THIS WEEK: North Dakota State's only home game in the month of October is a second straight FCS Top 10 matchup for the No. 1-ranked Bison (5-0, 2-0 MVFC), who will face the eighth-ranked Southern Illinois Salukis (4-1, 1-0 MVFC) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome (18,700).
 
TICKETS: Tickets may be purchased online 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 weekdays between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Game day ticket sales, if available, begin at 9:30 a.m. in the east lobby of the Fargodome.
 
TELEVISION: Saturday's game will be televised on ABC stations statewide in North Dakota with Dom Izzo (play-by-play), Kyle Emanuel (analyst) and Sam Goetzinger (sideline) handling the call. The broadcast will be available to ESPN+ subscribers on ESPN.com and the ESPN app.
 
RADIO: Statewide network coverage on all 25 stations across the Pioneer Seeds Bison Sports Network begins at 1:30 p.m. including Bison 1660 and 107.9 The Fox in Fargo with Sam Neidermann (play-by-play), Phil Hansen (analyst) and Noah Gindorff (sideline) describing the action. Streaming is available on GoBison.com/allaccess and the NDSU Athletics mobile app.
 
WEEKLY SHOWS: Fans are invited to join NDSU head coach Tim Polasek each Thursday night from 6:30 to 8 p.m. for the Bison Football Coaches Show live from Holiday Inn Fargo with host Sam Neidermann and other NDSU coaches and players. The show can be heard on Bison 1660 in Fargo, KSJB-AM 600 in Jamestown, KYCR-AM 1440 in Minneapolis, GoBison.com and the NDSU Athletics mobile app. On television, The Bison Football Show airs statewide each Sunday night at 10:35 p.m. on WDAY (Fargo), WDAZ (Grand Forks), KBMY (Bismarck) and KMCY (Minot).
 
THE SERIES: North Dakota State has a 13-4 lead in the all-time series with Southern Illinois dating back to 1963. NDSU has won four straight over SIU since 2021 and the Bison have a 7-0 edge in home games at the Fargodome. This is the highest-ranked Southern Illinois team NDSU has played, matching the No. 8 ranking the Salukis had in their 24-14 home win over NDSU in 2009.
 
LAST YEAR: North Dakota State won last year's matchup 24-3 at Saluki Stadium in Carbondale. Linebacker Logan Kopp made a team-high seven tackles and had one of NDSU's four sacks as the Bison defense held SIU to 4 of 10 on third down and 187 total yards while creating two turnovers, a Sam Jung forced fumble recovered by Nick Kubitz on the game's opening drive, and safety Darius Givance's first collegiate interception. NDSU's Cam Miller went 18 of 24 passing for 193 yards, CharMar Brown had 20 carries for 95 yards, and Bryce Lance led nine Bison receivers with five catches for 63 yards.
 
BISON HOLD OFF REDBIRDS: NDSU controlled the ball for more than 10 minutes in the fourth quarter and scored two touchdowns around a key three-and-out on defense to seal a 33-16 road win over sixth-ranked Illinois State last week. Barika Kpeenu rushed 14 times for a season-high 116 yards including a 42-yard go-ahead touchdown late in the second quarter. Cole Payton went 12 of 14 passing for 194 yards with one touchdown, rushed 15 times for 79 yards and one TD, and scored two 2-point conversions for the Bison. Kelton McCaslin made a career-high four tackles including a forced fumble recovered by Nathaniel Staehling that led to a Bison touchdown. Staehling finished with a game- and career-high 11 tackles and Ryan Jones snagged his first career interception.
 
COMMITTEE RANKINGS: The NCAA Division I Football Committee will reveal its top 10 rankings twice during the regular season, providing insight on which teams may be on track for a top-eight seed and first-round bye for the FCS playoffs. The rankings will be announced on ESPN2 at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 15, and Wednesday, Nov. 5. The full 24-team playoff bracket will be announced on the FCS Selection Show scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 23.
 
NATIONAL LEADERS: NDSU quarterback Cole Payton leads the FCS in passing efficiency (222.1), completion percentage (.747) and passing yards per completion (18.05) and per attempt (13.48) through his first five starts. Payton is also fourth in total offense (305.8 ypg). Barika Kpeenu is ninth in the FCS with eight rushing TDs and 10th in total touchdowns (8), and Jackson Williams is ranked 10th in punt return average (13.6).
 
TEAM RANKINGS: In this week's FCS statistics, North Dakota State ranks first in scoring defense (9.2 ppg), first in passing defense (127.0 ypg), second in total defense (219.6 ypg) and seventh in rushing defense (92.6 ypg). NDSU is also first nationally in passing efficiency (217.01), completion percentage (.733) and passing yards per completion (17.84), and the Bison along with Florida A&M and Tarleton State lead the FCS with only one turnover committed.
 
