THIS WEEK: No. 4-ranked North Dakota State (8-2, 6-1 MVFC) faces 16th-ranked North Dakota (7-3, 5-2 MVFC) in the regular-season finale Saturday, Nov. 19. Game time is 2:30 p.m. at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome (18,700) for NDSU’s annual Harvest Bowl game. NDSU is alone in second place in the Missouri Valley Football Conference with UND one game back in third place.
TICKETS: Saturday’s game is currently sold out, but a limited amount of tickets may become available Friday at 8 a.m. at GoBison.com/tickets or the Bison Ticket Office in the south lobby of the Sanford Health Athletic Complex. Game day ticket sales and will call are available in the east lobby of the Fargodome starting 5 hours prior to game time.
TELEVISION: The statewide ABC network of WDAY (Fargo), WDAZ (Grand Forks), KBMY (Bismarck/Dickinson) and KMCY (Minot/Williston) will have live coverage beginning at 2:20 p.m. with Dom Izzo (play-by-play), Kyle Emanuel (analyst) and Logan Campbell (sideline). The broadcast will be available to ESPN+ subscribers on ESPN.com and the ESPN app.
RADIO: Statewide coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. on the Pioneer Seeds Bison Radio Network including Bison 1660 and 107.9 The Fox in Fargo with Rob Hipp (play-by-play), Phil Hansen (analyst) and Cole Jirik (sideline). The network broadcast includes 1-hour pregame and 30-minute postgame shows. Streaming is available on GoBison.com/allaccess and the NDSU Athletics mobile app.
THE SERIES: This is the 115th meeting between North Dakota State and North Dakota. UND leads the series 62-49-3 dating back to 1894, but NDSU has won all four games at the Division I level since 2015. UND is 4-4 in the Fargodome since 1993 but has lost three straight. NDSU had lost three straight in Grand Forks until last year’s 16-10 win, NDSU’s first in three trips to the Alerus Center.
LAST YEAR: NDSU opened the conference schedule with a 16-10 win at UND last year behind three Jake Reinholz field goals from 45, 34 and 30 yards and a 3-yard touchdown run by quarterback Quincy Patterson with 1:13 left in the game. The Bison ran for 223 yards led by 92 from Patterson and 51 from Hunter Luepke, who carried five times for 40 yards on the fourth-quarter touchdown drive. Michael Tutsie made a team-high eight tackles, James Kaczor had six stops including one sack, and Dawson Weber had a pivotal red zone interception late in the third quarter.
HARVEST BOWL: This is the 47th Harvest Bowl game dating back to 1974. NDSU has a 42-2-2 record in the annual game and has won 11 straight including a 52-24 rout of South Dakota in the regular-season finale last year. This is the first Harvest Bowl appearance for North Dakota, which was the scheduled opponent for the fall 2020 game that was canceled.
HARVEST HELMETS RETURN: North Dakota State will wear its green “Harvest Helmet” and gold jerseys this week for the Harvest Bowl game. NDSU is 36-0 in gold jerseys since their first appearance in the 2011 season opener, 24-0 in the green helmets since their November 2015 debut, and 17-0 in the gold jersey/green helmet combo.
SELECTION SUNDAY: The bracket for this year’s NCAA Division I Football Championship will be unveiled on ESPNU’s selection show scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 20. The 24-team playoff begins Saturday, Nov. 26, with eight first-round games. The top eight seeds will have byes to the second round scheduled for Dec. 2-3.
TITLE TALK: South Dakota State clinched the Missouri Valley Football Conference outright championship and the league’s automatic qualifier for the NCAA FCS playoffs with an 8-0 record in league play. NDSU, which has won at least a share of 10 conference titles in 15 years as a league member, has finished no lower than sixth since joining the MVFC in 2008. A win this week would give NDSU sole possession of second place and would be NDSU’s highest conference finish in a non-championship season. The Bison tied for fourth in 2008, placed sixth in 2009, tied for third in 2010, and placed fourth in the 2020-21 spring season.
KACZOR, BISON STOP SOUTHERN: MVFC Defensive Player of the Week James Kaczor made a career-high 14 tackles and recovered an onside kick with 37 seconds left to seal North Dakota State’s 21-18 win at Southern Illinois last week. Kaczor had nine tackles in the first half for a Bison defense that spent more than 20 minutes on the field but held the Salukis to only a field goal as NDSU took a 7-3 lead into the locker room.
LEAST PENALIZED: This week’s opponent, North Dakota, is the least penalized team in the FCS with an average of 3.5 penalties per game and averages just 33.1 penalty yards per game. Four NDSU opponents this year have committed less than two penalties. Arizona, South Dakota and Illinois State were each flagged once and Indiana State had zero penalties. NDSU tied a season-low with just 25 penalty yards last week.
