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NDSU Notes | Illinois State Notes | MVFC Notes

THIS WEEK: The Missouri Valley Football Conference leaders in scoring defense, rushing defense and total defense meet this week when No. 1-ranked North Dakota State (6-0, 3-0 MVFC) hosts No. 7-ranked Illinois State (5-1, 2-1 MVFC) on Saturday, Oct. 20. Game time is 2:30 p.m. at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome (18,700).
 
TELEVISION: Coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. on KVLY and the NBC North Dakota network with Brian Shawn calling the play-by-play, Lee Timmerman color analyst, and Ryan Gellner on the sidelines. Pregame coverage hosted by Alex Egan and Beth Hoole begins 1 hour prior to kickoff. ESPN+ will carry the game on ESPN.com and the ESPN app with subscriptions starting at $4.99/month.
 
RADIO: Coverage begins at 2 p.m. on the Peterson Farms Seed Bison Radio Network with third-year NDSU play-by-play voice Jeff Culhane joined by NDSU and Buffalo Bills hall of famer Phil Hansen and NDSU sideline reporter Jeremy Jorgenson. Extended coverage locally on 107.9 The Fox, Bison 1660 and 92.7 FM includes "Bison Tailgate" from 11 a.m. to noon with Brad Jones, "Bison Game Day" from noon to 2 p.m. and "Bison Hotline" for two hours following the network broadcast with hosts Keith Brake, Chris Hanson and former NDSU defensive end Cole Jirik.
 
ONLINE: NDSU All Access offers free audio streaming of all NDSU football games as well as live video of Bison home games to subscribers on GoBison.com/allaccess. Live stats for NDSU home games are available on BisonStats.com. Follow @NDSUfootball on Twitter for game updates.
 
TICKETS: Available single-game tickets go on sale at 6 a.m. Friday before each Bison home game ONLINE ONLY at GoBison.com/tickets. Game day ticket sales and will call are available in the east lobby of the Fargodome beginning five hours prior to kickoff.
 
THE SERIES: This is the 11th meeting between North Dakota State and Illinois State dating back to 2007. NDSU has won six straight and leads the series 8-2 after last year's 20-7 victory in Normal. Illinois State is 1-4 in Fargo with its only win coming in the 2009 homecoming game, 27-24.
 
LAST YEAR: Bruce Anderson carried 22 times for 95 yards and a touchdown, and quarterback Easton Stick carried 17 times for 65 yards and two scores in NDSU's 20-7 win at Illinois State last year, which clinched an outright conference championship for the Bison. The teams battled to a 0-0 halftime tie through driving rain, gusty winds and a quick-moving snow storm. Stick's 10-yard TD run capped NDSU's first drive of the third quarter, and Jabril Cox's interception set up Anderson's 1-yard TD that made it 13-0 after a blocked PAT kick. NDSU outgained Illinois State 260-219 in total yardage including a 245-106 rushing advantage. Jackson Koonce landed four of eight punts inside the 20 and the Redbirds crossed midfield only twice while going 1 of 13 on third down.
 
DEFENSE SPARKS WIN AT WESTERN ILLINOIS: NDSU scored 17 points off five Western Illinois turnovers in a 34-7 victory last week. The Bison went behind 7-3 early in the second quarter but answered with an eight-play, 75-yard scoring drive highlighted by long runs from Lance Dunn (17), Bruce Anderson (16) and Easton Stick (20) before Dunn's 1-yard TD put NDSU ahead 10-7. Dan Marlette scored on a 38-yard fumble return off a strip sack by Marquise Bridges to make it 17-7 as the Bison scored 31 straight points. James Hendricks had two of NDSU's four interceptions including one in the end zone to keep the Leathernecks scoreless in the second half. Levi Jordheim tied a season high with seven tackles including a sack, and the Bison had seven tackles for loss in holding WIU to nine net rushing yards on 18 attempts. Cam Pedersen kicked field goals of 47 and 24 yards.
 
