THIS WEEK: No. 2 seed North Dakota State (12-1) hosts No. 3 seed and Colonial Athletic Association co-champion James Madison (12-1) in the semifinals of the NCAA Division I Football Championship at 8:15 p.m. Friday, Dec. 17, at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome (18,700). The winner advances to face either South Dakota State or No. 8 seed Montana State in the national championship game on Saturday, Jan. 8, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
 
TELEVISION: Live coverage on ESPN2 and the ESPN app begins at 8:15 p.m. with Wes Durham (play-by-play), Barrett Brooks (analyst) and Lauren Sisler (reporter).
 
RADIO: Coverage begins at 7:15 p.m. on the Peterson Farms Seed Bison Radio Network including Bison 1660 and 107.9 The Fox in Fargo with Jeff Culhane (play-by-play), Phil Hansen (analyst) and Cole Jirik (sideline). Extended coverage locally on Bison 1660 and 92.7 FM includes "Bison Tailgate" from 4:15-5:15, "Bison Game Day" from 5:15-7:15 and the "Bison Hotline" call-in show following the network broadcast.
 
ONLINE: NDSU All Access offers free audio streams during the NCAA FCS playoffs through GoBison.com/allaccess and the NDSU Athletics mobile app. Live in-game statistics will be available on NCAA.com. Follow along with in-game updates on Twitter @NDSUfootball.
 
TICKETS: Tickets are available at GoBison.com/tickets or by calling the Bison Ticket Office in the south lobby of the Sanford Health Athletic Complex at (701) 231-6378 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Game day ticket sales at the Fargodome begin at 8 a.m.
 
THE SERIES: North Dakota State has won three of the four previous meetings against James Madison. All four games have come in the FCS postseason and been decided by 12 points or less. JMU is the only team to win an FCS playoff game in the Fargodome, a 27-17 victory in the 2016 semifinals. The last two meetings between NDSU and JMU have been in Frisco for the 2017 and 2019 national titles with the Bison winning 17-13 and 28-20, respectively. The largest margin of victory in the series was a 26-14 win by NDSU in the second round of the 2011 playoffs in Fargo.
 
BISON SMOTHER BUCS IN QUARTERFINALS: North Dakota State limited the nation's leading rusher to 35 yards and the Bison defeated No. 7 seed East Tennessee State 27-3 in the quarterfinals. ETSU managed only 66 net rushing yards with its dual 1,000-yard backs Quay Holmes and Jacob Saylors. NDSU held a 401-165 advantage in total offense. Michael Tutsie made a team-high six tackles and intercepted a pass in the third quarter that set up a Bison touchdown four plays later as NDSU built a 20-0 lead. TaMerik Williams rushed 15 times for 91 yards and two touchdowns to lead seven Bison ball carriers who combined for 278 yards and 5.7 yards per carry.
 
BISON RUN PAST SALUKIS IN SECOND ROUND: North Dakota State rushed for 389 yards and controlled the ball for nearly 38 minutes in a 38-7 second round win over Southern Illinois. TaMerik Williams rushed 17 times for 112 yards and two touchdowns and quarterback Quincy Patterson had seven carries for 84 yards and one score. NDSU's 62 rushing attempts and 23 first downs rushing were both Bison FCS playoff records. NDSU scored on its first four possessions and had five scoring drives nine plays or longer. Michael Tutsie made seven tackles and the Bison had three sacks, six tackles for loss and eight pass breakups while holding SIU to 2 of 13 on third down and just 281 yards of total offense, a season-low for the Salukis against FCS opponents.
 
12th STRAIGHT POSTSEASON: North Dakota State is in the postseason for the 12th straight season dating back to 2010 when the Bison advanced to the FCS quarterfinals in their first appearance. NDSU has a 39-3 record in the FCS playoffs, including a 30-1 record in the Fargodome. This is North Dakota State's 35th postseason appearance since 1964. The Bison are 74-16 all-time in the postseason including a 69-15 record in the NCAA playoff format since 1973.
        Most Consecutive FCS Playoff Appearances
        17 - Montana, 1993-2009
        14 - New Hampshire, 2004-2017
        12 - North Dakota State, 2010-2021
        10 - Eastern Kentucky, 1986-1995

