North Dakota State Heads to Las Vegas to Face UNLV Saturday at Allegiant Stadium

Saturday, October 10

Las Vegas, Nev.

6:10 p.m.

North Dakota State

UNLV

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Photo by: Tim Sanger

North Dakota State Heads to Las Vegas to Face UNLV Saturday at Allegiant Stadium

10/6/2026 3:18:00 PM | Football

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THIS WEEK: North Dakota State continues Mountain West Conference play on the road this week when the first-place Bison (5-0, 2-0 MW) face the UNLV Rebels (3-2, 1-0 MW) at 4:10 p.m. PT on Saturday, Oct. 10, at Allegiant Stadium (65,000) in Las Vegas.

TELEVISION: The CW will have live coverage with Jack McMullen (play-by-play), Cody Kessler (analyst) and Marshall Newhouse (sideline) on the call. Streaming is available on ESPN.com and the ESPN app with ESPN Unlimited.

RADIO: Statewide network coverage on all 25 stations across the Pioneer Seeds Bison Sports Network begins 1 hour prior to game time including Bison 1660 and 107.9 The Fox in Fargo with Sam Neidermann (play-by-play), Phil Hansen (analyst) and Andy Rieckhoff (sideline) on the call. Streaming is available on GoBison.com/allaccess and the NDSU Athletics mobile app.

COACHES SHOW: Fans are invited to join NDSU head coach Tim Polasek each Thursday night from 6:30 to 8 p.m. for the Bison Football Coaches Show live from Holiday Inn Fargo with host Sam Neidermann and other NDSU coaches and players. Watch the show on MW+ or listen on Bison 1660 in Fargo, KCJB-AM 910 in Minot, KSJB-AM 600 in Jamestown, KYCR-AM 1440 in Minneapolis, GoBison.com and the NDSU Athletics mobile app.

MW+ STREAMING: Visit GoBison.com/MW+ and subscribe to MW+ to watch live Bison press conferences, weekly episodes of The Bison Football Show, and other featured content and live games from around the Mountain West Conference including NDSU's home game vs. UTEP.

THE SERIES: This is the first meeting between NDSU and UNLV.

PRO VENUES: Allegiant Stadium is the third current NFL stadium the Bison have played in. North Dakota State hosted Eastern Washington in the 2023 season opener at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, winning 35-10. NDSU played at Nashville's Nissan Stadium in 2025, beating host Tennessee State 59-3 in the second game that season. The Bison also played one game in a baseball stadium, drawing 34,544 fans to a 57-10 win over Butler in the 2019 season opener at Target Field in Minneapolis.

STADIUM BAG POLICY: Allegiant Stadium bag policy allows fans to carry clear plastic, vinyl or PVC bags not exceeding 12" x 6" x 12" and one additional small clutch bag, purse or wallet 4.5" x 6.5" x 2" or smaller. Exceptions may be made for necessary medical items, but all such items are subject to inspection prior to entry. For questions, contact guestexperience@raiders.com or visit NFL.com/allclear.

RECEIVING VOTES: North Dakota State is receiving votes in the AP Top 25 poll for the fourth straight week and the 30th time since 2011. The Bison garnered three points in the poll after beating Air Force, six points each of the next two weeks, and seven points this week with a 5-0 record. NDSU's 74 poll points (27th overall) after beating 13th-ranked Iowa in 2016 were the most for an FCS team in the AP Top 25.

LAST WEEK: North Dakota State is coming off a 28-0 homecoming victory over Wyoming. Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week Donovan Woolen returned an interception 13 yards on the game's first play from scrimmage, Nathan Hayes scored on touchdown runs of 8 and 14 yards, and Drew Klein kicked a 31-yard field goal to give NDSU a 17-0 halftime lead. Klein added a 37-yard field goal in the third quarter and DJ Scott scored on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter. Woolen finished with a team-high nine tackles and added a solo sack, assisted tackle for loss, another tackle for zero yards, and a solo stop on third-and-goal help preserve NDSU's second shutout of the season. The Bison limited Wyoming to 162 total yards.

MOUNTAIN WEST LEADERS: North Dakota State's Jackson Williams leads all Mountain West receivers with 358 yards and 71.6 yards per game through five contests. Williams also ranks second in the league with 104.2 all-purpose yards per game. Quarterback Nathan Hayes leads the MW in passing efficiency (153.17) and yards per passing attempts (8.58). NDSU kicker Drew Klein leads the league in field goals made (9) and ranks second in scoring with 9.20 points per game.

