NDSU Football faces injury list during Mountain West season

Griffin Empey Out as North Dakota State Faces Crucial Mountain West Stretch

Griffin Empey is out for Saturday’s game against UTEP, anchoring a mounting injury list that has tested the depth of North Dakota State University during its first season in the Mountain West Conference, according to a report. Nathan Hayes and Ryan Babatz are listed as questionable, while Kaden Zenzen sustained an injury during warmups last week at New Mexico, leaving his playing status uncertain. Meanwhile, Darius Givance remains sidelined for the foreseeable future.

The accumulation of injuries arrives on the heels of a 21-16 loss in Albuquerque, marking the Bison’s second defeat in three games. What began as a steady march through the first five contests has dissolved into a physical grind, pushing a 6-2 team into turbulent waters with four regular-season games remaining on the schedule.

The Reality of FBS Physicality and a Brutal Road Slate

Life in the Football Bowl Subdivision presents a stark departure from the Missouri Valley Football Conference routine. Gone are the mid-schedule lulls against Murray State or Indiana State where starters could comfortably watch the final quarter and a half from the sidelines.

“I think this was the hardest four-game stretch NDSU’s ever been through, including the playoffs, physicality-wise,” North Dakota State head coach Tim Polasek said. “People can talk all they want, but I now know that the physicality at this level … and the commitment level to hitting and striking is up there.”

Empey and Babatz make up the starting left side of the Bison offensive line, while Hayes commands the offense as the starting quarterback and Zenzen operates as a vital blocking tight end. Losing these pieces strains an attack that struggled to generate consistent production in previous conference losses at UNLV and New Mexico.

The schedule itself offered no early favors. When the slate was released in the spring, the Bison drew the four toughest road assignments in the league: Air Force, UNLV, New Mexico, and Hawaii. While NDSU secured a victory at Air Force, a 1-3 tally across that punishing road gauntlet remained entirely plausible as injuries compounded.

What Lies Ahead on the Mountain West Schedule

The immediate future brings home games to the Fargodome against UTEP this week and Northern Illinois on November 21. Yet those contests precede demanding late-season road trips, starting with a November 14 visit to Hawaii followed by a November 27 matchup at San Jose State.

Coaching staff adjustments remain central to the narrative as NDSU evaluates how to generate five-yard plays consistently. Opposing defenses across the Mountain West have largely outperformed preseason expectations, proving far nastier than anticipated while conference offenses struggled more than predicted.

For a program unaccustomed to such extensive physical attrition, the final stretch of the regular season will determine how well the roster adapts to the unrelenting demands of its new conference home.