THIS WEEK: No. 2 seed North Dakota State (12-2) hosts two-time defending national champion and No. 3 seed South Dakota State (12-2) in the semifinals of the NCAA Division I Football Championship at 11 a.m. this Saturday, Dec. 21, at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome (18,700). The winner advances to face No. 1 Montana State or No. 4 South Dakota in the FCS championship Monday, Jan. 6, in Frisco, Texas.
TICKETS: Unclaimed season tickets went on sale to the public at 8 a.m. Wednesday. 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, if available, begin at 7 a.m. in the east lobby of the Fargodome.
TAILGATING & STADIUM ENTRY: Reserved tailgating lots will open at 5:30 a.m. Saturday in Lots E, F and G west of the Fargodome. Unclaimed season tailgating passes went on sale to the public at 8 a.m. Wednesday and are available at the Bison Ticket Office or by calling 701-893-8185. Fargodome doors will open two hours prior to kickoff at 9 a.m. to accommodate an expected sellout crowd. General game day parking is available in Fargodome lots B and C on the east side, and NDSU lots R, RF and F south of the Fargodome for $5 per spot.
TELEVISION: Saturday’s game will be televised nationally on ABC with Roy Philpott (play-by-play), Sam Acho (analyst) and Taylor Davis (reporter) describing the action. The broadcast will also be available to ESPN+ subscribers on ESPN.com and the ESPN app.
RADIO: Statewide network coverage on all 25 stations across the Pioneer Seeds Bison Sports Network begins at 10 a.m. including Bison 1660 and 107.9 The Fox in Fargo with Sam Neidermann (play-by-play), Phil Hansen (analyst) and Noah Gindorff (sideline). Streaming is available on GoBison.com/allaccess and the NDSU Athletics mobile app.
WEEKLY SHOWS: 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. The show can be heard on Bison 1660 in Fargo, KSJB-AM 600 in Jamestown, KYCR-AM 1440 in Minneapolis, GoBison.com and the NDSU Athletics mobile app. On television, The Bison Football Show airs statewide each Sunday night at 10:35 p.m. on WDAY (Fargo), WDAZ (Grand Forks), KBMY (Bismarck) and KMCY (Minot).
THE SERIES: This is the 117th meeting between North Dakota State and South Dakota State in a series dating back to 1903. NDSU leads the series 64-47-5. The Bison snapped a five-game losing streak to SDSU with a 13-9 victory in Fargo on October 19 before a sellout crowd of 18,807 in a matchup of then the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams in FCS. The Bison drove 92 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 1:49 left to play. Cam Miller went 7-for-7 passing to six different receivers on the final drive, which took 5:25 off the clock. RaJa Nelson caught the 20-yard TD pass (his second of the game) and linebacker Logan Kopp‘s interception sealed the win.
NO MARKER: The Dakota Marker, the rivalry trophy established in 2004 for NDSU-SDSU football games, is only up for grabs during regular-season matchups between the two programs. This is the sixth postseason meeting between the Bison and Jacks. NDSU won the first four playoff games in Fargo in the 2012 second round (28-3), 2014 second round (27-24), 2016 quarterfinals (36-10) and 2018 semifinals (44-21). SDSU won the last meeting in the 2022 championship (45-21). NDSU has an 11-10 edge in the Dakota Marker series.
PLAYOFF REMATCHES: North Dakota State is 8-1 in FCS playoff rematches with regular-season opponents. Three of those victories came after regular-season losses to Montana in 2015, South Dakota State in 2016 and South Dakota in 2023. NDSU was 9-3 in Division II playoff rematches, including a 27-7 win over South Dakota in the 1986 championship and a 51-11 win over Indiana (Pa.) in the 1990 championship.