        Most FCS Playoff Games Won
        45 - Georgia Southern
        39 - North Dakota State
        34 - Montana

        Highest FCS Playoff Winning Percentages
        .929 - North Dakota State (39-3)
        .793 - Marshall (23-6)
        .777 - Youngstown State (28-8)
        .776 - Georgia Southern (45-13)

12 STRAIGHT QUARTERFINALS: North Dakota State advanced to the FCS quarterfinals for the 12th straight season, the longest streak in FCS history. NDSU is one of only three teams to have made the FCS semifinals at least nine times joining Georgia Southern (13) and Montana (11).
        Most Consecutive FCS Quarterfinal Appearances
        12 – North Dakota State, 2010-2020
        6 – Appalachian State, 2005-2010
        6 – Marshall, 1991-1996
        6 – Georgia Southern, 1985-1990
        6 – Georgia Southern, 1997-2002

IN THE SEMIFINALS: North Dakota State is making its 10th FCS semifinal appearance. The Bison advanced to an FCS-record nine straight semifinals from 2011-2019. NDSU is one of only three teams to reach the semis at least nine times.
        Consecutive FCS Semifinal Appearances
        9 - North Dakota State, 2011-2019
        6 - Marshall, 1991-1996
        5 - Georgia Southern, 1998-2002
        4 - Eastern Kentucky, 1979-1982
        4 - Youngstown State, 1991-1994

        Most FCS Semifinal Appearances
        13 - Georgia Southern
        11 - Montana
        10 - North Dakota State
        8 - Delaware
        8 - Youngstown State

SEED HISTORY: North Dakota State is a top-two seed for the ninth time in 12 appearances in the FCS playoffs. NDSU was seeded third in 2015, but still hosted a semifinal game en route to the national title that year after a quarterfinal loss by No. 2 seed Illinois State. NDSU was not seeded in 2010 and 2020, and both of those appearances ended with quarterfinal losses to the eventual national champion.
 
TITLE TOWN: North Dakota State won its 10th Missouri Valley Football Conference championship in 11 years and its sixth outright title since joining the league in 2008. The Bison won nine straight conference titles from 2011-2019 including five outright (2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019). NDSU has won 37 total conference titles in program history.
 
FRIDAY NIGHTS: This will be North Dakota State's eighth Friday night appearance in 10 trips to the FCS semifinals. The Bison played the Saturday semifinal in 2011 beating Georgia Southern and in 2019 beating Montana State. NDSU has one other notable Friday night win on its Division I resume, a 24-21 victory at Kansas State in the 2013 season opener.
 
GRADUATION DAY: North Dakota State will have 13 graduates participating in NDSU's winter commencement ceremony at 2 p.m. Friday in the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex: TE Josh Babicz, DT Costner Ching, TE Noah Gindorff, LB Mason Hofstedt, DE Jake Kava, OT Cody Mauch, CB/PR Jayden Price, WR Phoenix Sproles, C Jalen Sundell, CB Destin Talbert, S Michael Tutsie, OT Cordell Volson and WR/KR Christian Watson.
 
THE SENIORS: North Dakota State has 12 seniors who will not return to the program next season. The list includes former tight end and current student assistant Austin Avery, defensive tackles Michael Buetow, Costner Ching and Lane Tucker, tight end Josh Babicz, linebackers Jackson Hankey and Mason Hofstedt, defensive ends Logan McCormick and Brayden Thomas, kicker Jake Reinholz, offensive tackle Cordell Volson and wide receiver Christian Watson. Buetow, Thomas and Volson are currently in their extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19's impact on the 2020 season. Thirteen other NDSU seniors are eligible to return for an extra season in 2022.
 
FOUR ALL-STAR INVITES: Tight ends Noah Gindorff and Josh Babicz have been invited to the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl at Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena on Jan. 29, and offensive lineman Cordell Volson and wide receiver Christian Watson have invites to the East-West Shrine Bowl at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Feb. 3 during NFL Pro Bowl week. Gindorff, who will miss the remainder of the 2021 playoffs with a leg injury, has announced he will return to NDSU for the 2022 season.
 
ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT: North Dakota State fullback Hunter Luepke, kicker Jake Reinholz and defensive tackle Lane Tucker were voted to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team for their combined athletic and academic performance. Luepke and Tucker are repeat selections to the all-district team. All three are on the ballot for CoSIDA Academic All-America® honors to be announced mid-December. To qualify, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average and sophomore athletic and academic standing.
 
COACH OF THE YEAR: NDSU's Matt Entz was voted Bruce Craddock MVFC Coach of the Year for the second time in three years and was named AFCA FCS Region 4 Coach of the Year for the third straight season. Entz has a 35-4 record as head coach and is 20-3 in the league. He is a finalist for the 2021 Stats Perform FCS Eddie Robinson Award.
 
ALL-CONFERENCE: North Dakota State led all schools with seven first-team picks on the All-Missouri Valley Football Conference team. Christian Watson took two spots as the first team wide receiver and all-purpose player. FB Hunter Luepke, OL Cordell Volson and Cody Mauch, DE Brayden Thomas and SS Michael Tutsie also made the first team. NDSU had four second team selections: TE Josh Babicz, LB Jackson Hankey, LB Jasir Cox and RS Jayden Price. Honorable mentions included TE Noah Gindorff, DT Eli Mostaert and DT Lane Tucker.
 
ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM: North Dakota State running back TaMerik Williams, quarterback Quincy Patterson, defensive end Loshiaka Roques and cornerback Marques Sigle were named to the Missouri Valley Football Conference All-Newcomer Team.
 
LINEBACKER DUO NAMED: NDSU has two All-MVFC linebackers in the same season for just the third time in 14 years with second-team picks Jackson Hankey and Jasir Cox. Hankey is NDSU's leading tackler for the third straight season with 74 total tackles and a team-high 59 rushing tackles for the nation's No. 7 rushing defense. Cox tied for second in MVFC play with a team-high three interceptions and is NDSU's third leading tackler with 43 stops. The other NDSU linebacker duos named All-MVFC were in 2014 Carlton Littlejohn (1st) and Travis Beck (2nd) and 2017 Nick DeLuca (1st) and Jabril Cox (2nd).
 
PRICE AMONG NCAA LEADERS: Punt returner Jayden Price's 14.6 career average per return ranks second in school history and second among active players in FCS behind Samford's Montrell Washington (16.4). Price, the first team All-MVFC return specialist, is sixth in FCS this season averaging 13.3 yards per punt return. He had a 45-yard touchdown against Valparaiso one week after having a 60-yard TD nullified by penalty in the season-opener against Albany. He has three punt returns of 40-plus yards and has moved into eighth all-time at NDSU with 453 career punt return yards.
 
VETERAN LINEMEN: Offensive lineman Cordell Volson will appear in his 64th career game this week, an NDSU record. This will be the 65th career game for Bison defensive tackle Michael Buetow, who played in 43 contests over three seasons at Division II Minnesota State Mankato before transferring to NDSU last year. Both players are in their extra season of eligibility due to COVID-19's impact on the 2020 season.
        NDSU Career Games Played
        63 - Cordell Volson, OT (39 starts, 2017-21)
        61 - Christian Dudzik, CB/S (61 starts, 2011-14)
        61 - Kyle Emanuel, DE (50 starts, 2011-14)
        61 - Andrew Bonnet, FB (29 starts, 2012-15)
        61 - Ben LeCompte, P (0 starts, 2012-15)

THOMAS LEADS SACK ATTACK: North Dakota State has registered 45 sacks this year, which is third most in school history and two shy of the school-record 47 sacks set by the 1974 and 2018 Bison teams. NDSU has five games with five sacks this year, and the Bison rank fifth nationally with a conference-best 3.46 sacks per game. Brayden Thomas, who finished second in the voting for MVFC Defensive Player of the Year, has recorded a sack in each of the last four contests. He leads the Bison with 9.0 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss despite missing two games with an elbow injury.
 
GROUND GAME: North Dakota State has the No. 2 rushing offense in FCS averaging 281.3 yards per game. NDSU has seven backs averaging better than 5.0 yards per carry, and the team's 6.28 yards per carry would rank fourth best in school history. This is the third time in the past four years the Bison have averaged more than six yards per rush. Yet, with seven players getting at least 30 carries, NDSU finished the regular season without a 500-yard rusher for the first time since 1975 (excluding the abbreviated 2020-21 season).
 
