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NDSU Notes | San Diego Notes | Playoff Bracket

THIS WEEK:  No. 1 overall seed North Dakota State begins its march for a sixth straight national championship this week when the Bison (10-1) face 24th-ranked Pioneer Football League champion San Diego (10-1) in the second round of the FCS playoffs.  Game time is 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome (18,700).
 
TELEVISION:  ESPN3 and ESPN College Extra will televise the game live with Roy Philpott calling the play-by-play and Al Groh as color analyst.  ESPN3 is available through participating Internet service providers on WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app.  ESPN College Extra is available on DirecTV and Verizon Fios.
 
RADIO:  Coverage begins at 2 p.m. on KPFX-FM 107.9 The Fox and the Peterson Farms Seed Bison Radio Network with Jeff Culhane play-by-play, NDSU and Buffalo Bills Hall of Famer Phil Hansen analyst, and NDSU's Jeremy Jorgenson sidelines.  A free live audio stream of the Bison Radio Network broadcast is available on GoBison.com/allaccess.  Extended coverage on 107.9 The Fox and Bison 1660 includes "Bison Game Day" from 12 to 2 p.m. and "Bison Hotline" for 2 hours following the network broadcast with hosts Keith Brake, Chris Hanson and former NDSU safety Christian Dudzik.
 
THE SERIES:  This is the first meeting between North Dakota State and San Diego.  NDSU is 1-0 against teams from the Pioneer Football League with a 52-0 win over Valparaiso in the 2004 season opener, NDSU's first Division I game.  The Bison will face another PFL opponent in the 2019 season opener when NDSU hosts Butler at Target Field in Minneapolis.
 
FIRST ROUND RESULTS:  Seven of the eight home teams won first round playoff games last week with San Diego's 35-21 win at Cal Poly being the only road team victory.  It was the first FCS playoff victory for the Pioneer Football League, which has had an automatic qualifying spot in the tournament since 2013.  The Missouri Valley Football Conference went 1-1 with Youngstown State beating Samford 38-24 and Illinois State falling at Central Arkansas 31-24.  NDSU and South Dakota State had first round byes.  SDSU hosts Villanova in the second round with the winner facing either NDSU or San Diego.
 
AFTER THE OPEN WEEK:  North Dakota State has won 23 straight games after open weeks in the regular season and playoffs since a 2005 home loss to UC Davis.  That streak includes 13 home games, five road games and five national championship games in Frisco, Texas.
 
SEVEN STRAIGHT POSTSEASONS:  This is NDSU's seventh straight FCS playoff appearance and 30th postseason trip overall.  The Bison are 57-14 in the postseason and 52-13 in the NCAA playoff format since 1973.  NDSU has won 20 straight FCS playoff games since the 2010 quarterfinal loss in overtime at Eastern Washington, the eventual national champion that year.
 
SIX STRAIGHT CONFERENCE TITLES:  North Dakota State won a share of its sixth straight Missouri Valley Football Conference championship this season, tying South Dakota State with a 7-1 record in league play.  NDSU won outright MVFC titles in 2012 and 2013.  The Bison shared the 2011 title with Northern Iowa and the 2014 and 2015 crowns with Illinois State.  North Dakota State has won 33 football conference championships including 26 in the North Central Conference (last in 1994) and one in the Great West Football Conference (2006).
 
FIVE STRAIGHT NATIONAL TITLES:  North Dakota State won its 13th football national championship last season.  NDSU claimed three College Division national championships in 1965, 1968 and 1969, five Division II titles in 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988 and 1990, and is the first team in college football history to win five straight national championships with FCS titles in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
 
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE:  NDSU is 16-0 at home in the FCS playoffs and has won 17 straight home playoff games including a 1992 Division II first round victory against Northeast Missouri State in the final game at Dacotah Field.  Minnesota State Mankato was the last team to beat NDSU at home in the playoffs, a 27-7 defeat in the 1991 Division II first round.  The past six FCS national champions have played all their playoff games at home, a luxury NDSU has enjoyed five straight seasons.
 
BISON AT HOME:  North Dakota State is 53-5 at home since 2010.  The Bison have won 53 of the last 54 home games over non-conference opponents including 44 straight since a 2003 loss to UC Davis.  NDSU is 15-3 at home all-time against FCS Top 10 teams.  North Dakota State ranks sixth in the FCS with an average home attendance of 18,688 through six games.
 
