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NDSU Game Notes
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THIS WEEK:  North Dakota State opens its 118th season of football against Iowa State at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 30, at Jack Trice Stadium (56,800) in Ames, Iowa.
 
TELEVISION:  Saturday's game will be televised live on FOX Sports 1 with Justin Kutcher calling the play-by-play and Coy Wire as color analyst.  This is NDSU's second appearance on the year-old network.  Last year's opener at Kansas State aired on FS1.
 
RADIO:  Live coverage begins at 10:30 a.m. on KFGO-AM 790 and KRWK-FM 101.9 of Fargo along with the Peterson Farms Seed Bison Radio Network.  KFGO's Scott Miller will describe the play-by-play with NDSU and Buffalo Bills Hall of Famer Phil Hansen as color analyst and NDSU's Jeremy Jorgenson reporting from the sidelines.  A live audio stream will be available on GoBison.com/allaccess.
 
THE SERIES:  This is the second meeting between North Dakota State and Iowa State.  The Cyclones won 34-17 in the 2009 series opener at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames.  NDSU is 2-1 against Big 12 Conference teams, including last year's 24-21 season-opening win at Kansas State and a 6-3 win at Kansas in the 2010 opener.
 
SUCCESS VS. THE FBS:  North Dakota State has a 7-3 record against Football Bowl Subdivision teams and hasn't lost an FBS game since 2009 at Iowa State.  The Bison are 4-0 the past four seasons with wins at Kansas (6-3), Minnesota (37-24), Colorado State (22-7) and Kansas State (24-21).  Nationally, there were 16 FCS wins against FBS schools in 2013, surpassing the previous record of 13 set in 2000.  Seven of those 16 victories included wins vs. teams from BCS conferences.
 
RECORD WINNING STREAK:  North Dakota State's 24-game winning streak is an MVFC record and tied for the longest in NDSU and Football Championship Subdivision history.  The Bison won 24 straight games spanning three seasons 1964-66, Penn set the FCS record of 24 from 1992-95, and Montana tied the FCS record over two seasons from 2001-02.
Active Division I Overall Winning Streaks
24 - North Dakota State (MVFC)
16 - Florida State (ACC)
10 - Michigan State (Big Ten)
 
OPENING DAY:  North Dakota State holds an 80-30-7 record on opening day including a 19-13-3 mark on the road.  NDSU has won 14 of the last 15 including four straight since the 2009 opening-game loss at Iowa State.
 
 COACHING DEBUTS:  History may or may not be on Chris Klieman's side when the first-year Bison head coach takes the field Saturday.  The last nine NDSU head coaches have combined to go 6-3 in their opening games, although Klieman will be the first to do it at the Division I level and the pattern of wins and losses is not in his favor:
2003 - W, Craig Bohl
1997 - W, Bob Babich
1987 - L, Rocky Hager
1985 - W, Earle Solomonson
1979 - W, Don Morton
1976 - L, Jim Wacker
1973 - W, Ev Kjelbertson
1966 - W, Ron Erhardt
1963 - L, Darrell Mudra
 
THE COACH:  The 30th head coach in team history, Chris Klieman (Northern Iowa, 1992) takes over the North Dakota State program after spending the past three years on staff as the defensive backs coach and handling the defensive coordinator duties in 2012 and 2013.  The head coach at Division III Loras College in 2005, Klieman came to NDSU after five years at Northern Iowa. He also made coaching stops at Western Illinois (1994-96), Kansas (1997), Missouri State (1999) and Loras (2002-04).  He is a native of Waterloo, Iowa, and was a three-time all-conference defensive back at UNI from 1986-90.
 
AUSTIN RETURNS TO ALMA MATER:  First-year NDSU wide receivers coach and special teams coordinator Atif Austin returns to his alma mater this week.  Austin was a four-year starter for Iowa State from 1999-02 before going to Southwest Minnesota State for graduate school and starting his coaching career as SMSU's assistant secondary coach in 2003 and inside linebackers coach in 2004.  He spent five years as an assistant coach at UNI.
 
THREE PEAT:  North Dakota State is just the second team in FCS history to win three straight national championships joining the Appalachian State teams of 2005-07.  NDSU set a school record for wins with a 15-0 mark and become the first undefeated national champion since Southern Conference champion Marshall went 15-0 to win the 1996 title.
 
