THIS WEEK: North Dakota State returns to the semifinal round of the NCAA Division I Football Championship for the 12th time in 13 years this week when the Bison (11-3) travel to play No. 2 seed Montana (12-1) at 2:30 p.m. MT on Saturday, Dec. 16, at Washington-Grizzly Stadium (25,217) in Missoula, Mont.
 
TELEVISION: Saturday's game will be televised on ESPN2 with Lowell Galindo (play-by-play), Tyoka Jackson (analyst) and Dawn Davenport (sideline) handling the call. The game will also stream on ESPN.com and the ESPN app.
 
RADIO: Statewide network coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. CT 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 11th meeting between North Dakota State and Montana dating back to 1914. NDSU leads the series 6-4 including a 3-1 edge as Division I opponents since 2014. The last two meetings were in the FCS second round with NDSU winning 37-6 in 2015 and 49-26 in 2022 both at the Fargodome. This is NDSU's first trip to Missoula since a 38-35 loss in the 2015 FCS Kickoff, one of only four non-conference losses by the Bison since 2011. North Dakota State is 1-4 in Missoula with a 25-24 victory in 2003, NDSU's final year of Division II. The Bison rallied from a 24-2 halftime deficit limiting the Grizzlies to 57 yards in the final two quarters and went ahead on a 20-yard touchdown pass from running back Rod Malone to tight end Mike Wieser on a fake field goal with 2:13 left. The Grizzlies missed a 40-yard field goal to end the game.
 
PLAYOFF ROAD TRIPS: This is NDSU's 52nd game in the FCS playoffs, but only the sixth true road game for the Bison excluding 10 national championship game appearances in Frisco, Texas. NDSU's first FCS playoff appearance in 2010 included two road games, a 42-17 second round win at Montana State and a 38-31 overtime loss to eventual national champion Eastern Washington in the quarterfinals. NDSU didn't play another road game until May 2021 with a 24-20 quarterfinal loss to eventual national champion Sam Houston State.
 
THREE STRAIGHT: North Dakota State this week plays its third straight road game, which hasn't happened since 2006. The Bison did it twice that year beating Ball State (29-24), Stephen F. Austin (17-9) and Georgia Southern (34-14) before returning home to play Mississippi Valley State and then hitting the road for three in a row losing at Minnesota (10-9) and beating Southern Utah (31-7) and UC Davis (28-24). The Bison finished 10-1 that year and won the Great West Football Conference championship. It was the third of four seasons the Bison were ineligible for the NCAA playoffs due to the reclassification from Division II.
 
RECORD CROWD? North Dakota State's last trip to Missoula drew a record crowd of 26,427 to Washington-Grizzly Stadium for the 2015 FCS Kickoff, a mark topped three times this year alone including a new record crowd of 27,178 against Montana State in the regular-season finale. Montana leads the FCS in attendance this year with a 24,885 average per game. The Grizzlies have won 11 straight home games, the fourth-longest active streak in the FCS behind South Dakota State (20), Florida A&M (20) and St. Thomas (17). NDSU snapped Montana State's 26-game home winning streak in the second round.
 
FRISCO AWAITS: The winner of Saturday's game will advance to the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 7, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, against the winner of Friday's semifinal between No. 1 South Dakota State (13-0) and No. 5 Albany (11-3). NDSU has made 10 championship game appearances in the past 12 years. Montana is looking to return to the championship for the first time since its back-to-back runner-up finishes in Chattanooga, Tenn., against Richmond in 2008 and Villanova in 2009. The Grizzlies have been to the title game seven times with victories in 1995 against Marshall and 2001 over Furman.
 