NDSU’s FCS Playoff Rematches
2012 – South Dakota State – Won 20-17, Won 28-3 in FCS second round
2014 – South Dakota State – Won 37-17, Won 27-24 in FCS second round
2015 – Montana – Lost 38-35, Won 37-6 in FCS second round
2015 – Northern Iowa – Won 31-28, Won 23-13 in FCS quarterfinal
2016 – South Dakota State – Lost 19-17, Won 36-10 in FCS quarterfinal
2018 – South Dakota State – Won 21-17, Won 44-21 in FCS semifinal
2019 – Illinois State – Won 37-3, Won 9-3 in FCS quarterfinal
2022 – South Dakota State – Lost 23-21, Lost 45-21 in FCS championship
2023 – South Dakota – Lost 24-19, Won 45-17 in FCS quarterfinal
POSTSEASON HISTORY: This is North Dakota State’s 38th postseason appearance and 15th straight dating back to 2010. The Bison have advanced to the quarterfinals or beyond all 15 years in the FCS playoffs. NDSU has an 84-18 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 79-17 in the NCAA playoff format since 1973, and the Bison own the record for FCS playoff victories with a 49-5 mark, including 37-1 in the Fargodome.
SEED HISTORY: North Dakota State has a top-two seed for the 10th time in 15 FCS playoff appearances. The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds have home field advantage through the semifinals, and this is the 12th time NDSU has hosted through the semifinals. The Bison were No. 3 in 2015 and hosted a semifinal en route to the national title that year after a quarterfinal loss by No. 2 Illinois State. The Bison were No. 3 again in 2022 and won a home semifinal against No. 7 Incarnate Word after UIW beat No. 2 Sacramento State 66-63 in the quarterfinals.
RECORD SEMIFINAL APPEARANCE: NDSU has tied Georgia Southern for the most semifinal appearances in FCS history. The Bison are appearing in their 13th straight fall semifinal game and have reached 13 of the last 14 semis, falling in the quarterfinals of the spring 2021 season to eventual national champion Sam Houston State.
Most Consecutive FCS Semifinals
9 – North Dakota State, 2011-2019
6 – Marshall, 1991-1996
5 – South Dakota State, 2020-2024
5 – Georgia Southern, 1998-2002
4 – Youngstown State, 1991-1994
4 – Eastern Kentucky, 1979-1982
Most FCS Semifinals (Last)
13 – North Dakota State (2024)
13 – Georgia Southern (2012)
12 – Montana (2023)
8 – Delaware (2020)
8 – Youngstown State (2016)
CONFERENCE CHAMPS: North Dakota State tied with South Dakota and South Dakota State for the Missouri Valley Football Conference championship with 7-1 league records. It is NDSU’s 11th title in 17 years of MVFC membership. NDSU has won six outright titles (2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021) and shared five (2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2024). Overall, this is NDSU’s 38th football conference championship 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.
PLAYERS OF THE YEAR: Bison QB Cam Miller was voted Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Year and RB CharMar Brown was selected as Newcomer of the Year and Freshman of the Year. Miller is the fourth NDSU player to be named Offensive Player of the Year joining quarterbacks Brock Jensen (2013), Easton Stick (2018) and Trey Lance (2019). Brown is the sixth player in MVFC history and third from NDSU to sweep the league’s Newcomer and Freshman of the Year awards, joining linebacker Jabril Cox (2017) and quarterback Trey Lance (2019).
ALL-CONFERENCE: NDSU had nine all-conference selections and five honorable mentions. QB Cam Miller was one of six All-MVFC first team picks along with LT Grey Zabel, RT Mason Miller, WR Bryce Lance, DT Eli Mostaert and LB Logan Kopp. RB CharMar Brown made the second team with K Griffin Crosa and RS Jackson Williams. Honorable mentions were FB Truman Werremeyer, TE Joe Stoffel, DT Kody Huisman, S Sam Jung and LS Caleb Bowers. Mostaert finished second in the voting for Defensive Player of the Year behind South Dakota lineman Mi’Quise Grace, and first-year head coach Tim Polasek was second for MVFC Coach of the Year behind Bob Nielson from South Dakota.
ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM: NDSU had five players named to the MVFC All-Newcomer Team including RB CharMar Brown, C Trent Fraley, RS Jackson Williams, S Jaylin Crumby and CB Anthony Chideme-Alfaro.
