Saturday, September 19
Sacramento, Calif.
9:30 p.m.
North Dakota State
at
Sacramento State
Photo by: Tim Sanger
North Dakota State at Sacramento State Saturday Night on ESPN
9/15/2026 4:10:00 PM | Football
THIS WEEK: The two newest teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision meet this week when new Mountain West Conference member North Dakota State (3-0) plays Sacramento State (1-2) of the Mid-American Conference. Game time is 7:30 p.m. PT (9:30 p.m. CT) at Hornet Stadium (21,195) in Sacramento, Calif.
TELEVISION: Saturday's game will be on ESPN with play-by-play announcer Lowell Galindo, analyst Kirk Morrison and sideline reporter Dawn Davenport.
RADIO: Statewide network coverage on all 25 stations across the Pioneer Seeds Bison Sports Network begins 1 hour prior to game time including Bison 1660 and 107.9 The Fox in Fargo with Sam Neidermann (play-by-play), Phil Hansen (analyst) and Noah Gindorff (sideline) on the call. Streaming is available on GoBison.com/allaccess and the NDSU Athletics mobile app.
COACHES SHOW: 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. Watch the show on MW+ or listen on Bison 1660 in Fargo, KCJB-AM 910 in Minot, KSJB-AM 600 in Jamestown, KYCR-AM 1440 in Minneapolis, GoBison.com and the NDSU Athletics mobile app.
MW+ STREAMING: Visit GoBison.com/MW+ and subscribe to MW+ to watch live Bison press conferences, weekly episodes of The Bison Football Show, and other featured content and live games from around the Mountain West Conference including NDSU's home game vs. UTEP. Sign up with the code WELCOME15 to save 15% on an annual subscription.
THE SERIES: This is the second meeting all-time between the teams. NDSU beat Sac State 42-20 in the 1988 NCAA Division II semifinals on a 29-degree day at Dacotah Field in Fargo. The Bison rushed for 413 yards led by Tony Satter (17-118), Doug Lloyd (8-115, 2 TD) and quarterback Chris Simdorn (26-108, 3 TD). The Bison defense intercepted three passes and had six sacks led by safety Ken Clark's 11 tackles and defensive lineman Phil Hansen with nine tackles, one pass breakup, one solo sack and two assisted sacks. NDSU went on to beat Portland State 35-21 the following week for the program's seventh national title.
AGAINST THE MAC: North Dakota State is 2-0 against Mid-American Conference opponents. The Bison earned their first FBS win in 2006 with a 29-24 victory at Ball State and picked up their second FBS win in 2007 with a 44-14 victory at Central Michigan.
BACK TO SAC: This is the NDSU football program's third trip to Sacramento, where the Bison won two Camellia Bowl games at Sacramento City College's Hughes Stadium. NDSU beat Montana 30-3 in 1969 to cap a 10-0 season and earn the College Division national championship. The Bison returned in 1970 to beat Montana 31-16 and finished that season 9-0-1 overall.
LAST WEEK: North Dakota State won its first Mountain West Conference game last week 38-32 at Air Force. The Bison scored touchdowns on their first two possessions and controlled the ball for nearly 13 minutes in the opening quarter. NDSU had three scoring plays of 30-plus yards including a 31-yard run by Myles Mitchell, a 44-yard pass on fourth-and-2 from Nathan Hayes to Mekhi Collins, and Logan Conklin's first career TD on a 41-yard pass that gave NDSU its biggest lead of the night 35-13 early in the third quarter. Drew Klein kicked a school-record 56-yard field goal with 1:58 left in the game to help hold off the Falcons, who rallied for three fourth-quarter touchdowns. Linebacker Donovan Woolen made a team-high 11 tackles and safeties Darius Givance and Taylen Eady had seven stops each as the Bison limited Air Force's triple option rushing attack to 207 yards on the ground, the third fewest rushing yards in Air Force's past 18 games.
RECEIVING VOTES: North Dakota State and USC are the first two FBS teams with 3-0 records this season. USC is ranked 12th in the AP Top 25 and 11th in the AFCA Coaches Poll. NDSU got three points in the media poll and five in the coaches poll this week. It is the 27th time the Bison have received votes in the AP Top 25 since 2011. NDSU's 74 poll points (27th overall) after beating 13th-ranked Iowa in 2016 were the most for an FCS team in the AP Top 25.
