Several days before North Dakota State's season opener in Minneapolis, Will Mostaert could already imagine staring up into the crowd to see a section packed with fans from his hometown of Lakeville.
Mostaert is among nearly 40 Minnesota natives on the NDSU roster, returning to their home state Saturday to make history playing Eastern Washington in the first ever college football game at U.S. Bank Stadium.
"It's going to be a really special moment," the senior defensive tackle said about the Bison playing at the home of the Vikings. "It's going to be a fun time."
It was only a matter of time before U.S. Bank Stadium played host to college football after attracting a Super Bowl and a Final Four, among other major sporting events. Saturday's attendance for this featured FCS matchup had sold fewer than 15,000 tickets earlier in the week, according to the Fargo Forum, for a stadium that seats 66,200 at capacity for the Vikings.
But the size of the crowd won't minimize the importance of NDSU's presence in Minnesota.
"It's a great opportunity," North Dakota State coach Matt Entz said. "We've got to go down there and play really well. We've got to go down there and enjoy the opportunity, but we got to make the most of it."
The Bison last played a football game in Minneapolis to open the 2019 season when current NFL quarterback Trey Lance made his college debut against Butler before an announced 34,544 fans at Target Field. The Bison also played the Gophers twice at the Metrodome, beating them before a crowd of 63,088 in 2007.
The Bison return seven starters on offense and six on defense from a 12-3 team that lost the FCS championship game to rival South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits, just ahead of NDSU at No. 1 in this year's FCS preseason poll, also look forward to their fans fans flooding Minneapolis on Sept. 16, when they play host to Drake at Target Field.