MVFC SCHOLAR-ATHLETES: NDSU had five players voted to the MVFC Scholar-Athlete Team with GPAs of 3.5 or better. Bison S Sam Jung, LB Logan Kopp and WR Bryce Lance made the first team and LB Luke Weerts and DT Eli Mostaert made the second team. Honorable mentions included DT Jaxon Duttenhefer, DT Will Mostaert, FB Truman Werremeyer and C Trent Fraley.
REGIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR: First-year NDSU head coach Tim Polasek was named FCS Region 4 Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association. Polasek is in his third stint at NDSU after working as an assistant coach under Craig Bohl from 2016 to 2012 and offensive coordinator under Chris Klieman from 2014 to 2016.
JERRY RICE AWARD: North Dakota State running back CharMar Brown won the 14th annual Jerry Rice Award, presented to the FCS national freshman of the year. Brown is the second winner in NDSU history, joining 2019 quarterback Trey Lance.
WALTER PAYTON AWARD FINALIST: Quarterback Cam Miller is one of the three top finalists for the Walter Payton Award, presented annually to the FCS offensive player of the year. The winner will be named at the Jan. 4 FCS National Awards banquet in Frisco, Texas. Bison defensive tackle Eli Mostaert was 14th in the voting for the Buck Buchanan Award (defensive player of the year).
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: North Dakota State had nine players earn 14 Missouri Valley Football Conference player of the week awards this season.
— Cam Miller, Offense (9/2, 10/7)…Had 358 yards of total offense and three TDs at Colorado including a career-high 277 yards on 18 of 22 passing…Also carried 16 times for 81 yards with a 20-yard TD that pulled NDSU within five points with 2:19 to play…Had 207 total yards and three TDs against North Dakota, leading the Bison to points on six of their first seven drives.
— CharMar Brown, Newcomer (9/23, 9/30, 10/28, 11/4)…Rushed 24 times for 126 yards and three TDs in the win over Towson, including 41 yards on five straight carries in the fourth quarter as NDSU scored to make it a two-possession game…Ran for 100 yards on 17 carries at Illinois State the following week…Had 97 yards on 13 carries with 3 TDs at Murray State…Rushed for 124 yards and one TD on 18 carries against Northern Iowa.
—Jackson Williams, Special Teams (9/23)…Game-high 169 all-purpose yards in the win over Towson, including a 67-yard touchdown on his first collegiate punt return…Also averaged 21.3 yards on four kickoff returns.
—Eli Mostaert, Defense (9/30)…Had two of NDSU’s five sacks in the win at Illinois State, helping limit the Redbirds to eight net rushing yards and 4 of 12 on third down.
—Grey Zabel, Offensive Line (10/7, 11/4)…Graded 94% with zero sacks, hurries or TFLs allowed as the Bison rushed for 208 yards, converted 11 of 16 third downs and held the ball for more than 34 minutes in the win over North Dakota…Graded 94% with zero sacks, hurries, TFLs or missed assignments in the 42-19 win over Northern Iowa.
—Logan Kopp, Defense (10/21)…Made six tackles and sealed the 13-9 win over South Dakota State with an interception at the NDSU 38 with 1:00 left.
—Kaedin Steindorf, Special Teams (10/21)…Averaged 43.8 yards on five punts with two 47-yarders, one out-of-bounds at the SDSU 4 helping limit the Jacks to zero punt return yards.
—Griffin Crosa, Special Teams (11/18)…Scored 11 points on eight PATs and a 32-yard field goal against Missouri State, breaking the NDSU all-time scoring record.
—Mason Miller, Offensive Line (11/18)…Graded 93% with no sacks or TFLs allowed as NDSU averaged 9.6 yards per carry and rushed for a season-high 364 yards against Missouri State.
