THIS WEEK: The No. 4-ranked North Dakota State football team goes on the road for the first time this fall when the Bison (2-0) face the Towson Tigers (1-1) on Saturday, Sept. 18. Game time is 6 p.m. ET at Johnny Unitas Stadium (11,198) in Towson, Md. It's the home-opener for the Tigers, who lost 26-14 at New Hampshire last week in their first Colonial Athletic Association game of the season.
 
TELEVISION: This week's NDSU-Towson game will not be televised on ABC North Dakota or ESPN+ due to Colonial Athletic Association broadcasting agreements. The game will stream exclusively on FloFootball.com.
 
RADIO: Coverage begins at 4 p.m. CT 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 1:00-2:00, "Bison Game Day" from 2:00-4:00 and the "Bison Hotline" call-in show following the network broadcast.
 
ONLINE: Free audio streaming of all NDSU football games is available on NDSU All Access through GoBison.com/allaccess and the NDSU Athletics mobile app. Live in-game statistics will be available on BisonStats.com. Follow along with in-game updates on Twitter @NDSUfootball.
 
THE SERIES: This is the third meeting between North Dakota State and Towson. NDSU has a 2-0 lead in the series. The Bison won the 2013 FCS national championship 35-7 in Frisco, Texas, and won the 1983 Division II quarterfinal 24-17 in Fargo, N.D.
 
CONFERENCE MATCHUPS: NDSU is 9-1 all-time against Colonial Athletic Association opponents including this year's 28-6 season-opening win over Albany. This is Towson's second game against a Missouri Valley Football Conference opponent.
 
BISON ROUT VALPARAISO: North Dakota State returned a punt 45 yards for a touchdown and scored on eight of nine offensive possessions in a 64-0 rout of Valparaiso last week. The Bison averaged 11.9 yards per play on offense and scored eight touchdowns on plays of 20-plus yards. NDSU ran only 23 offensive plays in the first half while opening a 43-0 halftime lead. The 64-point win was the second-largest margin of victory in NDSU's Division I era and the most points scored by NDSU since the 2018 regular-season finale when the Bison beat Southern Illinois 65-17.
 
VOLSON OFFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Senior Cordell Volson was named Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week for his performance in the 64-0 win over Valparaiso, where he played all 23 offensive snaps in the first half and split time at right tackle and right guard. Volson graded out at 95 percent with zero missed assignments, and zero quarterback pressures or tackles for loss allowed. NDSU held the ball for only 9:07 in the first half thanks to an explosive running game. The Bison carried 18 times for 285 yards in the first half with TD runs of 28, 20, 72 and 52 yards plus a jet sweep toss for 65 yards en route to a 43-0 halftime lead.
 
NO. 1 RUSHING ATTACK: North Dakota State ranks No. 1 in the FCS this week averaging 358.5 rushing yards per game. The Bison averaged 10.7 yards per carry last week against Valparaiso and ran for 458 yards, the most for NDSU since the 2018 season-opening win over Cal Poly. TaMerik Williams and TK Marshall led the Bison with eight carries apiece as 11 different players had at least one carry. Quarterback Quincy Patterson led the Bison with 94 rushing yards including a 52-yard TD late in the second quarter.
 
NINETEEN BISON DEBUTS: Twelve NDSU players made their collegiate debut in last week's 64-0 win over Valparaiso, highlighted by true freshman quarterback Cole Payton's 37-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter. Payton led NDSU's only offensive possession of the fourth quarter and marched the Bison 80 yards in 10 plays for the final score of the game. Seven other players made their NDSU debut in the season-opener against Albany, including four transfers – quarterback Quincy Patterson (Virginia Tech), cornerback Jerodd Vines (Eastern Michigan), fullback Luke Waters (Iowa Western CC) and running back TaMerik Williams (SMU). A fifth transfer, offensive guard Luke LaCilento (San Diego), made his first appearance against Valparaiso.
 
BISON TOP ALBANY 28-6 IN OPENER: North Dakota State won its sixth straight season opener and 23rd straight home opener 28-6 over Albany last week. Dominic Gonnella rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns, including a 75-yard TD on the first play of the second half. The Bison scored 21 points off three Albany turnovers, outgained Albany 259-22 in rushing yards, and sacked quarterback Jeff Undercuffler three times while holding Colonial Athletic Association leading rusher Karl Mofor to 21 yards on 11 carries.
 