LEAGUE-BEST 12 ALL-MVFC:  North Dakota State led all schools with 12 players named to the All-Missouri Valley Football Conference team by a vote of the league's media, head coaches and sports information directors.  First team picks were running back King Frazier, fullback Chase Morlock, left guard Zack Johnson, right tackle Landon Lechler, linebacker MJ Stumpf, defensive end Greg Menard, and safeties Tre Dempsey and Robbie Grimsley.  Second team selections were right guard Jack Plankers, tight end Jeff Illies, defensive tackle Nate Tanguay, and long snapper James Fisher.  Linebacker Pierre Gee-Tucker, cornerback Jalen Allison and quarterback Easton Stick earned honorable mention.  The 12 honorees are NDSU's second most in nine years of conference membership behind only the 15-0 team of 2013 that landed 14 players between the All-MVFC first and second teams.
 
KLIEMAN FINALIST:  Third-year NDSU head coach Chris Klieman is a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, presented to the FCS Coach of the Year.  Klieman has a 38-4 overall record, 21-3 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, and has guided the Bison to three conference titles and two national titles.  He was a finalist for the award in 2014.
 
DEFENSE CLAMPING DOWN:  NDSU ranks fifth in the FCS in red zone defense and sixth in scoring defense.  The Bison have held opponents to 26 scores in 38 trips (68%) inside the 20 with only 17 touchdowns.  Opponents are averaging only 17.1 points per game overall and 13.2 in conference play.
 
RUSHING DEFENSE:  NDSU has the No. 14 rushing defense in FCS with opponents averaging 105.2 yards per game on the ground with only eight rushing touchdowns.  The Bison held six opponents to season lows rushing—Iowa (34), Illinois State (37), Missouri State (30), Western Illinois (86), Northern Iowa (68) and Youngstown State (92).
 
BISON SHUT DOWN PUNT RETURN GAME:  North Dakota State leads the FCS in punt return defense with only three opponent punt returns going for a net 0.0 yards.  The FCS record is 0.96 yards allowed per punt return by the 1988 Yale team that held opponents to 23 yards on 24 returns.  NDSU junior punter Jackson Koonce is averaging 36.9 yards on 52 punts with a long of 54 at Western Illinois, 31 fair catches and 12 punts inside the 20.
 
INTERCEPTION LEADERS:  Junior free safety Tre Dempsey leads the Missouri Valley Football Conference with five interceptions and is fourth with 11 passes defended.  NDSU has picked off a pass in 9 of 11 games and leads the MVFC with 16 interceptions including a pair of pick-sixes by Nick DeLuca against Eastern Washington and MJ Stumpf against Iowa.
 
MULTIPLE TARGETS:  Junior tight end Jeff Illies leads NDSU in touchdown receptions after catching his fifth TD in the win at South Dakota.  Nine of NDSU's 15 passing touchdowns belong to tight ends and running backs and seven different players have caught TDs this year.
 
RUSHING GAME HEATING UP:  North Dakota State's rushing game has been heating up over the past four weeks.  The Bison have rushed for 1,069 yards the past four games against against Northern Iowa (217), Youngstown State (240), Indiana State (243) and South Dakota (369).  NDSU leads the FCS in tackles for loss allowed (3.27/game) and is 11th in rushing offense with 239.9 ypg.
 
RANKED OPPONENTS:  NDSU's seven Top 25 regular season opponents this year were the most the Bison have faced in a Division I regular season.  NDSU faced six ranked opponents in 2014 and 10 including the playoffs.  NDSU opened this year with four straight wins over Top 25 competition, including the 11th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes in FBS.  It was the first time since 2008 that NDSU has played four straight Top 25 teams in the regular season.
 
TOUGHEST SCHEDULES:  Four of the 10 toughest schedules in the FCS reside in the Missouri Valley Football Conference with North Dakota State ranked second, South Dakota fourth, South Dakota State sixth and Northern Iowa 10th based on opponent win-loss records.