ALL-AMERICANS: North Dakota State LT Grey Zabel and RT Mason Miller were named to the Associated Press FCS All-America first team, and QB Cam Miller and DT Eli Mostaert made the second team. Zabel, Mostaert and Cam Miller were named to the Stats Perform FCS All-America first team, and RB CharMar Brown and OG Griffin Empey were named Stats Perform Freshman All-Americans.
COMMENCEMENT: NDSU has 11 participating in Friday afternoon’s winter commencement ceremony in the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex. There are five graduate students — DT Eli Mostaert, DT Will Mostaert, OG Jake Rock, WR Tyler Terhark and LB Luke Weerts — and six undergraduate students: LB Oscar Benson, DT Bryce Friday, LB Marcus Gulley, S Sam Jung, RB TK Marshall and FB Truman Werremeyer.
TURNOVERS: NDSU has committed the fewest turnovers in FCS this year (six) with one fumble and five interceptions. The FCS leader in turnover margin last season at plus-17, NDSU currently leads the FCS at plus-18. The best two seasons in turnover margin for the Bison at the Division I level were plus-19 during the 2017 and 2018 national championship seasons. NDSU has two defensive touchdowns this year, a 34-yard interception return by LB Enock Sibomana at Murray State and a 31-yard pick six by LB Logan Kopp against Abilene Christian. DE Toby Anene is tied for third in the FCS with four forced fumbles, one shy of the NDSU single-season record five set by DT Mike Stratton in 1982 and tied by LB Ben Ahneman in 1997.
SCORING BIG: NDSU’s four 50-point games and scoring average of 39.1 points per game are the most since the highest scoring FCS team in Bison history averaged 41.5 points and had four 50-point games in 2018. No NDSU team has scored at least 50 points in five different games.
LEAGUE LEADER: North Dakota State wide receiver Bryce Lance at Murray State became the first NDSU player since Kole Heckendorf in 2008 to catch three touchdown passes in a single game. That included a career-long 74-yard reception from Cam Miller. Lance leads the Missouri Valley Football Conference with 13 touchdown catches, the most by an NDSU player since Zach Vraa‘s 15 in 2013 and second most in NDSU single-season history. Lance’s 60 receptions are the most by a Bison player since Darrius Shepherd‘s 62 in 2018.
TIGHT END TARGET: Senior Joe Stoffel has 76 career receptions for 864 yards, the most catches by a tight end in NDSU history. Stoffel has 12 career touchdown receptions and is tied with Noah Gindorff for fourth among Bison tight ends behind Ben Ellefson (16), Jerimiah Wurzbacher (14) and Kevin Vaadeland (13). Stoffel is second on the team this year with four TD catches.
THOUSAND-YARD RUSHER: NDSU’s CharMar Brown leads all FCS freshmen with a team-high 14 rushing touchdowns and 1,081 rushing yards. He is NDSU’s first 1,000-yard rusher since 2019 when quarterback Trey Lance finished with 1,100 rushing yards. The last Bison running back to reach a thousand was Bruce Anderson with 1,216 yards in 2017.
RETURN TOUCHDOWNS: NDSU freshman Jackson Williams had a 67-yard punt return TD against Towson and a 100-yard kick return TD against Abilene Christian. Williams is the fifth player in Bison history to score on a punt return and kickoff return in the same season joining Ryan Smith (2013), Richard Lewis (2001), Tim Strehlow (1999) and Tony Satter (1990). Two other Bison players have scored on a punt return and kickoff return in different seasons: Paul Hatchett (1968, 1969) and Shamen Washington (2004, 2005, 2007). The Bison are averaging 26.74 yards per kickoff return, third best in NDSU history and fifth in the FCS this year.
GAMES PLAYED: Wide receiver Braylon Henderson will play in his 72nd career game this week and break the NDSU record of 71 games played by cornerback Jayden Price over five seasons from 2019 to 2023.
SCORING RECORDS: NDSU’s Griffin Crosa, in his fourth season as NDSU’s top placekicker and his sixth year overall with the Bison, broke the NDSU all-time scoring record against Missouri State and broke the MVFC and NCAA FCS records for PAT kicks made in the second round win over Abilene Christian. Crosa’s streak of 127 consecutive PAT conversions snapped in 2023 was the third longest in MVFC history. He has made 97 PATs in a row entering the SDSU game.
