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THIS WEEK: No. 1-ranked and top-seeded North Dakota State (11-0) returns from a bye week to host 23rd-ranked Montana State (8-4) in the second round of the NCAA Division I Football Championship this Saturday, Dec. 1. Game time is 2 p.m. at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome (18,700). The Bobcats are coming off a 35-14 home win over Incarnate Word in the first round.
 
TELEVISION: ESPN3 live coverage begins at 2 p.m. with Shawn Kenney (play-by-play) and Al Groh (analyst). ESPN3 is available through participating Internet service providers and can be seen on ESPN.com and the ESPN app.
 
RADIO: Coverage begins at 1:30 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 10:30-11:30 a.m. with Brad Jones, "Bison Game Day" from 11:30-1:30 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 on GoBison.com/allaccess and the NDSU Athletics mobile app. Live stats are available on NCAA.com. Follow @NDSUfootball on Twitter for game updates.
 
TICKETS: Season ticket holders have until 5 p.m. Tuesday to renew their same seats for the game. Unclaimed season tickets go on sale to the public at 7 a.m. Wednesday ONLINE ONLY at GoBison.com/tickets. NDSU student tickets, limit 1 per valid student ID, are $6 and will be on sale Monday and Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Memorial Union and at the Bison Ticket Office in the south lobby of the Sanford Health Athletic Complex.
 
TAILGATING: Reserved tailgating pass holders have until 5 p.m. Tuesday to renew their passes for the game. Unclaimed reserved tailgating passes go on sale to the public at 8 a.m. Wednesday at the Bison Ticket Office in the south lobby of the Sanford Health Athletic Complex or by calling 701-231-6172 or 701-231-5990.
 
THE SERIES: This is the 35th meeting between North Dakota State and Montana State. MSU leads the series 21-13 dating back to 1914. The teams have met twice previously in the postseason with Montana State winning the 1976 Grantland Rice Bowl (Division II semifinal) 10-3 in Fargo and NDSU winning the 2010 FCS second round game 42-17 in Bozeman. This is just the third meeting between the schools as Division I opponents. Montana State won 20-17 in Bozeman in 2005, the second year of D-I football at NDSU. This is MSU's first visit to the Fargodome. The Bison are 7-4 at home in the all-time series.
 
LAST MEETING: DJ McNorton rushed 26 times for 207 yards and four touchdowns as North Dakota State overpowered No. 4-seeded Montana State in the fourth quarter for a 42-17 victory before a sellout crowd of 14,277 at Bobcat Stadium in the 2010 FCS second round. McNorton ran for 163 yards and all of his TDs in the second half, and the Bison scored four times after falling behind 17-14 on the first play the fourth quarter. NDSU had two 1-play scoring drives on TD runs of 38 and 52 yards by McNorton, and NDSU's defense got two three-and-outs and forced three turnovers in the final 8 minutes of the game. McNorton's four rushing TDs are still an NDSU playoff record.
 
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: North Dakota State is the No. 1 overall seed for the FCS playoffs and would host through the semifinal round for the eighth straight year should the Bison advance. The winner of this week's game will face James Madison or eighth-seeded Colgate in next week's quarterfinal round.
 
STICK, COX TAKE TOP LEAGUE HONORS: Quarterback Easton Stick was named Offensive Player of the Year and linebacker Jabril Cox was named Defensive Player of the Year in the Missouri Valley Football Conference by a vote of the league's media, head coaches and sports information directors. Stick is the second NDSU player to earn the league's top offensive honor along with 2013 quarterback Brock Jensen, and Cox is the third NDSU player to be selected on defense behind 2012 cornerback Marcus Williams and 2014 defensive end Kyle Emanuel. This is the seventh time in conference history that one team has claimed both the offensive and defensive players of the year, and the first time since 2010 when Western Illinois QB Matt Barr and LB Kyle Glazier were selected.
 
15 ALL-CONFERENCE PICKS: North Dakota State led all schools with 15 All-Missouri Valley Football Conference picks including nine first team and six second team. Darrius Shepherd was a first-team selection at both wide receiver and return specialist, just the second offensive player in league history to earn dual first-team honors. Other first team picks were QB Easton Stick, LB Jabril Cox, OL Tanner Volson and Zack Johnson, DE Greg Menard, S Robbie Grimsley and P Garret Wegner. Second-team honors went to RB Bruce Anderson and Lance Dunn, FB Brock Robbins, TE Ben Ellefson, OL Dillon Radunz and S James Hendricks.
 
NATIONAL AWARD FINALISTS: North Dakota State head coach Chris Klieman is a finalist for the STATS FCS Eddie Robinson Award, presented annually to the top head coach in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision. Quarterback Easton Stick is one of 25 finalists for the Walter Payton Award, presented to the FCS offensive player of the year, and safety Robbie Grimsley and linebacker Jabril Cox are finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award for defensive player of the year.
 
ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT: Defensive end Greg Menard and quarterback Easton Stick were voted to the Google Cloud Academic All-District 6 first team by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Menard and Stick advance to the national ballot for Academic All-America® honors to be announced in December. Nominees must have a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average and be starters or significant contributors with at least sophomore academic and athletic standing. Menard has a 3.85 GPA in civil engineering and Stick, currently in the master's of business administration program, graduated with a 3.92 GPA in sport management.
 
LARGEST SENIOR CLASS: NDSU has 24 seniors playing their final season, the largest outgoing class in program history topping the 23 who played their final game in 2013. This year's class includes 20 fifth-year seniors who were part of Chris Klieman's first recruiting class as NDSU head coach in 2014, three who played as true freshmen in 2015—safety Robbie Grimsley, running back Bruce Anderson and kicker Cam Pedersen—and one transfer. Since 2015, the Bison are 50-5 overall including 31-3 at home and 29-3 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference with four league titles. NDSU won national championships in 2015 and 2017 and has a 10-1 record in the FCS playoffs.
 
10-WIN MARK: North Dakota State has reached the 10-win mark for the eighth straight season. NDSU's eight 10-win seasons this decade are the most in FCS ahead of Sam Houston State (6), Eastern Washington (4), Jacksonville State (4), Wofford (3) and Lehigh (3).
 
UNBEATEN SEASONS: Eleven teams have gone unbeaten in Missouri Valley Football Conference games since 1985, and only North Dakota State (2013 and 2018) and Southern Illinois (2009) have done it with an eight-game conference schedule. There have been 14 undefeated NDSU teams since 1894 with the last being the 2013 national champions (15-0). Additionally, Bison teams went unbeaten in the regular season before postseason losses in 1967 (Pecan Bowl) and 1982 (Division II semifinal). NDSU is the only team in MVFC history to win its first seven overall games in back-to-back years, and the Bison have done it twice in 2013 (15-0), 2014 (9-0), 2017 (8-0) and 2018 (10-0).
 
STICK SECOND ON FCS QUARTERBACK WINS LIST: North Dakota State's Easton Stick has a 45-3 record as starting quarterback, the second most wins in FCS history behind NDSU's Brock Jensen, who went 47-5 as a starter with 48 total wins from 2010-13.
        Most Wins by FCS Quarterbacks
        48 - Brock Jensen, North Dakota State (2010-13)
        45 - Easton Stick, North Dakota State (2015-18)
        43 - Armanti Edwards, Appalachian State (2006-09)
        42 - J.R. Revere, Georgia Southern (1998-01)
        41 - Eric Ward, Richmond (2006-09)
 
STICK IN THE RECORD BOOKS: Quarterback Easton Stick has broken NDSU career records for total offense (10,283; 3rd in MVFC history), passing touchdowns (82; 2nd in MVFC history) and total touchdowns (117). He remains second on the NDSU career lists for passing attempts, completions and yards. Stick is also second in MVFC history for quarterback rushing yards (2,248) and TDs (35) behind Missouri State's DeAndre Smith (2,276 yards and 36 TDs from 1987-90).

PEDERSEN BREAKS PAT, SCORING RECORDS: NDSU's Cam Pedersen has converted 79 straight PAT attempts and owns the Missouri Valley Football Conference and NDSU records for career PATs made (239). Pedersen also has the NDSU record for points by kick (368), which is the most points among all active FCS players, seventh all-time among FCS kickers, fourth in MVFC history, and third all-time at NDSU. Pedersen has converted 79 straight PAT attempts.
 
LONGEST WINNING STREAKS: North Dakota State owns the longest active winning streak in the FCS at 17 games, which is second longest in Missouri Valley Football Conference history behind the 33-game Bison winning streak from 2012 to 2014. Princeton and Kennesaw State each have 10-game winning streaks. UCF (24) and Alabama (14) have the two longest active winning streaks in FBS. NDSU's 16-game home winning streak is second longest in the FCS behind San Diego's 21.
 
MAKING THE PASSING GAME COUNT: North Dakota State ranks ninth in the conference in passing yards, but the Bison are making the attempts count. NDSU is fourth in FCS in passing efficiency and has three of the league's top five in yards per reception. Desmond Cain is the MVFC leader with 22.3 yards/catch, Nate Jenson is fourth (20.1) and Dallas Freeman fifth (19.1). NDSU leading receiver Darrius Shepherd ranks 11th with 16.7 yards/catch and fourth in yards (837) and yards/game (76.1).
 
GRIMSLEY AMONG NDSU CAREER LEADERS: Senior Robbie Grimsley's 16 career interceptions rank first among FCS active players and are tied for second all-time at NDSU behind Marcus Williams (21 from 2010-13) with Steve Krumrei (16 from 1967-69) and Tre Dempsey (16 from 2014-17). Grimsley also ranks seventh at NDSU with 146 solo tackles, one shy of 10th-year NFL linebacker Ramon Humber's 147 solo stops from 2005-08.
 
MENARD FOURTH IN CAREER SACKS: Defensive end Greg Menard is fourth in career sacks at NDSU with 37, four 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 31.5 sacks counting solo and assisted sacks as defined by the NCAA.
 
