Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
NDSU Notes | SDSU Notes

THIS WEEK:  Top 10 FCS powers North Dakota State (2-1) and South Dakota State (3-0) kick off the Missouri Valley Football Conference schedule this week with the 12th annual meeting for the Dakota Marker.  Game time is 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium (16,700) in Brookings, S.D.
 
TELEVISION:  Midco Sports Network, NBC North Dakota and ESPN3 will have live coverage beginning at 6 p.m. with Tom Nieman calling the play-by-play and Brian Shawn providing color.
 
RADIO:  KFGO-AM 790 and Mix 101.9 FM of Fargo along with the Peterson Farms Seed Bison Radio Network will have live coverage beginning at 5:30 p.m.  KFGO's Scott Miller will describe the play-by-play with NDSU and Buffalo Bills Hall of Famer Phil Hansen as color analyst, commentary from KFGO's Jack Michaels, and NDSU's Jeremy Jorgenson reporting from the sideline.  A free audio stream will be available on GoBison.com/allaccess.
 
THE SERIES:  This is the 104th meeting between North Dakota State and South Dakota State dating back to 1903, a series that is the 14th most played among FCS schools.  NDSU has won seven straight and holds a 58-40-5 advantage overall.  SDSU has a 26-23-2 edge in Brookings, where the Bison have won their last two trips in 2011 and 2013 after losing four straight.
 
DAKOTA MARKER:  NDSU and SDSU have played for the Dakota Marker annually since 2004 when both teams began Division I competition.  The trophy is a 75-pound model replica of the original quartzite monuments that were 7 feet tall and 10 inches square and placed at half-mile intervals along the border in the summers of 1891 and 1892.  NDSU has won five straight Dakota Marker games and leads the series 7-4.  Five of the 11 games have been decided by seven points or less.
 
LAST YEAR:  North Dakota State beat South Dakota State twice in Fargo last year.  NDSU trailed 10-6 at halftime before scoring on all five second half possessions and crusing to a 37-17 victory in the regular season.  Kyle Emanuel had 10 tackles and four sacks, John Crockett rushed for 152 yards and Carson Wentz rushed for 100 and passed for 115.  The Bison needed last-second heroics to win 27-24 in an NCAA second round playoff game in December.  RJ Urzendowski made a leaping 12-yard touchdown catch in the corner of the end zone with 54 seconds left and Tre Dempsey made his first collegiate interception on the ensuing possession to seal the win.  Urzendowski caught four passes for 109 yards, Wentz passed for 235 yards and rushed for 70 including a 27-yard TD, and Crockett rushed for 102 yards.  Carlton Littlejohn led NDSU with 11 tackles.
 
LAST TIME IN BROOKINGS:  A stadium record crowd of 16,498 was on hand in 2013 when North Dakota State held South Dakota State to minus-32 rushing yards in a 20-0 victory.  The Bison had the ball for 40:20 and ran 74 plays to SDSU's 49, and the result was two late touchdowns.  John Crockett ran for all 67 yards on a seven-play scoring drive that gave NDSU a 13-0 lead, and Sam Ojuri's 33-yard run highlighted a 66-yard scoring drive to put the Bison up 20-0 with 4:44 left in the game.  The Bison defense registered seven sacks including two by Grant Olson, who had a team-high eight tackles, and three in a row by Cole Jirik, Travis Beck and Kyle Emanuel on SDSU's final drive before running the clock out.  SDSU crossed midfield only twice and went 1 of 12 on third down.  Zach Zenner, the leading rusher in the Football Championship Subdivision with 742 yards through four games, ran eight times for only four yards.
 
AFTER THE OPEN WEEK:  North Dakota State has won 14 straight games after open weeks dating back to 2005 when the Bison dropped a 20-14 home game to UC Davis.  On the road, NDSU has won five straight after an open week since 2002 when the Bison fell 35-7 at UC Davis.
 
BEST DEFENSE IN 41 YEARS:  North Dakota State held North Dakota to 61 yards of total offense, which was the lowest output by an NDSU opponent in 41 years since allowing five yards in a 1974 home win over Morningside College.  The Bison did not allow a first down until less than five minutes remained in the third quarter and limited the UND offense to four yards rushing, the fewest since 2013 when NDSU held South Dakota State to minus-32 rushing in Brookings.  Harvey, N.D., native MJ Stumpf made a team-high six tackles for NDSU while the Bison posted eight tackles for loss including sacks by Jordan Champion, Brian Schaetz, Stanley Jones and Aaron Steidl.
 
