THIS WEEK: No. 1-ranked North Dakota State (7-0, 3-0 MVFC) puts its 28-game winning streak on the line against No. 3-ranked South Dakota State (6-1, 3-0 MVFC) in the 16th annual Dakota Marker game this Saturday, Oct. 26. Game time is 2 p.m. at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium (19,340) in Brookings, S.D., the site of NDSU's last loss on Nov. 4, 2017.
 
TICKETS: Single-game tickets sold out early Monday morning. NDSU's game at SDSU in 2017 set a Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium attendance record of 18,130. NDSU has been the opponent for four of SDSU's six largest draws including three Coughlin-Alumni Stadium record crowds in 2007 (16,345), 2013 (16,498) and 2015 (17,348).
 
TAILGATING: NDSU designated tailgating lots are west of the stadium near the intersection of Medary Avenue and 13th Street. From I-29, use Exit 140 (Hwy. 30) and arrive on campus from the north on 471st Ave. Passes for cars and trucks are $10 on game day. Passes for RVs, buses, trailers, or other oversized vehicles are $50 and advance purchases are available. Lots open at 9 a.m. and close at 2 p.m. There is no postgame tailgating; vehicles must be removed no later than 1 hour after the game. RVs and other oversized vehicles must be parked by 11 a.m. Beer and wine are allowed; glass bottles and hard liquor are not permitted. Alcoholic beverages may not be carried out of the tailgating lots. No overnight parking on campus.
 
TELEVISION: KVLY and the NBC North Dakota network will carry the game with Brian Shawn joined by Lee Timmerman and sideline reporter Ryan Gellner. Pregame coverage hosted by Beth Hoole, Alex Egan and Kyle Emanuel begins at 1 p.m. Midco Sports Network's broadcast of the game will be available to ESPN+ subscribers on ESPN.com and the ESPN app with Tom Nieman, color analyst Hank McCall and sideline reporter Elaina Lanson.
 
RADIO: Coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. on the Peterson Farms Seed Bison Radio Network with fourth-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 with Brad Jones and "Bison Game Day" from 11:30-1:30 with Keith Brake and Cole Jirik. Brake and Jirik return for "Bison Hotline" with Chris Hanson and Kyle Emanuel for two hours following the network broadcast.
 
ONLINE: NDSU All Access will have free audio streaming on GoBison.com/allaccess and the NDSU Athletics mobile app. Live stats are available on BisonStats.com. Follow along with in-game updates on Twitter @NDSUfootball.
 
BISON ON ESPN AGAIN: ESPN's "College GameDay" is making its first visit to South Dakota State broadcasting live from 8-11 a.m. Saturday. North Dakota State is the only non-FBS program to play in the show's featured game three times. The show was in downtown Fargo in 2013 when the Bison hosted Delaware State and in 2014 prior to the Incarnate Word game. NDSU also hosted ESPN's "SportsCenter" in the Fargodome ahead of the 2015 homecoming win over Northern Iowa.
 
THE DAKOTA MARKER: North Dakota State and South Dakota State have played for the Dakota Marker trophy annually (excluding playoff games) since 2004 when the two football teams began NCAA Division I competition. The trophy was proposed by the NDSU chapter of Blue Key National Honor Society, co-sponsored by the SDSU Student Association, and unveiled to the public on April 21, 2004, at a ceremony just outside of Hankinson, N.D., near the North Dakota/South Dakota border. 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. It is inscribed with N.D. and S.D. on opposite sides and 190 M, the number of miles between Fargo, N.D., and Brookings, S.D.
 
THE SERIES: This is the 110th meeting between North Dakota State and South Dakota State with the Bison holding a 62-42-5 lead in the all-time series since 1903. NDSU won both meetings last year in Fargo, 21-17 in the regular season and 44-21 in the NCAA semifinals. Since becoming Division I opponents in 2004, the Bison have a 9-6 edge in the Dakota Marker series and 13-6 including four home FCS playoff victories, but SDSU has won 4 of 7 meetings in Brookings.
 
