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THIS WEEK: No. 1-ranked North Dakota State (3-0) hosts third-ranked South Dakota State (2-0) in the 15th annual Dakota Marker game Saturday, Sept. 29. Game time is 2:30 p.m. at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome (18,700). It is the Missouri Valley Football Conference opener for both teams.
 
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. Midco Sports Network will televise the game with Tom Nieman and Hank McCall describing the action. MidcoSN's broadcast will be on Comcast channel 999 in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market.
 
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.
 
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.
 
TREES BOWL: This is the 28th Trees Bowl game sponsored by the North Dakota Forest Service. NDSU is 24-3 in the Trees Bowl and has won nine straight including a 56-0 victory over Robert Morris. The event dates back to 1990 with one cancellation in 2001 due to the 9/11 attacks.
 
THE SERIES: This is the 108th meeting between North Dakota State and South Dakota State dating back to 1903. It is the 14th most-played rivalry among the current Football Championship Subdivision membership. NDSU leads the series 60-42-5 including a 14-2 advantage in the Fargodome since 1993. The teams have met three times in the FCS playoffs, all in Fargo, with NDSU winning second round games in 2012 and 2014 and a quarterfinal game in 2016. SDSU has not won back-to-back games against NDSU since winning three straight from 2007 to 2009.
 
DAKOTA MARKER HISTORY: This is the 15th annual Dakota Marker game, which was established in 2004 when the Bison and Jackrabbits began Division I competition. NDSU leads the series 8-6 but SDSU has won the last two meetings 19-17 two years ago in Fargo and 33-21 last year in Brookings. Postseason games are not included in the Dakota Marker series. The trophy is a 75-pound model replica of the original quartzite monuments that were 7 feet long and 10 inches square and placed at half-mile intervals along the border in the summers of 1891 and 1892.
 
LAST YEAR IN BROOKINGS: North Dakota State committed a season-high five turnovers—the most by a Bison team since 2008 at Northern Iowa—and South Dakota State went on to a 33-21 win last year in Brookings. SDSU quarterback Taryn Christion went 23 of 33 passing for 32 yards and two touchdowns, tight end Dallas Goedert caught seven passes for 116 yards and Jacob Brown made five catches for 59 yards and a TD. NDSU trailed 17-7 at halftime but came out of the locker room with a six-play scoring drive to make it 17-14. The Bison turned over the football on their next two possessions leading to an SDSU touchdown and field goal. NDSU quarterback Easton Stick was 16 of 28 passing for 229 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Darrius Shepherd made a career-high seven receptions for 95 yards.
 
DRONE FLIGHTS SCHEDULED SATURDAY: Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drone, flights will be conducted over a section of the tailgating area at the Fargodome on Saturday, Sept. 29, for a project led by the N.D. Department of Transportation to demonstrate the safe, simultaneous use of drones by media and emergency responders during a situation that includes flights over people. The project is part of the Federal Aviation Administration's UAS Integration Pilot Program, of which North Dakota is one of only 10 program participants nationwide. NDDOT along with Northern Plains UAS Test Site (NPUASTS) are leading the pilot program along with project partners CNN, Botlink and Parazero. The public is invited to participate by completing a survey about drone use at the NDDOT's information booth in Thunder Alley during tailgating or at www.facebook.com/nddot.
 
BISON JUMP ON DELAWARE EARLY: North Dakota State scored a touchdown on the game's opening drive and got a pick-six by linebacker Jabril Cox on NDSU's first defensive play of the game to jump-start a 38-10 victory over Delaware last week. Quarterback Easton Stick accounted for 321 yards of total offense with four touchdowns. Stick was 17 of 26 passing for 280 yards and two TDs. He capped the nine-play, 75-yard opening drive with a 2-yard TD run and scored on a 12-yard run to make it 21-0 after Robbie Grimsley ended Delaware's second drive with another interception. Jaylaan Wimbush had NDSU's third interception early in the second quarter, plus another that was negated by a penalty. Jaxon Brown had six tackles and Cox finished with five stops to lead the NDSU defense. The Bison held Delaware to 152 yards of total offense while rolling up 527 yards on offense and averaging 7.6 yards per play.
 
STICK, RADUNZ PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Quarterback Easton Stick was named Offensive Player of the Week and left tackle Dillon Radunz was named Offensive Lineman of the Week by the Missouri Valley Football Conference office for their performances against Delaware. Stick earned his second career award after accounting for 321 total yards and four touchdowns in the 38-10 victory. Radunz earned his first award after helping the Bison roll up 527 total yards and not allowing a sack for the third straight contest. They are the third and fourth awards for the Bison this year. Running back Bruce Anderson and center Tanner Volson were both honored after the Cal Poly win.
 
