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The breaking news that hurdled everything else is Matt Entz accepting the Assistant HC/Linebackers position with Southern Cal of the soon-to-be Big 20! There are few programs in all the land that are more high-profile or big-money so as promotions go, it's on par with Bohl going to Wyoming and could spring him higher in less than the 10 years that CB spent in Laramie.

That stunning announcement capped a week that included the former coach announcing that he would be hanging up his whistle. No word on major developments for the guy who was sandwiched between them in Fargo.

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The news broke roughly 24 hours after an absolute dismantling of South Dakota in the quarterfinal.

Here are a few facts to put it into perspective how lopsided the 45-17 final score was:

Cole Payton finished with more rushing yards than their whole team, nearly eclipsing their total all in his first touchdown run.

They punted 0 times. Yes, 0. Maybe you noticed that along the way, maybe you didn't. It's absurd either way!

Which means that every time they had the ball they either added to their point total or ran the clock out ~ 8/8. Absurdity in Vermillion

They also included some history to the festivity

Jayden Price is now the all-leader in punt return touchdowns

Cole "Hawk" Wisniewski then proceeded to tie the all-time record for interceptions in a season. Not held by Marcus Williams, Frank Esposito carved his named into stone in 1953 and now he has a commerade!

Along the way they showed little-to-no sign of road-weariness. That will need to remain true as they will return to Montana to face the Grizzlies for the Saturday afternoon Semi!

The journey has been long and now become completely unpredicable but the drive for number 10 rolls on!

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While today's game had none of the offensive sizzle, The Norseman did break Kyle Rudolph's single-season reception record. With four games and many more seasons, he may have several of the top 5-10 spots on that list before he's done!

But where the offense lacked, the defense cooked.

Eight first downs given up

Three third-downs converted

Three take-aways (1 pick, 2 fumbles)

Four sacks, with Ivan Pace Jr. having one of each!

Granted, it's not like they were facing New England of 2007 vintage but to be that superior to an opponent should lead to wins 80, 90, maybe 99% of the time.

And it did this time, barely.

Dobbs is intellectually-gifted and talented enough to last in the League for many more years but there's a disconnect that can't be bridge over the remaining time. Whether he is re-signed or not is a question for a later day but for the next games, barring injury, Mullins has to be the guy under center. He won't light the stadiums on fire but he can make them survivably warm.

How far that can get them is anyone's guess but must be the approach and was the main lesson from win number 7.

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From the East side of the River, Moorhead State head women's basketball coach Karla Nelson eclipsed another milestone, helming them to 400 wins in their first of the season. With a young team as they have there have been some growing pains but they've now gotten two wins under their belts which is the most celebrate sign of growth.

Here's to 100 more victories!

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The Dragon men came within a layup of being clipped for the first time this season as St. Cloud moved in but held strong to their winning streak, extending it to 10

NDSU's guys won't come close to that this season but they managed to make it a 3-0 week with quality wins over Tim Miles' San Jose St., Portland, followed by a laugher over Oak Hills Christian.

The Wolfpack have been obliterated more often than not this season as they've traveled across Minnesota & North Dakota and the tune-up for NDSU was no exception to that. They had a 12x multiplier in the first half and outscored them by more than 5x in the second as all 12 players saw at least 13 minutes of action. The 94-point margin of victory will get plenty of attention but it was the prior wins that should stick in the memory-banks as they were true demonstrations of what this and future seasons could entail!

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A potential future player for or against them also hit the old milestone as Fargo South's James Hamilton drained his 1,000th point Friday in Williston.

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Before much of it, Chris Finch was named Conference Coach of the Month for November. Now up to 17 wins in 21 tries, the Howl continue to establish themselves as a premier team in the Association. It will get tougher for them with a run to end the year against teams all above .500 and Anthony Edwards still ailing from his hip contusion.

As special of a talent as he is - MVP caliber - the depth on the roster should help precipate a slower re-entry for him so that this doesn't linger into January, February & beyond. If Edwards misses 17+ games then the salary kicker in his contract won't be enabled. This might be some T-Field stuff but for the benefit of the franchise it's better he doesn't have that option. To date he only missed two games so it would take a serious situation that I don't want to see in order for him to not make it, it's just a bit of double-minded dreaming.

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A wild week for the Fargo area sports scene!