THIS WEEK: The No. 6-ranked North Dakota State football team (2-1, 1-1 MVFC) looks to bounce back from its first loss in more than three calendar years this Saturday, March 6, against Missouri State (1-3, 1-0 MVFC). Game time is 2 p.m. at Plaster Stadium in Springfield, Mo.
 
TELEVISION: NBC North Dakota will have statewide television coverage with Lee Timmerman (play-by-play), Kyle Emanuel (analyst) and Ryan Gellner (sideline). Pregame coverage begins at 1 p.m. with KVLY TV's Beth Hoole and Devin Fry. ESPN+ will carry the game beginning at 2 p.m. ESPN+ is available by subscription on ESPN.com and the ESPN app.
 
RADIO: Coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. on the Peterson Farms Seed Bison Radio Network including 107.9 The Fox in Fargo with Jeff Culhane (play-by-play), Phil Hansen (analyst) and Cole Jirik (sideline). Extended coverage locally on Bison 1660 and 92.7 FM includes "Bison Tailgate" from 10:30-11:30, "Bison Game Day" from 11:30-1:30 and the "Bison Hotline" call-in show following the network broadcast.
 
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 and the NDSU Athletics mobile app. Links to live streams and live in-game stats are available at GoBison.com/coverage. Follow along with in-game updates on Twitter @NDSUfootball.
 
THE SERIES: This is the 13th meeting between North Dakota State and Missouri State since 2008. NDSU has won nine straight and leads the series 10-2 after last year's 22-0 victory in Fargo. The Bison are 5-1 in Springfield with the only loss coming in the 2010 regular-season finale, 3-0.
 
LAST YEAR'S MEETING: North Dakota State's defense allowed just 185 total yards and posted its only shutout of the season last year in a 22-0 victory over Missouri State. The Bears found success with a short passing game completing 20 of 37 attempts for 164 yards, but MSU managed just 21 net yards rushing and was 5 of 16 on third down. Jackson Hankey led the Bison with nine tackles and Spencer Waege was in on two of NDSU's three sacks. Phoenix Sproles led nine Bison receivers with six receptions for 52 yards as Trey Lance finished 21 of 31 passing for 225 yards.
 
SALUKIS END 39-GAME WINNING STREAK: North Dakota State went 1,210 calendar days between losses before Southern Illinois snapped NDSU's FCS-record 39-game winning streak with a 38-14 victory in Carbondale last week. The Salukis converted 11 of 16 third down attempts and controlled the ball for more than 41 minutes in handing NDSU its first loss since Nov. 4, 2017, at South Dakota State. SIU outgained NDSU by a 443-268 margin in total yards and limited the Bison rushing game to 109 net yards with 63 of those coming on one Jalen Bussey rush late in the game. Zeb Noland went 13 of 24 passing for 159 yards, Bussey finished with 72 yards on three rushes, and Jake Lippe led nine Bison receivers with career-high three catches and 53 yards. Safety Dom Jones made a game-high eight tackles, all solos. Jackson Hankey, Jasir Cox, Michael Tutsie and Josh Hayes had seven tackles apiece.
 
BOUNCING BACK VS. BEARS: North Dakota State's streak of five straight years winning back-to-back road games in the Missouri Valley Football Conference came to end with last week's 38-14 loss at Southern Illinois. This week's opponent, Missouri State, is the same opponent NDSU faced in 2014 in a second straight MVFC road game after 19th-ranked Northern Iowa snapped NDSU's then FCS-record 33-game winning streak. The Bison beat the Bears 45-10 in Springfield that year. NDSU has not lost back-to-back games in conference or non-conference play since 2009 when the Bison lost five straight to open the Missouri Valley Football Conference schedule.
 
BISON IN THE POLLS: North Dakota State dropped from first to sixth in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll following the loss to Southern Illinois. Ranked No. 1 since the 2017 postseason final poll, NDSU had been ranked fifth or higher in the FCS Top 25 since Nov. 9, 2015, three weeks after South Dakota upset the Bison 24-21 in Fargo. NDSU dropped from second to eighth with that loss to USD and spent the following weeks ranked eighth, seventh and sixth before returning to a No. 2 ranking after three straight wins over Indiana State, Southern Illinois and Western Illinois. NDSU has not been outside the FCS Top 10 since opening the 2011 season ranked No. 11 for two weeks against Lafayette and St. Francis. The Bison climbed into the top five for the remainder of NDSU's first FCS national championship season in 2011 after beating Minnesota 37-24.
 
REINHOLZ PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Junior kicker Jake Reinholz was named Missouri Valley Football Conference Special Teams Player of the Week after scoring seven points in the win over Youngstown State. His two-point conversion run put NDSU ahead 8-0 late in the first quarter, and his second career field goal (from 28 yards) gave the Bison an 11-0 lead before halftime. Reinholz added a pair of extra-point kicks and averaged 62.8 yards on five kickoffs with two touchbacks. It was his first player of the week honor.
 