BULK OF DEFENSE RETURNS:  NDSU returns 10 total starters including six players from the nation's No. 1 scoring defense and a Buck Buchanan Award nominee in strong safety Colten Heagle.  Seven of the top nine tacklers are back led by linebacker Carlton Littlejohn (89 tackles) and including free safety Christian Dudzik (6 interceptions) and right end Kyle Emanuel (7.5 sacks).
 
DEFENSIVE LINE YOUNG:  North Dakota State returns a pair of defensive ends, all three linebackers, and 3 of 4 defensive backs that all played in the FCS championship game, but the Bison will have a new look at defensive tackle.  Redshirt freshman Nate Tanguay is slated to start opposite junior Brian Schaetz, who is the only returner from last year's four-man rotation after graduating four-year starter Leevon Perry, three-year starter Ryan Drevlow and backup Danny Luecke.  Redshirt freshman Grant Morgan is expected to be in the rotation along with sophomore Austin Farnlof, who missed last year with an injury.
 
WENTZ READY TO STEP IN:  Junior quarterback Carson Wentz takes over the reins of the Bison offense in place of All-American Brock Jensen, who went 47-5 as NDSU's starter and totaled an FCS-record 48 victories at quarterback.  Wentz saw action in 11 games last season completing 22 of 30 passes (73.3 percent) for 209 yards and one touchdown.  He has been the backup QB for each of the past two NCAA championship games.
 
RUNNING BACKS: North Dakota State had dual 1,000-yard running backs each of the past three seasons and part of that equation the past two seasons was John Crockett, who enters his senior year 14th in school history with 2,315 career rushing yards.  He has nine 100-yard games and is on pace to finish as one of NDSU's top five rushers despite splitting the carries in 2012 and 2013.  Chase Morlock looks to move up the depth chart after getting 47 carries as a true freshman, and sophomore King Frazier joins the mix after transferring from Nebraska.
 
VRAA AMONG NATION'S BEST:  Wide receiver Zach Vraa enters the season ranked seventh in career catches and yards, and his 19 touchdowns rank fourth in North Dakota State history.  Vraa finished 10th nationally last year with a school-record 1,191 yards.  He was third in the FCS with 15 touchdowns catches, also a school record.  Vraa has caught a pass in 21 consecutive games and 28 of 29 games in his career.
 
VAADELAND BACK FOR SIXTH YEAR:  Tight end Kevin Vaadeland has returned to the Bison program for a sixth season due to a 2010 injury and is coming off his most productive season.  Vaadeland caught 20 passes for 233 yards and his eight touchdown receptions ranked third overall in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and second in the FCS among tight ends.  He had a career-high four catches and two TDs in the win at Youngstown State.  Vaadeland's 10 career TDs rank second in NDSU history among tight ends.
 
URZENDOWSKI TO PLAY:  True freshman wide receiver RJ Urzendowski out of Creighton Prep in Omaha is slated to play immediately for the Bison this fall.  Urzendowski is listed as the No. 1 slot receiver ahead of Darius Anderson, who was NDSU's fifth running back last year.  They take over the spot previously held by current Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver Ryan Smith, the All-MVFC second team pick who made 14 starts and had 54 catches for 703 yards and five TDs last season.
 
O-LINE SHAKEUP:  North Dakota State has just one returning starter on the offensive line and that is junior Joe Haeg, who is moving from right tackle to left tackle in place of Miami Dolphins third round draft pick Billy Turner.  The Bison expected three starters back, but center Josh Colville gave up his final two years of eligibility due to injuries, and left guard Zack Johnson is missing the season due to injury.
 
WEARING THEM OUT:  North Dakota State has a habit of wearing out its opponents with its bruising running game in the fourth quarter.  NDSU ranked second nationally in time of possession (33:40) and led the FCS in third down conversions last year (55%).  The advantage was most notable in the fourth quarter.  NDSU averaged 9:30 in the fourth quarter last year including seven games over 10 minutes and a season-high 11:31 at Youngstown State.  The Bison converted 37 of 56 third downs in the final quarter for 66 percent.
 