NDSU Career Points Scored
430 – Griffin Crosa, K, 2019-24
399 – Cam Pedersen, K, 2015-18
386 – Jeff Bentrim, QB, 1983-86
NDSU Career PAT Kicks Made
268 – Griffin Crosa, 2019-24 (MVFC and FCS record)
261 – Cam Pedersen, 2015-18
191 – Adam Keller, 2011-14
NDSU Career FG Made
56 – Adam Keller, 2011-14
54 – Griffin Crosa, 2019-24
51 – Shawn Bibeau, 2006-09
FOURTH-YEAR STARTER: Quarterback Cam Miller has started 52 straight games for NDSU since the middle of the 2021 season. Miller has led NDSU to a 43-11 record as the starting QB, including two NCAA playoff games in the spring 2021 season.
Most Wins as FCS Starting Quarterback
49 – Mark Gronowski, South Dakota State, 2020-24
49 – Easton Stick, North Dakota State, 2015-18
48 – Brock Jensen, North Dakota State, 2010-13
43 – Cam Miller, North Dakota State, 2020-24
43 – Armanti Edwards, Appalachian State, 2006-09
ON THE MARK: NDSU’s Cam Miller was No. 2 in FCS last year with a school-record .720 completion percentage in 2023, and he is on pace to break that mark this year ranked second in FCS with a .729 completion percentage. Over the past two seasons, Miller has completed 434 of 599 passes (.725) with 47 touchdowns against eight interceptions.
PASSING LEADER: North Dakota State’s Cam Miller broke the NDSU career record for passing yards against South Dakota, completions against Abilene Christian, and total offense yards against Mercer. Miller also ranks first in career passing completion percentage (.690), third in pass efficiency (163.8), fourth in yards per passing attempt (8.9), and fifth in Bison history with 45 career rushing touchdowns, breaking the Missouri Valley Football Conference record of 41 rushing touchdowns by a quarterback set by NDSU’s Easton Stick from 2015 to 2018. Miller also holds school records with 18 career 200-yard passing games and 324 consecutive passing attempts without an interception.
NDSU Career Pass Attempts
1,124 – Brock Jensen, 2010-13
1,053 – Cam Miller, 2020-24
980 – Easton Stick, 2015-18
NDSU Career Pass Completions
727 – Cam Miller, 2020-24
703 – Brock Jensen, 2010-13
598 – Easton Stick, 2015-18
NDSU Career Passing Yards
9,343 – Cam Miller, 2020-24
8,693 – Easton Stick, 2015-18
8,598 – Brock Jensen, 2010-13
NDSU Career Passing TDs
88 – Easton Stick, 2015-18
76 – Cam Miller, 2020-24
72 – Brock Jensen, 2010-13
NDSU Career TDs Responsible For
129 – Easton Stick, 2015-18
121 – Cam Miller, 2020-24
107 – Brock Jensen, 2010-13
NDSU Career Total Offense Yards
11,406 – Cam Miller, 2020-24
11,216 – Easton Stick, 2015-18
9,838 – Brock Jensen, 2010-13
SEASON PASSING RECORDS: NDSU last week against Mercer broke its single-season team record for passing completions and yards. The Bison are two passing touchdowns away from tying the school record 35 set in 2013. Quarterback Cam Miller needs three completions to pass Carson Wentz for the school single-season record.
NDSU Single-Season Pass Completions
228 – Carson Wentz, 2014
226 – Cam Miller, 2024
220 – Tony Stauss, 2003
219 – Brock Jensen, 2011
218 – Brock Jensen, 2013
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS: North Dakota State is 86-6 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 197-29 record in the Fargodome, 36-6 at home against FCS Top 10 ranked teams, and winners of 86 of the last 88 home games over non-conference opponents. North Dakota State has a 37-1 record in the Fargodome during the NCAA playoffs and has won 19 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.
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