Kolpack: Bison win over UND trumped by two words: How’s Cam? – InForum

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North Dakota State defeated the University of North Dakota on Saturday afternoon and afterward… the Bison players shook hands and headed to the locker room. Was anyone at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck interested in at least picking up the retired Nickel Trophy?

This week it was suggested that there should be a replacement. There were some good nominations, including the I-29 Trophy, the Bully Battle, the Prairie Cup and the Catfish Trophy, “a beautiful, disgustingly thrown 50-pound catfish that only the winning team could love.”

The winning team in this matchup benefited from a better and more experienced quarterback in a 41-17 victory at Gate City Bank Field in the Fargodome. Cam Miller ran for his 42nd career rushing touchdown, breaking the Missouri Valley Football Conference record set by NDSU’s Easton Stick.

The problem, however, is that two words were added to NDSU fans’ conversation Saturday as they exited the dome or at the end of the television broadcast.

How is Cam?

It seems like you can breathe easy. I’m not a doctor, but my interpretation of head coach Tim Polasek’s postgame assessment is a sprained ankle. Polasek said he could have returned to the game.

“It’s just his ankle, we’ll know more later,” he said.

“It was a little scary, he obviously took a hard fumble, but he said he’ll be fine, he’s good,” Bison receiver Chris Harris said.

Miller hobbled off the field after a 12-yard scramble and slid seemingly awkwardly onto the turf. He went to the Bison locker room for treatment but returned to the field with his helmet on.

Meanwhile, backup Cole Payton hit Mekhi Collins with a 33-yard touchdown fleaflicker on the next play, making it 38-10.

The call came from offensive coordinator Jake Landry, a former UND quarterback.

“I haven’t spoken to Jake Landry at all this week, it had to be pretty emotional for him,” Polasek said. “This guy is pretty solid, Eddy. Before the game I asked, “How are you?” He said I’m not doing anything. I said you say the game. He said, “Coach, we’ll get it.”

Steady Eddy has the advantages of Steady Cam. If it were a professional team, Miller would wear the franchise tag. Polasek compared the way he leads the team to that of a QB on a team at the next level.

“If they don’t have the experience within a system to resolve issues quickly, it’s difficult to be in that position,” Polasek said. “Right now Cam is doing this weekly. He solves problems. He understands what good and bad situations look like. He does some things with his feet and that’s hard to take too.”

When NDSU needed a middle third down play, the Bison seemingly had more options to play thanks to Miller. As a fifth-grader, he saw thousands more pictures at the line of scrimmage than first-grader Romfo, and the difference was obvious.

Romfo had a good 18 of 23 passes, but UND limited its passing game mainly to under routes or flare passes. Additionally, NDSU effectively took productive wide receiver Bo Belquist out of the game when the outcome was still undecided.

He wasn’t targeted until the second quarter, a 13-yard pass that gave the Bison a 21-7 lead. Belquist ended up doing some damage, only it required a punt return. His 66-yard return set up a 5-yard score from Romfo to Caden Dennis, but by then it was 38-17.

“There’s a lot of different coverages and things he probably hasn’t seen live,” UND head coach Bubba Schweigert said of Romfo. “We try to do as much as we think he can handle. There are so many different parts of the passing game, it doesn’t just involve the quarterback. You have to protect and drive the routes and have time to develop the game. But he’s doing better.”

As a junior, Romfo has better days ahead once he gets a better handle on the Division I passing game. He is lightning quick with his feet and elusive in the pocket. But while Miller has shown the ability to check to a second or third receiver, Romfo has appeared to be a one-option thrower.

“Obviously it’s a big jump from high school,” Romfo said. “I trained for three years and slowly got used to it, but yeah, it’s a big jump.”

Now the hope for the bison lies in the healing possibilities of Miller’s work. NDSU plays at Southern Illinois this week, where it finished a mediocre 2-3 before Saturday night’s home game against Illinois State.

In addition to an accurate right arm and a high football IQ, Miller also appears to be the tough guy. I’m not a doctor, but I wouldn’t rule him out for next week.

Jeff would like to dispel the idea that he was there when Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, but he is now in his third decade of reporting for Forum Communications. The son of a reporter and an English teacher, and brother of a reporter, Jeff has worked at the Jamestown Sun, the Bismarck Tribune and, since 1990, the Forum, where he has covered North Dakota State athletics since 1995.
Jeff has covered all nine of NDSU’s Division I FCS national football titles and has written three books: “Horns Up,” “North Dakota Tough” and “Covid Kids.” He is the radio host of “The Golf Show with Jeff Kolpack” from April to August.