BACK-TO-BACK ON ROAD: With wins at Northern Iowa and Western Illinois, North Dakota State won back-to-back Missouri Valley Football Conference road games for the fourth straight year and the sixth time in nine chances since joining the league in 2008. Illinois State in 2010 is the only team to deal NDSU a conference road loss (34-24) the week following a Bison road win (34-29 at Youngstown State). NDSU lost the front end of its two-game road stretches in 2008 and 2014 both at Northern Iowa.
 
NIGHT WINS: North Dakota State's win at Western Illinois was the 24th in the last 26 night games (kickoff at 6 p.m. or later) back through the 2010 season. The only night game losses in that span were 16-9 at Northern Iowa in 2010 and 27-17 to James Madison in the 2016 NCAA semifinal. The Bison have won three straight night games with last year's wins at Youngstown State (27-24, OT) and over Sam Houston State (55-13).
 
LEADERS IN TURNOVER MARGIN: North Dakota State has played two straight games without a turnover and the Bison are tied with Weber State and Colgate for the FCS lead with a plus-10 turnover margin. NDSU has scored a conference-best 66 points off 14 opponent turnovers. Illinois State is right behind with a plus-9 margin and only two turnovers committed this year. The Redbirds are sixth in the league behind Northern Iowa (48), South Dakota State (45), Southern Illinois (42) and South Dakota (37) with 31 points off 11 opponent turnovers.
 
RED ZONE DEFENSE: North Dakota State leads the MVFC in red zone defense this year allowing opponents inside the 20-yard line only eight times with three touchdowns and two field goals. On offense, the Bison have converted 23 of 25 red zone chances with 20 TDs.
 
SHEPHERD MOVING UP: Senior wide receiver Darrius Shepherd has moved into sixth place in career receptions at North Dakota State with 148, passing Ryan Smith (2010-13). Shepherd needs two catches to pass RJ Urzendowski for fifth on that list. Shepherd ranks seventh at NDSU with 2,162 receiving yards just 70 shy of sixth-place Warren Holloway (2008-11) and he ranks eighth with 16 TD catches behind Kole Heckendorf (17 from 2005-08) and Eric Nelson (18 from 1997-00).
 
ACTIVE 2,000-YARD RUSHERS: North Dakota State is the only FCS team in the nation with three active 2,000-yard rushers. Lance Dunn (2,529) ranks seventh, Bruce Anderson (2,494) is eighth and Easton Stick (2,042) is 22nd. North Dakota's John Santiago (3,626) and Brady Oliveira (2,325) along with James Madison's Marcus Marshall (2,494) and Cardon Johnson (2,355) are the only other active 2,000-yard rushing duos in FCS.
 
BISON LEAD LEAGUE IN SACKS: NDSU leads the Missouri Valley Football Conference with 21 sacks and the Bison rank ninth in FCS averaging 3.50 sacks per game. Cole Karcz and Greg Menard lead the Bison with 4.5 sacks each. NDSU slipped to second in the league for sacks allowed (8) after allowing four at Western Illinois, the most since last year's FCS playoff win over San Diego.
 
MENARD FOURTH IN CAREER SACKS: Defensive end Greg Menard moved into sole possession of fourth place on NDSU's all-time sacks list with his 32nd and 33rd sacks at Northern Iowa. The school record of 41 total sacks is held by Jerry Dahl (1973-74), Phil Hansen (1987-90) and Kyle Emanuel (2011-14). Menard is the FCS active career leader with 28.5 sacks counting solo and assisted sacks as defined by the NCAA. (NDSU's records pre-date NCAA defensive stats and are counted by total sacks.)
 
LONGEST WINNING STREAK IN FCS: North Dakota State has the longest active winning streak in the FCS with 12 straight victories dating back to last November. Colgate is second on that list with 11 straight wins. UCF (19) and Ohio State (12) have the two longest active winning streaks in FBS. NDSU's 13-game home winning streak is tied with Kennesaw State for second longest in the FCS behind San Diego's 19.
 