TWO-MINUTE SUCCESS: The Bison have scored in the two-minute drill before halftime each of the first three weeks of the season.
— vs. Jacksonville State...Went 88 yards in 8 plays and 1:24...Targeted seven different receivers completing 6 of 7 attempts including a 44-yard TD pass to Jordan McCants for a 17-7 lead.
— vs. Fordham...Went 80 yards in 9 plays and 1:24...Completed 6 of 6 passes for four first downs before Chris Kiel's 8-yard TD catch for a 17-0 lead.
— at Air Force...Went 65 yards in 6 plays and 1:19...Completed 3 of 4 passes highlighted by a 51-yard play to Jackson Williams at the 1 before a Myles Mitchell 1-yard TD run for a 28-13 lead.
MIDDLE EIGHT: North Dakota State has been excellent in the "middle eight" minutes under head coach Tim Polasek outscoring opponents 276-59 in the final 4:00 of the first half and first 4:00 of the second half. Most of that scoring has come at the end of the first half, where the Bison have a 186-56 advantage. NDSU has scored in the middle eight in 26 of 32 games since the beginning of the 2024 season.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: NDSU swept all four Old Trapper Mountain West player of the week awards in Week Zero after a 33-7 win over Jacksonville State and took three of the four awards after beating Air Force 38-32 in the conference opener. Five NDSU players have combined for seven MW player of the week honors this year:
— QB Nathan Hayes (Offense 8/31, 9/14)...Completed 14 of 22 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns against Jacksonville State...Passed for 228 yards and two TDs with a 17-yard rushing TD at Air Force.
— LB Donovan Woolen (Defense 8/31)...Game-high 10 tackles against Jacksonville State.
— K Drew Klein (Special Teams 8/31, 9/14)...Scored 15 points with field goals of 34, 44, 42 and 48 yards plus three PAT kicks against Jacksonville State...School-record 56-yard field goal and five PATs at Air Force.
— DE Blake Schiltz (Freshman 8/31)...Recovered a fumble for a touchdown and added a sack in his first collegiate game against Jacksonville State.
— RB Myles Mitchell (Freshman 9/14)...Team-high 15 carries, 61 yards and two touchdowns at Air Force, including a 31-yard TD on the game's opening drive.
TURNOVERS: After finishing last year with a plus-18 turnover margin, North Dakota State is fifth in the FBS with a plus-5 turnover margin through three games including a season-high four takeaways against Fordham. NDSU is third in the FBS in turnovers gained (7) behind Colorado State (8) and New Mexico (8) and is tied with New Mexico, Colorado State and Washington for the national lead in interceptions (5). The Bison have 24 takeaways over their last eight games.
KLEIN'S KICKS: Fifth-year kicker Drew Klein starred in his first game as NDSU's No. 1 placekicker against Jacksonville State. He booted all seven kickoffs into the end zone with five touchbacks and was the first Bison since Adam Keller in 2014 to make four field goals in a single game. Klein entered the season 3-for-3 on PATs and 1-for-1 on field goals, all in the 2025 season. He redshirted in 2022 and made his Bison debut in 2023 handling 13 kickoffs in four games.
CAREER DAY FOR KIEL: Wide receiver Chris Kiel made his first career start against Fordham and caught all four passes thrown his way, including a leaping 8-yard touchdown over a defender to cap NDSU's 9-play, 80-yard scoring drive in 1:24 at the end of the first half. Kiel had two first downs receiving including a fourth-and-1 catch in the red zone. He entered the Fordham game having only one kickoff return in his first four contests.
STENBROTEN ON THE STOP: Defensive end Matthew Stenbroten made a career-high five tackles against Fordham stopping rushers for gains of 0, 2, 2 and 3 yards and getting a sack and forced fumble for a loss of 17 on third-and-9 to force a punt. Stenbroten also had a quarterback hurry on third-and-8 that led to cornerback Marion Moore's 37-yard pick six.