THIRD DOWN SUCCESS: North Dakota State converted 5 of 6 third down opportunities (excluding a kneel down) in the second half of the 21-18 win at Southern Illinois. Cam Miller connected with Joe Stoffel (9 yards) and Zach Mathis (15 yards) to extend a 10-play scoring drive that put NDSU ahead 14-10, and NDSU’s defense picked up its only three-and-out of the day before the Bison went 75 yards in 13 plays with a third-and-12 pass to Jake Lippe (13 yards) the only passing attempt of the drive that put NDSU ahead 21-10 with 4:40 to play.
66 FOR 66: Left guard Nash Jensen, who wears No. 66, will play in his 66th career game this week, which will break the NDSU career record set by right tackle Cordell Volson with 65 games played from 2017 through 2021. Jensen is in his sixth year in the Bison program. He redshirted in 2017, played all 15 games on the PAT/field goal unit in 2018, and has started all but one game the past four seasons missing only the Youngstown State game last month due to injury. This will be his 51st career start.
BIG DAY ON THE GROUND: North Dakota State rushed 55 times for a season-high 453 yards and seven touchdowns in the 56-17 victory at Western Illinois. MVFC Offensive Player of the Week TaMerik Williams had 120 yards and two TDs on 12 carries and TK Marshall rushed for 118 yards and two TDs on six carries. It was the first time the Bison had two 100-yard rushers in the same game since Marshall (146) and Williams (137) at Youngstown State in November 2021.
NOT A PASSING DAY: With a game time temperature of 45 degrees and winds gusting 20-30 mph at Western Illinois, the Bison kept the football on the ground and NDSU quarterbacks were a combined 3-for-5 passing for 27 yards. It was the fewest passing attempts in NDSU’s Division I era and the fewest completions since going 2-for-8 in a rainy and eventually snowy November 2017 game at Illinois State.
PICK CITY: NDSU’s defense had four interceptions at Western Illinois with cornerback Marques Sigle scoring on a 43-yard interception return, cornerbacks Courtney Eubanks and Anthony Coleman each making their first career picks, and linebacker Logan Kopp snaring a late interception to close out the game. It was the second straight trip to Western Illinois that NDSU intercepted four passes, and the first time since that 2018 game in Macomb that the Bison had four picks.
MILLER RANKED: Quarterback Cam Miller ranks seventh in the FCS and second in the conference this week with a 69.1 completion percentage, which is ahead of his own school-record 67.8 percent last year. Miller is third in the conference in passing efficiency (154.0) and fourth in yards per attempt (8.02). He ranks fifth among active FCS passers with a career 154.18 efficiency rating.
CROSA CONNECTS: Placekicker Griffin Crosa has made eight straight field goals dating back to March 2021 and he’s made 67 consecutive PAT kicks dating back to 2019. Crosa ranks 10th in NDSU career history for FGs made (19) and eighth in PATs made (111). His 99.1 career PAT percentage (111-for-112) ranks second behind Jake Reinholz (87-for-87). Crosa’s 82.6 career FG percentage is fifth-best among active FCS kickers.
PRICE ON THE RETURN: Punt returner Jayden Price ranks fourth in NDSU career history with 13.83 yards per punt return, which is fourth best among FCS active players. Price’s three career punt return TDs is tied for second in school history behind Richard Lewis, who had four punt return TDs from 2000 to 2001.
TUTSIE SECOND: Sixth-year safety Michael Tutsie has moved into second place all-time at North Dakota State with 161 unassisted tackles. Tutsie is behind safety Colten Heagle, who made a school-record 191 solo stops from 2010 to 2014.
WINNING UP FRONT: North Dakota State’s offensive line is not only getting the job done in the running game, but the “Rams” have also been solid in the passing game. NDSU ranks fifth in the FCS with 251.6 rushing yards per game and fifth with 0.80 sacks allowed per game. The Bison are No. 1 nationally with only 3.20 tackles for loss allowed per game.
LUEPKE FOR SIX: Sixteen different players have scored touchdowns in the first nine games for North Dakota State, but Hunter Luepke is doing it more often than almost everybody in the FCS. Luepke leads the league and ranks 13th nationally with 13 total TDs including a team-leading four touchdown receptions. He is fourth in the MVFC with a team-high nine rushing TDs. Luepke has 21 total TDs in his past 17 games played.
