Fargo, ND (GoBison.com) THIS WEEK: North Dakota State opens the 2024 football season with a nationally televised prime-time game Thursday, Aug. 29, against the Colorado Buffaloes of the Big 12 Conference. Game time is 6 p.m. MT / 7 p.m. CT at Folsom Field (50,183) in Boulder, Colo.


TELEVISION: Thursday’s game will be televised on ESPN (CSi 14 & CSi HD 84-14) with Mark Jones (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (analyst) and Quint Kessenich (sideline) handling the call. The game will also stream on ESPN.com and the ESPN app.

RADIO: Statewide network coverage begins at 6 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 Noah Gindorff (sideline). Streaming is available on GoBison.com/allaccess and the NDSU Athletics mobile app.

THE SERIES: This is the first meeting between North Dakota State and Colorado. NDSU’s last game in the state was a 22-7 victory over Colorado State in Fort Collins on Sept. 8, 2012. The Bison are 3-1 against Big 12 Conference opponents with victories over Kansas (6-3 in 2010), Kansas State (24-21 in 2013) and Iowa State (34-14 in 2014).

NEW COACH: This is the first game for new North Dakota State head coach Tim Polasek, who is back at NDSU for the third time in his coaching career after working at Iowa as the offensive line coach from 2017-2020 and Wyoming as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2021-2023. He was a running backs coach at NDSU from 2006-2012 under Craig Bohl and spent one year at Northern Illinois before returning to NDSU as offensive coordinator from 2014-2016 under Chris Klieman. Polasek is taking over for Matt Entz, who accepted a position at Southern California as linebackers coach and assistant head coach for defense. Entz was 60-11 in five seasons as NDSU’s head coach with two national championships and two conference championships in 2019 and 2021.

COACHING DEBUTS: The last four NDSU head coaches have won their first game at the helm of the Bison including Matt Entz‘s win over Butler in 2019, Chris Klieman‘s win at Iowa State in 2014, Craig Bohl‘s win over Tusculum in 2003, and Bob Babich‘s win over West Georgia in 1997. First-year NDSU head coaches are 8-3 in their debuts dating back to the 1963 arrival of Darrell Mudra, who lost his opener in 1963 after inheriting an 0-10 team but guided the Bison to their first postseason appearance in 1964 before winning NDSU’s first national title in 1965.

SEASON OPENERS: This is the 128th season-opening game for the Bison. North Dakota State is 90-31-6 in season openers including last year’s 35-10 victory over Eastern Washington at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The Bison have won eight straight season openers since a 38-35 loss at Montana in the 2015 FCS Kickoff game on ESPN.

CAPTAINS NAMED: North Dakota State’s six captains for the 2024 season are WR Braylon Henderson, QB Cam Miller, LB Luke Weerts, DT Eli Mostaert, OT Grey Zabel and DE Dylan Hendricks. Miller, Weerts and Mostaert are all second-year captains.

BISON PICKED SECOND: North Dakota State is ranked No. 2 in both FCS preseason polls from Stats Perform and the American Football Coaches Association. The Bison were picked to finish second in the Missouri Valley Football Conference behind two-time defending national champion South Dakota State. NDSU had 10 players on the MVFC preseason team. First-team picks were FB/LS Hunter Brozio, OT Grey Zabel, DE Dylan Hendricks, DT Eli Mostaert, LB Logan Kopp and S Cole Wisniewski. Second-team honorees were QB Cam Miller, TE Joe Stoffel, OT Mason Miller and K Griffin Crosa.

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS: NDSU led the country with eight preseason FCS All-Americans selected by Stats Perform. NDSU DT Eli Mostaert, S Cole Wisniewski and LS Hunter Brozio were on the first team, QB Cam Miller, OT Grey Zabel, DE Dylan Hendricks and LB Logan Kopp were second team, and K Griffin Crosa was third team. The Missouri Valley Football Conference had 24 of the 106 preseason honorees, the most of all 13 FCS conferences.

LAST YEAR: North Dakota State was 11-4 last year and advanced to the NCAA Division I FCS semifinals for the 12th time in 13 seasons before falling to national runner-up Montana 31-29 in double overtime. The Bison tied for third in the Missouri Valley Football Conference with a 5-3 record.

