North Dakota State Hosts South Dakota Saturday in Final Regular-Season Home Game

Saturday, November 16

Fargo, N.D.

2:30 p.m.

North Dakota State

South Dakota

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Photo by: Tim Sanger

North Dakota State Hosts South Dakota Saturday in Final Regular-Season Home Game

11/11/2019 5:10:00 PM | Football

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THIS WEEK: No. 1-ranked North Dakota State (10-0, 6-0 MVFC) plays its final home game of the regular season at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, against South Dakota (4-6, 3-3 MVFC) at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome (18,700).

TICKETS: Unclaimed student tickets go on sale to the public at 7 p.m. Wednesday on GoBison.com/tickets. The Bison Ticket Office will be open Thursday and Friday in the south lobby of the Sanford Health Athletic Complex from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday in the Fargodome east lobby at 9:30 a.m.

TELEVISION: KVLY and the NBC North Dakota network will carry the game with Brian Shawn joined by Lee Timmerman and sideline reporter Ryan Gellner. Pregame coverage on KVLY and the NBC North Dakota with Beth Hoole, Alex Egan and Kyle Emanuel will begin at 1:30 p.m. The game will be available to ESPN+ subscribers on ESPN.com and the ESPN app. Midco Sports Network will also televise the game with play-by-play voice Jay Elsen, color analyst Andre Fields and reporter Kelly Stewart.

RADIO: Coverage begins at 2 p.m. on the Peterson Farms Seed Bison Radio Network with fourth-year NDSU play-by-play voice Jeff Culhane joined by NDSU and Buffalo Bills hall of famer Phil Hansen and NDSU sideline reporter Jeremy Jorgenson. Extended coverage locally on 107.9 The Fox, Bison 1660 and 92.7 FM includes "Bison Tailgate" from 11:00-12:00 with Brad Jones and "Bison Game Day" from 12:00-2:00 with Keith Brake and Cole Jirik. Brake and Jirik return for "Bison Hotline" with Chris Hanson and Kyle Emanuel for two hours following the network broadcast.

ONLINE: NDSU All Access offers free audio streaming of all NDSU football games as well as live video of Bison home games to subscribers on GoBison.com/allaccess and the NDSU Athletics mobile app. Live stats for NDSU home games are available on BisonStats.com. Follow along with in-game updates on Twitter @NDSUfootball.

THE SERIES: This is the 84th meeting between North Dakota State and South Dakota. NDSU has a 55-26-2 lead in the all-time series dating back to 1903. The Bison have won three straight since a 24-21 home loss to USD in 2015 that was the Coyotes' first win in Fargo since 1978. NDSU leads the series 29-10-1 at home including a 9-1 mark in the Fargodome.

LAST YEAR: Quarterback Easton Stick threw three first-half touchdown passes and broke the school's career touchdown pass record as North Dakota State marched to a 59-14 win over South Dakota last year. It was the most points scored by a visiting team in the DakotaDome. Stick finished 12 of 19 passing for 176 yards while rushing seven times for 79 yards and two scores. Lance Dunn had 12 carries for 114 yards as the Bison went for 384 yards on the ground. NDSU scored on 9 of 13 possessions, and five of those scoring drives took four plays or less. The Bison had eight plays from scrimmage go 20 or more yards.

SENIOR DAY: Saturday will be the final regular-season home game for 14 seniors who are all in their fifth year with the Bison program and will be introduced individually prior to the game. North Dakota State has a 64-5 record from 2015 through 2019 including a 39-3 mark at the Fargodome, 35-3 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference with four league titles and 14-1 in the NCAA playoffs with three national championships.

BACK-TO-BACK 50-POINT GAMES: North Dakota State's 57-21 home win over Western Illinois in the Harvest Bowl last week, coupled with the 56-17 road win over Youngstown State two weeks ago, was the first time since 1984 in the North Central Conference that the Bison have scored at least 50 points in consecutive conference games. The Bison did it that year against South Dakota State (55-30 in Fargo) and Northern Colorado (62-14 in Greeley). NDSU has never scored 50 points in three straight games.

