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<\/p>\nFARGO \u2014 To say people have differing views of Pro Football Focus is being mild. The analytics website, available through subscription, is used widely by media covering the NFL and college football as a tool to illustrate good or bad performances. Coaches, meanwhile, often advise caution when using PFF\u2019s numbers and sometimes outright dismiss them with extreme prejudice.<\/p>\n
Like the time I mentioned PFF to a coach and he scoffed before saying, \u201cYou mean the numbers put together by some guy sitting in his mom\u2019s basement, plotting positive and negative plays on a message board?\u201d<\/p>\n
Um, yeah. Those numbers. (To which most NCAA Division I programs subscribe, by the way.)<\/p>\n
So anyway \u2026<\/p>\n
PFF\u2019s numbers are telling a story this season \u2014 and for the last few seasons \u2014 that 10 years ago would have been unbelievable.<\/p>\n
North Dakota State, the dynasty built on the power running game, is graded as the top passing offense in all of Division I, including the 136 Football Bowl Subdivision teams and the 129 in the Football Championship Subdivision.<\/p>\n
The Bison\u2019s quarterback, Cole Payton, is graded as the top passer in Division I among QBs with 50 or more dropbacks through Week 5.<\/p>\n
Take it for what it\u2019s worth, but the 10-time FCS national champions have transitioned the last few years from a ground-and-pound outfit that beat opponents to metaphorical death into the Fargo Air Show (if the actual Fargo AirSho will pardon the trademark infringement).<\/p>\n
This didn\u2019t happen overnight and it\u2019s not necessarily a new story. According to PFF\u2019s grades, the Bison were also the top passing team in Division I in 2023 and 2024 (when they were tied with Mississippi). This season they are graded at 94.8 of 100 in team passing.<\/p>\n
(Watch Mike’s appearance on “Hot Mic” this week below.)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Former quarterback Cam Miller, an eventual sixth-round draft pick in the NFL, last season graded as the second-best passer in college football, just a fraction behind Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss, a first-round draft choice.<\/p>\n
Payton, NDSU\u2019s first-year starter, grades out at 95.6 in passing. He also has the top overall offensive grade at 96.0.<\/p>\n
The grades are based on Payton\u2019s statistics and quality of his throws. He\u2019s 53 of 74 (71.6%) for 979 yards, eight touchdowns and 0 interceptions.<\/p>\n
Payton is averaging 13.2 yards per attempt, best in the nation, and is tied for first in the PFF stat of \u201cbig-time throws.\u201d He has 14 of those, defined as \u201ca pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and\/or into a tighter window.\u201d<\/p>\n
In layman\u2019s terms, he\u2019s dealing.<\/p>\n
Bison head coach Tim Polasek, one of those who urges caution when using PFF, said the numbers show NDSU\u2019s efficiency in the pass game.<\/p>\n
\u201cFootball is a whole industry, right? It\u2019s an entertainment business and Pro Football Focus has become a part of that. People value it. It means something,\u201d Polasek said at his weekly press conference Tuesday. \u201cI don\u2019t know who\u2019s grading this stuff and what house they\u2019re in when they\u2019re grading it, but I know we\u2019re really efficient right now and we\u2019re getting a ton of explosives. Couple that with (Payton\u2019s) completion percentage and it kind of makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
Payton has 23 pass plays of 20 yards or more, 31% of his 74 completions, and has just one \u201cturnover worthy play\u201d per PFF, defined as \u201ca pass that has a high percentage chance of being intercepted or a poor job of taking care of the ball and fumbling.\u201d<\/p>\n
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North Dakota State quarterback Cole Payton fires a pass for a completion against Tennessee State on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn.<\/p>\n
David Samson \/ The Forum<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not just doing it with screens. Sometimes the higher-rated efficiency teams are screen teams and RPOs (run\/pass options) and they just kind of dink and dunk you,\u201d Polasek said. \u201cI had a conversation with a quarterback recruit this weekend, just that we\u2019re moving that part of our program\u2019s history forward and we\u2019re really comfortable winning in the pass game if we have to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Saturday\u2019s 51-13 victory over South Dakota was the perfect illustration. Payton was 7 of 8 on pass plays of 15 yards or more. Yes, he can throw. Yes, he can throw deep. Yes, he can throw deep accurately. Yes, it helps the Bison have the best receiving corps in FCS.<\/p>\n
Payton\u2019s 32-yard completion to Bryce Lance along the right sideline on NDSU\u2019s first drive was a football version of a Rembrandt. The quarterback took a shotgun snap, dropped two steps, pump-faked and lofted a rainbow pass nearly 40 yards that dropped perfectly over Coyotes cornerback Mikey Munn and into the arms of Lance at the 10. He stepped out of bounds at the 8 and the Bison scored two plays later.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s done a really good job of seeing the big picture,\u201d NDSU quarterbacks coach Joe Beschorner said. \u201cWe\u2019re running a double-move, expecting single coverage because we\u2019re motioning a guy. I think we\u2019re going to get rotation and they do rotate to Bryce, which is a good idea, right? But for Cole to see that, big picture-wise, and not be locked in on, \u2018OK, this is what I did last week.\u2019 No, he\u2019s seeing this thing from a holistic approach and sees the safety getting over the top and understands he needs to put a little bit of air under it, and put it on the outside shoulder. That was a good job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Worthy of a 95.6 PFF grade, if coaches believed in such things.<\/p>\n
![\"Mike](\"https:\/\/cdn.forumcomm.com\/dims4\/default\/6f8a627\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/349x349+221+0\/resize\/100x100!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffcc-cue-exports-brightspot.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Ffccnn%2Fbinary%2Fmcfeely-featured13_binary_778018.jpg\")
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