MIDDLE EIGHT: North Dakota State has been excellent in the "middle eight" minutes under head coach Tim Polasek outscoring opponents 269-59 in the final 4:00 of the first half and first 4:00 of the second half. Most of that scoring has come at the end of the first half, where the Bison have a 189-56 advantage. NDSU has scored in the middle eight in 27 of 34 games since the beginning of the 2024 season.

TWO-MINUTE SUCCESS: The Bison scored in the two-minute drill before halftime each of the first three weeks of the season.
                — vs. Jacksonville State...Went 88 yards in 8 plays and 1:24...Targeted seven different receivers completing 6 of 7 attempts including a 44-yard TD pass to Jordan McCants for a 17-7 lead.
                — vs. Fordham...Went 80 yards in 9 plays and 1:24...Completed 6 of 6 passes for four first downs before Chris Kiel's 8-yard TD catch for a 17-0 lead.
                — at Air Force...Went 65 yards in 6 plays and 1:19...Completed 3 of 4 passes highlighted by a 51-yard play to Jackson Williams at the 1 before a Myles Mitchell 1-yard TD run for a 28-13 lead.

TURNOVERS: After finishing last year with a plus-18 turnover margin, North Dakota State is third in the FBS with a plus-8 turnover margin through five games including a season-high four takeaways against Fordham and three at Sacramento State. NDSU is fourth in the FBS in turnovers gained (11) behind New Mexico (19), Alabama (13) and UCLA (12). The Bison are tied with Alabama and UCLA for third in the FBS in pass interceptions (8) behind New Mexico (12) and Texas Tech (9). The Bison have 28 takeaways over their last 10 games.

DEFENSIVE SCORING: North Dakota State is tied with New Mexico State and Notre Dame for second in the FBS with three defensive touchdowns behind Alabama (4). The Bison scored on a fumble recovery in the end zone by defensive end Blake Schiltz, a 37-yard interception return by cornerback Marion Moore and a 24-yard fumble recovery by safety Darius Givance.

RED ZONE DEFENSE: North Dakota State leads the FBS in red-zone defense again this week holding opponents to 50 percent on red-zone opportunities. The Bison have allowed three rushing TDs, one passing TD and one field goal in 10 trips inside the 20. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are tied for second at 60 percent (6-10).

ROAD STREAK: North Dakota State has the longest active road winning streak in FBS with eight straight road wins including last year's six FCS wins at The Citadel, Tennessee State, Illinois State, Indiana State, South Dakota State and North Dakota. Indiana and Alabama have each won seven straight on the road.

UNDEFEATED: North Dakota State is one of 15 remaining undefeated teams in the FBS and joins Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, James Madison, Miami (Fla.), Nebraska, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Texas Tech as the only 10 teams with 5-0 records.

FBS DEBUTS: Ten former FCS teams have reclassified to FBS in the past 10 years, and only North Dakota State and James Madison have started with five straight victories. The Dukes started 5-0 in 2022 before finishing 8-3 overall and 6-2 in the Sun Belt Conference.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: NDSU swept all four Old Trapper Mountain West player of the week awards in Week Zero after a 33-7 win over Jacksonville State. Eight NDSU players have combined for 11 MW player of the week honors this year:
                — QB Nathan Hayes (Offense 8/31, 9/14)...Completed 14 of 22 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns against Jacksonville State...Passed for 228 yards and two TDs with a 17-yard rushing TD at Air Force.
                — LB Donovan Woolen (Defense 8/31, 10/5)...Game-high 10 tackles against Jacksonville State...Team-high nine tackles with an interception, solo sack, assisted TFL and third-and-goal stop in the shutout of Wyoming.
                — K Drew Klein (Special Teams 8/31, 9/14)...Scored 15 points with field goals of 34, 44, 42 and 48 yards plus three PAT kicks against Jacksonville State...School-record 56-yard field goal and five PATs at Air Force.
                — DE Blake Schiltz (Freshman 8/31)...Recovered a fumble for a touchdown and added a sack in his first collegiate game against Jacksonville State.
                — RB Myles Mitchell (Freshman 9/14)...Team-high 15 carries, 61 yards and two touchdowns at Air Force, including a 31-yard TD on the game's opening drive.
                — WR Jackson Williams (Offense 9/21)...Career-high seven receptions and 134 yards with one TD at Sacramento State...Scored on a 33-yard pass to cap NDSU's game-opening drive and had four receptions of 20-plus yards.
                — S Darius Givance (Defense 9/21)...Career-high seven tackles at Sacramento State including six solo stops...Scored his first collegiate TD on a 24-yard fumble recovery 3:11 into the game.
                — LB Gavin Sell (Freshman 9/21)...Five tackles including a forced fumble on Sacramento State's first drive that resulted in an NDSU touchdown and 14-0 lead.

