THIS WEEK: North Dakota State (5-2, 2-2 MVFC) faces Missouri Valley Football Conference newcomer Murray State (2-5, 1-3 MVFC) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome (18,700). The Racers played in the Ohio Valley Conference for 75 seasons before joining the MVFC this fall.
 
TICKETS: Tickets may be purchased online at GoBison.com/tickets or by calling the Bison Ticket Office in the south lobby of the Sanford Health Athletic Complex at (701) 231-6378 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Game day ticket sales at the Fargodome begin 5 hours prior to kickoff.
 
TELEVISION: The statewide ABC network of WDAY (Fargo), WDAZ (Grand Forks), KBMY (Bismarck/Dickinson) and KMCY (Minot/Williston) will have live coverage beginning at 2:20 p.m. with Dom Izzo (play-by-play), Kyle Emanuel (analyst) and Logan Campbell (sideline). The game will also be available to ESPN+ subscribers on ESPN.com and the ESPN app.
 
RADIO: Statewide network coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. on the Pioneer Seeds Bison Sports Network including Bison 1660 and 107.9 The Fox in Fargo with Sam Neidermann (play-by-play), Phil Hansen (analyst) and James Hendricks (sideline). The network broadcast includes 1-hour pregame and 30-minute postgame shows. Streaming is available on GoBison.com/allaccess and the NDSU Athletics mobile app.
 
THE SERIES: This is the first meeting between NDSU and Murray State.
 
LAST WEEK: North Dakota State scored touchdowns on its first five possessions and rolled to a 52-7 victory over Western Illinois last week in the Fargodome. TK Marshall scored three of NDSU's six rushing touchdowns as the Bison rolled up 425 rushing yards and 625 yards of total offense. RaJa Nelson rushed for 103 yards including a 76-yard touchdown, NDSU's longest play of the season. Barika Kpeenu added a career-high nine carries and 94 yards with two touchdowns. Defensive end Dylan Hendricks was in on two of NDSU's six sacks including one forced fumble, and linebacker Logan Kopp made a team-high five tackles plus one interception after a pass deflection by linebacker Oscar Benson.
 
BISON DEBUTS: North Dakota State used 85 players in last week's game against Western Illinois. Third-year safety Ryan Jones made his first career start, and nine others made their first apperance in a Bison uniform including offensive guard Trevor Fiecko, wide receiver John Gores, quarterback Nathan Hayes, tight end Luke Kokat, cornerback Najee Nelson, kicker Eli Ozick, wide receiver Cedric Wall, running back Kelly Watson and center Isaac Zatechka. Ozick, Nelson and Watson are the first true freshmen to play for NDSU this season.
 
NO PUNTS: North Dakota State scored on its first eight possessions before two turnovers on downs and a fumble in the fourth quarter against Western Illinois. It was the first time in 91 games since the 2017 season opener against Mississippi Valley State that the Bison did not attempt a punt. With freshman Eli Ozick taking over the kickoff duties, it was a slow day for punter Kaedin Steindorf, who had handled 34 of 39 kickoffs prior to the Western Illinois game. Steindorf was the holder for Griffin Crosa's seven PAT kicks and 29-yard field goal.
 
GREEN, MATHIS GOING DEEP: Bison wide receiver Eli Green leads the Missouri Valley Football Conference with 19.47 yards per reception and Zach Mathis is fifth in the league with 17.32 yards per reception. Green has three catches of 30-plus yards and 14 of his 15 catches this season have resulted in first downs for NDSU. Mathis leads the Bison with 12 plays of 20-plus yards.
 
THIRD DOWN PRODUCTION: North Dakota State ranks second in the FCS converting 53.1% of its offensive third-down opportunities. Quarterback Cam Miller has picked up 12 first downs rushing and receivers Zach Mathis (7) and Eli Green (7) lead the team in third-down passing conversions. Overall, Mathis leads the Bison with 20 total first downs, Miller is second with 19, and Green is third with 18 followed by quarterback Cole Payton (12) and running backs TaMerik Williams (12) and Barika Kpeenu (12).
 
TURNOVER MARGIN: North Dakota State's plus-9 turnover margin is tied for second in the FCS through seven games. The Bison have scored 41 points off 12 opponent turnovers this year, while opponents have scored 21 points off three NDSU turnovers.
        FCS Turnover Margin Leaders
        +11 - Eastern Illinois (OVC)
        +9 - North Dakota State (MVFC)
        +9 - Furman (SoCon)
        +8 - Montana (Big Sky)
        +8 - Alcorn State (SWAC)
        +8 - Harvard (Ivy)
 
NATIONAL LEADERS: NDSU safety Cole Wisniewski is one of three players in the FCS with four interceptions this season, and quarterback Cam Miller continues to lead the FCS in completion percentage at 76.3% through seven games. Miller also ranks fifth in passing efficiency (168.7) and eighth in yards per passing attempt (9.03).
 