FOURTH LARGEST CROWD:  The 111th matchup between longtime rivals North Dakota State and North Dakota attracted a crowd of 19,044 to Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome.  It was the fourth largest home crowd in NDSU history behind the 2013 homecoming game with Missouri State (19,108), the 2012 homecoming game with Youngstown State (19,065) and the 2006 season finale with South Dakota State for the Great West Football Conference championship (19,053).
 
WENTZ OFF TO FAST START PASSING:  Senior quarterback Carson Wentz leads the conference and is second in the FCS with nine passing touchdowns, which is the most TD passes through three games in NDSU history.  Wentz has completed 63.1 percent going 53 of 84 and leads the conference with 741 passing yards, the second-highest three-game total at NDSU behind Steve Walker's 754 yards in 2006.  Wentz leads the FCS in points responsible for (72) and is fifth in passing efficiency (172.6).
 
BISON LEAD IN THIRD DOWN DEFENSE, POSSESSION:  North Dakota State leads the nation in third down defense and time of possession through the first three games of the year.  NDSU opponents are just 9 of 44 on third down for 20 percent after the Bison held Weber State to 1 of 13 and North Dakota to 2 of 13.  Meanwhile, the Bison held the ball for 40:04 against Weber State and are averaging an FCS-best 37:19 over three games.  NDSU also ranks second in rushing defense (55.7), second in first downs defense (36), sixth in total defense (270.3) and sixth in offensive passing efficiency (172.55).
 
FIRST HALF EXPLOSION:  North Dakota State rolled up 407 yards of total offense by halftime in the win over Weber State and went on to outgain the Wildcats by a 586-206 margin.  It was the most total offense by NDSU since a 2013 national quarterfinal win over Coastal Carolina when the Bison had 623 yards.  North Dakota State had nine different players combine to rush for 305 yards and quarterback Carson Wentz was 19 of 29 passing for 281 yards and three touchdowns.
 
VRAA MOVES UP:  North Dakota State sixth-year wide receiver Zach Vraa is in position to become NDSU's all-time leader in pass receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches.  Vraa has caught a pass in 44 of 46 games in his career and passed Len Kretchman for second on the NDSU list for receiving touchdowns with his 25th career TD against Weber State.  Vraa is one shy of Tim Strehlow's record of 26 career TD catches from 1996-99.
            NDSU Career Receiving Yards
            1. 2732 - Kole Heckendorf, 2005-08 (43g)
            2. 2599 - Zach Vraa, 2011-15 (46g)
            3. 2544 - TR McDonald, 1990-93 (39g)

            NDSU Career Receiving TDs
            1. 26 - Tim Strehlow, 1996-99
            2. 25 - Zach Vraa, 2011-14
            3. 24 - Len Kretchman, 1985-88

            NDSU Career Receptions
            1. 178 - Kole Heckendorf, 2005-08
            2. 167 - Zach Vraa, 2011-15
            3. 163 - Travis White, 2002-06
 
LeCOMPTE SECOND IN FCS IN PUNTING:  All-America punter Ben LeCompte is second in the Football Championship Subdivision with a 47.8 average on 14 punts including a long of 73 in the Weber State game, six of 50-plus yards, and four downed inside the 20.  LeCompte ranks fifth in FCS history and is the MVFC leader in career punting average at 44.36.  He is second in school history behind Mike Dragosavich's 44.46 average from 2004-07.
            NCAA FCS Career Punting Leaders
            45.1 - Jonathan Plisco, Old Dominion (2009-12)
            44.7 - Eric Enderson, Delaware (2013-15)
            44.8 - Mark Gould, Northern Arizona (2000-03)
            44.43 - Pumpy Tudors, Chattanooga (1989-91)
            44.36 - Ben LeCompte, NDSU (2012-15)
 