PLAYOFF MATCHUPS: North Dakota State and South Dakota State have met in the FCS playoffs four times in the past seven seasons, all in Fargo. NDSU won second round games in 2012 (28-3) and 2014 (27-24), a quarterfinal matchup in 2016 (36-10) and the 2018 semifinal (44-21). The Bison won the regular season meeting in three of those four seasons, dropping the 2016 matchup 19-17 in Fargo on a last-second touchdown.
 
TOP 10 ROAD GAMES: North Dakota State has won five of its last six FCS Top 10 road games and is 7-5 since beginning Division I play in 2004.
        FCS Top 10 Opponents on Road
        2019–Won 37-3 at #6 Illinois State
        2017–Lost 33-21 at #8 South Dakota State
        2017–Won 27-24 at #8 Youngstown State
        2017–Won 40-13 at #6 Eastern Washington
        2015–Won 28-7 at #5 South Dakota State
        2013–Won 20-0 at #6 South Dakota State
        2010–Lost 38-31 at #1 Eastern Washington
        2010–Won 42-17 at #6 Montana State
        2009–Lost 24-14 at #8 Southern Illinois
        2008–Lost 23-13 at #4 Northern Iowa
        2005–Lost 37-6 at #9 Cal Poly
        2005–Won 35-7 at #9 Northwestern State
 
BISON POST FIRST SHUTOUT: North Dakota State's "Code Green" defense posted its first shutout of the season last week in a 22-0 win over Missouri State, which managed just 185 yards of total offense. Linebacker Jackson Hankey led the Bison with nine tackles including six solo stops, and linebacker Jabril Cox finished with seven tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss and two pass breakups. Garret Wegner averaged 40.5 yards on six punts with three inside the 20 and Missouri State only crossed midfield three times in the game.
 
TOP PASSING DEFENSE: North Dakota State leads the FCS in passes defended with 53 through the first seven games. The Bison have eight interceptions and an FCS-high 45 breakups. Cornerback Marquise Bridges is tied for fifth nationally with 1.71 passes defended per game (0 INT, 12 PBU) and free safety James Hendricks eighth nationally with 1.67 per game (2 INT, 8 PBU).
        FCS Leaders, Passes Defended
        53—North Dakota State, MVFC (8 INT, 45 PBU)
        51—Sam Houston State, Southland (10 INT, 41 PBU)
        49—McNeese State, Southland (8 INT, 41 PBU)
        48—Stetson, Pioneer (8 INT, 40 PBU)
        47—Portland State, Big Sky (10 INT, 37 PBU)
        (Includes 12 of 13 conferences, stats unavailable for SWAC)
 
LEAGUE LEADERS: Eight-time reigning champion North Dakota State is in a familiar position atop the Missouri Valley Football Conference standings. NDSU has played only eight conference games since the beginning of 2011 without holding at least a share of first place. The Bison fell out of first place for three weeks in 2012, three weeks in 2015 and two weeks in 2016.
 
BISON ON 28-GAME WINNING STREAK: North Dakota State's current 28-game winning streak is the second longest in FCS history behind the record 33-game Bison winning streak from 2012-14. Five Division I programs have multiple streaks of at least 27 wins including Yale and Penn with two each in the 1880s and 1890s, Oklahoma's three in the 1950s and 1970s, and Miami (Fla.) with two from 1990-93 and 2000-03. Oklahoma owns the FBS record with 47 consecutive wins from 1953-57.
        FCS Longest Winning Streaks
        33—North Dakota State, 2012-14
        28—North Dakota State, 2017-present
        26—James Madison, 2016-17