GOOD WORKS TEAM: Linebacker James Kaczor was named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, which recognizes 11 FBS players and 11 players from FCS, Division II, Division III and NAIA for outstanding contributions to their communities. Kaczor’s activities include Feed My Starving Children, Charism, River City Church and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He is the ninth NDSU player named to the Good Works Team since 2004 and the third in the past five years. Fans can vote for the 2022 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team captain once a day through Nov. 22 at ESPN.com/Allstate.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: North Dakota State has had five players combine to earn six weekly awards in the Missouri Valley Football Conference this season:
— Cody Mauch, Offensive Line (9/5, 9/26)…Played 33 snaps against Drake with no sacks, quarterback pressures or tackles for loss allowed…Graded with 12 physicality points and helped the Bison rush for 274 yards and 7.4 yards per carry…Graded 93% with 25 physicality points in a 356-yard rushing performance at South Dakota.
— Griffin Crosa, Special Teams (9/25)…Converted two field goals and four extra points in the win at South Dakota…Made a 26-yard FG and his 25-yard FG with 8:27 left gave NDSU its first two-possession lead.
— Will Mostaert, Special Teams (10/9)…Blocked a 30-yard FG attempt to preserve a four-point NDSU lead late in the third quarter at Indiana State…Also had a sack and QB hurry in the 31-26 win.
— TaMerik Williams, Offense (11/7)…Rushed 12 times for 120 yards and two touchdowns at Western Illinois as the Bison ran for a season-high 453 yards and seven touchdowns.
— James Kaczor, Defense (11/14)…Game- and career-high 14 tackles plus an onside kick recovery with 37 seconds left in the 21-18 win at Southern Illinois…Made nine tackles in the first half and assisted on one sack.
PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE: Twelve NDSU players were named to the Preseason All-MVFC Team including four on the first team: fullback Hunter Luepke, left tackle Cody Mauch, defensive tackle Eli Mostaert and safety Michael Tutsie. NDSU’s eight preseason second-team honorees were running back Kobe Johnson, tight end Noah Gindorff, left guard Nash Jensen, defensive end Spencer Waege, linebacker James Kaczor, cornerback Destin Talbert, safety Dawson Weber and return specialist Jayden Price.
PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS: North Dakota State had nine players named to preseason All-America teams. Fullback Hunter Luepke, tight end Noah Gindorff, left tackle Cody Mauch and safety Michael Tutsie, left guard Nash Jensen and defensive tackle Eli Mostaert were recognized by HERO Sports. Luepke, Mauch, Tutsie, defensive end Spencer Waege, linebacker James Kaczor and punt returner Jayden Price were recognized by Stats Perform.
SENIOR BOWL INVITES: North Dakota State fullback Hunter Luepke and left tackle Cody Mauch have accepted invitations to the Reese’s Senior Bowl, widely regarded as the top college football all-star game. Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy extended the invitations in-person after NDSU’s practice on Nov. 7. The Bison have had 11 players selected to the Senior Bowl including wide receiver Christian Watson last year.
AWARD WATCH LISTS: Fullback Hunter Luepke and left tackle Cody Mauch are on the watch list for the Walter Payton Award presented to the FCS Offensive Player of the Year, and defensive end Spencer Waege, linebacker James Kaczor and safety Michael Tutsie are on the watch list for the Buck Buchanan Award presented to the FCS Defensive Player of the Year. Additionally, NDSU’s Kaedin Steindorf was named to the FCS Punter of the Year watch list.
BISON AT HOME: The Bison have a 180-28 record in the Fargodome, 31-6 at home against FCS Top 10 ranked teams, and winners of 76 of the last 78 home games over non-conference opponents. North Dakota State has a 31-1 record in the Fargodome during the NCAA playoffs since 2010 with the only loss coming to eventual national champion James Madison in the 2016 semifinals. NDSU’s 32-game home winning streak in the Fargodome from September 2017 through April 2021 was the fourth longest in NCAA FCS history.
BISON RETURNING TO TWIN CITIES: North Dakota State will host Eastern Washington on the opening weekend of the 2023 season at U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings. NDSU drew a crowd of 34,544 fans to the 2019 season opener against Butler at Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins.
#PROBISON: North Dakota State has 15 former players with NFL clubs including 12 on active rosters and three on practice squads. The list includes Broncos OL Billy Turner (9th year), Commanders QB Carson Wentz (7th), Browns OL Joe Haeg (7th), Lions LB Chris Board (5th), Chargers QB Easton Stick (4th), Vikings TE Ben Ellefson (3rd), Ravens practice squad OL Zack Johnson (3rd), Chargers LB Derrek Tuszka (3rd), 49ers QB Trey Lance (2nd), Titans OL Dillon Radunz (2nd), Cowboys LB Jabril Cox (2nd), Packers WR Christian Watson (1st), Bengals OL Cordell Volson (1st), Rams practice squad LB Brayden Thomas (1st) and Packers practice squad TE Josh Babicz (1st). Former Broncos practice squad WR Darrius Shepherd (4th) is a free agent.
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