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THIS WEEK:  North Dakota State opens its 121st season of football and its 14th year as a Division I program this Saturday, Sept. 2, when the No. 2-ranked Bison host Mississippi Valley State of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.  Game time is 2:30 p.m. at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome (18,700).
 
TELEVISION:  Coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. on KVLY and the NBC North Dakota network with Brian Shawn calling the play-by-play, Lee Timmerman color analyst, and Ryan Gellner on the sidelines. The game will be available on ESPN College Extra and ESPN3 will carry the game on WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app.  Pregame coverage hosted by Beth Hoole and Alex Egan begins one hour prior to kickoff.
 
RADIO:  Coverage begins at 2 p.m. on 107.9 The Fox, Bison 1660 and 92.7 FM, 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, Bison 1660 and 92.7 FM includes "Bison Tailgate" from 11:00-11:30 a.m. with Brad Jones, "Bison Game Day" from 12:00-2:00 p.m. and "Bison Hotline" for 2 hours following the network broadcast with hosts Keith Brake, Chris Hanson and former NDSU defensive end Cole Jirik.
 
THE SERIES:  This is the third meeting between North Dakota State and Mississippi Valley State.  NDSU leads the series 2-0 with a 45-0 win in the 2006 homecoming game and a 58-7 victory in 2007 in Itta Bena.  The Bison are 3-0 against the Southwestern Athletic Conference including a 66-7 home win over Prairie View A&M in 2012.  Mississippi Valley State is 0-2 against the Missouri Valley Football Conference with a 1999 loss to Western Illinois and a 2014 loss to Illinois State. SWAC teams are 1-15 against the MVFC with Southern University claiming the only win against Missouri State in 1987.
 
SEASON OPENERS:  North Dakota State is 81-33-6 all-time in season openers and has won 11 of 13 as a Division I program including last year's 24-17 overtime victory against Charleston Southern.  This is the 86th season opener played at home, where the Bison haven't lost a season opener since 1998 against Emporia State.  Mississippi Valley State is the 55th opponent to open a Bison football season.
 
BISON RETURN 16 STARTERS:  North Dakota State returns nine starters on defense and seven on offense from last year's NCAA semifinal team that finished 12-2 and won a sixth straight Missouri Valley Football Conference championship with a 7-1 league record.  Included is linebacker Nick DeLuca, a two-time nominee for the Butkus Award, who returns for a fifth season after being limited to three games last year with a shoulder injury.
 
MENARD OUT:  Two-time All-America defensive end Greg Menard will miss the 2017 season with a knee injury suffered during the opening week of fall camp.  Menard, who made his debut at Weber State in the second game of his true freshman year 2014, is eligible to return to the Bison for a fifth season in 2018.
       
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.
 
SIX STRAIGHT CONFERENCE TITLES:  North Dakota State won a share of its sixth straight Missouri Valley Football Conference championship last 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).
 
BISON PICKED TO WIN VALLEY FOOTBALL TITLE:  North Dakota State was picked to win the Missouri Valley Football Conference by a single vote over second-place South Dakota State.  NDSU earned 21 of 40 first-place votes and had 380 points followed by SDSU with 19 first-place votes and 379 points.  Youngstown State, national finalist a year ago, was picked third ahead of Northern Iowa, Illinois State, Western Illinois, South Dakota, Southern Illinois, Missouri State and Indiana State.
 
SEVEN ON PRESEASON TEAM:  Junior running back Lance Dunn, senior long snapper James Fisher, senior defensive end Greg Menard, senior defensive tackle Nate Tanguay, senior linebacker Nick DeLuca, senior safety Tre Dempsey, and junior safety Robbie Grimsley were voted to the Missouri Valley Football Conference preseason team by the league's coaches, sports information directors and media.  Wide receivers Darrius Shepherd and RJ Urzendowski and offensive lineman Austin Kuhnert earned honorable mention for NDSU.
 
RANKED OPPONENTS:  North Dakota State is No. 2 in the STATS FCS Top 25 and FCS Coaches Poll and six of NDSU's 11 opponents are ranked in the preseason polls.  The Bison played 10 nationally ranked foes last year with an 8-2 record in those games.
 
A WINNING TRADITION:  North Dakota State has played an even 1,100 games with a 696-370-34 record in 120 seasons of football, good for a .648 winning percentage.  Over the past six seasons, NDSU's 83 victories are more than any other team in Division I football ahead of Alabama (76), Clemson (70), Florida State (68), Sam Houston State (68) and Ohio State (67).
 
BISON AT HOME:  North Dakota State is 55-6 at home since 2010.  The Bison have won 54 of the last 56 home games over non-conference opponents including a string of 45 straight before last year's NCAA semifinal loss to James Madison.  NDSU is 16-4 at home all-time against FCS Top 10 teams.  North Dakota State ranked fifth in the FCS last year with an average home attendance of 18,556 and has drawn 18,000-plus to 47 straight home contests.