HOME STREAK AT 23 GAMES: North Dakota State's 23 straight home wins is the longest active home winning streak in FCS and second longest in Division I behind Alabama's 30 straight. It is the third longest in Missouri Valley Football Conference history, three shy of the conference record set by NDSU in 2015. The Bison record for consecutive home wins is 28 from 1964-69. NDSU had a 36-game home unbeaten streak 1964-71 including a 1970 season-opening tie with Eastern Michigan.
        NDSU Longest Home Winning Streaks
        28—Started 9/12/1964 vs. Minn. St. Moorhead, ended 9/12/1970 by Eastern Michigan (T, 14-14)
        26—Started 10/27/2012 vs. Southern Illinois, ended 10/17/2015 by South Dakota (L, 24-21)
        23—Started 9/13/1980 vs. Northern Arizona, ended 9/15/1984 by Minn. St. Mankato (L, 28-21)
        23—Started 9/2/2017 vs. Mississippi Valley State to present

        MVFC Longest Home Winning Streaks
        26—North Dakota State, 2012-15
        25—Northern Iowa, 1989-92
        23—Northern Iowa, 1983-87
        23—North Dakota State, 2017-present
 
AGAINST THE TOP 25: NDSU has four victories this year against FCS Top 25 opponents, and the Bison have defeated 16 ranked teams on their current 28-game winning streak. That includes 12 teams ranked in the top 10 nationally, and NDSU has outscored those 12 by an average of 37-13.
 
TOP-FIVE OPPONENTS: With a 27-16 win over then No. 4-ranked UC Davis, North Dakota State improved to 16-1 since the beginning of the 2011 national championship season against opponents ranked in the top five of the Football Championship Subdivision. That includes an 9-1 record in the Fargodome, where the only loss in the past eight seasons to a top-five opponent came in the 2016 national semifinals to James Madison, 27-17.
 
LANCE TOP FRESHMAN PERFORMER: North Dakota State's Trey Lance currently is the FCS freshmen leader in several offensive categories for rushing, passing and scoring. Lance's 69.9 rushing yards per game is fourth among all FCS freshmen and first among freshman quarterbacks.
        Trey Lance FCS Rankings
        3rd—Completion Percentage, 69.9% (1st among freshmen)
        4th—Passing Efficiency, 183.9 (1st among freshmen)
        5th—Quarterback Rushing Yards Per Game, 69.6 (1st among freshmen)
        8th—Yards Per Pass Attempt, 9.24 (2nd among freshmen)
        9th—Points Responsible For, 132 (1st among freshmen)
        20th—Rushing Touchdowns, 7 (2nd among freshmen)
        21st—Passing Touchdowns, 15 (1st among freshmen)
        40th—Total Offense, 249.1 (1st among freshmen)
 
COFIELD JOINS 100-YARD RUSHING CLUB: Junior running back Adam Cofield had his first career 100-yard rushing game against Northern Iowa finishing with 15 carries for 104 yards and two scores. He is the fourth NDSU player to crack the 100-yard mark this season joining quarterback Trey Lance (116 vs. Butler), and running backs Kobe Johnson (101 at Delaware) and Ty Brooks (104 vs. UC Davis and 106 at Illinois State). Brooks has topped the 100-yard mark six times in his career. Cofield scored two more touchdowns against Missouri State and has scored in five straight games to tie Lance for the team lead with seven rushing TDs.
 
ELLEFSON TIGHT END TOUCHDOWN LEADER: North Dakota State's Ben Ellefson caught his 14th career touchdown pass at Illinois State to tie Jerimiah Wurzbacher's NDSU career record for touchdowns receptions by a tight end. Ellefson and Wurzbacher are part of a three-way tie with wide receiver Warren Holloway for 10th place overall in NDSU career TD receptions.
 
