11/7/2011 9:00:00 PM | Football
No. 1-ranked North Dakota State (9-0, 6-0 Valley Football) is scheduled to host Youngstown State (5-4, 3-3 Valley Football) at 3:07 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, in the Fargodome (18,700 / Artificial Turf) .... Saturday the football program will honor 18 seniors and it will also be Military Appreciation Day ... North Dakota State defeated 16th/21st-ranked Indiana State 27-16 last Saturday, while Youngstown State lost 21-17 at 6th-ranked Northern Iowa ... The Bison can clinch a share of the conference title with a win.
TELEVISION: The game will be televised on the Valley News Live (KVLY-TV, NBC, Channel 11) North Dakota NBC TV Network ... Valley News Live (KVLY-TV, NBC, Channel 11, Fargo) sports director Dan Hammer and KFYR-TV (Channel 5, Bismarck) sports director Lee Timmerman are in the booth, while Valley News Live weekend anchor Jamal Spencer is on the sidelines ... The other network stations include KFYR-TV (Channel 5, Bismarck), KMOT-TV (Channel 10, Minot), KQCD-TV (Channel 7, Dickinson) and KUMV-TV (Channel 8, Williston) ... The Bison are 95-55-1 (.632) in TV games.
AT HOME: North Dakota State has compiled a 235-35-3 record at home since 1964 ... The Bison are 90-21-0 in the Fargodome since moving from Dacotah Field in 1993 ... NDSU is 5-0 this season at home and are 41-10 since head coach Craig Bohl took over in 2003.
SERIES RECORD: This is the sixth meeting between North Dakota State and Youngstown State in a series that started in 1972 ... The Penguins lead the series 3-2 ... The margin of victory has been five points on the average and the outcome has come down to the final possession ... NDSU won 34-29 last season at Youngstown State to snap a three-game losing streak to the Penguins.
BISON IN THE POLLS: North Dakota State has been ranked in the top five for 26 weeks including 10 weeks at No. 1 (Oct. 31, Nov. 7, 2011 / Sept. 1-8, 2008 / Oct. 8-15-22-29, Nov. 5-12, 2007) ... North Dakota State was ranked No. 1 in the FCS Coaches Poll and The Sports Network/Fathead.com Top 25 poll released Oct. 31 ... NDSU was No. 1 in the 2011 Gridiron Power Index released Nov. 1.
HEAGLE NAMED VALLEY FOOTBALL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: North Dakota State strong safety Colten Heagle recorded a team-high 11 tackles including six solos and his second interception of the season in No. 1-ranked North Dakota State's 27-16 win at No. 16 Indiana State on Nov. 5 ... It was Heagle's third career double-figure tackle game ... His interception stopped Indiana State's first drive to the NDSU 33 with 10:52 left in the third quarter ... He recorded a key pass breakup on a 4th and 9 play on the Sycamores next drive to the NDSU 22 with 6:05 left in the third quarter ... The Bison defense held the nation's leading rusher Shakir Bell to 79 yards and allowed 124 on the ground overall ... Indiana State was 3 of 11 on third down conversions in the game.
RADIO BROADCASTS: KFGO-AM 790, Fargo ... Veteran sports announcer Scott Miller will handle the play-by-play ... Former NDSU All-American and 11-year NFL great Phil Hansen will handle the color duties, while NDSU director of athletic broadcasting Jeremy Jorgenson is on the sidelines ... Air time is set for 2:30 p.m., kickoff at 3:07 p.m. (Central) on Nov. 12 ... Anchored by flagship, The Mighty 790, KFGO-AM, the Bison Radio Network has 11 stations including ESPN AM 710 (Bismarck/Day), KFYR AM 550 (Bismarck/Night), KPOK AM 1340 (Bowman), KRCQ FM 102.3 (Detroit Lakes, Minn.), KDVL FM 102.5 (Devils Lake), KHND AM 1470 (Harvey), KISS 93 FM (Jamestown), KHRT AM 1320 (Minot), KZZJ AM 1450 (Rugby), KYCR AM 1570 (Minneapolis)and KEYZ AM 660 (Williston) ... The Bison gameday format includes a 30-minute pregame show with comments from Craig Bohl, in-depth analysis, features, and starting lineups ... A complete 30-minute postgame show is covered from the press box and locker room areas.