SEMIFINAL APPEARANCES: North Dakota State and Montana are tied for second in FCS history for most semifinal appearances with 12 apiece. NDSU is in the semis for the 12th time in 13 years, while Montana is back in the semifinals for the first time since 2011.
        Most Consecutive FCS Semifinals
        9 - North Dakota State, 2011-2019
        6 - Marshall, 1991-1996
        5 - Georgia Southern, 1998-2002
        4 - Eastern Kentucky, 1979-1982
        4 - Youngstown State, 1991-1994
        4 - South Dakota State, 2020-2023

        Most FCS Semifinals (Last)
        13 - Georgia Southern (2012)
        12 - Montana (2023)
        12 - North Dakota State (2023)
        8 - Delaware (2020)
        8 - Youngstown State (2016)

        Most FCS Championship Games
        10 - North Dakota State (9-1)
        8 - Georgia Southern (6-2)
        7 - Youngstown State (4-3)
        7 - Montana (2-5)
        6 - Marshall (2-4)

        Most FCS Championship Wins
        9 - North Dakota State
        6 - Georgia Southern
        4 - Youngstown State
        3 - Appalachian State
 
UNSEEDED IN SEMIS: North Dakota State is only the sixth unseeded team to reach the semifinals of the 24-team FCS playoffs since 2013 joining New Hampshire (2013), Sam Houston State (2014, 2015), Youngstown State (2016) and South Dakota State (2021). YSU is the only team to win in the semifinals, 40-38 over No. 2 seed Eastern Washington before a title game loss to James Madison.
 
POSTSEASON HISTORY: This is North Dakota State's 14th straight postseason appearance dating back to 2010 and the 37th in program history. NDSU has an 82-17 record in the postseason with 17 national championships including nine FCS titles in 11 years from 2011 to 2021. The Bison won three College Division national championships in 1965, 1968 and 1969 and five Division II titles in 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988 and 1990. NDSU is 77-16 in the NCAA playoff format since 1973. The Bison have a 47-4 mark in the FCS playoffs, including a 35-1 record in the Fargodome.
        Most FCS Playoff Wins
        47 - North Dakota State
        45 - Georgia Southern
        37 - Montana
        29 - Youngstown State
        26 - Northern Iowa

        Highest Winning Percentage in FCS Playoffs
        .922 - North Dakota State (47-4)
        .793 - Marshall (23-6)
        .776 - Georgia Southern (45-13)
        .763 - Youngstown State (29-9)

        Most Consecutive FCS Playoff Appearances
        17 - Montana, 1993-2009
        14 - New Hampshire, 2004-2017
        14 - North Dakota State, 2010-2023
        12 - South Dakota State, 2012-2023
        10 - Eastern Kentucky, 1986-1995

        Most FCS Playoff Appearances
        27 - Montana
        22 - Northern Iowa
        22 - Eastern Kentucky
        20 - Appalachian State
        20 - Furman
 
LAST WEEK: North Dakota State scored five first-half touchdowns and forced three turnovers in a 45-17 quarterfinal rout of South Dakota. Quarterback Cam Miller was 13 of 15 passing for 210 yards and one touchdown and added one rushing touchdown as the Bison converted 8 of 11 third downs and controlled the ball for more than 36 minutes. Eli Green had his first career 100-yard receiving game with five receptions for 116 yards and five first downs, and quarterback Cole Payton rushed for a team-high 65 yards with TD runs of 43 and 17 yards. Linebacker Logan Kopp made a team-high seven tackles, safety Sam Jung had six tackles and his third interception in the past four games, and linebacker Luke Weerts made five tackles plus a pass deflection that led to one of safety Cole Wisniewski's two interceptions. NDSU opened the game with a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive, held USD to a field goal, scored on Payton's 43-yard run, then got a three-and-out on defense before Jayden Price's 82-yard punt return touchdown made it 21-3 at the end of the first quarter. It was 35-3 at halftime.
 
BISON BLOCK BOBCATS: Offensive lineman Hunter Poncius blocked Montana State's PAT kick in overtime to give North Dakota State at 35-34 road win in the second round. TaMerik Williams rushed 11 times for a career-high 162 yards including touchdown runs of 44 and 75 yards for the Bison, who had 296 yards on the ground and outgained the No. 2 rushing team in FCS. TK Marshall's 29-yard TD run and Griffin Crosa's PAT with 2:23 left in the game tied it at 28. Cam Miller's 3-yard TD run in overtime put the Bison ahead. Neither team led by more than seven points.
 
BISON BLAST BULLDOGS: North Dakota State forced five turnovers and rolled to a 66-3 victory over Drake in the first round of the FCS playoffs, setting NDSU postseason records for touchdowns (9) and points scored. Cam Miller was 10 of 11 passing for 206 yards and two touchdowns while adding 62 rushing yards, and Cole Payton rushed for a career-high 104 yards and two touchdowns. Sam Jung and Jayden Price intercepted passes, Jung and Kole Menz forced fumbles recovered by Julian Wlodarczyk and Loshiaka Roques, and Kelton McCaslin scored on a 5-yard fumble recovery.
 