FORCING TURNOVERS: North Dakota State forced three turnovers in each of its first two games against Albany and Valparaiso, the most by a Bison opponent in 16 games since Western Illinois committed four turnovers in a 57-21 Bison win at the Fargodome in 2019. It's the first two-game stretch with six turnovers gained since 2018 when NDSU forced seven against Western Illinois (5) and Illinois State (2).
 
BISON PICKED SECOND: North Dakota State was picked to finish second in the Missouri Valley Football Conference behind South Dakota State in a preseason poll of the league's media, head coaches and sports information directors. SDSU had 24 first-place votes and NDSU had 18. North Dakota was picked third, Southern Illinois fourth and Northern Iowa fifth with one first-place vote.
 
PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE: The Bison took 10 spots on the Preseason All-MVFC team highlighted by senior wide receiver Christian Watson, who was named to the first team as a wide receiver and return specialist. Six other NDSU first team picks included fullback Hunter Luepke, offensive linemen Cordell Volson and Cody Mauch, defensive end Spencer Waege, linebacker James Kaczor and safety Michael Tutsie. Bison tight end Noah Gindorff and defensive tackle Eli Mostaert were named to the preseason second team. Tight end Josh Babicz was honorable mention.
 
PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS: NDSU has seven preseason All-Americans including fullback Hunter Luepke and offensive lineman Cordell Volson, who were both named to the Stats Perform and HERO Sports first teams. Christian Watson was listed as first team kick returner by Stats Perform, and second team returner and third team wide receiver by HERO Sports. Tight end Noah Gindorff was second team by HERO Sports and Stats Perform. Defensive end Spencer Waege and linebacker James Kaczor were second team picks by Stats Perform, and safety Michael Tutsie was a third team selection by HERO Sports.
 
SENIOR BOWL WATCH LIST: NDSU wide receiver Christian Watson and offensive lineman Cordell Volson were named to the preseason watch list for the Reese's Senior Bowl, the nation's most prestigious college all-star game. NDSU has had 10 Senior Bowl participants and seven in the past eight years including 2021 offensive lineman Dillon Radunz and linebacker Jabril Cox.
 
BUTKUS AWARD WATCH LIST: Bison linebacker Jackson Hankey was on the preseason watch list for the Butkus Award, presented annually to the top linebacker in college football. Hankey was the only nominee from the Football Championship Subdivision and one of only five mid-major players on the list. Former NDSU linebacker Nick DeLuca was named to the preseason watch list in 2016.
 
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.
 
BISON AT HOME: The Bison have a 169-27 record in the Fargodome, 29-5 at home against FCS Top 10 ranked teams, and winners of 72 of the last 74 home games over non-conference opponents. North Dakota State has a 28-1 record in the Fargodome during the NCAA playoffs since 2010 with the only loss coming to eventual national champion James Madison in the 2016 semifinals. NDSU's 32-game home winning streak in the Fargodome from September 2017 through April 2021 was the fourth longest in NCAA FCS history. The Bison have gone unbeaten at home in 12 of 28 seasons played in the Fargodome.
 
BISON RETURNING TO TWIN CITIES: North Dakota State will host Eastern Washington on the opening weekend of the 2023 season at U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings. NDSU drew a crowd of 34,544 fans to the 2019 season opener against Butler at Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins.
 
NEW INDOOR FACILITY: Construction began in mid-September on the Nodak Insurance Company Football Performance Complex, the new indoor practice facility for NDSU athletic teams. The entire cost of the estimated $37.2 million building project is being privately funded. The complex will have two artificial turf football fields. The indoor field will be a full 120 yards long and 60 yards wide with a roof clearance of 72 feet at the peak. Seven overhead doors will open from the indoor facility onto the outdoor practice field, scoreboards and play clocks will be provided on both fields, and LED lighting systems will be installed indoors and outdoors.
 
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's first three FBS wins were against Ball State (2006), Central Michigan (2007) and Minnesota (2007). North Dakota State has three future FBS games against Arizona (2022), Colorado (2024) and Oregon (2028).