BISON AT HOME:  North Dakota State is 42-3 at home since 2010 and has the longest home winning streak in Division I football at 25 straight games.  The Bison have won 50 of the last 51 home games over non-conference opponents including 40 straight since a 2003 loss to UC Davis.  NDSU is 10-2 at home against Top 10 teams.
            Division I Home Winning Streaks
            25 - North Dakota State (MVFC)
            18 - Baylor (Big 12)
            16 - Florida State (ACC)
            16 - Boise State (Mountain West)
            14 - Illinois State (MVFC)
 
FOUR TRUE FRESHMAN:  North Dakota State has played four true freshmen this year.  Safety Robbie Grimsley, running back Bruce Anderson and wide receiver Dimitri Williams all played in the season opener at Montana.  Kicker Cam Pedersen traveled to Montana and made his debut in Week 2 against Weber State.
 
PEDERSEN SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF WEEK:  Freshman kicker Cam Pedersen was named Missouri Valley Football Conference Special Teams Player of the Week after converting all four PAT kicks and 2 of 2 field goal attempts in the 34-9 win over North Dakota.  Pedersen made field goals from 28 and 49 yards and is now 9 of 9 on PATs and 4 of 4 on field goals in two games.
 
HAEG NAMED MVFC LINEMAN OF THE WEEK:  Left tackle Joe Haeg was named Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week for the fourth time in his career after playing 77 of 81 snaps against Weber State and leading the Bison with 12 total knockdowns, nine pancakes and two decleaters. He had NDSU's highest grade with a 99 percent on assignment and 92 percent on technique. Haeg was responsible for zero sacks or quarterback hurries for the second week in a row. NDSU rolled up 316 rushing yards between nine different ball carriers and passed for 281 yards.
 
BISON PICKED TO WIN; THREE ALL-MVFC:  NDSU was tabbed to win the Missouri Valley Football Conference crown with 32 of 40 first-place votes in a poll of the league's head coaches, media and sports information directors.  The Bison had fullback Andrew Bonnet, left tackle Joe Haeg and punter Ben LeCompte voted to the preseason all-conference team.  Quarterback Carson Wentz, tight end Luke Albers, long snapper James Fisher, offensive linemen Zack Johnson and Jeremy Kelly, and cornerback CJ Smith were honorable mention.
 
Last year's co-champ Illinois State received the other eight first-place tallies and was slated for second in the poll.  Northern Iowa, South Dakota State and Indiana State each won a postseason game last year and were third, fifth and sixth, respectively.  Youngstown State, one of two league schools with a new head coach (Missouri State is the other), was picked fourth in the poll.  The Penguins tied Indiana State for 5th last year.
 
WENTZ UP FOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR:  Quarterback Carson Wentz is on the STATS FCS Offensive Player of the Year and College Football Performance Awards FCS National Performer of the Year watch lists after a record-setting campaign in his first year as the Bison starter.  Wentz, the NCAA championship game MVP and first team Capital One Academic All-American®, set NDSU single-season records for passing attempts, completions, yards, and total offense per game.  He completed 228 of 358 passes for 3,111 yards with 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, and was NDSU's second-leading rusher with 138 carries for 642 yards and six TDs while averaging 4.7 yards per carry.  His rushing total was the most by a Bison QB since the veer-option offense led by Kevin Feeney in 1996.
 
BISON LEAD FCS WITH FIVE STATS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS:  North Dakota State led the nation with five players selected to the STATS FCS Preseason All-America team.  Left tackle Joe Haeg and punter Ben LeCompte made the first team, fullback/tight end Andrew Bonnet and left guard Zack Johnson are on the second team, and long snapper James Fisher is on the third team.  The Missouri Valley Football Conference led the nation with 17 preseason All-Americans.
 
NDSU LEADS WITH FOUR ON FAB 50 LIST:  North Dakota State had a nation's best four players named to the College Sporting News Preseason Fab 50 FCS All-America Team and the Missouri Valley Football Conference led all conferences with 12 selections.  Quarterback Carson Wentz, fullback Andrew Bonnet, left tackle Joe Haeg and punter Ben LeCompte were NDSU's four honorees.  Wentz, Haeg and Bonnet all were named to the year-end Fab 50 All-America list last season.
 
RETURNING 12 STARTERS:  North Dakota State returns 12 starters from last year's team that won a fourth straight FCS national championship and went 7-1 to claim a share of its fourth straight Missouri Valley Football Conference title.  NDSU returns eight starters on offense and four on defense.  In addition, all-conference left guard Zack Johnson is back from a knee injury that kept him out in 2014, and All-America punter Ben LeCompte is back after ranking second nationally in punting average last season.
 