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS: North Dakota State had nine selections to the All-Missouri Valley Football Conference team highlighted by Hunter Brozio, who earned two spots as the first team fullback and long snapper. Right guard Jake Kubas, left tackle Jalen Sundell, defensive end Dylan Hendricks, linebacker Logan Kopp and safety Cole Wisniewski also made the first team. Quarterback Cam Miller finished third overall in the voting for MVFC Offensive Player of the Year and made the second team along with NDSU defensive tackle Eli Mostaert. Four honorable mentions were tight end Joe Stoffel, all-purpose player RaJa Nelson, punt returner Jayden Price and placekicker Griffin Crosa. Additionally, linebacker Marcus Gulley and cornerback Marcus Sheppard were named to the MVFC All-Newcomer Team.
 
FINALISTS: NDSU has three finalists for FCS national player of the year awards. Linebacker Logan Kopp tied for 22nd in the voting for the Buck Buchanan Award presented to the defensive player of the year, and quarterback Cam Miller was 11th in the voting for the Walter Payton Award, presented to the offensive player of the year. Previous NDSU winners were defensive end Kyle Emanuel for the 2014 Buchanan and quarterback Trey Lance for the 2019 Payton. In addition, safety Cole Wisniewski is a finalist for the Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award, presented annually to an FCS student-athlete who excels on the field, in the classroom and across the community.
 
SCHOLAR-ATHLETES: NDSU safety Cole Wisniewski was named to the Missouri Valley Football Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year with a 4.0 GPA majoring in business administration and marketing with a minor in professional sales. Safety Sam Jung was voted to the MVFC All-Academic first team and second team picks included linebacker Logan Kopp, right guard Jake Kubas and defensive tackle Eli Mostaert. Bison defensive tackle Jaxon Duttenhefer and linebacker Luke Weerts were honorable mentions.
 
14 SENIORS: Prior to the Southern Illinois game, North Dakota State introduced 14 seniors who were playing their final regular-season home game. The 14 were defensive end Jake Kava, offensive linemen Jake Kubas, Jalen Sundell and Brandon Westberg, wide receivers Jake Lippe, Zach Mathis and Giancarlo Volpentesta, cornerbacks Jenaro Ocama and Jayden Price, linebackers Cade Powers, Dylan Taves and Julian Wlodarczyk, tight end Jacob Streit, and running back TaMerik Williams.
 
ENTZ TO USC: Fifth-year head coach Matt Entz will continue to coach NDSU through the end of the season before leaving to accept a new job as the assistant head coach for defense and linebackers coach at the University of Southern California. A search process is underway for the next head coach of the Bison. Entz is in his 10th year at NDSU. He joined the staff in 2014 as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach under Chris Klieman, who was named head coach at Kansas State during NDSU's 2018 national championship run.
 
THE COIN TOSS: North Dakota State has won 41 of 70 pregame coin tosses since 2019 under head coach Matt Entz. The Bison have deferred their choice to the second half 33 times and elected to receive the ball eight times, including the last six tosses they've won. Entz's teams are 8-0 when taking the ball first. The other two games were the 2019 season opener at Target Field against Butler and in 2021 at Illinois State.
 
OPENING DRIVES: NDSU has scored on its first offensive possession in 12 of 14 games this year with 10 touchdowns and two field goals. The Bison have started the second half with points on their first possession in 10 of 14 games with seven touchdowns and three field goals.
 
SCORING BIG: North Dakota State has scored at least 30 points in each of its last five contests, which hasn't happened at NDSU since the 2018 team did it six straight games en route to the national championship. NDSU currently ranks third in the FCS in scoring offense (38.8 ppg), fourth in rushing offense (241.8 ypg) and seventh in total offense (443.3 ypg) while leading the FCS in first downs (301) and passing efficiency (174.08).
 