BISON ROLL UP 690 YARDS TOTAL OFFENSE: North Dakota State's 690 yards of total offense against Western Illinois were the most by a Bison team in Division I play since 2004 and the fourth-most in program history. It is the best offensive output by a Missouri Valley Football Conference team this season and ranks sixth-most in the FCS teams this year. The Bison averaged 8.8 yards per play and had a balanced 352 rushing and 338 passing yards. NDSU's 482.9 yards of total offense through 10 games is four yards better than the school record 478.9 set by the 1988 Bison in a 10-game regular season. NDSU is also on a school-record pace averaging 7.42 yards per play.

AUTOMATIC QUALIFIER ON THE LINE: With a win this week, North Dakota State can clinch the Missouri Valley Football Conference automatic qualifier for the 24-team FCS playoffs. A victory would also clinch at least a share of NDSU's ninth straight conference title dating back to 2011. NDSU won outright MVFC titles in 2012, 2013, 2017 and 2018. North Dakota State has won 35 football conference championships including 26 in the North Central Conference (last in 1994) and one in the Great West Football Conference (2006).
        Most Consecutive Conference Titles in Division I Football
        14 - Oklahoma (Big 8, 1946-59)
        12 - Montana (Big Sky, 1998-09)
        10 - BYU (WAC, 1976-85)
        9 - Florida State (ACC, 1992-00)
        8 - Nebraska (Big 8, 1910-17)
        8 - North Dakota State (MVFC, 2011-18)

BEWARE OF GUESTS: For the third time in two seasons, North Dakota State has set a stadium record for points by a visiting team. NDSU's 56 points last week were the most by a team visiting Youngstown State since Stambaugh Stadium opened in 1982. Last season, the Bison scored 56 in a win at Northern Iowa, the most by an opposing team in the UNI-Dome since its 1976 opening. NDSU's 59 points at South Dakota last year tied the mark of 59 set by the Bison in a 1996 win at the DakotaDome, which opened in 1979.

ROOKIE HEAD COACHES: Matt Entz has won his first 10 games as head coach, surpassing the NDSU and Missouri Valley Football Conference record 9-0 start by Chris Klieman in 2014. Entz is the fourth MVFC head coach to win at least 10 games in his first year in the league:
        Most Wins, First-Year MVFC Head Coaches
        15—Chris Klieman, North Dakota State, 2014 (15-1, 7-1 MVFC, 1st place)
        13—Jim Tressel, Youngstown State, 1997 (13-2, 4-2 MVFC, 3rd place)
        11—Mark Farley, Northern Iowa, 2001 (11-3, 6-1 MVFC, 1st place)
        10—Matt Entz, North Dakota State, 2019 (10-0, 6-0 MVFC)

BIG PLAY BISON: One out of five offensive plays for North Dakota State this season (20%) have been a chunk play of at least 10 yards rushing or 15 yards passing. NDSU has 130 chunk plays (13 per game) with 86 rushing and 44 passing. There have been 32 for touchdowns, including the second longest pass reception in school history last week against Western Illinois on Josh Babicz's 88-yard pass from Trey Lance. Meanwhile, the Bison are allowing chunk plays at just a 12% rate.

LANCE, BISON LIMITING TURNOVERS: North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance has attempted 182 career passes without an interception, breaking the school record 152 set by Easton Stick from the 2016 national quarterfinal win over South Dakota State through the seventh game of 2017 against Western Illinois. Lance passed Carson Wentz (143) and Brock Jensen (142 and 140) on the NDSU record list three weeks ago. The Bison have committed the fewest turnovers in the Missouri Valley Football Conference this season (5) and are plus-12 in turnover margin, tied for the league lead with Northern Iowa.

BISON TOP RETURN TEAM IN VALLEY: North Dakota State leads the Missouri Valley Football Conference in kickoff returns and punt returns through 10 games. NDSU is first in the FCS with 27.78 yards per kickoff return (second best in school history) and 17th nationally with 12.35 yards per punt return. Trevor Heit leads the MVFC and ranks 10th in the FCS averaging 12.9 yards per punt return. Kobe Johnson averaged 46.0 yards on his first three kickoff returns of the season all at Youngstown State, including a 94-yard TD which is tied for sixth longest in NDSU history.