MILLER SETS RECORD: Quarterback Cam Miller leads the FCS and ranks third in all divisions with a 76.3 completion percentage through seven games. Miller was 18-for-19 against Central Arkansas and his 94.7 completion rate was an NDSU single-game record for passers with more than 10 attempts. Miller completed his last 17 attempts against UCA and his first six against South Dakota to set a new NDSU record with 23 consecutive completions, breaking Brock Jensen's 2013 record of 21 straight against Kansas State (14) and Ferris State (7).
        NCAA Completion Percentage Leaders
        .784 - Bo Nix, Oregon (FBS)
        .781 - JJ McCarthy, Michigan (FBS)
        .763 - Cam Miller, North Dakota State
        .762 - Graham Mertz, Florida (FBS)
        .752 - Noah Fifita, Arizona (FBS)
        (min. 15 attempts/game and 75% GP)
 
POLL MOVEMENT: The Missouri Valley Football Conference has seven teams ranked in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 this week. The Bison moved up two spots to 12th in the media poll and climbed four spots to 11th in the AFCA coaches poll, which includes five MVFC teams. South Dakota State (1/1), South Dakota (4/9), Southern Illinois (11/12), North Dakota State (12/11) and North Dakota (15/17) are ranked in both polls. Northern Iowa is 23rd in the media poll and Youngstown State is 24th.
 
SEASONED VETS: North Dakota State cornerback Jayden Price (63) and linebacker Julian Wlodarczyk (61) are among the NCAA's active career leaders in games played. The NDSU school record is 70 games played by offensive guard Nash Jensen from 2018 to 2022.
        NCAA Active Career Leaders, Games Played
        64 - Jaxon Janke, WR, South Dakota State
        63 - Jayden Price, CB, North Dakota State
        62 - Mason McCormick, OL, South Dakota State
        61 - Julian Wlodarczyk, LB, North Dakota State
        61 - Kelechi Nwachuku, S, Texas-San Antonio (FBS)
        61 - Corey Gaynor, OL, North Carolina (FBS)
 
CROSA CONNECTS: Bison kicker Griffin Crosa has made 122 consecutive PATs dating back to 2019, the third most in Missouri Valley Football Conference history. Crosa is fourth all-time at NDSU in PATs made and attempted (166-for-167) and his career PAT percentage of 99.4 is second in school history behind Jake Reinholz, who was 87-for-87 from 2018 to 2021. Crosa is fifth all-time at NDSU with 31 field goals made and ranks first with an 83.8 career field goal percentage (31-for-37).
 
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: North Dakota State has had four players earn Missouri Valley Football Conference Player of the Week honors in 2023:
        – Cole Wisniewski, Defense (9/4)...Game- and career-high 11 tackles with his first career interception and one pass breakup against Eastern Washington in his first game at strong safety.
        – Kaedin Steindorf, Special Teams (9/4)...Averaged 47.2 yards per punt with three inside the 20 (two inside the 10) and held for five PAT conversions against Eastern Washington.
        – Griffin Crosa, Special Teams (9/11)...Converted field goals from 27, 40 and 31 yards to stake the Bison to a 9-0 lead and added five extra-point kicks in the 44-7 win over Maine.
        – Logan Kopp, Defense (10/9)...Nine tackles, two pass breakups, fumble forced and recovered in the 38-10 win at Missouri State.
 
SUNDELL ON SENIOR BOWL LIST: North Dakota State left tackle Jalen Sundell was named to the preseason watch list for the Reese's Senior Bowl, widely regarded as the top college football all-star game. Sundell the past three seasons has been NDSU's starting center, a position he hadn't played prior to the 2020-21 season. The Bison have had 12 players selected to the Senior Bowl, including left tackle Cody Mauch last year.
 
WATCH LISTS: NDSU has three players on watch lists for national player of the year awards. Running back TaMerik Williams is on the preseason list for the Walter Payton Award, presented to the FCS offensive player of the year. Defensive tackle Eli Mostaert is on the preseason list for the Buck Buchanan Award, presented to the FCS defensive player of the year. Punter Kaedin Steindorf is on the list for FCS Punter of the Year.
 
PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS: NDSU defensive tackle Eli Mostaert, long snapper Hunter Brozio, offensive lineman Jalen Sundell and running back TaMerik Williams were named to the Stats Perform FCS Preseason All-America Team. Mostaert was also named to the HERO Sports All-FCS preseason team, and Mostaert and Sundell made Phil Steele's FCS Preseason All-America Team.
 
BISON PICKED NO. 2: North Dakota State was picked to finish second in the Missouri Valley Football Conference behind defending national champion South Dakota State. NDSU took 14 spots on the MVFC preseason team, including four first-team picks in FB Hunter Brozio, OL Jalen Sundell, DL Eli Mostaert and RS Jayden Price. Second team picks were RB TaMerik Williams, TE Joe Stoffel, OL Jake Kubas and Brandon Westberg, DL Will Mostaert, LB Cole Wisniewski, CB Jayden Price and K Griffin Crosa. WR Zach Mathis and LB Nick Kubitz were honorable mention.
 
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS: North Dakota State is 79-4 against non-conference opponents since the beginning of its first FCS national championship season in 2011. One loss was to a Pac-12 opponent (31-28 at Arizona in 2021) and two were in the playoffs to the eventual national champion (27-17 to James Madison in 2016 and 24-20 at Sam Houston State in 2020-21). Montana's 38-35 home win in the 2015 FCS Kickoff is NDSU's only other non-conference loss the past 12 years.
 
BISON AT HOME: The Bison have a 186-29 record in the Fargodome, 33-6 at home against FCS Top 10 ranked teams, and winners of 81 of the last 83 home games over non-conference opponents. North Dakota State has a 34-1 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 September 2017 through April 2021 was fourth longest in FCS history.