THIS WEEK: No. 1-ranked and three-time defending national champion North Dakota State plays its only game of the fall football season this Saturday, Oct. 3, against Central Arkansas. Game time is 2:30 p.m. at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome.
 
Saturday's game will conclude fall camp for North Dakota State. The Bison will return to practice this winter in anticipation of an eight-game Missouri Valley Football Conference schedule beginning Feb. 21 and leading into a 16-team FCS playoff ending in mid-May.
 
Central Arkansas, meanwhile, enters Saturday's game with a 2-1 record after beating MVFC opponent Missouri State 27-20 last Saturday. UCA opted out of a potential spring season with the Southland Conference and is playing a 10-game schedule this fall including rare home-and-home series with both Missouri State and Eastern Kentucky plus three Football Bowl Subdivision teams.
 
TELEVISION: Statewide coverage on the NBC North Dakota network begins at 1 p.m. with pregame coverage hosted by Beth Hoole and Alex Egan. ESPN+ will carry the game broadcast beginning at 2:30 p.m. with Brian Shawn (play-by-play), Lee Timmerman (analyst) and Ryan Gellner (sidelines). ESPN+ is available by subscription on ESPN.com and the ESPN app.
 
RADIO: Coverage begins at 2 p.m. on the Peterson Farms Seed Bison Radio Network with fifth-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 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 for two hours following the network broadcast.
 
SATELLITE RADIO: Saturday's NDSU radio broadcast will be available on satellite radio stations Sirius 108, XM 207 and online channel 967 at SiriusXM.com.
 
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.
 
ATTENDANCE: Attendance for this game will be limited to player families. Stadium doors open at 1:30 p.m. Tailgating is not allowed, and parking will be limited to passenger vehicles only. There will be no recreational vehicles, buses or trailers allowed in the parking lots.
 
MASKS REQUIRED: Masks will be required upon entering the Fargodome and must be worn throughout the duration of the game. For those that do not have a mask, one will be provided. Failure to follow the directions of event personnel or failure to wear a mask (when not eating or drinking) could result in ticket revocation and the loss of ticket privileges in the future.
 
NEW DIGITAL PROGRAMS: A new digital game day program will be available to fans free of charge through GoBison.com and the NDSU Athletics mobile app available for download in the Apple App Store and Google Play. A free roster card presented by Gate City Bank will be available for pickup on the concourse.
 
THE SERIES: This is the first meeting between North Dakota State and Central Arkansas. NDSU is 13-1 against Southland Conference opponents including a 37-13 victory over Nicholls State in the second round of the 2019 FCS playoffs. UCA is 4-5 against Missouri Valley Football Conference teams including last week's home win over Missouri State.
 
SEASON OPENERS: This will be the latest season opener for the North Dakota State football program since 1922 when the Bison opened at Dacotah Field with a 54-0 rout of the Fargo American Legion club. NDSU has an 84-33-6 record in 123 previous season-openers and the Bison have won four straight including last year's 57-10 win over Butler at Target Field in Minneapolis.
 
HOME OPENERS: North Dakota State has won 21 straight home-opening games since 1999, which is the second longest active streak among FCS programs. North Dakota won its 33rd straight home opener last year against Drake. Central Arkansas (21) is tied with NDSU for second on that list after beating Missouri State last weekend at Estes Stadium in Conway.
 
SCHEELS BLOCK PARTY: The annual Scheels Bison Block Party will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1, at the Fargo Scheels location, 1551 45th Street South. Bison yard signs will be available for the first 250 fans. Hear from NDSU head coach Matt Entz and the Gold Star Marching Band.
 
GAME DAY AUCTION: NDSU Athletics will host an online game day auction starting at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, at GoBison.com/auctions. All proceeds go toward NDSU student-athlete scholarships. The auction will feature signed items, apparel, memorabilia and experiences exclusively available through NDSU Athletics. In addition to the items available on the auction, there will be items available to purchase directly including this season's 'Above All Else' yard sign. Participation in the auction is free and open to the public. The event lasts until Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 8 p.m. CT.
 
SENIOR RECOGNITION: Prior to kickoff on Saturday, NDSU will introduce 16 seniors who will take the field together for the final time of their careers. Since coming to NDSU in 2016, the Bison have a 57-3 overall record including 35-2 in the Fargodome and 30-2 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. NDSU has won four conference championships and 14 FCS playoff games including three straight NCAA national championships in that span. The senior class includes left tackle Dillon Radunz, who will begin training for professional football and graduate from NDSU this fall, as well as wide receiver and return specialist Trevor Heit, defensive end Justice Kelly, and sixth-year linebacker Aaron Mercadel, who will not play this season.