CAPITALIZING ON TURNOVERS: Sophomore linebacker Jabril Cox last week became the first North Dakota State player since safety Del Gehrett in 1967 to record an interception return for touchdown in back-to-back games. Cox went 43 yards for a score against North Alabama two weeks ago and last week went 36 yards on Delaware's first offensive play of the game to help lift the Bison to a 14-0 lead less than five minutes into the contest. NDSU is plus-4 in turnover margin and the Bison have scored 35 points off turnovers through three games.
 
STICK PASSES BENTRIM IN CAREER TOUCHDOWNS: Quarterback Easton Stick, who had two rushing and two passing touchdowns last week against Delaware, passed College Football Hall of Fame quarterback Jeff Bentrim (1983-86) for second place all-time at NDSU with 91 career touchdowns responsible for. Stick has 28 rushing TDs and ranks second at NDSU with 63 TD passes.
 
SHEPHERD FIFTH IN PUNT RETURNS: NDSU's Darrius Shepherd ranks fifth in the FCS this week a punt return average of 18.3 yards. Shepherd had a 49-yard return against Delaware that put the Bison at the 23-yard line. Bruce Anderson carried 5 yards then caught an 18-yard touchdown pass to put NDSU ahead 28-0 late in the first quarter.
 
FREEMAN FIFTH IN YARDS PER CATCH: NDSU's Dallas Freeman ranks fifth in the FCS through three games with an average of 29.0 yards per reception. Freeman had four catches for 117 yards against North Alabama including plays of 54 and 48 yards. His only catch against Delaware went 39 yards and set up an 11-yard TD to tight end Ben Ellefson on the next play for a 35-0 Bison lead.
 
BISON FIFTH IN SACKS: North Dakota State's defense ranks fifth in the FCS with 4.0 sacks per game. The Bison had five sacks against Cal Poly, four against North Alabama and three against Delaware. Junior defensive tackle Cole Karcz is tied for the MVFC lead with 3.0 sacks.
 
WEGNER BOOMING IT: Sophomore punter Garret Wegner ranks 15th in the FCS with a 43.8 punting average through three contests. Wegner has punted 11 times with four inside the 20 and four punts of 50-plus yards including a 57-yarder against Cal Poly. NDSU ranks 18th in the FCS with a net punting average of 39.27 yards.
 
MENARD FIFTH IN CAREER SACKS: Defensive end Greg Menard picked up his 30th career sack against Delaware and is now alone in fifth place on NDSU's all-time list. Menard needs two sacks to pass the 31 by Coulter Boyer (2008-11) and 11 to tie the record of 41 total sacks held by Jerry Dahl (1973-74), Phil Hansen (1987-90) and Kyle Emanuel (2011-14).
 
NINE FRESHMEN PLAY: NDSU has played nine true freshmen in the first three 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. Running back Saybein Clark carried twice 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 OWNS CAREER PAT MARKS: Senior kicker Cam Pedersen is NDSU's new career record holder for PAT kicks made (196) and attempted (202), passing the previous marks of 191-for-198 set by Adam Keller (2011-14). Pedersen also ranks fourth in field goals made (39) and is third in attempts (63) at NDSU. His 313 career points rank 13th all-time in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, fifth overall at NDSU, and second among NDSU kickers.

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 37-3 as the starting QB and has moved into third on the NDSU career lists for pass attempts, completions and yards and ranks second with 63 passing touchdowns. He is second in total offense with 8,373 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)
        1,942 - 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)
        1,942 - 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 67-6 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 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 109 wins this decade are more than any other program in college football. NDSU is 100-8 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)
        109 - North Dakota State (109-13)
        87 - Sam Houston State (87-29)
        81 - Eastern Washington (81-29)
        78 - Jacksonville State (78-25)
        76 - James Madison (76-30)

        FCS Winningest Teams, 2010s (by pct.)
        .893 - North Dakota State (109-13)
        .805 - Harvard (66-16)
        .757 - Jacksonville State (78-25)
        .750 - Sam Houston State (87-29)
        .736 - Eastern Washington (81-29)
 
MORE THAN 700 WINS: North Dakota State has played 1,118 games with a 713-371-34 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 (903), Harvard (871), Penn (852) and Princeton (823). Northern Iowa has the second most wins among Missouri Valley Football Conference programs with 664. NDSU's 100 victories since 2011 are more than any other team in Division I football ahead of Alabama (93), Clemson (86), Ohio State (83) 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).