FOURTH QUARTER SUCCESS:  North Dakota State held 13 of 15 opponents scoreless in the fourth quarter with Missouri State and New Hampshire combining for 13 points on two touchdowns.  Those touchdowns and a Sam Houston State field goal in the January 2013 national title game are the only fourth-quarter points NDSU has allowed in the last 20 games since holding Illinois State scoreless in the final game of the 2012 regular season.
 
THE DRIVE:  North Dakota State came back from a 21-7 deficit to win 24-21 at Kansas State in the 2013 season opener.  The Bison marched 80 yards in 18 plays over a span of 8:30 to score the winning touchdown on Brock Jensen's 1-yard run with 28 seconds left.  Jensen completed 14 of 15 passes in the second half including 7 of 7 on the final drive as the Bison converted four third down opportunities.
 
KELLER BACK ON PLACE KICKING DUTIES:  Senior Adam Keller is back from an offseason hip surgery to handle North Dakota State's place kicking duties.  Keller set school records for PAT kicks made (76) and attempted (78) for the second straight season.  He converted 9 of 12 field goals including a season-long 48-yarder in the FCS quarterfinal victory over Coastal Carolina and led the Bison in scoring with 103 points.
 
PUNT COVERAGE:  North Dakota State's Ben LeCompte punted 52 times for an average of 43.65 yards per punt that ranked second in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and fourth in school history last season.  LeCompte had 10 touchbacks, 25 punts inside the 20, and 12 boots of 50 yards or more including a career-best 75 yards at South Dakota State and a 74-yarder in the same game.  Only 8 of 52 punts were returned and NDSU was fifth in the FCS allowing just 2.63 yards per return.  LeCompte is second in NDSU and MVFC history with a 43.40 career punting average.
 
PRESEASON PICKS:  North Dakota State, ranked No. 1 in the FCS coaches poll and No. 2 in the Sports Network media poll, was picked to win the Missouri Valley Football Conference ahead of South Dakota State and Northern Iowa.  NDSU had a league-high eight players on the preseason all-conference team including fullback Andrew Bonnet, wide receiver Zach Vraa, left guard Zack Johnson (out due to injury), defensive end Kyle Emanuel, linebacker Carlton Littlejohn, strong safety Colten Heagle and punter Ben LeCompte.  Free safety and punt returner Christian Dudzik was an honorable mention.
 
ON THE ROAD:  North Dakota State has won 14 straight true road games and 18 including three national championship games in Frisco, Texas, and one neutral site win against South Dakota in Sioux Falls, S.D.  The Bison have won 23 of their last 27 road games and are 17-7 in MVFC road games.  The Bison have not lost away from Fargo since the 38-31 overtime loss to eventual national champion Eastern Washington in the 2010 NCAA quarterfinals.
Division I Road Winning Streaks
15 - Northern Illinois (MAC)
14 - North Dakota State (MVFC)
12 - Towson (Colonial)
 
BISON AT HOME:  North Dakota State has won 14 straight home games (second best in the FCS) and 44 of the last 45 non-conference home games including 34 straight since a 2003 loss to UC Davis.
Division I Home Winning Streaks
22 - Sam Houston State (Southland)
18 - South Carolina (SEC)
16 - Stanford (Pac-12)
15 - Ohio State (Big Ten)
14 - North Dakota State (MVFC)
 
HOME GAMES SOLD OUT:  For the third straight season, all six North Dakota State home games sold out within an hour of single-game tickets going on sale Aug. 1.  The Bison have more than 12,000 season ticket holders plus 4,000 student tickets available at Gate City Bank Field, where capacity is 18,700.  Additional single-game tickets may become available Fridays of each home game week.
 
RECORD ATTENDANCE:  North Dakota State set a school record for average home attendance for the third straight year drawing 18,622 over nine games in 2013, which ranked sixth in the FCS.  NDSU drew a record crowd of 19,108 for the homecoming game against Missouri State, which was the fifth straight regular season sellout and the 17th sellout overall since 2006.  NDSU finished second in total home attendance (167,600) behind Montana.
2013 FCS average home attendance
1. Montana - 24,380
2. James Madison - 21,011
3. Southern - 20,107
4. Yale - 19,809
5. Montana State - 19,704
6. North Dakota State - 18,622