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GAME TWO: Top-ranked North Dakota State (1-0) plays its home opener against Ferris State (0-0) at 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome.  The Bison are coming off a 24-21 victory at Kansas State, which was NDSU's fourth straight win over an FBS opponent and 13th straight win away from home.
 
THE SERIES: This is the second meeting between North Dakota State and Ferris State.  NDSU won 55-35 at the Fargodome in the 1999 season opener under head coach Bob Babich.  That game featured a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Ferris State's Clarence Coleman, which NDSU answered with a 92-yard TD on the ensuing kickoff by Tim Strehlow.  Lamar Gordon rushed for 154 yards and four touchdowns and Ryan Johnson passed for 218 yards in the Bison win.
 
TELEVISION: Saturday's game will be televised live in high definition on the NBC North Dakota network and ESPN3 with Brian Shawn, Lee Timmerman and Kevin Feeney in the booth and Jamal Spencer reporting from the sidelines.  Live video streaming will be available for NDSU All Access subscribers on GoBison.com/allaccess.  All 11 NDSU games are scheduled to be televised for the second straight year and all 11 will be in high definition.  NDSU is 115-57-1 (.668) in TV games.
 
BISON RADIO NETWORK: The Mighty 790 KFGO along with KRWK 101.9 Talk FM and the Bison Radio Network will carry the game live with veteran sports announcer Scott Miller calling the play-by-play.  NDSU Bison Hall of Famer Phil Hansen handles the color duties and NDSU director of sales and broadcasting Jeremy Jorgenson reports from the sidelines.  Coverage includes 30-minute pregame and postgame shows.

Bison Radio Network affiliates include KBGY-FM 107.5 Minneapolis, WLKX-FM 95.9 Minneapolis, KDDG-FM 105.5 Albany, KMGK-FM 107.1 Glenwood, KZCR-FM 103.3 Fergus Falls, KKCQ-FM 96.7 Fosston, KRCQ-FM 102.3 Detroit Lakes, KAUJ-FM 100.9 Grafton, KDVL-FM 102.5 Devils Lake, KSJB-AM 600 Jamestown, ESPN 710 AM Bismarck, KHRT-AM 1320 Minot, KEYZ-AM 660 Williston, KLTC-AM 1460 Dickinson, KPOK-AM 1340 Bowman, KZZJ-AM 1450 Rugby, and KHND-AM 1470 Harvey.

Live audio streaming is available over the Internet on GoBison.com/allaccess.
 
HOME OPENERS:  North Dakota State has won 14 straight home openers since the 1999 win over Ferris State.  Emporia State's 23-21 win on Aug. 27, 1998, was NDSU's only home-opener loss in 20 seasons of football at the Fargodome.  The Bison shut out Robert Morris 52-0 in the first home game last year.
 
LATE ADDITION TO SCHEDULE:  The Ferris State game was scheduled in June as a replacement for Montana State, the No. 3-ranked team in the FCS this week, which bought out of its contract in February.  This is North Dakota State's fifth game against a non-Division I opponent since beginning Division I play in 2004.  The Bison beat NAIA member Montana Tech 56-3 and NCAA Division II member Carson-Newman 49-19 in 2004 followed by a 59-7 win over Arkansas-Monticello in the 2005 opener and a 66-7 rout of Concordia-St. Paul in the 2006 opener.
 
NATIONAL TEAM OF THE WEEK:  North Dakota State was named the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week by the Football Writers Association of America on Tuesday.  NDSU is just the second Football Championship Subdivision team to be recognized.  The other was Appalachian State in 2007 following its opening game win at No. 5-ranked Michigan.
 
TURNER OFFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE WEEK:  Left tackle Billy Turner was named Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week by the league office Monday.  Turner graded out at 96 percent with 10 knockdowns.  He was responsible for zero quarterback hurries or sacks in front of quarterback Brock Jensen, who was 21-for-30 for 165 yards.  Turner helped paved the way for a rushing attack that outgained Kansas State 215-41 on the ground including 127 yards by running back Sam Ojuri.
 
HEAGLE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:  Strong safety Colten Heagle was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Sunday.  Heagle led NDSU with seven solo tackles including two stops for loss in his first game back since a knee injury at Colorado State last September.  He made a tackle in the backfield on third-and-2 in the first quarter to force a Kansas State punt and NDSU scored on the next possession for a 7-0 lead before going on to a 24-21 victory over the defending Big 12 champions.
 
JENSEN DELIVERS LATE:  Quarterback Brock Jensen was 21-for-30 with two touchdowns and one interception at Kansas State and scored the game-winning touchdown on a 1-yard run with 28 seconds left.  Jensen completed 14 of 15 passes in the second half including 7 of 7 on the game's final drive which covered 80 yards in 18 plays over 8 minutes, 30 seconds.
 
LeCOMPTE KEYS SPECIAL TEAMS:  Punter Ben LeCompte averaged 42.2 yards on four punts at Kansas State including three inside the 20 (at the 3, 8 and 12).  LeCompte also handled all five kickoffs, leaving the first four short to avoid returners and getting a touchback with 28 seconds left in the game.  Senior middle linebacker Grant Olson's first career interception with 19 seconds left in the game sealed NDSU's 24-21 victory.
 
BOHL ONE WIN SHY OF HAGER:  North Dakota State head coach Craig Bohl is in his 11th season with an 90-32 record (.738) just one win shy of NDSU all-time coaching wins leader Rocky Hager, who went 91-25-1 (.782) in 10 seasons from 1987-96.
 
ON THE ROAD: North Dakota State is 13-0 away from Gate City Bank Field since 2011 including two victories in Frisco, Texas, in the FCS national championship.  The Bison have won 18 of their last 22 road games and are 38-20 on the road since head coach Craig Bohl took over in 2003.  NDSU is 13-7 in MVFC road games.
 
AROUND THE VALLEY:  Missouri Valley Football Conference teams combined to go 6-4 on the first weekend including a 2-3 record against FBS schools.  Nationally, there were eight FCS wins against FBS teams, including three against BCS conferences (NDSU over Kansas State, Northern Iowa over Iowa State, and Eastern Washington over Oregon State).  Last year, a total of 10 FCS teams beat FBS schools and the MVFC has the most with three.  NDSU and UNI's victories marked the first time in league history (29 years) that the Missouri Valley Football Conference has beaten two Big 12 schools in the same season.
 
BISON PICKED TO WIN VALLEY:  North Dakota State has been picked to win the Missouri Valley Football Conference crown in 2013. NDSU, the defending national champion, has won 28 of its past 30 games (going 14-1 each year).  The Bison were a unanimous choice to repeat, earning 39 of a possible 39 first-place votes, in a poll conducted by league coaches, media and sports information directors.  The Bison return 18 total starters from a team that went 14-1 overall and 7-1 in the conference last year.

Named to the preseason all-MVFC offensive unit were quarterback Brock Jensen, offensive tackle Billy Turner, wide receiver Ryan Smith and kicker Adam Keller. Representing NDSU on the all-conference defensive squad were defensive end Cole Jirik, defensive tackle Leevon Perry, linebacker Grant Olson, cornerback Marcus Williams, punter Ben LeCompte and return specialist Ryan Smith. Linebacker Travis Beck was honorable mention. Jensen is on the preseason Payton Award (FCS Offensive Player of the Year) Watch List, and Olson and Williams are on the Buchanan Award (FCS Defensive Player of the Year) Watch List.

A preseason favorite has claimed the league crown 15 times (in 27 previous polls). North Dakota State was picked to win the league last season.