and minimize its mistakes. And he hopes the Fighting Sioux’s defense — which returns six starters, including most of the secondary — can tackle well in the open field and make the Red Raiders work for their yards and points.

Some of Mussman’s players are hoping for much more, like a monumental upset. Boyle said the Fighting Sioux never take the field expecting to lose, and Saturday night will be no different.

“We’re coming down there to compete,” Hawkins said. “We’re going to compete every down, not only as a team but individually, and do what we can do to the best of our abilities.

“We’ll see what happens,” he added. “Anything’s possible.”
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