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THIS WEEK: No. 1-ranked North Dakota State (2-0) hosts the Delaware Blue Hens in the 96th annual homecoming game Saturday, Sept. 22. Game time is 1 p.m. at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome (18,700). Delaware, a six-time national champion with runner-up finishes in its last two playoff appearances in 2007 and 2010, makes its first trip to Fargo with a 2-1 record after back-to-back wins over Lafayette and Cornell.
 
TELEVISION: Coverage begins at 1 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 12:30 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 9:30-10:30 a.m. with Brad Jones, "Bison Game Day" from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 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.
 
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.
 
DON'T WAIT TOO LATE: NDSU Athletics and the Fargodome are encouraging fans to enter the stadium early and be prepared for longer wait times with the addition of 30 walk-through metal detectors around the facility. Doors open 90 minutes prior to kickoff. It is strongly recommended that no unnecessary bags are brought in. Clear bags are recommended but not required, and any bag must be 13"x13" or smaller. Express lines will be available for fans not carrying bags.
 
THE SERIES: This is the first meeting between North Dakota State and Delaware. The teams will meet again in Week 3 next year at Delaware Stadium in Newark. NDSU is 5-1 against opponents from the Colonial Athletic Association with all six of those meetings coming in the FCS playoffs. The Bison have semifinal wins over New Hampshire and Richmond, defeated Towson to win the 2013 national championship, and have a 2-1 record against James Madison including a national championship victory last year.
 
HOMECOMING WEEK: NDSU has a 55-37-3 record in homecoming games since 1921 and has won seven straight including last year's 38-11 victory over Missouri State. This is the 96th homecoming game in 98 years (war 1943-44) and Delaware is the 20th opponent to appear in the game. The annual homecoming parade is set for 5:30 p.m. Friday on Broadway in downtown Fargo followed by NDSU women's volleyball in the Summit League opener against South Dakota at 7 p.m. at the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse. Visit NDSUHomecoming.com for details on all of the week's events.
 
BLOOM TO BE INDUCTED: Two-time All-America offensive guard Kevin Bloom (1990-93) will be inducted in the 47th class of the Bison Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday, Sept. 21. Bloom was also a first team All-North Central Conference pick in 1992 and 1993. A three-year starter, NDSU won three straight NCC rushing crowns behind his blocking and the Bison went 24-8 over those three seasons. The induction will take place in the Nodak Insurance Basketball Performance Center at NDSU's Sanford Health Athletic Complex. Lunch will begin at 11:30 a.m. Limited tickets are available for $30 each by calling Helena Johnston in the NDSU Athletics office at (701) 231-6172.
 
DEFENSE STINGY AGAINST NORTH ALABAMA: Safety Robbie Grimsley made a game-high 11 tackles and linebacker Jabril Cox returned an interception 43 yards for a touchdown to highlight a strong defensive effort in North Dakota State's 38-7 win over North Alabama. NDSU, after allowing only a field goal against Cal Poly, did not allow a touchdown until the 1:34 mark of the fourth quarter against UNA. Starting quarterback Easton Stick went 10 of 17 passing for 162 yards and one touchdown while rushing for another score. Bruce Anderson rushed for 56 yards and one TD, and freshman quarterback Trey Lance had 54 yards including a 44-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.
 
AFTER THE OPEN WEEK: NDSU's win over North Alabama was the 28th straight after an open week in the regular season and playoffs since a 2005 home loss to UC Davis. That streak includes 17 home games, five road games and six national championship games in Frisco, Texas.
 
KARCZ, BISON TOP 10 IN SACKS: Through three weeks of the football season, North Dakota State's defense ranks sixth in the FCS with 4.5 sacks per game. The Bison had five sacks against Cal Poly and four against North Alabama. Junior defensive tackle Cole Karcz leads the Missouri Valley Football Conference and is seventh nationally with 3.0 sacks.
 
BIG PLAY BISON: North Dakota State has a pair of players ranked among the FCS leaders in yards per play. Running back Bruce Anderson is fourth nationally averaging 10.95 yards per carry and wide receiver Dallas Freeman is eighth in the FCS with 27.0 yards per reception. Freeman had career highs of four catches and 117 yards against North Alabama, including catches of 54 and 48 yards that both led to NDSU scores. It was NDSU's first 100-yard receiving game since October 2017 when RJ Urzendowski had 100 yards against Western Illinois.
 
WEGNER BOOMING IT: Sophomore punter Garret Wegner ranks 12th in the FCS with a 44.5 punting average through two contests. Wegner has punted eight times with three inside the 20 and three punts of 50-plus yards including a 57-yarder against Cal Poly. NDSU ranks 11th in the FCS with a net punting average of 41.75 yards.
 