WATSON OVER 2,000: Senior wide receiver Christian Watson is the eighth player to reach 2,000 career receiving yards in NDSU history. Watson currently ranks eighth all-time at NDSU with 2,079 yards, 153 yards shy of seventh place Warren Holloway (2008-11). Watson's 20.58 yards per catch average ranks fourth in school history. He has four TD catches of 65-plus yards this season.
 
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: North Dakota State had three players earn five Player of the Week awards in the Missouri Valley Football Conference this season. Cordell Volson was a three-time Offensive Lineman of the Week, Jake Reinholz was Special Teams Player of the Week after kicking three FGs and one extra point in the 16-10 win at North Dakota, and Quincy Patterson was Newcomer of the Week after rushing for 100 yards and passing for 124 yards in the win at Illinois State. Additionally, the entire NDSU offensive line was honored as a unit for their performance in helping the Bison rush for 454 yards at Youngstown State.
 
BISON AT HOME: The Bison have a 175-27 record in the Fargodome, 30-5 at home against FCS Top 10 ranked teams, and winners of 73 of the last 75 home games over non-conference opponents. North Dakota State has a 30-1 record in the Fargodome during the NCAA playoffs since 2010 with the only loss coming to eventual national champion James Madison in the 2016 semifinals. NDSU's 32-game home winning streak in the Fargodome from September 2017 through April 2021 was the fourth longest in NCAA FCS history. The Bison have gone unbeaten at home in 12 of 28 seasons played in the Fargodome.
 
ON THE ROAD: North Dakota State has a 47-6 record in true road games since 2011, and that record is 57-6 including 10 neutral site games over the same span. NDSU's 2-2 road record in the spring season of 2020-21 was the first time since 2010 the Bison have lost multiple road games.
 
BISON RETURNING TO TWIN CITIES: North Dakota State will host Eastern Washington on the opening weekend of the 2023 season at U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings. NDSU drew a crowd of 34,544 fans to the 2019 season opener against Butler at Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins.
 
NEW INDOOR FACILITY: Construction began in mid-September on the Nodak Insurance Company Football Performance Complex, the new indoor practice facility for NDSU athletic teams. The entire cost of the estimated $50 million building project is being privately funded. The complex will have two full 120-yard fields with artificial turf, and the indoor field will have a roof clearance of 72 feet at the peak. Seven overhead doors will open from the indoor facility onto the outdoor practice field, scoreboards and play clocks will be provided on both fields, and LED lighting systems will be installed indoors and outdoors. Thanks to a recent $15 million gift from the WE B Giving Foundation, the facility will be completed with a locker room, weight room, fueling station, meeting rooms, and space for equipment operations and sports medicine.
 
#PROBISON: NDSU has 12 former players in the pros including Packers OL Billy Turner (8th year), Colts QB Carson Wentz (6th), Steelers OL Joe Haeg (6th), Ravens LB Chris Board (4th), Chargers QB Easton Stick (3rd), Vikings TE Ben Ellefson (2nd), Steelers LB Derrek Tuszka (2nd), 49ers QB Trey Lance (1st), Titans OL Dillon Radunz (1st) and Cowboys LB Jabril Cox (1st). OL Zack Johnson (2nd) is on the Broncos practice squad after spending time with the Cardinals practice squad and being activated for one game with the Cardinals. RB Bruce Anderson (3rd) was in the Canadian Football League with the Edmonton Elks. NDSU has a 13th former player, WR Darrius Shepherd (3rd), available as a free agent. Shepherd spent Week 10 on the Cardinals practice squad.
 
16-TIME NATIONAL CHAMPIONS: North Dakota State has won 16 football national championships. NDSU claimed three College Division national championships in 1965, 1968 and 1969 via the national polls, five Division II playoff 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, 2018 and 2019.
 
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's first three FBS wins were against Ball State (2006), Central Michigan (2007) and Minnesota (2007). North Dakota State has three future FBS games against Arizona (2022), Colorado (2024) and Oregon (2028).