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THIS WEEK: Top-ranked North Dakota State (5-0, 2-0 MVFC) goes on the road for the second straight week to face Western Illinois (2-3, 1-1 MVFC). Game time is 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, at Hanson Field (16,368) in Macomb, Ill.
 
TELEVISION: Coverage begins at 6 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 Western Illinois production on ESPN.com and the ESPN app with subscriptions starting at $4.99/month.
 
RADIO: Coverage begins at 5:30 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 2:30-3:30 p.m. with Brad Jones, "Bison Game Day" from 3:30-5:30 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.
 
THE SERIES: This is the 10th meeting between North Dakota State and Western Illinois dating back to 2007, the only non-conference game in the series. NDSU has won five straight and leads the series 7-2 after last year's 24-12 win in Fargo. The Bison are 5-0 in Macomb, but three of those victories have been one-possession games.
 
LAST YEAR: NDSU shut out Western Illinois in the second half and Easton Stick rushed for two touchdowns in the third quarter as the Bison erased a 12-10 halftime deficit to win 24-12 in Fargo. Stick averaged 6.8 yards on nine carries and finished with 61 yards on the ground while going 11 of 18 through the air for 221 yards. RJ Urzendowski had four receptions for 100 yards and one TD, and Bruce Anderson led all rushers with 21 carries for 93 yards. WIU quarterback Sean McGuire was 17 of 28 passing for 185 yards and Jaelon Acklin made six catches for 115 yards. NDSU's James Hendricks, Caleb Butler and Robbie Grimsley each made five tackles for the Bison defense, which registered five sacks, two other tackles for loss, four pass breakups and two quarterback hurries.
 
FOURTH QUARTER FINISH: North Dakota State scored four fourth-quarter touchdowns to defeat Northern Iowa 56-31 last week in Cedar Falls. Easton Stick passed for four touchdowns and rushed for two scores to lead NDSU back from an early 14-0 deficit, and the Bison had their first dual 100-yard rushing performances of the season from Bruce Anderson (170) and Lance Dunn (104). The Bison rolled up 523 yards of total offense (295 after halftime) and committed zero turnovers against UNI for just the second time in 12 meetings since 2008. It was NDSU's first turnover-free game of the season.
 
SCORING HISTORY: North Dakota State's 56 points scored at Northern Iowa were the most scored by an opposing team in the UNI-Dome since the facility opened in 1976, topping the previous high set in 1983 by Southern Illinois in a 52-9 win. It was the most points allowed by UNI against an FCS opponent since a 59-14 loss at Idaho in 1981. For NDSU, it was the eighth time the Bison have scored 50 on a Missouri Valley Football Conference opponent since 2008 and the most since a 59-7 home win over Western Illinois in 2015.
 
BACK-TO-BACK ON ROAD: North Dakota State is facing back-to-back road games in Missouri Valley Football Conference play for the ninth time in 11 years. The Bison have won both trips in five of eight previous occasions including three straight years after 2017 victories at Indiana State and Youngstown State. 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 has won 23 of the last 25 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 two straight night games with last year's wins at Youngstown State (27-24, OT) and over Sam Houston State (55-13).
 
BISON UNANIMOUS NO. 1 IN POLLS: North Dakota State is the unanimous No. 1 pick in both FCS Top 25 polls this week after previous No. 2 James Madison lost at home to Elon. NDSU captured all 26 votes in the AFCA coaches poll and all 160 votes in the STATS FCS media poll. JMU slid to sixth in the media poll and eighth in the coaches poll with its second loss of the year. South Dakota State, which hung on to beat Indiana State 54-51 in overtime, climbed to No. 2 in the media poll to give the Missouri Valley Football Conference the top two spots for the fourth time in league history. Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky held those spots twice in 2005, and the Bison and Illinois State were 1-2 in the final 2014 poll after meeting in the national championship game.
 