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: North Dakota State has had six players combine for eight Player of the Week awards in the Missouri Valley Football Conference this season:
        — Trey Lance, Offensive (9/1) & Newcomer (9/1, 10/6)...301 yards and six touchdowns in the 57-10 win over Butler...Went 10 of 11 passing for 185 yards and four touchdowns with five carries for 116 yards and two scores...First NDSU freshman to start a season opener at quarterback...Accounted for 232 yards at Illinois State including 12 of 15 passing for 189 yards and three TDs.
        — Zack Johnson, Offensive Line (9/9)...12 knockdowns and zero pressures in 38-7 win over North Dakota...Graded 98% in his second career start at right guard after an All-America junior year at right tackle...Helped NDSU rush for 266 yards and 5.3 yards per carry, convert 9 of 14 third downs, and keep the ball for more than 35 minutes in the contest.
        — Griffin Crosa, Special Teams (9/15)...Made five PAT kicks and two field goals from 46 and 23 yards in the 47-22 victory at Delaware.
        — Garret Wegner, Special Teams (10/13)...Averaged 50.7 yards on three punts with two inside the 20 and a season-long of 60 yards in the win over Northern Iowa.
        — Karson Schoening, Offensive Line (10/14)...Graded 94 percent with zero missed assignments on 69 snaps in the win over Northern Iowa...Helped NDSU rush for 347 yards with zero sacks allowed against the Panthers, ranked sixth in sacks and allowing less than 100 rushing yards/game.
        — Cordell Volson, Offensive Line (10/21)...Team-high eight knockdowns and zero pressures allowed against Missouri State...Graded 95 percent and credited with 12 factor plays as the balanced Bison rushed for 222 and passed for 225 averaging 6.0 yards per play.
 
ELLEFSON NAMED TO GOOD WORKS TEAM: North Dakota State tight end Ben Ellefson was named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, which recognizes 22 players in college football for outstanding leadership and commitment to giving back in their local communities. Fans are invited to visit ESPN.com/Allstate to vote for the Good Works Team captain once per day through Nov. 22. The team will be recognized at this year's Allstate Sugar Bowl. Ellefson is the eighth NDSU player to be named to the Good Works Team.
 
ELLEFSON SEMIFINALIST FOR CAMPBELL TROPHY: North Dakota State tight end Ben Ellefson is one of 185 semifinalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy presented by Mazda. The award recognizes the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership. He is the 11th Bison player to be recognized as a semifinalist and follows 2018 finalist Easton Stick.
 
10th LARGEST CROWD FOR BISON FOOTBALL: The crowd of 34,544 for NDSU-Butler in the first Division I game at Target Field in Minneapolis was the 10th largest crowd in Bison history. Only eight other schools outside of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC and Pac-12 drew larger crowds on opening weekend: BYU, South Florida, Memphis, UCF, San Diego State, UAB, Cincinnati and UTEP.
 
BISON RETURN SEVEN FULL-TIME STARTERS: North Dakota State returns three offensive starters and four defensive starters from last year's 15-0 national championship team. Offensive linemen Dillon Radunz and Zack Johnson return with tight end Ben Ellefson on an offensive unit that will have a new quarterback and lost 65% of its rushing yards, 80% of its receptions and 84% of its receiving yards. NDSU still has depth at running back where Ty Brooks, Adam Cofield and Saybein Clark combined for 200 carries, 1,391 yards and 12 touchdowns last year. On defense, the Bison return their leading tackler in Buck Buchanan Award candidate Jabril Cox at linebacker, second-leading sack-getter in defensive end Derrek Tuszka, leading pass defender James Hendricks at safety, and cornerback Marquise Bridges.
 
COX ON BUCHANAN WATCH LIST: Junior linebacker Jabril Cox was on the 25-man preseason watch list for the STATS FCS Buck Buchanan Award presented annually to the top defensive player in the FCS. Cox finished fourth in the voting last year after being selected as the Defensive Player of the Year in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. He led the Bison defense and ranked 10th in the MVFC with 91 total tackles in 2018 and finished with 9.5 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks, four interceptions including two for touchdowns, three pass breakups and seven quarterback hurries. He was the 2017 MVFC Newcomer of the Year and Freshman of the Year.
 
WEGNER ON WATCH LIST FOR FCS PUNTER OF THE YEAR: Junior punter Garret Wegner is on the preseason watch list for the inaugural FCS Punter of the Year award by the Augusta Sports Council, which has been home to the Ray Guy Award since 2000 honoring the nation's best punters as the FBS level. Wegner was All-MVFC first team in 2018 averaging 43.0 yards on 59 punts, which was 11th in the FCS. He had 14 punts of 50-plus yards, a league-best 27 punts inside the 20-yard line, and another 16 fair catches. NDSU opponents returned 20 punts for just 3.3 yards per return and the Bison ranked sixth nationally in net punting with a 39.15 average.
 
