THIS WEEK: North Dakota State makes its 13th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division I Football Championship this Saturday, Dec. 3, when the No. 3-seeded Bison (9-2) face the 17th-ranked Montana Grizzlies (8-4) in the second round. Game time is 2:30 p.m. at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome (18,700).
TICKETS: Tickets may be purchased online at GoBison.com/tickets or by calling the Bison Ticket Office in the south lobby of the Sanford Health Athletic Complex at (701) 231-6378 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Season ticket holders have until 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 29, to purchase their same seats for the game. Unclaimed season tickets will go on sale to the general public at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30. Game day ticket sales at the Fargodome begin at 8 a.m.
TELEVISION: ESPN+ will have exclusive coverage available to subscribers on ESPN.com and the ESPN app with Connor Onion (play-by-play) and Charles Arbuckle (analyst) calling the game.
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: North Dakota State has a 5-4 lead in the all-time series with Montana dating back to 1914. The teams haven’t met since the 2015 second round in Fargo, a 37-6 NDSU win. Montana is 0-2 in the Fargodome including a 22-10 regular-season loss in 2014. The Bison are 17-3 in their Division I history against Big Sky Conference opponents. Montana owns one of those three Big Sky victories, a 38-35 win in the FCS Kickoff game to open the 2015 season in Missoula.
LAST WEEK: While NDSU and the other top eight national seeds were off last week with a bye, Montana rallied from a 24-3 third quarter deficit to beat Southeast Missouri State 34-24 in a first-round game in Missoula. Malik Flowers’ 80-yard kickoff return touchdown sparked the rally and the Griz tied the game less than five minutes later when Junior Bergen scored on a 58-yard punt return.
AFTER THE OPEN WEEK: North Dakota State has won 38 straight games after open weeks in the regular season and postseason. The streak includes 21 home games, eight road games and nine championship games in Frisco, Texas. NDSU hasn’t lost after an open week since October 22, 2005, when UC Davis beat the Bison 20-14 in Fargo.
13TH STRAIGHT POSTSEASON: This is North Dakota State’s 13th consecutive season in the FCS playoffs, the longest active streak ahead of No. 1 seed South Dakota State, which is making its 11th straight appearance. Montana holds the record with 17 consecutive FCS playoff berths from 1993 to 2009 followed by New Hampshire with 14 from 2004 to 2017. Montana is in the FCS playoffs for the 26th time, the most of any program in FCS championship history.
Most Consecutive FCS Playoff Appearances
17 – Montana, 1993-2009
14 – New Hampshire, 2004-2017
13 – North Dakota State, 2010-2022
11 – South Dakota State, 2012-2022
10 – Eastern Kentucky, 1986-1995
SEED HISTORY: NDSU has been a top-two seed in the FCS playoffs 9 of 12 previous appearances. NDSU’s only other seed was No. 3 in 2015 when the Bison hosted a semifinal after No. 2 seed Illinois State lost in the quarterfinals. The Bison beat Jacksonville State for the national title.
WINNING PROGRAMS: No other active FCS programs have won more playoff games than North Dakota State and Montana. NDSU’s 41 playoff victories are second only to current FBS member Georgia Southern’s 45 wins, and Montana is third all-time with 35 playoff victories. NDSU’s nine FCS national championships is the subdivision record. Montana is one of eight programs with multiple FCS titles. The Griz won in 1995 over Marshall and 2001 over Furman.
Most FCS Playoff Victories
45 – Georgia Southern
41 – North Dakota State
35 – Montana
28 – Youngstown State
26 – Northern Iowa
Highest Winning Percentage in FCS Playoffs
.932 – North Dakota State (41-3)
.793 – Marshall (23-6)
.777 – Youngstown State (28-8)
.776 – Georgia Southern (45-13)
.667 – Sam Houston State (24-12)
QUARTERFINALS NEXT: The winner of the NDSU-Montana game will advance to next weekend’s quarterfinal round to face either No. 6 seed and Southern Conference champion Samford (10-1) or unseeded Southeastern Louisiana (9-3), which rallied from a 21-10 second quarter deficit and held off Idaho 45-42 in the first round. NDSU has advanced to the quarterfinals an FCS-record 12 straight seasons from 2010 to 2021.
Most Consecutive FCS Quarterfinals
12 – North Dakota State, 2010-2021
6 – Appalachian State, 2005-2010
6 – Marshall, 1991-1996
6 – Georgia Southern, 1985-1990
6 – Georgia Southern, 1997-2002
Most FCS Quarterfinal Appearances
17 – Georgia Southern (2012)
14 – Montana (2021)
14 – Northern Iowa (2019)
13 – Delaware (2020)
12 – North Dakota State (2021)
12 – Appalachian State (2010)
17 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: North Dakota State last year won its 17th football national championship. NDSU claimed three College Division national championships in 1965, 1968 and 1969 via the national polls, five Division II playoff titles in 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988 and 1990, and was the first team in college football history to win five straight national titles with FCS crowns in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 before winning again in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021.