200-YARD PASSERS: Quarterback Cam Miller against South Dakota had his sixth 200-yard passing game of the season and the 11th of his career. Miller is one of two NDSU passers at the Division I level with three straight 200-yard games; Brock Jensen did it in 2013 against Youngstown State (200), South Dakota (230) and Furman (249). Only four other passers have as many career 200-yard games in NDSU history: Jensen (14 from 2010-13), Steve Walker (13 from 2004-07), Easton Stick (13 from 2016-18) and Carson Wentz (11 from 2014-15). Miller currently ranks fourth in school history behind Walker, Jensen and Stick in career passing attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns.
 
MILLER SETS RECORD: Quarterback Cam Miller ranks first in the FCS with a .745 completion percentage through 14 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).
 
TWO MORE RECORDS: All-America punt returner Jayden Price broke the NDSU career record with his fifth career punt return touchdown, an 82-yard score in the FCS quarterfinal win over South Dakota. Richard Lewis set the school record with four punt return TDs in 2000 and 2001. Safety Cole Wisniewski had two interceptions in the South Dakota game to tie the NDSU single-season record of eight picks set in 1953 by Frank Esposito. NDSU leads the FCS with 21 interceptions this season, four shy of the NDSU record of 25 interceptions in 1976.
 
71st GAME: Cornerback and punt returner Jayden Price will play in his 71st career game Saturday at Montana, breaking the NDSU record of 70 games played by offensive guard Nash Jensen from 2018 through 2022. Price redshirted with the Bsion in 2018 and has played in every game since. He was on special teams in 2019 and moved into a starting role as a sophomore the spring of 2021. Price is the active career leader for all divisions with 70 games played. Who owns the NCAA record? That is not confirmed, but former Notre Dame and Florida State offensive lineman Dillan Gibbons ended the 2022 season with 76 career games, according to NCAA statistics.
 
TRUE FRESHMEN: North Dakota State has played five true freshmen this season. Kicker Eli Ozick, cornerback Najee Nelson and running back Kelly Watson made their debuts against Western Illinois. Cornerbacks Jaylin Crumby and Jailen Duffie played their first game against Murray State. Players may participate in up to four regular-season games without using a year of eligibility. New this year, FCS postseason games are exempt and will not count toward the four-game rule.
 
CROSA CONNECTS: Bison kicker Griffin Crosa is second all-time at NDSU in PATs made (201) and attempted (203). His career PAT percentage of 99.0 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 39 field goals made and ranks first with an 83.0 career field goal percentage (39-for-47). His streak of 127 consecutive PAT conversions was the third longest in Missouri Valley Football Conference history. Crosa is 20-for-20 on PAT kicks in this year's FCS playoffs and needs only four more to break Adam Keller's NDSU postseason record of 23 PATs made and attempted over four games in the 2013 playoffs.
 
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: North Dakota State had five players earn seven Missouri Valley Football Conference Player of the Week honors in 2023:
        – Cole Wisniewski, Defense (9/4, 11/20)...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...Game-high 10 tackles with a TFL in the red zone, a pass breakup, and a 75-yard interception return for TD at Northern Iowa.
        – 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, 10/30)...Nine tackles, two pass breakups, fumble forced and recovered in the 38-10 win at Missouri State...Seven tackles, 1.5 TFLs, a half-sack, forced fumble and interception in the 38-6 win over Murray State.
        – Jake Kubas, Offensive Line (11/13)...Graded 90% with no TFLs or sacks allowed as NDSU rushed for 217 yards and four TDs against the third-ranked defense of Southern Illinois.
 
SHRINE BOWL INVITE: North Dakota State left tackle Jalen Sundell has been invited to the East-West Shrine Bowl, one of college football's top all-star games. Sundell was NDSU's starter at center the past three seasons before moving to left tackle this year. NDSU has had 14 former players participate in the Shrine Bowl, including current Bengals offensive lineman Cordell Volson (2022) and Chargers quarterback Easton Stick (2019).
 
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS: North Dakota State is 81-4 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 189-29 record in the Fargodome, 33-6 at home against FCS Top 10 ranked teams, and winners of 82 of the last 84 home games over non-conference opponents. North Dakota State has a 35-1 record in the Fargodome during the NCAA playoffs and has won 17 straight home playoff games since the 2016 semifinal loss to eventual national champion James Madison. NDSU's 32-game home winning streak September 2017 through April 2021 was fourth longest in FCS history.