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THIS WEEK: No. 1-ranked North Dakota State (8-0, 5-0 MVFC) hosts Youngstown State (3-5, 2-3 MVFC) in the 45th annual Harvest Bowl game Saturday, Nov. 3. 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 12 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 13th meeting between North Dakota State and Youngstown State dating back to 1972. NDSU has won six straight and leads the series 8-4 after last year's 27-24 overtime victory in Youngstown. The Penguins won back-to-back games in Fargo in 2009 (39-35) and 2011 (27-24) but have lost the last three visits by a combined score of 110-24.
 
LAST YEAR: Cam Pedersen's 36-yard field goal in the first overtime gave NDSU a 27-24 win last year in Youngstown. Easton Stick rushed for a career-high 172 yards including an 80-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter that gave NDSU its first lead, 24-17. YSU tied the game with 1:23 left when Tevin McCaster's 1-yard run capped a nine-play, 90-yard scoring drive. Stick was 11 of 20 passing for 113 yards and two TDs. NDSU finished with a 393-338 edge in total offense but went just 4 of 11 on third down compared to YSU's 7 of 14, and the Penguins held the ball for 32:51. The Bison defense sacked Nathan Mays six times including two apiece by Stanley Jones and Jabril Cox. Nick DeLuca made a game-high 12 tackles and Cox had eight stops with three tackles for loss.
 
HARVEST BOWL: This is the 44th game in 45 years of the Harvest Bowl program, which celebrates excellence in agriculture, education and athletics. NDSU is 39-2-2 all-time and has won eight straight Harvest Bowl games including last year's 49-14 victory over South Dakota. The event began in 1974 with NDSU beating Wisconsin-Milwaukee 14-7. The 1991 game with Nebraska-Omaha on Nov. 2 of that year was canceled due to a blizzard.
 
HARVEST HELMETS RETURN: One week after wearing yellow helmets, white jerseys and yellow pants together for the first time since 2004, North Dakota State will break out its new yellow jerseys with the green "Harvest Helmet" this week. The Bison are 27-0 in yellow jerseys since the 2011 season opener, 11-0 in green helmets since their November 2015 debut, and 8-0 in the yellow jersey and green helmet combo last worn against Sam Houston State in the 2017 NCAA semifinal game. NDSU is also 3-0 with the green helmet and white jersey combo, last worn against James Madison in the 2018 NCAA championship game.
 
NDSU SAAC COLLECTING FOOD, MONEY: NDSU's Student-Athlete Advisory Council will be accepting non-perishable food items and monetary donations this Saturday for the Summit League Food Fight, an annual competition among league schools. All donations benefit the Fargo-Moorhead Emergency Food Pantry. Last year, NDSU collected nearly 7,000 pounds of food. Donations will be accepted in the football tailgating lots and throughout the following week in the main lobby at NDSU volleyball Nov. 4, wrestling Nov. 4 and Nov. 8, and women's basketball Nov. 6 and 9. Fans unable to attend these events may donate funds online to @NDSU-SAAC using the Venmo mobile app.
 
BISON ROLL TO 59-14 WIN AT SOUTH DAKOTA: North Dakota State needed just 21 offensive plays to open a 28-0 lead early in the second quarter and the Bison scored on 9 of 13 drives in last week's 59-14 win at South Dakota. Easton Stick passed for three first-half touchdowns and finished 12 of 19 for 176 yards while rushing seven times for 79 yards and two TDs in three quarters of play. Five of NDSU's scoring drives took four plays or less as the Bison ran eight offensive plays of 20-plus yards. Lance Dunn notched his ninth career 100-yard game and second of the season with 12 carries for 114 yards. Jabril Cox had five tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss and a 34-yard interception return all in the first quarter before finishing with a team-high nine tackles.
 
WINNING STREAK AT 14: North Dakota State owns the longest active winning streak in the FCS at 14 games, which is tied for second longest in Missouri Valley Football Conference history with NDSU's 2015 and 2016 teams behind the 33-game Bison winning streak from 2012 to 2014.
 
VOLSON EARNS FOURTH LINEMAN OF WEEK AWARD: Center Tanner Volson was named Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week for the second time this season and fourth time in his career Monday after helping the Bison put up a season-high 560 yards of total offense at South Dakota. NDSU rushed for 384 yards and five touchdowns averaging 8.0 yards per carry. NDSU held the ball for more than 13 minutes in the third quarter and had nearly 37 minutes in time of possession.
 