BISON SECOND IN MVFC: 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. NDSU went 7-1 for sole possession of second place this year, NDSU’s highest finish in a non-championship season.
EIGHT ALL-CONFERENCE: NDSU claimed eight spots on the All-Missouri Valley Football Conference first team, highlighted by Hunter Luepke‘s dual selection as the first team fullback and all-purpose player. Other first teamers were LT Cody Mauch, LG Nash Jensen, DE Spencer Waege, LB James Kaczor, S Dawson Weber and S Michael Tutsie. Long snapper Hunter Brozio was named to the All-MVFC second team. The Bison had three honorable mentions (RB TaMerik Williams, DT Will Mostaert, PR Jayden Price) and three on the All-Newcomer Team (DT Jaxon Duttenhefer, LB Logan Kopp, DE Kole Menz).
ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT: Eight Bison were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® football team for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom: fullback Logan Hofstedt, safety Sam Jung, linebackers James Kaczor, Luke Weerts and Julian Wlodarczyk, right guard Jake Kubas, center Brandon Westberg and defensive tackle Will Mostaert. Nominees must carry a 3.50 cumulative GPA and have sophomore athletic and academic standing.
THE SENIORS: North Dakota State has 13 outgoing seniors who will not return to the program next season: RB Jalen Bussey, CB Anthony Coleman, TE Noah Gindorff, OG Nash Jensen, LB James Kaczor, OG Luke LaCilento, FB Hunter Luepke, OT Cody Mauch, CB Destin Talbert, S Michael Tutsie, DE Spencer Waege, S Dawson Weber and RB TaMerik Williams. Bussey and Coleman, both with junior eligibility, are graduating from school this year. Ten other seniors are eligible to return for an extra season in 2023 due to COVID-19’s impact on the 2020 season.
KEY LOSSES: NDSU enters the playoffs having lost five starters to injuries during the course of the regular season: DT Eli Mostaert (Week 2), TE Noah Gindorff (Week 3), C Jalen Sundell (Week 5), RT Mason Miller (Week 10), FB Hunter Luepke (Week 10) as well as DE Jake Kava (Week 5).
DEFENSE STILL AMONG FCS BEST: After graduating four starting defensive linemen and two starting linebackers from last year’s national championship team, NDSU is still ranked No. 5 in FCS total defense (292.1 ypg) and scoring defense (17.4 ppg). The Bison also rank No. 3 in passing defense (147.3 ypg).
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS: North Dakota State is 73-4 in non-conference games since the beginning of its first FCS national championship season in 2011. One of those losses was to a Pac-12 opponent (31-28 at Arizona in 2021) and two were in the playoffs to the eventual national champion (27-17 to James Madison in 2016 and 24-20 at Sam Houston State in 2020-21). Montana’s 38-35 home win in the 2015 FCS Kickoff is NDSU’s only other non-conference loss the past 12 years.
BISON AT HOME: The Bison have a 181-28 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 September 2017 through April 2021 was fourth longest in FCS history.
66 FOR 66: Left guard Nash Jensen, who wears No. 66, played his 66th career game in the regular-season finale against North Dakota, breaking 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 Oct. 1 due to injury. He has made 51 career starts.
THREE FINALISTS: NDSU fullback Hunter Luepke and left tackle Cody Mauch are finalists for the Walter Payton Award, presented annually to the top offensive player in the FCS, and Bison defensive end Spencer Waege is a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, the defensive player of the year award. There are 30 finalists for each of the awards. A national media panel will select the winners with voting based on the regular season. Winners will be announced Jan. 7.
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 Packers wide receiver Christian Watson last year.
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.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: North Dakota State had eight players combine to earn nine 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.
— Cam Miller, Co-Offensive (11/21)…Career-high 16 carries and 93 yards and the only five-touchdown game in FCS this year with school record-tying five rushing TDs against North Dakota.
— DJ Hart, Special Teams (11/21)…Averaged 24.3 yards on three kickoff returns and had career-high 156 all-purpose yards against North Dakota…Had returns of 28, 47 and 27 yards (102 total) before penalties negated 29 yards…Led the Bison in receiving with two receptions for 83 yards.
— Nash Jensen, Offensive Line (11/21)…Graded 95% with no penalties and no sacks or QB hits allowed against North Dakota…NDSU rushed for 363 yards, 6.6 yards per carry, six TDs and had a season-high 522 yards of total offense with 35:25 time of possession.
BISON RETURNING TO TWIN CITIES: NDSU will host Eastern Washington on the opening weekend of the 2023 season at U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings. NDSU drew 34,544 fans to the 2019 season opener against Butler at Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins.
#PROBISON: North Dakota State has 14 former players with NFL clubs including 12 on active rosters and two 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), and Rams practice squad LB Brayden Thomas (1st). Former Packers practice squad TE Josh Babicz (1st) and Broncos practice squad WR Darrius Shepherd (4th) are free agents.
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