Team	Conf.	Opp. W%
1. Cal Poly (7-5)	Big Sky	.647
2. North Dakota State (10-1)	MVFC	.646
3. Samford (7-5)	Southern	.636
4. South Dakota (4-7)	MVFC	.624
5. Charleston Southern (7-4)	Big South	.619
6. South Dakota State (8-3)	MVFC	.618
7. Maine (6-5)	Colonial	.610
8. Richmond (9-3)	Colonial	.607
9. Chattanooga (9-3)	Southern	.606
10. Northern Iowa (5-6)	MVFC	.604

 
 
NARROW LOSSES:  North Dakota State's last three losses have all come on the last play of the game, and seven of the last eight losses have been by a combined 24 points.  NDSU has only three double-digit losses since the beginning of the 2010 season—Western Illinois (2010), at Illinois State (2010), and at Northern Iowa (2014).
            NDSU Losses, since 2010
            2016 - South Dakota State, 19-17*
            2015 - South Dakota, 24-21*
            2015 - at Montana, 38-35*
            2014 - at Northern Iowa, 23-3
            2012 - Indiana State, 17-14
            2011 - Youngstown State, 27-24
            2010 - at Eastern Washington, 38-31 (OT)
            2010 - at Missouri State, 3-0
            2010 - at Illinois State, 34-24
            2010 - Western Illinois, 28-16
            2010 - at Northern Iowa, 16-9
            *games won on final play
 
BOUNCING BACK:  North Dakota State has won the next game after its last 13 losses, including road wins at Western Illinois (2016), Indiana State (2015), Missouri State (2014), South Dakota (2012), Western Illinois (2011) and Youngstown State (2010).  NDSU has not suffered consecutive losses since a five-game losing streak in 2009.
 
SECOND LONGEST STREAK:  NDSU's 14-game winning streak snapped by South Dakota State on Oct. 15 was the second longest in Missouri Valley Football Conference history behind NDSU's 33-game streak that spanned the 2012, 2013 and 2014 seasons.  The previous MVFC mark was 13 straight wins by Western Kentucky (2002-03) and Northern Iowa (2006-07).
 
TURNOVER LEADERS:  North Dakota State and South Dakota State lead the Missouri Valley Football Conference and are tied for 16th in the FCS with a +8 turnover margin.  NDSU has a 68-27 advantage over opponents in points off turnovers.
 
ANDERSON KICK RETURN CAREER LEADER:  NDSU sophomore Bruce Anderson is the FCS active career leader in kickoff returns with a 30.4 average.  Anderson has 27 career returns for 821 yards and two touchdowns.  He had 585 yards and a school-record 36.56 yards per return last year, including 100- and 97-yard touchdowns in the NCAA playoffs.
 
SUCCESS VS. THE FBS:  North Dakota State has a 9-3 record against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents and has won six in a row against FBS foes since 2010 with wins at Kansas (6-3), Minnesota (37-24), Colorado State (22-7), Kansas State (24-21), Iowa State (34-14) and 11th-ranked Iowa (23-21).  NDSU did not play an FBS opponent in 2015 and does not have any other FBS opponents scheduled until Oregon in 2020 and Colorado in 2024.  NDSU's first three FBS wins were against Ball State (2006), Central Michigan (2007) and Minnesota (2007).
 
BACK-TO-BACK OVERTIMES:  After not playing a home overtime game in the history of NDSU football, the Bison started the season with back-to-back OT home wins over Charleston Southern (24-17) and Eastern Washington (50-44).  NDSU scored on its first offensive play in both games, getting a 25-yard run from King Frazier and a 25-yard run from Lance Dunn.  NDSU is the first Valley Football team to open a season with back-to-back OT wins.
 
FOURTH QUARTER MARCH:  North Dakota State held the ball for 10:45 and outgained Iowa 126 to minus-9 in the fourth quarter of NDSU's come-from-behind 23-21 victory.  The Bison pulled within 21-20 with a 15-play, 80-yard drive that took 8:39 off the clock before getting a three-and-out on defense to set up the game-winning field goal drive.  The 15-play march was reminiscent of NDSU's 18-play, 80-yard, 8:30 game-winning drive at Kansas State in 2013.
 
