THIS WEEK: No. 1-ranked North Dakota State (11-0) closes out the regular season with a non-conference game this week when the Bison host St. Thomas (7-4) of the Pioneer Football League at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, 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 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: This is the 24th all-time meeting between North Dakota State and St. Thomas. NDSU leads the series 14-7-2 and has won two straight including a 35-6 home victory in the last meeting Sept. 17, 1966. NDSU is 7-0 against teams from the Pioneer Football League with its most recent wins over Drake in the 2022 season-opener and 2023 NCAA first round.
 
FAMILIAR NAME: The 17th-year head coach of St. Thomas is Glenn Caruso, an assistant coach for the Bison under Bob Babich from 1997 to 2002. Caruso has a 164-38 record at St. Thomas and was a two-time AFCA National Coach of the Year at the Division III level.
 
SENIOR DAY: This will be the final regular-season home game for 16 seniors, who will be introduced prior to Saturday's game: OL Kaden Chadwick, TE Finn Diggins, DT Jaxon Duttenhefer, CB Anthony Chideme-Alfaro, WR Chris Harris, DE Jack Iuliano, RB Owen Johnson, S Ryan Jones, LB Logan Copp, WR Bryce Lance, OL Devin Lockerby, WR RaJa Nelson, QB Cole Payton, RB Barika Kpeenu, FB Truman Werremeyer and TE Carson Williams.
 
GAMES RECORD: Sixth-year wide receiver RaJa Nelson (2020-25) will play in his 74th career game this week, breaking the NDSU record of 73 games set by wide receiver Braylon Henderson (2019-24). Two other former Bison reached the 70-game mark: cornerback Jayden Price (2019-23) played 71 games and offensive guard Nash Jensen (2018-22) played 70 games.
 
LAST WEEK: NDSU beat Northern Iowa 48-16 in the Harvest Bowl game last week. The Bison held UNI to 201 total yards and without an offensive touchdown until midway through the fourth quarter. Nathaniel Staehling made a team-high seven tackles, Zach Vanderpool had two sacks and three of NDSU's six tackles for loss all in the fourth quarter, and Taylen Eady and Peder Haugo each recorded their first career interceptions. Barika Kpeenu rushed 12 times for 56 yards and two touchdowns, Cole Payton was 15 of 17 passing for 212 yards and one TD, and Bryce Lance caught eight passes for 131 yards with a 14-yard TD. Payton added 10 carries for 74 yards and two TDs.
 
CONFERENCE CHAMPS: NDSU won its 12th championship in 18 years of Missouri Valley Football Conference membership. NDSU has seven outright titles (2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2025) and five shared (2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2024). Overall, the Bison have 39 conference championships counting 26 at the Division II level in the North Central Conference and its first FCS title in 2006 as a member of the Great West Football Conference.
 
WINNING STREAKS: North Dakota State's 18-game home winning streak is second longest in the FCS behind Villanova's 21 and Rhode Island is third with 13 straight home wins. Overall, NDSU has the longest active winning streak in FCS with 15 straight wins, and Lehigh and Montana are next with 11 straight wins each.
 
REMEMBER NOVEMBER: NDSU is 11-0 for the first time since 2019 and the fourth time as a Division I program. The other three teams went on to win national championships in 2013, 2018 and 2019. NDSU is 52-11 in regular-season November games since 2004 including 38-6 since 2011.
 
COMMITTEE RANKINGS: North Dakota State was No. 1 in both mid-season rankings released by the NCAA Division I Football Committee. The 24-team playoff bracket will be announced on the FCS Selection Show scheduled for 11 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 23, on ESPNU. The top eight seeds will have a bye for the first round of FCS playoffs Saturday, Nov. 29.
 
PASS CATCHERS: Bison wide receiver Bryce Lance is tied for fourth on the NDSU career list for receiving touchdowns with 22, the second most in NDSU's Division I history behind school record holder Zach Vraa's 28 TD catches from 2011-15 and RJ Urzendowski, who is tied with TR McDonald for fourth in school history with 22 TD catches from 2014-17. Lance ranks ninth in NDSU history with 123 career receptions and 1,973 receiving yards.
 
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. He is also one of 13 finalists for the Stats Perform Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award to be announced Dec. 9.
 
NATIONAL AWARDS: North Dakota State was named Stats Perform FCS National Team of the Week following the 38-7 victory over then No. 2-ranked and unbeaten South Dakota State. NDSU punter Aaron Bickerton was named FCS Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance at North Dakota with a season-high five punts for 55.6 yards per punt, the second highest single-game punting average in NDSU's 22-year Division I history.
 
WATCH LISTS: NDSU has three players under consideration for national player of the year awards. WR Bryce Lance is on the preseason watch list for the Walter Payton Award, presented annually to the FCS offensive player of the year. DE Toby Anene and LB 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 C Trent Fraley and RS Jackson Williams.
 
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: North Dakota State has had seven players earn 10 Missouri Valley Football Conference player of the week awards this season:
                — QB Cole Payton, Offensive (9/29, 10/13, 10/27)...Had 375 yards of total offense and three TDs against South Dakota...Went 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...Had 291 total yards and three TDs including a 41-yard scramble against Southern Illinois...Picked up eight first downs on 13 of 16 passing for 243 yards...Totaled 380 yards at South Dakota State rushing 17 times for 137 yards and four TDs while going 18 of 23 passing for 243 yards.
                — 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, 11/3)...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...Scored a 100-yard kickoff return to extend a four-point lead against Youngstown State and finished with 194 all-purpose yards.
                — 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.
                — C Trent Fraley, Offensive Line (10/26)...Played 67 snaps at SDSU with a 91 percent overall grade and three key blocks to help the Bison rush for 257 yards, 5.2 yards per carry and five touchdowns while going 9 of 16 on third down and controlling the ball for more than 38 minutes.
                — LB Donovan Woolen, Defensive (11/10)...Career-high 18 tackles in 15-10 win at UND, the most tackles by a Bison player since 2015...Assisted on one TFL and had a key stop on second-and-goal at the NDSU 1 before UND missed a field goal to end the drive.
                — P Aaron Bickerton, Special Teams (11/10)...Season-high five punts and 278 yards with a long of 64 at UND...Had the second best single-game average (55.6) in NDSU's 22-year Division I history...Also held for three successful field goal conversions before NDSU took its first lead on a touchdown with 2:22 left in the game.
 
RECORD PACE: Quarterback Cole Payton's 9.57 yards per play, 283.7 total offense yards per game, 212.6 passing yards per game, 11.7 yards per pass attempt, 74.0 pass completion percentage and 188.0 efficiency rating would all be school single-season records. Payton has three of the top six 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)
                380 - Cole Payton, at South Dakota State, 10/25/2025 (137 rush, 243 pass)
                375 - Cole Payton, South Dakota, 9/27/2025 (102 rush, 273 pass)
 
ELITE COMPANY: NDSU's Jackson Williams is currently the FCS active career leader and second in NDSU history with an average of 32.9 yards per kickoff return, and is just the sixth player in Bison history with two kickoff return touchdowns joining school record holders Tony Satter (1987-90), Shamen Washington (2004-09), Marcus Williams (2010-13), Bruce Anderson (2015-18) and Christian Watson (2018-21). Jackson Williams has two of NDSU's seven 100-yard kickoff returns. His 13.0 career punt return average is fifth among active FCS players and top-10 in NDSU history.
 
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 204-29 all-time record in the Fargodome since 1993, including 36-5 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 is fifth longest in FCS history.