PUNT TEAMS SHINING: North Dakota State's punt teams have been flipping the field in recent weeks. Return specialist Darrius Shepherd is the second-ranked punt returner in FCS with an average of 19.2 yards per return including a 38-yarder at South Dakota that would have been a 75-yard TD before a penalty. Shepherd had two returns for 103 yards two weeks ago against Illinois State. Shepherd's career punt return average of 14.00 is currently fourth best in school history. Meanwhile, punter Garret Wegner took advantage of all four opportunities last week at South Dakota averaging 50.2 yards per punt including 53- and 58-yard boots on his first two attempts. Wegner ranks 10th in FCS and is second in the league with a 43.7 punting average. He's averaged 44.3 yards over the past three weeks and NDSU has allowed zero punt return yards in that span.
 
TARGET FIELD TICKETS ON SALE NOV. 8: The NDSU football team will host Butler in the 2019 season opener at 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 31, at Target Field presented by Pioneer. Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 8, with special presale opportunities for season ticket holders this week. General seating will range from $20 to $58 and tickets will only be available through the Minnesota Twins. Student tickets will be made available at a later date through NDSU. For more information, visit TwinsBaseball.com/football.
 
STICK BREAKS NDSU PASSING TDs RECORD: Easton Stick threw his 73rd career touchdown pass at South Dakota to break the NDSU all-time record of 72 set by Brock Jensen (2010-13). Stick moved into fifth place in MVFC history behind South Dakota State's Taryn Christion (91, 2015-present), Illinois State's Matt Brown (78, 2009-12), UNI's Ryan Helming (77, 1997-00) and Youngstown State's Kurt Hess (75, 2010-13). With five total touchdowns at USD, Stick now has 106 career TDs and is one shy of Jensen's NDSU-record 107 career TDs responsible for.
 
SHEPHERD FIFTH IN RECEPTIONS, YARDS: Senior wide receiver Darrius Shepherd last week passed Tim Strehlow for fifth on NDSU's all-time receiving yards list and now has 2,363 yards, 72 shy of RJ Urzendowski's 2,435 yards from 2014-17. Shepherd is fifth with 157 catches, four shy of Warren Holloway's 161 from 2008-11. Shepherd also ranks eighth with 16 career 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 (2,704) ranks sixth, Bruce Anderson (2,494) is 16th and Easton Stick (2,191) is 21st. North Dakota's John Santiago (3,643) and Brady Oliveira (2,532) along with James Madison's Marcus Marshall (2,520) and Cardon Johnson (2,415) are the only other active 2,000-yard rushing duos in FCS.
 
TURNOVER MARGIN LEADERS: NDSU's plus-13 turnover margin is third in the FCS behind co-leaders Southeast Missouri State and Dartmouth (+15). NDSU has scored a conference-best 87 points off turnovers, including touchdowns last week off a Jabril Cox interception and a Spencer Waege fumble recovery.
 
COX LEADS LEAGUE IN PICKS: North Dakota State linebacker Jabril Cox made his league-leading fourth interception at South Dakota. Cox is tied for seventh in the FCS with 0.5 interceptions per game and is tied for fourth overall. He is one of five players in the FCS this year with two or more interception return touchdowns. NDSU has not had a linebacker lead the team in picks since 2005 when Joe Mays had three to tie safety Nick Schommer and cornerback Bobby Babich. The NDSU record for interceptions by a linebacker is five by Rick Budde in 1976.
 
RED ZONE SUCCESS: North Dakota State leads the MVFC in red zone defense this year allowing opponents inside the 20-yard line only 14 times with five touchdowns and two field goals. NDSU stopped USD on downs last week after a first-and-goal at the 2 early in the third quarter. Aaron Steidl was in on two tackles and Robbie Grimsley broke up a fourth-down pass in the end zone. On offense, the Bison have converted 32 of 35 red zone chances with a league-best 29 TDs.
 
BISON LEAD LEAGUE IN SACKS: NDSU leads the Missouri Valley Football Conference with 25 sacks and the Bison rank eighth in FCS averaging 3.13 sacks per game. Cole Karcz and Greg Menard lead the Bison with 5.5 sacks each. NDSU is first in the league (8) and 12th in FCS (1.0/game) for sacks allowed.
 
MENARD FOURTH IN CAREER SACKS: Defensive end Greg Menard is fourth in career sacks at NDSU with 34, seven shy of the school record 41 total sacks held by Jerry Dahl (1973-74), Phil Hansen (1987-90) and Kyle Emanuel (2011-14). Menard is the FCS active career leader with 29.5 sacks counting solo and assisted sacks as defined by the NCAA.
 