PRESEASON PICKS: NDSU return specialist Jackson Williams was named Mountain West Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year and claimed two spots on the preseason team as kick returner and punt returner. Other NDSU selections were offensive lineman Griffin Empey, defensive tackle Keenan Wilson and safety Darius Givance.
BEDNARIK AWARD: NDSU defensive tackle Keenan Wilson was named to the preseason watch list for the Bednarik Award, presented annually to the most outstanding defensive player in college football since 1994. Wilson was an FCS All-American last year starting all 13 games and posting 8.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks.
PAUL HORNUNG AWARD: NDSU return specialist Jackson Williams was named to the preseason watch list for the 17th annual Paul Hornung Award, presented to the most versatile player in major college football. Williams was one of three players in all of Division I last season to have both a kick return touchdown and a punt return touchdown. He totaled 1,106 all-purpose yards.
MAXWELL AWARD: NDSU running back DJ Scott made the preseason watch list for the 90th Maxwell Award, presented annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Scott headlines the Bison backfield this year after rushing for 502 yards and six touchdowns in 2025.
FCS ERA BY THE NUMBERS: North Dakota State competed in the Football Championship Subdivision for 22 seasons from 2004 through 2025, spending the past 18 years in the Missouri Valley Football Conference after four years in the Great West Football Conference while reclassifying from Division II. Here are the final numbers from NDSU's FCS era:
— Overall record: 251-49 (.837)
— Record from 2011-2025: 198-22 (.900)
— 13 conference championships (12 MVFC, 1 GWFC)
— 10 national championships (FCS record)
— 16 consecutive postseason appearances
— 51-6 in playoffs (FCS record for wins)
— 38-2 in playoffs at home
— 39-game winning streak (FCS record)
— 33-game winning streak (2nd in FCS)
— 9-5 record vs. FBS opponents
— 26 weeks of AP Top 25 votes
— 21 NFL draft picks (14 in past 8 years)
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.
CONFERENCE CHAMPS: NDSU won 12 conference championships in 18 years of Missouri Valley Football Conference membership, including the 2024 and 2025 titles. 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.
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS: North Dakota State is 93-6 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 207-30 all-time record in the Fargodome since 1993, including 36-5 against FCS Top 10 ranked teams and 78-1 against FCS non-conference teams. North Dakota State had a 38-2 record in the Fargodome during the FCS playoffs and the Bison's 32-game home winning streak September 2017 through April 2021 is fifth longest in FCS history.
TELEVISION: Saturday's game will be on ESPN with play-by-play announcer Lowell Galindo, analyst Kirk Morrison and sideline reporter Dawn Davenport.
RADIO: Statewide network coverage on all 25 stations across the Pioneer Seeds Bison Sports Network begins 1 hour prior to game time including Bison 1660 and 107.9 The Fox in Fargo with Sam Neidermann (play-by-play), Phil Hansen (analyst) and Noah Gindorff (sideline) on the call. Streaming is available on GoBison.com/allaccess and the NDSU Athletics mobile app.
COACHES SHOW: 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. Watch the show on MW+ or listen on Bison 1660 in Fargo, KCJB-AM 910 in Minot, KSJB-AM 600 in Jamestown, KYCR-AM 1440 in Minneapolis, GoBison.com and the NDSU Athletics mobile app.
MW+ STREAMING: Visit GoBison.com/MW+ and subscribe to MW+ to watch live Bison press conferences, weekly episodes of The Bison Football Show, and other featured content and live games from around the Mountain West Conference including NDSU's home game vs. UTEP. Sign up with the code WELCOME15 to save 15% on an annual subscription.
THE SERIES: This is the second meeting all-time between the teams. NDSU beat Sac State 42-20 in the 1988 NCAA Division II semifinals on a 29-degree day at Dacotah Field in Fargo. The Bison rushed for 413 yards led by Tony Satter (17-118), Doug Lloyd (8-115, 2 TD) and quarterback Chris Simdorn (26-108, 3 TD). The Bison defense intercepted three passes and had six sacks led by safety Ken Clark's 11 tackles and defensive lineman Phil Hansen with nine tackles, one pass breakup, one solo sack and two assisted sacks. NDSU went on to beat Portland State 35-21 the following week for the program's seventh national title.