VRAA GETS SIXTH SEASON:  All-conference wide receiver Zach Vraa is back for a sixth season after redshirting in 2010 and having his 2011 freshman season cut short with a broken collarbone in his first game.  He started in 11 of 13 games played as a sophomore in 2012 and had a record-setting junior year in 2013 when he finished 10th in the FCS with a school-record 1,191 yards (seventh in MVFC history) and was third nationally with a school-record 15 touchdowns (second in MVFC history).  Wide receiver Nate Moody is also returning for a fifth season after a knee injury early last year.
 
NEW-LOOK DEFENSE:  There will be plenty of new faces on the Bison defense as NDSU looks to replace two starting defensive ends, two outside linebackers and two safeties.  And junior middle linebacker Nick DeLuca started only five games down the stretch last year in place of injured Travis Beck.  NDSU does return experience at defensive end, where junior Brad Ambrosius and sophomores Greg Menard and Jarrod Tuszka were part of the regular rotation behind starters Mike Hardie and Buck Buchanan Award winner Kyle Emanuel.  At safety, two-time All-American Colten Heagle and 61-game starter Christian Dudzik are gone.  Sophomore Tre Dempsey was a regular part of the Bison nickel defense last year and other front-runners are special-teams standouts Chris Board and Andrew Smith.
 
NDSU THIRD IN FCS ATTENDANCE:  North Dakota State finished third in average home game attendance among the Football Championship Subdivision according to the final numbers released by the NCAA for the 2014 season.  NDSU drew an average of 18,571 over nine dates, down slightly from the school-record 18,622 set in 2013.  The Bison led the FCS in total attendance with 167,136.
 
TICKETS SOLD OUT:  Tickets for all six North Dakota State home games sold out within one hour August 1.  It is the fourth straight year NDSU has sold out the entire football season on the first day of single-game ticket sales.  NDSU had previously sold more than 12,000 season tickets.  Additional reserved and standing-room-only tickets may become available at 8 a.m. Friday of game week on GoBison.com/tickets.  Student tickets will be available online at GoBison.com/students beginning at 8 a.m. Monday of game week.
 
SUCCESS VS. THE FBS:  North Dakota State has an 8-3 record against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents and has won five 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) and Iowa State (34-14).  NDSU is scheduled to play at Iowa next season and Oregon in 2020.
 
FOUR-PEATS:  North Dakota State earned a share of its fourth straight Missouri Valley Football Conference championship last year tying Illinois State with a 7-1 record in conference play.  NDSU was the second school in Valley Football history to win four straight league titles behind Northern Iowa's run of seven straight from 1990 to 1996.  NDSU was just the second team in NCAA history to win four straight national championships.  Augustana College of Rock Island, Ill., won four NCAA Division III titles from 1983-86.  Carroll College of Helena, Mont., won four straight NAIA championships from 2002-05.
 
KLIEMAN INKED THROUGH 2020 SEASON:  North Dakota State head coach Chris Klieman (Northern Iowa, 1992) accepted a two-year contract extension in the offseason that will keep him with the Bison until January 2021.  Klieman led the Bison to a 15-1 record, a fourth straight Missouri Valley Football Conference championship with a 7-1 mark, and an unprecedented fourth straight NCAA Division I FCS national title.
 
NDSU didn't skip a beat in Klieman's first year despite losing 23 seniors and welcoming seven new assistant coaches.  The Bison scored 34 unanswered points to beat Big 12 member Iowa State in the season opener as part of an FCS-record 33-game winning streak that extended into November.
 
North Dakota State went 9-1 against Top 25 competition and earned the No. 2 national seed for the FCS playoffs.  NDSU had nine players named All-America, including Buck Buchanan Award-winning defensive end Kyle Emanuel, and four Capital One Academic All-America® selections.  Klieman was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award and was named the Rawlings Football/American Football Monthly FCS Coach of the Year.
 
The head coach at Division III Loras College in 2005, Klieman came to NDSU from Northern Iowa in 2011 as the defensive backs coach and was the defensive coordinator in 2012 and 2013.  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.