NDSU FOURTH IN FCS IN PICKS: North Dakota State is tied for fourth in FCS with a conference-best 18 interceptions this year. Safety Robbie Grimsley has five picks and linebacker Jabril Cox has four, one shy of the Bison record for interceptions by a linebacker (5) by Rick Budde in 1976.
 
TURNOVER MARGIN LEADERS: NDSU's plus-16 turnover margin is third in the FCS behind Southeast Missouri State (+27) and Dartmouth (+18). NDSU has scored a conference-best 108 points off 24 opponent turnovers.
 
BISON AMONG PUNT LEADERS: NDSU ranks ninth in FCS averaging 16.24 yards per punt return with return specialist Darrius Shepherd ranked fifth in FCS with an average of 18.0 yards per return. Shepherd's career punt return average of 13.8 is fourth best in school history. Meanwhile, punter Garret Wegner ranks eighth in FCS and is first in the league with a 43.7 punting average.
 
SHEPHERD TOP FIVE IN CATCHES, YARDS: Senior wide receiver Darrius Shepherd is ranked among the top five all-time at NDSU in pass receptions and yards. Shepherd's 176 receptions are third most behind Zach Vraa (195 from 2011-15) and Kole Heckendorf (178 from 2005-08) and Shepherd's 2,613 yards are third behind Vraa (2,957) and Heckendorf (2,732). Shepherd is tied with Heckendorf for seventh in career TD catches with 17 behind 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 (2,827) needs just 11 yards to move into the NDSU career top 10 rushing list. Bruce Anderson has 2,575 yards and Easton Stick (2,248) needs just 29 yards to break the conference record for rushing yards by a quarterback.
        MVFC Career Rushing Yards by QB
        2,276 - DeAndre Smith, Missouri State (1987-90)
        2,248 - 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)
        2,248 - Easton Stick (2015-18)
 
RED ZONE SUCCESS: North Dakota State leads the FCS in red zone defense this year allowing opponents inside the 20-yard line only 20 times with six touchdowns and three field goals. The Bison also are sixth nationally in red zone offense scoring on 41 of 45 chances with 37 TDs.
 
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: North Dakota State had eight players earn 11 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, 11/11)...Accounted for 321 yards of total offense 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...School record-tying five TD passes all in the first half of win at Missouri State.
        —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.
        —Zack Johnson, Offensive LIne (11/19)...Played 57 of 70 snaps with six knockdowns and zero sacks or hurries allowed against Southern Illinois...Led the Bison with an 86% technique grade and was 100% on assignment...NDSU put up a season-high 663 yards in the 65-17 win, the most yards and points by the Bison in an MVFC game.
 
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.
 
EIGHT STRAIGHT CONFERENCE TITLES: NDSU won its eighth consecutive Missouri Valley Football Conference championship, topping the league record seven straight by Northern Iowa in the early 1990s. NDSU won outright MVFC titles in 2012, 2013, 2017 and 2018. North Dakota State has won 35 football conference championships including 26 in the North Central Conference (last in 1994) and one in the Great West Football Conference (2006).
        Most Consecutive Conference Titles in Division I Football
        14 - Oklahoma (Big 8, 1946-59)
        12 - Montana (Big Sky, 1998-09)
        10 - BYU (WAC, 1976-85)
        9 - Florida State (ACC, 1992-00)
        8 - Nebraska (Big 8, 1910-17)
        8 - North Dakota State (MVFC, 2011-18)
 
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 71-6 at home since 2010 including a 21-1 mark in the FCS playoffs. 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. North Dakota State ranks fifth in the FCS this year with an average home attendance of 18,480.
 
DECADE LEADER:  North Dakota State's 117 wins this decade are more than any other program in college football. NDSU is 108-8 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)
        117 - North Dakota State (117-13)
        92 - Sam Houston State (92-32)
        87 - Eastern Washington (87-30)
        85 - Jacksonville State (85-27)
        82 - James Madison (82-32)

        FCS Winningest Teams, 2010s (by pct.)
        .900 - North Dakota State (117-13)
        .778 - Harvard (70-20)
        .759 - Jacksonville State (85-27)
        .744 - Eastern Washington (87-30)
        .742 - Sam Houston State (92-32)

MORE THAN 700 WINS: NDSU has played 1,126 games with a 721-371-34 record in its 122nd season of football, good for a .655 winning percentage. Only four Ivy League teams each with at least 20 more years of football have more wins at the FCS level: Yale (907), Harvard (875), Penn (856) and Princeton (831). Northern Iowa has the second most wins among Missouri Valley Football Conference programs with 670. NDSU's 108 victories since 2011 are more than any other team in Division I ahead of Alabama (101), Clemson (94), Ohio State (90) and Sam Houston State (86).
 
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).
 
TARGET FIELD TICKETS ON SALE: NDSU will host Butler in the 2019 football season opener at 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 31, at Target Field presented by Pioneer. Tickets for general seating range from $20 to $58 and are only available through the Minnesota Twins at the Target Field box office or TwinsBaseball.com/football. Student tickets will be made available at a later date through NDSU.