KLEIN'S KICKS: Fifth-year kicker Drew Klein starred in his first game as NDSU's No. 1 placekicker against Jacksonville State. He booted all seven kickoffs into the end zone with five touchbacks and was the first Bison since Adam Keller in 2014 to make four field goals in a single game. Klein entered the season 3-for-3 on PATs and 1-for-1 on field goals, all in the 2025 season. He redshirted in 2022 and made his Bison debut in 2023 handling 13 kickoffs in four games.

PRESEASON PICKS: NDSU return specialist Jackson Williams was named Mountain West Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year and claimed two spots on the preseason team as kick returner and punt returner. Other NDSU selections were offensive lineman Griffin Empey, defensive tackle Keenan Wilson and safety Darius Givance.

BEDNARIK AWARD: NDSU defensive tackle Keenan Wilson was named to the preseason watch list for the Bednarik Award, presented annually to the most outstanding defensive player in college football since 1994. Wilson was an FCS All-American last year starting all 13 games and posting 8.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks.

PAUL HORNUNG AWARD: NDSU return specialist Jackson Williams was named to the preseason watch list for the 17th annual Paul Hornung Award, presented to the most versatile player in major college football. Williams was one of three players in all of Division I last season to have both a kick return touchdown and a punt return touchdown. He totaled 1,106 all-purpose yards.

MAXWELL AWARD: NDSU running back DJ Scott made the preseason watch list for the 90th Maxwell Award, presented annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Scott headlines the Bison backfield this year after rushing for 502 yards and six touchdowns in 2025.

FCS ERA BY THE NUMBERS: North Dakota State competed in the Football Championship Subdivision for 22 seasons from 2004 through 2025, spending the past 18 years in the Missouri Valley Football Conference after four years in the Great West Football Conference while reclassifying from Division II. Here are the final numbers from NDSU's FCS era:
                — Overall record: 251-49 (.837)
                — Record from 2011-2025: 198-22 (.900)
                — 13 conference championships (12 MVFC, 1 GWFC)
                — 10 national championships (FCS record)
                — 16 consecutive postseason appearances
                — 51-6 in playoffs (FCS record for wins)
                — 38-2 in playoffs at home
                — 39-game winning streak (FCS record)
                — 33-game winning streak (2nd in FCS)
                — 9-5 record vs. FBS opponents
                — 26 weeks of AP Top 25 votes
                — 21 NFL draft picks (14 in past 8 years)

18 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: North Dakota State has won 18 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, 2019, 2021 and 2024. The Bison lost to the eventual national champion in the 2010 and 2020 quarterfinals and 2016 semifinals.

CONFERENCE CHAMPS: NDSU won 12 conference championships in 18 years of Missouri Valley Football Conference membership, including the 2024 and 2025 titles. Overall, the Bison have 39 conference championships counting 26 at the Division II level in the North Central Conference and its first FCS title in 2006 as a member of the Great West Football Conference.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS: North Dakota State is 94-6 against non-conference opponents since the beginning of its first FCS national championship season in 2011. Two losses were to FBS opponents (31-28 at Arizona in 2021 and 31-26 at Colorado in 2024) 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 31-29 double-overtime win in the 2023 FCS semifinals and 38-35 victory in the 2015 FCS Kickoff are NDSU's only other non-conference losses the past 13 years.

BISON AT HOME: The Bison have a 208-30 all-time record in the Fargodome since 1993, including 36-5 against FCS Top 10 ranked teams and 78-1 against FCS non-conference teams. North Dakota State had a 38-2 record in the Fargodome during the FCS playoffs and the Bison's 32-game home winning streak September 2017 through April 2021 is fifth longest in FCS history.