TUSZKA MOVING UP SACK LIST: Senior defensive end Derrek Tuszka ranks sixth in the FCS averaging 1.06 sacks per game, which is second in the MVFC behind Northern Iowa's Elerson Smith (1.20/game). Tuszka has recorded sacks in seven of nine games played this year. His career total of 25.5 sacks ranks seventh at NDSU with the top five in sight behind Cole Jirik (26.0 from 2010-13) and Coulter Boyer (27.5 from 2008-11).

COX EIGHTH IN SOLO TACKLES: Linebacker Jabril Cox has already cracked the NDSU career top 10 for solo tackles midway through his junior season. He ranks eighth with 135 solo tackles. Cox is NDSU's active career leader with 222 total tacakles in 40 games.

LANCE CLIMBS SINGLE-SEASON CHARTS: Quarterback Trey Lance's 21 passing touchdowns are the fifth-most in NDSU single-season history. He threw two TDs in last week's win over Western Illinois to surpass Steve Walker's 20 as a senior in 2007. He is also sixth in touchdowns responsible for (30) and eighth in total offense with 2,429 yards. Both are NDSU freshman records along with his marks for passing yards (1,792) and completions (126). Lance is tied for fifth among NDSU freshmen for rushing touchdowns in a season (9) matching quarterback Jeff Bentrim in 1983 and running back Jake Morris in 1994, and Lance is fifth in NDSU freshman rushing yards (637)

OFFENSIVE LINE PRODUCTION: NDSU has three first-year starters on the offensive line and moved All-American Zack Johnson from tackle to guard this season, but the Bison are still outpacing last year's 10-game totals in rushing production and pass protection.

	2018	2019
Rushing Yards/Game	256.4	294.4
Rushing Yards/Carry	5.9	6.5
Tackles for Loss Allowed	42	34
Sacks Allowed	10	7

LEAGUE LEADERS: Eight-time reigning champion North Dakota State is in a familiar position atop the Missouri Valley Football Conference standings. NDSU has played only eight conference games since the beginning of 2011 without holding at least a share of first place. The Bison fell out of first place for three weeks in 2012, three weeks in 2015 and two weeks in 2016.

BISON ON 31-GAME WINNING STREAK: North Dakota State's current 31-game winning streak is the second longest in FCS history behind the record 33-game Bison winning streak from 2012-14 and tied for ninth overall in Division I history.
        Longest Division I Football Winning Streaks
        47—Oklahoma, 1953-57
        40—Washington, 1908-14
        37—Yale, 1890-93
        37—Yale, 1887-89
        35—Toledo, 1969-71
        34—Miami (Fla.), 2000-03
        34—Penn, 1894-96
        33—North Dakota State, 2012-14
        31—Oklahoma, 1948-50
        31—Pittsburgh, 1914-18
        31—Penn, 1896-98
        31—North Dakota State, 2017-present

HOME STREAK AT 24 GAMES: North Dakota State's 24 straight home wins is the longest active home winning streak in Division I after LSU snapped Alabama's 31-game home winning streak with a 46-41 win in Tuscaloosa last week. NDSU's 24 straight home wins is third longest in Missouri Valley Football Conference history, two shy of the conference record set by NDSU in 2015. The Bison record for consecutive home wins is 28 from 1964-69. NDSU had a 36-game home unbeaten streak 1964-71 including a 1970 season-opening tie with Eastern Michigan.
        NDSU Longest Home Winning Streaks
        28—Started 9/12/1964 vs. Minn. St. Moorhead, ended 9/12/1970 by Eastern Michigan (T, 14-14)
        26—Started 10/27/2012 vs. Southern Illinois, ended 10/17/2015 by South Dakota (L, 24-21)
        24—Started 9/2/2017 vs. Mississippi Valley State to present
        23—Started 9/13/1980 vs. Northern Arizona, ended 9/15/1984 by Minn. St. Mankato (L, 28-21)

        MVFC Longest Home Winning Streaks
        26—North Dakota State, 2012-15
        25—Northern Iowa, 1989-92
        24—North Dakota State, 2017-present

AGAINST THE TOP 25: NDSU has five victories this year against FCS Top 25 opponents, and the Bison have defeated 17 ranked teams on their current 31-game winning streak. That includes 13 teams ranked in the top 10 nationally, and NDSU has outscored those 13 by an average of 35-13.