FIVE PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS: North Dakota State has five preseason All-Americans including junior linebacker Jabril Cox and senior offensive lineman Zack Johnson, who were each named to first teams by HERO Sports, Athlon Sports and STATS FCS. Junior offensive lineman Dillon Radunz was second team by HERO Sports, senior defensive end Derrek Tuszka was named to the STATS FCS second team and HERO Sports third team, and junior punter Garret Wegner was third team by STATS FCS.
 
PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE: North Dakota State led the way with six players named to the Preseason All-Missouri Valley Football Conference team. Offensive linemen Zack Johnson and Dillon Radunz joined linebacker Jabril Cox, safety James Hendricks, defensive end Derrek Tuszka and punter Garret Wegner on the first team. NDSU had three honorable mentions in tight end Ben Ellefson, defensive tackle Cole Karcz and long snapper Ross Kennelly.
 
15-TIME NATIONAL CHAMPIONS: North Dakota State won its 15th football national championship in 2018. 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 before winning again in 2017.
 
BISON WIN RECORD SEVENTH FCS TITLE: North Dakota State has won seven of the last eight FCS championships to surpass Georgia Southern's record of six FCS titles. The Bison are 7-0 in seven FCS title game appearances.
        Most FCS Championship Game Appearances
        8 - Georgia Southern (6-2)
        7 - North Dakota State (7-0)
        7 - Youngstown State (4-3)
        7 - Montana (2-5)
 
FIFTH UNDEFEATED, UNTIED FCS CHAMPION: Last year's 15-0 North Dakota State team was the fifth to go undefeated and untied in winning the FCS championship joining Eastern Kentucky in 1982 (13-0), Georgia Southern in 1989 (15-0), Marshall in 1996 (15-0) and NDSU in 2013 (15-0).
 
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 through an eight-game conference schedule. There have been 15 undefeated NDSU teams since 1894 including the 2018 national champions (15-0).
 
EIGHT STRAIGHT CONFERENCE TITLES: NDSU won its eighth consecutive Missouri Valley Football Conference championship in 2018, 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)
 
BISON PICKED TO WIN VALLEY FOOTBALL CROWN: North Dakota State topped the Missouri Valley Football Conference preseason poll with 392 points and 32 of the 40 first-place votes from the league's coaches, media and sports information directors. South Dakota State earned the second spot in the poll, finishing with 348 total points and four first-place votes. Illinois State (289 points), Indiana State (279) and Northern Iowa (266) were tightly bunched for third, fourth and fifth place, while Illinois State (3) and Indiana State (1) also received first-place mentions. South Dakota came in sixth followed by Youngstown State, Western Illinois, Southern Illinois and Missouri State (80).
 
BISON AT HOME: NDSU is 78-6 at home since 2010 including a 24-1 mark in the FCS playoffs. The Bison have the longest active home winning streak in the FCS at 23 games and NDSU has won 66 of the last 68 home games over non-conference opponents with its last home loss coming in the 2016 semifinals to James Madison. NDSU is 26-4 at home all-time against FCS Top 10 teams. North Dakota State ranked fifth in the FCS last year with an average home attendance of 18,106.
 
DECADE LEADER: North Dakota State's 128 wins this decade are more than any other program in college football. NDSU is 119-8 since the beginning of 2011, the first of five consecutive 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.
 
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).
 
ANNIVERSARY SEASONS: Three milestones are being celebrated this year with the 150th anniversary of college football, the 125th anniversary of NDSU football, and the 35th anniversary of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. NDSU has commissioned artist Terrence Fogarty for a limited-edition commemorative painting on sale at GoBison.com/painting. It features iconic images from the program's humble beginnings in 1894 through NDSU's modern-day FCS dynasty.