TOP TWO OFFENSES: NDSU and SIU are ranked first and second, respectively, in the Missouri Valley Football Conference for scoring offense and total offense. The Salukis lead the league in rushing through five games averaging 240.4 yards per game with quarterback DJ Williams averaging 7.72 yards per carry and ranked fifth in the league with 77.2 yards per game. Williams also leads the conference in passing yards (242.8 ypg) and is second behind Cole Payton in passing efficiency (169.68), completion percentage (67.1) and yards per attempt (9.27).
 
IT'S EARLY, BUT: North Dakota State is on record pace in passing and total offense through five games averaging 7.96 yards per play, 493.6 total yards per game, 264.0 passing yards per game, and 13.1 yards per pass attempt with a 217.0 pass efficiency rating and 73.3 completion percentage. Quarterback Cole Payton's 10.92 yards per play, 305.8 total offense yards per game and 234.6 passing yards per game would also be school single-season records. Payton has two of the top five single-game offensive performances in school history, and his 348 passing yards against Southeast Missouri State were third most in NDSU single-game history.
                NDSU Single-Game Total Offense Yards
                466 - Graig Gorder at Omaha, 11/9/2002 (50 rush, 416 pass)
                455 - Steve Walker at Ball State, 9/23/2006 (4 rush, 451 pass)
                401 - Cole Payton, Southeast Missouri State, 9/13/2025 (53 rush, 348 pass)
                382 - Carson Wentz, Northern Iowa, 10/10/2015 (47 rush, 335 pass)
                375 - Cole Payton, South Dakota, 9/27/2025 (102 rush, 273 pass)
               
STREAKS: North Dakota State's current nine-game winning streak is tied with Presbyterian for second longest in the FCS behind Tennessee Tech's 10-game winning streak. NDSU's 15-game home winning streak is the third longest in FCS behind South Dakota State (32) and Villanova (18). The Bison have won three straight road games, which is the third-longest current streak in FCS behind Harvard (5) and Presbyterian (4).
 
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: North Dakota State had four players earn Missouri Valley Football Conference player of the week awards after the win over South Dakota:
                — QB Cole Payton, Offensive (9/29)...Had 375 yards of total offense and three touchdowns against USD going 14 of 18 passing for 273 yards and two TDs with 11 carries for 102 yards and one score...Picked up six first downs in the run game including one on fourth-and-short and three third down conversions including a 21-yard scramble on third-and-17.
                — LB Nathaniel Staehling, Defensive (9/29)...Scored on a 43-yard interception return to end USD's opening drive of the second half, assisted on two tackles for loss and finished with a team-high five tackles.
                — RS Jackson Williams, Special Teams (9/29)...Had 107 all-purpose yards including two 21-yard punt returns, a 21-yard kickoff return, a 35-yard pass reception from NDSU's 10 to spark a 90-yard scoring drive in the first quarter, and a 9-yard touchdown run.
                — RG Griffin Empey, Offensive Line (9/29)...Played 66 snaps against USD with no penalties or sacks allowed and had a 94 percent overall grade with three key blocks to help the Bison rush for 274 yards, 5.5 yards per carry and four touchdowns.
 
GOOD WORKS TEAM: Senior linebacker Logan Kopp was one of 22 players in college football named to the 2025 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. Kopp is the 10th NDSU player named to the team, which recognizes extraordinary commitment to community service. Read more about the team members at ESPN.com/allstate.
 
WATCH LISTS: North Dakota State has three players under consideration for national player of the year awards. Wide receiver Bryce Lance is on the preseason watch list for the Walter Payton Award, presented annually to the FCS offensive player of the year. Defensive end Toby Anene and linebacker Logan Kopp are on the watch list for the Buck Buchanan Award, presented to the FCS defensive player of the year. Other preseason All-Americans from NDSU are center Trent Fraley and kick returner Jackson Williams.
 
18 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: North Dakota State has won 18 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, 2019, 2021 and 2024. The Bison lost to the eventual national champion in the 2010 and 2020 quarterfinals and 2016 semifinals.
 
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS: North Dakota State is 90-6 against non-conference opponents since the beginning of its first FCS national championship season in 2011. Two losses were to FBS opponents (31-28 at Arizona in 2021 and 31-26 at Colorado in 2024) and two were in the playoffs to the eventual national champion (27-17 to James Madison in 2016 and 24-20 at Sam Houston State in 2020-21). Montana's 31-29 double-overtime win in the 2023 FCS semifinals and 38-35 victory in the 2015 FCS Kickoff are NDSU's only other non-conference losses the past 13 years.
 
BISON AT HOME: The Bison have a 201-29 all-time record in the Fargodome since 1993, including 35-5 against FCS Top 10 ranked teams and 77-1 against FCS non-conference teams with 33 straight wins over non-MVFC teams since 2017. North Dakota State has a 38-1 record in the Fargodome during the NCAA playoffs and has won 20 straight home playoff games since the 2016 semifinal loss to eventual national champion James Madison. NDSU's 32-game home winning streak September 2017 through April 2021 was fourth longest in FCS history.