TOP-FIVE OPPONENTS: North Dakota State is 17-1 since the beginning of the 2011 national championship season against opponents ranked in the top five of the Football Championship Subdivision. That includes an 9-1 record in the Fargodome, where the only loss in the past eight seasons to a top-five opponent came in the 2016 national semifinals to James Madison, 27-17.

ELLEFSON SETS TIGHT END TOUCHDOWN RECORD: North Dakota State's Ben Ellefson caught his 15th career touchdown pass at South Dakota State to break Jerimiah Wurzbacher's NDSU career record for touchdown receptions by a tight end. Ellefson is tied with wide receiver Travis White for ninth overall in NDSU career TD receptions.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: North Dakota State has had 10 players combine for 12 Player of the Week awards in the Missouri Valley Football Conference this season:
        — Trey Lance, Offensive (9/1) & Newcomer (9/1, 10/6)...301 yards and six touchdowns in the 57-10 win over Butler...Went 10 of 11 passing for 185 yards and four touchdowns with five carries for 116 yards and two scores...First NDSU freshman to start a season opener at quarterback...Accounted for 232 yards at Illinois State including 12 of 15 passing for 189 yards and three TDs.
        — Zack Johnson, Offensive Line (9/9)...12 knockdowns and zero pressures in 38-7 win over North Dakota...Graded 98% in his second career start at right guard after an All-America junior year at right tackle...Helped NDSU rush for 266 yards and 5.3 yards per carry, convert 9 of 14 third downs, and keep the ball for more than 35 minutes in the contest.
        — Griffin Crosa, Special Teams (9/15)...Made five PAT kicks and two field goals from 46 and 23 yards in the 47-22 victory at Delaware.
        — Garret Wegner, Special Teams (10/13)...Averaged 50.7 yards on three punts with two inside the 20 and a season-long of 60 yards in the win over Northern Iowa.
        — Karson Schoening, Offensive Line (10/14)...Graded 94 percent with zero missed assignments on 69 snaps in the win over Northern Iowa...Helped NDSU rush for 347 yards with zero sacks allowed against the Panthers, ranked sixth in sacks and allowing less than 100 rushing yards/game.
        — Cordell Volson, Offensive Line (10/21)...Team-high eight knockdowns and zero pressures allowed against Missouri State...Graded 95 percent and credited with 12 factor plays as the balanced Bison rushed for 222 and passed for 225 averaging 6.0 yards per play.
        — Josh Hayes, Defensive (10/27)...Late fourth-quarter interception in the red zone at South Dakota State to a preserve a 16-16 tie before NDSU's winning score...Finished with six solo tackles and one pass breakup.
        — Kobe Johnson, Special Teams (11/3)...Had 241 all-purpose yards and two TDs at Youngstown State...Had three kick returns for 138 yards including a 94-yard TD...Rushed six times for a season-high 103 yards and a 75-yard TD.
        — Dillon Radunz, Offensive Line (11/4)...Zero missed assignments or pressures allowed in the win at Youngstown State...Led an offensive line that paved the way for six rushers to total 251 yards and 7.4 yards per carry while limiting YSU to one tackle for loss.
        — Jalen Bussey, Newcomer (11/10)...Team-high 173 all-purpose yards and 123 rushing yards with two touchdowns in his first collegiate game against Western Illinois...First carry went 65 yards for a touchdown...Added a 50-yard kickoff return and 45-yard rushing TD on consecutive plays.

ELLEFSON NAMED TO GOOD WORKS TEAM: North Dakota State tight end Ben Ellefson was named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, which recognizes 22 players in college football for outstanding leadership and commitment to giving back in their local communities. Fans are invited to visit ESPN.com/Allstate to vote for the Good Works Team captain once per day through Nov. 22. The team will be recognized at this year's Allstate Sugar Bowl. Ellefson is the eighth NDSU player to be named to the Good Works Team.

COX, TUSZKA ON BUCHANAN WATCH LIST: Junior linebacker Jabril Cox and senior defensive end Derrek Tuszka are nominated for the STATS FCS Buck Buchanan Award, presented annually to the top defensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision. Cox finished fourth in the voting last year after being selected as the Defensive Player of the Year in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. He was the 2017 MVFC Newcomer of the Year and Freshman of the Year.