LONGEST WINNING STREAK IN FCS: North Dakota State has the longest active winning streak in the FCS with 14 straight victories dating back to last November. Colgate is 8-0 and has won 12 straight followed by Dartmouth (7-0, W10). Princeton (7-0, W7) is the only other FCS unbeaten this year. UCF (20) and Alabama (10) have the two longest active winning streaks in FBS. NDSU's 14-game home winning streak is second longest in the FCS behind San Diego's 20.
 
ANOTHER 7-0 START: North Dakota State is the only team in Missouri Valley Football Conference history to win its first seven games in back-to-back seasons, and the Bison have done it twice. NDSU went 15-0 in 2013 and started 9-0 in 2014 before making 8-0 starts in 2017 and 2018.
 
KLIEMAN THIRD IN NDSU COACHING WINS: North Dakota State head coach Chris Klieman has passed Ron Erhardt for third in all-time coaching wins at NDSU. Klieman is 62-6 in his fifth season trailing Craig Bohl (104-32 from 2003-2013) and Rocky Hager (91-25-1 from 1987-1996).
 
PEDERSEN CLIMBING CHARTS: Senior Cam Pedersen is NDSU's new career record holder for PAT kicks made (223) and attempted (229) and ranks second in MVFC history behind Craig Coffin of Southern Illinois, who made 229 PAT kicks from 2002-06. Pedersen kicked a 46-yard field goal at South Dakota to move into a tie with Aaron Pederson for third all-time at NDSU with 42 field goals made. His 349 career points rank ninth in the MVFC, fourth overall at NDSU, and second among NDSU kickers behind Adam Keller (359 from 2011-14). Pedersen has made 63 consecutive PAT kicks since a block at Illinois State in the 2017 regular-season finale.
        NDSU Career FG Made
        56 - Adam Keller, 2011-14
        51 - Shawn Bibeau, 2006-09
        42 - Aaron Pederson, 1998-01
        42 - Cam Pedersen, 2015-18

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


RUSHING QUARTERBACKS: NDSU's Easton Stick enters the Youngstown State game 85 yards shy of 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)
        2,191 - Easton Stick, North Dakota State (2015-18)
        2,176 - Tirrell Rennie, Northern Iowa (2010-11)
        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)
        2,191 - Easton Stick (2015-18)
 
GRIMSLEY AMONG INTERCEPTION LEADERS: Senior Robbie Grimsley made his 13th career interception against Illinois State and is tied with Dayton's David Leisring for second among active FCS players behind James Madison's Jimmy Moreland (14). Grimsley is in a four-way tie for fourth all-time at NDSU behind Marcus Williams (21 from 2010-2013), Steve Krumrei (16 from 1967-1969) and Tre Dempsey (16 from 2014-2017). Grimsley also ranks seventh at NDSU with 139 solo tackles.
 
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: North Dakota State has had seven players earn nine 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, 10/29)...Four knockdowns with zero sacks or hurries in each of the wins over Cal Poly and South Dakota...Graded 100% on assignment both games...NDSU rushed for 458 yards and seven TDs averaging 10.2 yards per carry vs. Cal Poly...Season-high 560 yards of total offense at USD with five rushing TDs and 8.0 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.
        —Darrius Shepherd, Special Teams (10/21)...Totaled 236 all-purpose yards against Illinois State including six catches for 126 yards and two punt returns for 103 yards...Had receptions of 55 and 44 yards on NDSU's first two drives and a 69-yard punt return to start the third quarter.
 
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 69-6 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 22-4 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 114 wins this decade are more than any other program in college football. NDSU is 105-8 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)
        114 - North Dakota State (114-13)
        91 - Sam Houston State (91-30)
        84 - Eastern Washington (84-30)
        82 - Jacksonville State (82-26)
        79 - James Madison (79-31)

        FCS Winningest Teams, 2010s (by pct.)
        .898 - North Dakota State (114-13)
        .770 - Harvard (67-20)
        .759 - Jacksonville State (82-26)
        .752 - Sam Houston State (91-30)
        .737 - Eastern Washington (84-30)
 
MORE THAN 700 WINS: NDSU has played 1,123 games with a 718-371-34 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 (906), Harvard (872), Penn (855) and Princeton (828). Northern Iowa has the second most wins among Missouri Valley Football Conference programs with 667. NDSU's 105 victories since 2011 are more than any other team in Division I ahead of Alabama (97), Clemson (90), Ohio State (86) and Sam Houston State (85).
 
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).