FIRST SUNDAY GAME: NDSU's conference opener with Youngstown State was the first Sunday game in NDSU football history dating back to 1894. The game was held on Sunday due to a scheduling conflict at the Fargodome, which hosted the North Dakota high school wrestling state championships Thursday through Saturday. A crowd of 6,578 was on hand to see the Bison and Penguins, less than the 50 percent capacity limit of 9,500 set for the game.
 
BISON FAVORED TO WIN: North Dakota State was picked to win its 10th straight Missouri Valley Football Conference title in a preseason poll of the league's head coaches. One point separated Northern Iowa and South Dakota State for second and third place, respectively. Illinois State was fourth and Southern Illinois fifth followed by South Dakota, North Dakota and Youngstown State with Missouri State and Western Illinois tying for the ninth and final spot.
 
EIGHT ON PRESEASON MVFC TEAM: NDSU has a league-best eight first-team picks on the preseason All-Missouri Valley Football Conference team including fullback Hunter Luepke, wide receiver Christian Watson, offensive lineman Cordell Volson, long snapper Ross Kennelly, defensive lineman Spencer Waege, linebacker Jackson Hankey, cornerback Josh Hayes and safety Michael Tutsie. Tight end Josh Babicz earned honorable mention.
 
FOUR PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS: North Dakota State offensive lineman Cordell Volson and safety Michael Tutsie were named to the HERO Sports spring preseason All-America team. Volson and wide receiver Christian Watson were named to the Athlon Sports spring preseason All-America team. Prior to the fall season, Volson and linebacker Jackson Hankey were named to the Stats Perform FCS preseason All-America second team and Tutsie was third team.
 
16-TIME NATIONAL CHAMPIONS: North Dakota State has won 16 football national championships. NDSU claimed three College Division national championships in 1965, 1968 and 1969 via the national polls, five Division II playoff 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, 2018 and 2019.
 
NINE STRAIGHT TITLES: North Dakota State in 2019 won its ninth straight Missouri Valley Football Conference championship and fifth outright crown including 2012, 2013, 2017 and 2018. North Dakota State has won 36 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)
        9 - North Dakota State (MVFC, 2011-19)
 
UNDEFEATED FIRST-YEAR HEAD COACHES: North Dakota State's Matt Entz last year became the first Division I head football coach to win all 16 games in his first season at the helm. Entz's streak extended to 18 straight wins including the first two games of the 2020-21 season. Among other notable winning streaks for first-time head coaches, Walter Camp won his first 28 games at Yale in 1888 and 1889, Larry Coker won his first 24 games at Miami (Fla.) in 2001 and 2002.
 
THIRD LONGEST WINNING STREAK: North Dakota State's 39-game winning streak that ended in February is the third longest in Division I history and the longest in FCS history surpassing the record 33-game Bison winning streak from 2012-14. NDSU went 1,210 calendar days between losses and beat 22 nationally ranked opponents during the 39-game streak. The Bison outscored opponents by an average of 26 points and trailed in only 14 of those 39 contests (6 percent of the minutes played).
        Longest Division I Football Winning Streaks
        47—Oklahoma, 1953-57
        40—Washington, 1908-14
        39—North Dakota State, 2017-present
        37—Yale, 1890-93
        37—Yale, 1887-89
        35—Toledo, 1969-71
        34—Miami (Fla.), 2000-03
        34—Penn, 1894-96
        33—North Dakota State, 2012-14
 
HOME STREAK AT 30 GAMES: North Dakota State is on a school-record 30-game home winning streak, which is tied for fifth longest in FCS history behind Georgia Southern (39, 38), Eastern Kentucky (34), Middle Tennessee State (31) and Montana (30). It is the longest active home winning streak in Division I and a new Missouri Valley Football Conference record, topping NDSU's 26-game home winning streak from 2012-15. The Bison had a 36-game home unbeaten streak 1964-71 including a 1970 season-opening tie with Eastern Michigan. NDSU has won 69 of the last 71 home games over non-conference opponents with its last home loss coming in the 2016 semifinals to James Madison. NDSU is 27-4 at home all-time against FCS Top 10 teams.
 
COORDINATORS NAMED TO 35 UNDER 35: North Dakota State offensive coordinator Tyler Roehl and defensive coordinator David Braun were selected to the 2020 class of the American Football Coaches Association's 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute, a prestigious program aimed at identifying and developing premier, future leaders in the football coaching profession. Selected participants are invited to attend the one-day institute that features a curriculum of interactive lectures focused on topics specifically tailored to emphasize leadership in the coaching profession, ethics, influential responsibilities, career progression, and family balance.
 
WEGNER ON WATCH LIST: North Dakota State's Garret Wegner is one of 22 punters on the preseason watch list for the 2020 FCS Punter of the Year Award. Created in 2019, the award honors the nation's top collegiate punter in the Football Championship Subdivision. Wegner, a senior from Lodi, Wis., averaged 40.5 yards on 53 punts last season and had nine punts of 50-plus yards. He ranked second in the Missouri Valley Football Conference with 22 fair catches. Wegner was a third team FCS All-America selection by Stats Perform and The Associated Press as a sophomore in 2018.
 
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 two future FBS games against Arizona in 2022 and Colorado in 2024. NDSU's first three FBS wins were against Ball State (2006), Central Michigan (2007) and Minnesota (2007).