AGAINST THE MAC: North Dakota State is 2-0 against Mid-American Conference opponents. The Bison earned their first FBS win in 2006 with a 29-24 victory at Ball State and picked up their second FBS win in 2007 with a 44-14 victory at Central Michigan.
BACK TO SAC: This is the NDSU football program's third trip to Sacramento, where the Bison won two Camellia Bowl games at Sacramento City College's Hughes Stadium. NDSU beat Montana 30-3 in 1969 to cap a 10-0 season and earn the College Division national championship. The Bison returned in 1970 to beat Montana 31-16 and finished that season 9-0-1 overall.
LAST WEEK: North Dakota State won its first Mountain West Conference game last week 38-32 at Air Force. The Bison scored touchdowns on their first two possessions and controlled the ball for nearly 13 minutes in the opening quarter. NDSU had three scoring plays of 30-plus yards including a 31-yard run by Myles Mitchell, a 44-yard pass on fourth-and-2 from Nathan Hayes to Mekhi Collins, and Logan Conklin's first career TD on a 41-yard pass that gave NDSU its biggest lead of the night 35-13 early in the third quarter. Drew Klein kicked a school-record 56-yard field goal with 1:58 left in the game to help hold off the Falcons, who rallied for three fourth-quarter touchdowns. Linebacker Donovan Woolen made a team-high 11 tackles and safeties Darius Givance and Taylen Eady had seven stops each as the Bison limited Air Force's triple option rushing attack to 207 yards on the ground, the third fewest rushing yards in Air Force's past 18 games.
RECEIVING VOTES: North Dakota State and USC are the first two FBS teams with 3-0 records this season. USC is ranked 12th in the AP Top 25 and 11th in the AFCA Coaches Poll. NDSU got three points in the media poll and five in the coaches poll this week. It is the 27th time the Bison have received votes in the AP Top 25 since 2011. NDSU's 74 poll points (27th overall) after beating 13th-ranked Iowa in 2016 were the most for an FCS team in the AP Top 25.
TWO-MINUTE SUCCESS: The Bison have scored in the two-minute drill before halftime each of the first three weeks of the season.
— vs. Jacksonville State...Went 88 yards in 8 plays and 1:24...Targeted seven different receivers completing 6 of 7 attempts including a 44-yard TD pass to Jordan McCants for a 17-7 lead.
— vs. Fordham...Went 80 yards in 9 plays and 1:24...Completed 6 of 6 passes for four first downs before Chris Kiel's 8-yard TD catch for a 17-0 lead.
— at Air Force...Went 65 yards in 6 plays and 1:19...Completed 3 of 4 passes highlighted by a 51-yard play to Jackson Williams at the 1 before a Myles Mitchell 1-yard TD run for a 28-13 lead.
MIDDLE EIGHT: North Dakota State has been excellent in the "middle eight" minutes under head coach Tim Polasek outscoring opponents 276-59 in the final 4:00 of the first half and first 4:00 of the second half. Most of that scoring has come at the end of the first half, where the Bison have a 186-56 advantage. NDSU has scored in the middle eight in 26 of 32 games since the beginning of the 2024 season.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: NDSU swept all four Old Trapper Mountain West player of the week awards in Week Zero after a 33-7 win over Jacksonville State and took three of the four awards after beating Air Force 38-32 in the conference opener. Five NDSU players have combined for seven MW player of the week honors this year:
— QB Nathan Hayes (Offense 8/31, 9/14)...Completed 14 of 22 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns against Jacksonville State...Passed for 228 yards and two TDs with a 17-yard rushing TD at Air Force.
— LB Donovan Woolen (Defense 8/31)...Game-high 10 tackles against Jacksonville State.
— K Drew Klein (Special Teams 8/31, 9/14)...Scored 15 points with field goals of 34, 44, 42 and 48 yards plus three PAT kicks against Jacksonville State...School-record 56-yard field goal and five PATs at Air Force.
— DE Blake Schiltz (Freshman 8/31)...Recovered a fumble for a touchdown and added a sack in his first collegiate game against Jacksonville State.
— RB Myles Mitchell (Freshman 9/14)...Team-high 15 carries, 61 yards and two touchdowns at Air Force, including a 31-yard TD on the game's opening drive.