CAPITALIZING ON TURNOVERS: NDSU is fourth in the MVFC with a plus-5 turnover margin, but the Bison have scored a conference-best 49 points off nine opponent turnovers. Linebacker Jabril Cox became the first NDSU player since safety Del Gehrett in 1967 to record an interception return for touchdown in back-to-back games against North Alabama (43 yards) and Delaware (36 yards).
 
RED ZONE OPPORTUNITIES: North Dakota State leads the MVFC in red zone defense this year allowing opponents inside the 20-yard line only six times with two touchdowns and two field goals. On offense, the Bison have converted 20 of 22 red zone chances with a conference-best 18 TDs.
 
SHEPHERD PASSES 2,000 YARDS: Senior wide receiver Darrius Shepherd surpassed 2,000 career receiving yards in the win over South Dakota State. Shepherd had five catches for a career-high 118 yards against SDSU and currently ranks seventh in NDSU history with 2,095 receiving yards. He is 137 yards behind Warren Holloway (2008-11) for sixth place on that list.
 
BISON WINNING LINE OF SCRIMMAGE: NDSU leads the Missouri Valley Football Conference with 18 sacks and the Bison rank sixth in FCS averaging 3.60 sacks per game. Cole Karcz and Greg Menard lead the Bison with 4.5 sacks each. NDSU is also the league leader in sacks allowed (4), rushing offense (288.2) and rushing defense (100.0).
 
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).
 
LONGEST WINNING STREAK IN FCS: North Dakota State has the longest active winning streak in the FCS with 11 straight victories dating back to last November. Colgate is second on that list with 10 straight wins. UCF (18) and Ohio State (11) have the two longest active winning streaks in FBS.
 
NINE FRESHMEN PLAY: NDSU has played nine true freshmen this season. Wide receiver Phoenix Sproles, safety James Kaczor and linebacker Jasir Cox all played in the opener against Cal Poly. Quarterback Trey Lance, wide receiver Kenneth Channelle, defensive end Tony Pierce Jr., cornerback Destin Talbert and linebacker Mark Stumpf debuted against North Alabama. Running back Saybein Clark played his first game against Delaware. A new NCAA football rule this year allows student-athletes to participate in up to four games and still take a redshirt year.
 
PEDERSEN APPROACHING ANOTHER PAT MARK: Senior kicker Cam Pedersen is NDSU's new career record holder for PAT kicks made (207) and attempted (213) 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 (39) and is third in attempts (64) at NDSU. His 324 career points rank 12th all-time in the conference, fourth overall at NDSU, and second among NDSU kickers.

STICK THREE PASSING TDs SHY OF RECORD: Fourth-year starter Easton Stick is 39-3 as NDSU's starting QB and has moved into third on the NDSU career lists for pass attempts, completions and yards. Stick ranks second in NDSU history with 69 passing touchdowns behind Brock Jensen's 72 TDs from 2010-13. Stick's 8,832 yards of total offense are second behind Jensen's 9,838, and Stick is also second in career TDs responsible for with 100, seven shy of Jensen's mark.
 
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)
        2,040 - 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)
        2,040 - Easton Stick (2015-18)
 
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: North Dakota State has had five players earn six 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.
 
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 111 wins this decade are more than any other program in college football. NDSU is 102-8 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)
        111 - North Dakota State (111-13)
        89 - Sam Houston State (89-29)
        83 - Eastern Washington (83-29)
        80 - Jacksonville State (80-25)
        77 - James Madison (77-31)

        FCS Winningest Teams, 2010s (by pct.)
        .895 - North Dakota State (111-13)
        .786 - Harvard (66-18)
        .762 - Jacksonville State (80-25)
        .754 - Sam Houston State (89-29)
        .741 - Eastern Washington (83-29)
 
MORE THAN 700 WINS: NDSU has played 1,120 games with a 715-371-34 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 (904), Harvard (871), Penn (853) and Princeton (825). Northern Iowa has the second most wins among Missouri Valley Football Conference programs with 665. NDSU's 102 victories since 2011 are more than any other team in Division I ahead of Alabama (95), Clemson (88), Ohio State (85) and Sam Houston State (83).
 
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).