LANCE NOMINATED FOR PAYTON, RICE AWARDS: North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance is nominated for two of the major FCS Player of the Year awards. Lance is the only freshman up for the STATS FCS Walter Payton Award, presented annually to the top offensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision. He is also nominated for the STATS FCS Jerry Rice Award, given to the top freshman player in the subdivision. Quarterback Easton Stick's third place finish in the 2018 Payton Award voting was NDSU's highest finish. Linebacker Jabril Cox is the only other Bison finalist for the Rice Award, finishing sixth in 2017.

WEGNER ON WATCH LIST FOR FCS PUNTER OF THE YEAR: Junior punter Garret Wegner is on the preseason watch list for the inaugural FCS Punter of the Year award by the Augusta Sports Council, which has been home to the Ray Guy Award since 2000 honoring the nation's best punters as the FBS level. Wegner was STATS FCS and Associated Press All-America third team in 2018 and the All-MVFC first team punter.

FIVE PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS: North Dakota State has five preseason All-Americans including junior linebacker Jabril Cox and senior offensive lineman Zack Johnson, who were each named to first teams by HERO Sports, Athlon Sports and STATS FCS. Junior offensive lineman Dillon Radunz was second team by HERO Sports, senior defensive end Derrek Tuszka was named to the STATS FCS second team and HERO Sports third team, and junior punter Garret Wegner was third team by STATS FCS.

PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE: North Dakota State led the way with six players named to the Preseason All-Missouri Valley Football Conference team. Offensive linemen Zack Johnson and Dillon Radunz joined linebacker Jabril Cox, safety James Hendricks, defensive end Derrek Tuszka and punter Garret Wegner on the first team. NDSU had three honorable mentions in tight end Ben Ellefson, defensive tackle Cole Karcz and long snapper Ross Kennelly.

BISON AT HOME: NDSU is 79-6 at home since 2010 including a 24-1 mark in the FCS playoffs. The Bison have the longest active home winning streak in Division I at 24 games and NDSU has won 66 of the last 68 home games over non-conference opponents with its last home loss coming in the 2016 semifinals to James Madison. NDSU is 26-4 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 18,106.

DECADE LEADER: North Dakota State's 131 wins this decade are more than any other program in college football. NDSU is 122-8 since the beginning of 2011, the first of five consecutive national championship seasons. North Dakota State holds the distinction of being the winningest Division II program of the 1980s, going 103-20-2 from 1980-89 with four national titles in that span.

15-TIME NATIONAL CHAMPIONS: North Dakota State won its 15th football national championship in 2018. NDSU claimed three College Division national championships in 1965, 1968 and 1969, five Division II 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.

BISON WIN RECORD SEVENTH FCS TITLE: North Dakota State has won seven of the last eight FCS championships to surpass Georgia Southern's record of six FCS titles. The Bison are 7-0 in seven FCS title game appearances.
        Most FCS Championship Game Appearances
        8 - Georgia Southern (6-2)
        7 - North Dakota State (7-0)
        7 - Youngstown State (4-3)
        7 - Montana (2-5)

FIFTH UNDEFEATED, UNTIED FCS CHAMPION: Last year's 15-0 North Dakota State team was the fifth to go undefeated and untied in winning the FCS championship joining Eastern Kentucky in 1982 (13-0), Georgia Southern in 1989 (15-0), Marshall in 1996 (15-0) and NDSU in 2013 (15-0).

UNBEATEN SEASONS: Eleven teams have gone unbeaten in Missouri Valley Football Conference games since 1985, and only North Dakota State (2013 and 2018) and Southern Illinois (2009) have done it through an eight-game conference schedule. There have been 15 undefeated NDSU teams since 1894 including the 2018 national champions (15-0).

SUCCESS VS. THE FBS: NDSU 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 has three future FBS games against Oregon in 2020, Arizona in 2022 and Colorado in 2024. NDSU's first three FBS wins were against Ball State (2006), Central Michigan (2007) and Minnesota (2007).

ANNIVERSARY SEASONS: Three milestones are being celebrated this year with the 150th anniversary of college football, the 125th anniversary of NDSU football, and the 35th anniversary of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. NDSU has commissioned artist Terrence Fogarty for a limited-edition commemorative painting on sale at GoBison.com/painting. It features iconic images from the program's humble beginnings in 1894 through NDSU's modern-day FCS dynasty.