PEDERSEN CLIMBING CHARTS: Senior kicker Cam Pedersen is NDSU's new career record holder for PAT kicks made (211) and attempted (217) and ranks second in MVFC history behind Craig Coffin of Southern Illinois, who made 229 PAT kicks from 2002-06. Pedersen also ranks fourth in field goals made (41) and is third in attempts (66) at NDSU. His 334 career points rank 10th all-time in the conference, fourth overall at NDSU, and second among NDSU kickers behind Adam Keller (359 from 2011-14).
        NDSU Career FG Made
        56 - Adam Keller, 2011-14
        51 - Shawn Bibeau, 2006-09
        42 - Aaron Pederson, 1998-01
        41 - Cam Pedersen, 2015-18

        NDSU Career FG Attempts
        73 - Shawn Bibeau, 2006-09
        70 - Adam Keller, 2011-14
        66 - Cam Pedersen, 2015-18

STICK TWO PASSING TDs SHY OF RECORD: Easton Stick is 40-3 as NDSU's starting QB and has moved into third on the NDSU career lists for pass attempts (806), completions (483) and yards (6,915). Stick's 70 career passing TDs rank sixth in conference history and second at NDSU behind Brock Jensen (72 from 2010-13). Stick's 8,957 yards of total offense are second behind Jensen (9,838) and Stick is second in career TDs responsible for with 101 behind Jensen (107).
 
RUSHING QUARTERBACKS: NDSU's Easton Stick is positioned to challenge the Missouri Valley Football Conference record for rushing yards by a quarterback.
        MVFC Career Rushing Yards by QB
        2,276 - DeAndre Smith, Missouri State (1987-90)
        2,176 - Tirrell Rennie, Northern Iowa (2010-11)
        2,042 - Easton Stick, North Dakota State (2015-18)
        1,880 - Jeff Ryan, Youngstown State (1998-01)

        NDSU Career Rushing Yards by QB
        3,313 - Chris Simdorn (1987-90)
        2,945 - Jeff Bentrim (1983-86)
        2,473 - Kevin Feeney (1995-98)
        2,264 - Mark Speral (1977-80)
        2,042 - Easton Stick (2015-18)
 
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: North Dakota State has had six players earn seven Player of the Week awards in the Missouri Valley Football Conference this year.
        —Bruce Anderson, Offense (9/2)..Rushed 11 times for a career-high 185 yards averaging 16.8 yards per carry with two touchdowns against Cal Poly...Scored on runs of 10 and 86 yards...Finished with 239 all-purpose yards including kickoff returns of 23 and 24 yards and one reception.
        —Tanner Volson, Offensive Line (9/4)...Four knockdowns with zero penalties, sacks or hurries in the win over Cal Poly...Led the Bison OL with an 89% technique grade and 100% on assignment...NDSU rushed for 458 yards and seven TDs averaging 10.2 yards per carry.
        —Easton Stick, Offense (9/23, 10/7)...Accounted for 321 yards of total offese and four TDs in the win over Delaware...Went 17 of 26 passing for 280 yards and rushed five times for 41 yards and two TDs...Completed nine passes for 179 yards and four TDs and ran for two TDs in the comeback win at Northern Iowa.
        —Dillon Radunz, Offensive Line (9/24)...Helped lead NDSU to 527 yards of offense against Delaware's No. 9-ranked defense...Coaching grade of 97% assignment and 82% technique with two explosive blocks...Team allowed zero sacks for the third straight week.
        —Garret Wegner, Special Teams (10/1)...Averaged 47.4 yards on five punts with three inside the 20 against South Dakota State...Booted a 49-yard punt out-of-bounds at the SDSU 2 with just 1:15 left before halftime...Launched a key 54-yarder to the SDSU 7 that led to a three-and-out on SDSU's final offensive possession.
        —James Hendricks, Defensive (10/14)...Two interceptions, one pass breakup and four tackles in the win at Western Illinois as the Bison forced five turnovers.
 
NATIONAL AWARD CANDIDATES: NDSU safety Robbie Grimsley and defensive end Greg Menard were named to the 25-man preseason watch list for the STATS FCS Buck Buchanan Award, presented annually to the FCS defensive player of the year. Bison quarterback Easton Stick and running back Bruce Anderson were nominated for the STATS FCS Walter Payton Award, presented to the FCS offensive player of the year.
 