TURNOVERS: After finishing last year with a plus-18 turnover margin, North Dakota State is fifth in the FBS with a plus-5 turnover margin through three games including a season-high four takeaways against Fordham. NDSU is third in the FBS in turnovers gained (7) behind Colorado State (8) and New Mexico (8) and is tied with New Mexico, Colorado State and Washington for the national lead in interceptions (5). The Bison have 24 takeaways over their last eight games.
KLEIN'S KICKS: Fifth-year kicker Drew Klein starred in his first game as NDSU's No. 1 placekicker against Jacksonville State. He booted all seven kickoffs into the end zone with five touchbacks and was the first Bison since Adam Keller in 2014 to make four field goals in a single game. Klein entered the season 3-for-3 on PATs and 1-for-1 on field goals, all in the 2025 season. He redshirted in 2022 and made his Bison debut in 2023 handling 13 kickoffs in four games.
CAREER DAY FOR KIEL: Wide receiver Chris Kiel made his first career start against Fordham and caught all four passes thrown his way, including a leaping 8-yard touchdown over a defender to cap NDSU's 9-play, 80-yard scoring drive in 1:24 at the end of the first half. Kiel had two first downs receiving including a fourth-and-1 catch in the red zone. He entered the Fordham game having only one kickoff return in his first four contests.
STENBROTEN ON THE STOP: Defensive end Matthew Stenbroten made a career-high five tackles against Fordham stopping rushers for gains of 0, 2, 2 and 3 yards and getting a sack and forced fumble for a loss of 17 on third-and-9 to force a punt. Stenbroten also had a quarterback hurry on third-and-8 that led to cornerback Marion Moore's 37-yard pick six.
PRESEASON PICKS: NDSU return specialist Jackson Williams was named Mountain West Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year and claimed two spots on the preseason team as kick returner and punt returner. Other NDSU selections were offensive lineman Griffin Empey, defensive tackle Keenan Wilson and safety Darius Givance.
BEDNARIK AWARD: NDSU defensive tackle Keenan Wilson was named to the preseason watch list for the Bednarik Award, presented annually to the most outstanding defensive player in college football since 1994. Wilson was an FCS All-American last year starting all 13 games and posting 8.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks.
PAUL HORNUNG AWARD: NDSU return specialist Jackson Williams was named to the preseason watch list for the 17th annual Paul Hornung Award, presented to the most versatile player in major college football. Williams was one of three players in all of Division I last season to have both a kick return touchdown and a punt return touchdown. He totaled 1,106 all-purpose yards.
MAXWELL AWARD: NDSU running back DJ Scott made the preseason watch list for the 90th Maxwell Award, presented annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Scott headlines the Bison backfield this year after rushing for 502 yards and six touchdowns in 2025.
FCS ERA BY THE NUMBERS: North Dakota State competed in the Football Championship Subdivision for 22 seasons from 2004 through 2025, spending the past 18 years in the Missouri Valley Football Conference after four years in the Great West Football Conference while reclassifying from Division II. Here are the final numbers from NDSU's FCS era:
— Overall record: 251-49 (.837)
— Record from 2011-2025: 198-22 (.900)
— 13 conference championships (12 MVFC, 1 GWFC)
— 10 national championships (FCS record)
— 16 consecutive postseason appearances
— 51-6 in playoffs (FCS record for wins)
— 38-2 in playoffs at home
— 39-game winning streak (FCS record)
— 33-game winning streak (2nd in FCS)
— 9-5 record vs. FBS opponents
— 26 weeks of AP Top 25 votes
— 21 NFL draft picks (14 in past 8 years)
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.
CONFERENCE CHAMPS: NDSU won 12 conference championships in 18 years of Missouri Valley Football Conference membership, including the 2024 and 2025 titles. 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.
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS: North Dakota State is 93-6 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 207-30 all-time record in the Fargodome since 1993, including 36-5 against FCS Top 10 ranked teams and 78-1 against FCS non-conference teams. North Dakota State had a 38-2 record in the Fargodome during the FCS playoffs and the Bison's 32-game home winning streak September 2017 through April 2021 is fifth longest in FCS history.
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