Report: North Dakota State to schedule a single game to showcase Trey Lance

The college football season will be limited this season due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and it is resulting in some creative decision-making to make things work. Some conferences are hoping to play in the spring and others will play a conference-only schedule in the spring.

FCS powerhouse North Dakota State is trying something different specifically built around one player. The school has signed a contract to play Central Arizona on October 3rd, according to Yahoo! Sports reporter Pete Thamel. NDSU had previously said the football team would not play in 2020, but Thamel is reporting they will add this single game.

Why just one game? Thamel suggests it would be a showcase game for quarterback Trey Lance who many project to be a first round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Scheduling out a game will give scouts a chance to see Lance in game action, but it also means the football team can ramp up their fall practice schedule, according to Thamel.

The game allows North Dakota State to essentially have full “spring practice” in the fall, with 20-hour practice weeks. (The schools who are not playing this fall are limited to 12 hours.) Instead of NDSU’s “spring practice” culminating with a scrimmage against each other, the Bison will play Central Arkansas, a formidable FCS foe.

The Covid-19 pandemic is requiring all sorts of adjustments and if this NDSU-Central Arizona game happens, it will likely be the most unique such adjustment in college football this fall.