SEVEN PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS: North Dakota State led all teams in the FCS with a school-record seven players named to the STATS FCS Preseason All-America team. Running back Bruce Anderson and safety Robbie Grimsley were named to the first team. Quarterback Easton Stick, center Tanner Volson and defensive end Greg Menard earned second-team honors. Offensive tackle Zack Johnson and linebacker Jabril Cox were on the third team.
 
LEAGUE-BEST 11 ON PRESEASON SQUAD: NDSU had a league-high 11 players named to the preseason All-Missouri Valley Football Conference teams. First-team offense picks were running back Bruce Anderson, fullback Brock Robbins, offensive tackle Zack Johnson and center Tanner Volson. Quarterback Easton Stick and receiver Darrius Shepherd were second team. First-team defense picks were defensive end Greg Menard, defensive tackle Aaron Steidl, linebacker Jabril Cox and safety Robbie Grimsley. Defensive end Derrek Tuszka was named to the second team.
 
BISON PICKED TO WIN VALLEY: North Dakota State was the unanimous pick to win the Missouri Valley Football Conference followed by South Dakota State in second, Northern Iowa third, Youngstown State fourth, Illinois State fifth and South Dakota sixth. Western Illinois, Southern Illinois, Missouri State and Indiana State rounded out the final four spots in order. NDSU's 2013 team was the only other team in league history to earn all of the preseason first place votes.
 
SEVEN STRAIGHT CONFERENCE TITLES: NDSU won its seventh consecutive Missouri Valley Football Conference championship last year, tying the league record set by Northern Iowa in the early 1990s. NDSU won outright MVFC titles in 2012, 2013 and 2017. The Bison shared the 2011 title with Northern Iowa and the 2014 and 2015 crowns with Illinois State. North Dakota State has won 34 football conference championships including 26 in the North Central Conference (last in 1994) and one in the Great West Football Conference (2006).
 
14-TIME NATIONAL CHAMPIONS: North Dakota State won its 14th football national championship in 2017. NDSU claimed three College Division national championships in 1965, 1968 and 1969, five Division II 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.
 
BISON AT HOME: NDSU is 68-6 at home since 2010. The Bison have won 62 of the last 64 home games over non-conference opponents with its last home loss coming in the 2016 semifinals to James Madison. NDSU is 21-4 at home all-time against FCS Top 10 teams and 21-1 at home in the FCS playoffs. North Dakota State ranked seventh in FCS last year with an average home attendance of 18,333. The Bison drew 18,000-plus to 54 straight home contests from the 2011 quarterfinals through the 2017 second round.
 
DECADE LEADER:  North Dakota State's 112 wins this decade are more than any other program in college football. NDSU is 103-8 since the beginning of 2011, the first of five national championship seasons. North Dakota State holds the distinction of being the winningest Division II program of the 1980s, going 103-20-2 from 1980-89 with four national titles in that span.
        FCS Winningest Teams, 2010s (by wins)
        112 - North Dakota State (112-13)
        90 - Sam Houston State (90-29)
        83 - Eastern Washington (83-30)
        81 - Jacksonville State (81-25)
        78 - James Madison (78-31)

        FCS Winningest Teams, 2010s (by pct.)
        .896 - North Dakota State (112-13)
        .788 - Harvard (67-18)
        .764 - Jacksonville State (81-25)
        .756 - Sam Houston State (90-29)
        .735 - Eastern Washington (83-30)
 
MORE THAN 700 WINS: NDSU has played 1,121 games with a 716-371-34 record in its 122nd season of football, good for a .654 winning percentage. Only four Ivy League teams each with at least 20 more years of football have more wins at the FCS level: Yale (905), Harvard (872), Penn (854) and Princeton (826). Northern Iowa has the second most wins among Missouri Valley Football Conference programs with 666. NDSU's 103 victories since 2011 are more than any other team in Division I ahead of Alabama (96), Clemson (88), Ohio State (86) and Sam Houston State (84).
 
SUCCESS VS. THE FBS: NDSU has a 9-3 record against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents and has won six 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), Iowa State (34-14) and 11th-ranked Iowa (23-21). NDSU has three future FBS games against Oregon in 2020, Arizona in 2022 and Colorado in 2024. NDSU's first three FBS wins were against Ball State (2006), Central Michigan (2007) and Minnesota (2007).