CONFERENCE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:  The following players have earned Missouri Valley Football Conference player of the week awards this season:
            — Zack Johnson, Offensive Line (2x)...Six knockdowns with zero hurries or sacks allowed in 73 snaps against Charleston Southern...Graded out at 98.6% on assignment and led the Bison line in finish (88%) and technique (76%)...Eight knockdowns in win at South Dakota...Graded 100% assignment and 84% technique as NDSU rolled to a season-high 369 yards rushing.
            — Nick DeLuca, Defensive...After missing the second half of the season opener with a shoulder separation, made a game-high 15 tackles in the win over Eastern Washington...Also scored on a 40-yard interception return.
            — MJ Stumpf, Defensive...Made three tackles and scored on a 21-yard interception return in the victory at Iowa...Downed a punt at the Iowa 2 to set up one of five three-and-outs...Part of a defensive unit that held Iowa to 34 yards rushing in the game and minus-7 after halftime.
            ­— Cam Pedersen, Special Teams...Converted 2 of 2 PAT kicks and made a 37-yard field goal on the final play of the fourth quarter to give NDSU a 23-21 win at Iowa one week after a game-tying 28-yarder to force overtime in the win over Eastern Washington.
            — Landon Lechler, Offensive Line...Five knockdowns with zero quarterback hurries or sacks in 70 snaps against Iowa...Led the Bison with a 100% assignment grade, 88% finish and 85% technique.
            — Tre Dempsey, Defensive...Two second-half interceptions, one pass breakup in the end zone, one tackle for loss and four total tackles in NDSU's 24-20 victory at Northern Iowa.
            — Austin Kuhnert, Offensive Line...Six knockdowns and did not allow a sack or hurry in 43 plays vs. Youngstown State...Graded 100% assignment, 87% technique and 84% finish as the Bison rushed for 240 yards against a YSU team allowing only 102.9 per game.
            — Darrius Shepherd, Special Teams...84-yard punt return touchdown after the game's opening drive sparked a 41-17 rout of Indiana State...NDSU's first special teams TD of the season and Shepherd's first career return TD...Fourth longest punt return in NDSU history...Also had four pass receptions for 40 yards.
 
DeLUCA, TANGUAY OUT FOR SEASON:  Senior middle linebacker Nick DeLuca had a season-ending shoulder surgery following the win at Iowa and can apply for a medical hardship to return to the Bison in 2017.  DeLuca was the only FCS player on the watch list for the 32nd annual Butkus Award, honoring the nation's best collegiate linebacker, and also was on the STATS FCS Defensive Player of the Year watch list.  He was first-team all-conference and runner-up for Missouri Valley Football Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2015.  Junior defensive tackle Nate Tanguay suffered a knee injury against Youngstown State and will miss the remainder of the year.  Tanguay was second-team all-conference with 31 tackles including 5.5 tackles for loss in nine starts.
 
COACHING STAFF INTACT:  After having at least one new assistant coach every year since beginning Division I play in 2004, North Dakota State has the same full-time coaching staff for the third straight season under head coach Chris Klieman.  NDSU made two changes to support staff adding former Bison defensive back Bryan Shepherd as defensive assistant and former Wisconsin-Stout assistant Kody Morgan in the offensive quality control position.
 
MOST WINS IN DIVISION I FOOTBALL:  NDSU has the most wins in Division I football with an 81-6 record since the beginning of the 2011 national championship season.  The Bison went 14-1, 14-1, 15-0, 15-1 and 13-2 the past five years.  Fifteen FCS programs have multiple 10-win seasons since 2011, and only four have reached the 10-win mark at least three times—NDSU (6), Sam Houston State (5), Eastern Washington (4) and Jacksonville State (4).
            Most Wins Since 2011, Division I
            81 - North Dakota State
            74 - Alabama
            67 - Sam Houston State
            67 - Clemson
            67 - Florida State
            67 - Ohio State
 
BIG LEAGUE BISON:  North Dakota State will host Butler at Target Field in Minneapolis in the season opener August 31, 2019.  It will be the first Division I football game at the Major League Baseball stadium, which is hosting a Division III game next year between in-state rivals St. Thomas and Saint John's.  NDSU has more than 12,000 alumni in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and nearly 26,000 alumni across Minnesota.  The game is in addition to a six-game home schedule at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome in 2019, which is a 12-game regular season.
 
#PROBISON:  North Dakota State has eight former players active in the NFL and two others in the CFL.  Three Bison from last season are still with NFL teams including No. 2 overall draft pick Carson Wentz, fifth-round pick Joe Haeg, and undrafted free agent CJ Smith.  On the sidelines, former Bison safety/punter (1984-1988) and longtime assistant coach (1996-2005) Gus Bradley is in his fourth season as the Jaguars' head coach.

NFL Players	Year	Team
John Crockett, RB	2nd	Green Bay Packers
Kyle Emanuel, LB	2nd	San Diego Chargers
Joe Haeg, OL	1st	Indianapolis Colts
Ramon Humber, LB	8th	Buffalo Bills
CJ Smith, CB	1st	Philadelphia Eagles
Billy Turner, OL	3rd	Denver Broncos
Carson Wentz, QB	1st	Philadelphia Eagles
Marcus Williams, CB	3rd	New York Jets
CFL Players	Year	Team
Brock Jensen, QB	2nd	Ottawa Redblacks
Ryan Smith, WR	3rd	Winnipeg Blue Bombers