McFeely: Let the grind begin for Bison

FARGO — The national hullabaloo and hubbub over North Dakota State s football team quieted significantly this week. Losing the undefeated tag will do that. And if there s one thing we ve learned about national college football media in the Bison s brief time in FBS it s that it is a what have you done for me lately industry. Bison head coach Tim Polasek properly talks about the process of transitioning NDSU to FBS. This is a long-term play. The college football world isn t interested in the long term. NDSU s 13-7 loss at UNLV last week drained most of the starch out of the Bison s hopes to be the Group of Six s College Football Playoff representative. That likely would ve taken a 12-0 regular season, a win in the Mountain West Conference championship game and some help from other G6 powers like Boise State and James Madison. After that clunky defeat in the desert, a 5-1 record at the midway point of NDSU s first season in the FBS somehow seems like a disappointment.