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: North Dakota State had two players earn Missouri Valley Football Conference honors after the Cal Poly game. Running back Bruce Anderson earned his first Offensive Player of the Week award after rushing 11 times for a career-high 185 yards and two touchdowns. Center Tanner Volson earned his third career Offensive Lineman of the Week honor with four knockdowns and a team-best 89 percent technique grade.
 
MENARD FIFTH IN CAREER SACKS: Defensive end Greg Menard picked up his 29th career sack against Cal Poly and is now tied for fifth place on NDSU's all-time list with Cole Jirik (2010-13) and Mike Stratton (1980-83). Menard needs three sacks to pass the 31 by Coulter Boyer (2008-11) and 12 to tie the record of 41 total sacks held by Jerry Dahl (1973-74), Phil Hansen (1987-90) and Kyle Emanuel (2011-14).
 
EIGHT FRESHMEN PLAY: North Dakota State has played eight true freshmen in the first two contests of the 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. A new NCAA football rule this year allows student-athletes to participate in up to four games and still take a redshirt year.
 
PEDERSEN TIES CAREER PAT MARK: Senior kicker Cam Pedersen tied the NDSU career record for PAT kicks made with his 191st conversion against North Alabama. He was 4-for-4 in the game and is 10 of 10 this season. Pedersen is NDSU's single-game PAT record holder with a 10-for-10 outing last year against Mississippi Valley State. He also ranks fourth in field goals made (38) and attempted (61) at NDSU. His 305 career points rank 17th all-time in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, sixth overall at NDSU, and third among NDSU kickers.
        NDSU Career PAT Kicks Made
        191 - Adam Keller, 2011-14
        191 - Cam Pedersen, 2015-18
        178 - Aaron Pederson, 1998-01

        NDSU Career PAT Kicks Attempted
        198 - Adam Keller, 2011-14
        197 - Cam Pedersen, 2015-18
        182 - Aaron Pederson, 1998-01
 
BISON EXPERIENCED: NDSU returns 25 seniors and 13 returning full-time starters from last year's team that won a sixth FCS national championship in seven years and went 7-1 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference to capture a seventh straight and third outright conference title. NDSU returns six starters on offense and seven on defense. In addition, the Bison welcome back senior defensive end Greg Menard, who redshirted in 2017 after a knee injury in fall camp, and senior running back Lance Dunn, who missed seven games with a hip injury before returning in the title game.
 
FOURTH-YEAR STARTING QB: Fourth-year starting quarterback Easton Stick is coming off his most productive season completing 62 percent of his passes for 2,466 yards and 28 touchdowns (the second most passing TDs in school history). He was named FCS National Performer of the Year by the College Football Performance Awards. Stick is 36-3 as the starting QB and has moved into third on the NDSU career lists for pass attempts, completions and yards and ranks second with 61 passing touchdowns. He is second in total offense with 8,052 yards trailing only Brock Jensen's 9,838 yards (2010-13).
 
RUSHING QUARTERBACKS: NDSU's Easton Stick is positioned to challenge the Missouri Valley Football Conference record for rushing yards by a quarterback. Stick moved into third place on that list with his 49 yards in the season-opener against Cal Poly.
        MVFC Career Rushing Yards by QB
        2,276 - DeAndre Smith, Missouri State (1987-90)
        2,176 - Tirrell Rennie, Northern Iowa (2010-11)
        1,901 - 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)
        1,901 - Easton Stick (2015-18)
 
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 66-6 at home since 2010. The Bison have won 61 of the last 63 home games over non-conference opponents with its last home loss coming in the 2016 semifinals to James Madison. NDSU is 20-4 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 108 wins this decade are more than any other program in college football. NDSU is 99-8 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)
        108 - North Dakota State (108-13)
        87 - Sam Houston State (87-28)
        80 - Eastern Washington (80-29)
        77 - Jacksonville State (77-25)
        75 - James Madison (75-30)

        FCS Winningest Teams, 2010s (by pct.)
        .893 - North Dakota State (108-13)
        .802 - Harvard (65-16)
        .757 - Sam Houston State (87-28)
        .755 - Jacksonville State (77-25)
        .734 - Eastern Washington (80-29)
 
MORE THAN 700 WINS: North Dakota State has played 1,117 games with a 712-371-34 record in its 122nd season of football, good for a .653 winning percentage. Only four Ivy League teams each with at least 20 more years of football have more wins at the FCS level: Yale (902), Harvard (870), Penn (851) and Princeton (822). Northern Iowa has the second most wins among Missouri Valley Football Conference programs with 663. NDSU's 99 victories since 2011 are more than any other team in Division I football ahead of Alabama (92), Clemson (85), Ohio State (82) and Sam Houston State (81).
 
SUCCESS VS. THE FBS: North Dakota State 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).