POSTSEASON HISTORY: North Dakota State has made 37 postseason appearances including 14 straight dating back to 2010. NDSU has an 82-18 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 77-17 in the NCAA playoff format since 1973. The Bison have a 47-5 mark in the FCS playoffs, including a 35-1 record in the Fargodome.
Most FCS Playoff Wins
        47 – North Dakota State
        45 – Georgia Southern
        38 – Montana
        29 – Youngstown State
        26 – Northern Iowa

Highest Winning Percentage in FCS Playoffs
        .904 – North Dakota State (47-5)
        .793 – Marshall (23-6)
        .776 – Georgia Southern (45-13)
        .763 – Youngstown State (29-9)

CROSA ON RECORD PACE: NDSU’s Griffin Crosa is on pace to break multiple scoring records. Crosa, entering his fourth season as NDSU’s top placekicker and his sixth year overall with the Bison, ranks fourth in field goals made (42), second in PATs made (203) and fifth in total points (329). He is also in line to break the MVFC extra-points record. His streak of 127 consecutive PAT conversions snapped in 2023 was the third longest in Missouri Valley Football Conference history. Crosa led the MVFC last season with 19 field goals, 70 extra points and 127 total points.
NDSU Career Points Scored
        399 – Cam Pedersen, K, 2015-18
        386 – Jeff Bentrim, QB, 1983-86
        384 – Lamar Gordon, RB, 1998-01
        359 – Adam Keller, K, 2011-14
        329 – Griffin Crosa, K, 2019-23

NDSU Career PAT Kicks Made
        261 – Cam Pedersen, 2015-18
        203 – Griffin Crosa, 2019-23
        191 – Adam Keller, 2011-14

NDSU Career FG Made
        56 – Adam Keller, 2011-14
        51 – Shawn Bibeau, 2006-09
        46 – Cam Pedersen, 2015-18
        42 – Griffin Crosa, 2019-23
        42 – Aaron Pederson, 1998-01

FOURTH-YEAR STARTER: Quarterback Cam Miller has started 38 straight games for NDSU since the middle of the 2021 season. Miller has led NDSU to a 31-9 record as the starting QB, including two NCAA playoff games in the spring 2021 season.

RECORD SEASON: Quarterback Cam Miller completed a school-record 72 percent of his passes last season going 208-for-289 with 19 touchdowns and four interceptions. That was third best completion percentage in Missouri Valley Football Conference history. Miller set NDSU and MVFC records in 2023 with 23 consecutive completions against Central Arkansas (17) and South Dakota (6).

TOP FIVE PASSER: North Dakota State’s Cam Miller is among the top five passers in NDSU history entering the season ranked fourth in passing attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns. He also ranks first in career passing completion percentage (67.4%).
NDSU Career Pass Attempts
        1124 – Brock Jensen, 2010-13
        980 – Easton Stick, 2015-18
        841 – Steve Walker, 2004-07
        743 – Cam Miller, 2020-23
        612 – Carson Wentz, 2012-15

NDSU Career Pass Completions
        703 – Brock Jensen, 2010-13
        598 – Easton Stick, 2015-18
        534 – Steve Walker, 2004-07
        501 – Cam Miller, 2020-23
        392 – Carson Wentz, 2012-15

NDSU Career Passing Yards
        8693 – Easton Stick, 2015-18
        8598 – Brock Jensen, 2010-13
        7033 – Steve Walker, 2004-07
        6470 – Cam Miller, 2020-23
        5115 – Carson Wentz, 2012-15

NDSU Career Passing TDs
        88 – Easton Stick, 2015-18
        72 – Brock Jensen, 2010-13
        60 – Steve Walker, 2004-07
        48 – Cam Miller, 2020-23
        45 – Carson Wentz, 2012-15

AWARD CANDIDATES: North Dakota State has six players on preseason watch lists for national player of the year honors. QB Cam Miller is listed for the Walter Payton Award, presented annually to the FCS Offensive Player of the Year. Miller finished 11th in the voting last year. DT Eli Mostaert, LB Logan Kopp and S Cole Wisniewski are up for the Buck Buchanan Award, presented to the FCS Defensive Player of the Year. Kopp was a finalist last year and tied for 22nd in the voting. Kaedin Steindorf is on the FCS Punter of the Year watch list, and Griffin Crosa is on the preseason list for the Fred Mitchell Award, presented to the top placekicker among the FCS, Division II, III, NAIA and NJCAA.

AGAINST THE FBS: North Dakota State is 9-4 against FBS opponents, and Colorado is the first since 2022 when the Bison lost 31-28 at Arizona. Prior to that, the Bison won six straight FBS games against Kansas (6-3 in 2010), Minnesota (37-24 in 2011), Colorado State (22-7 in 2012), Kansas State (24-21 in 2013), Iowa State (34-14 in 2014) and 11th-ranked Iowa (23-21 in 2016). NDSU’s other three FBS victories were against Ball State (29-24 in 2006), Central Michigan (44-14 in 2007) and Minnesota (27-21 in 2007). The Bison are scheduled to open the 2028 season at Oregon.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS: North Dakota State is 81-5 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 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 loss the past 13 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.

BOHL TO BE INDUCTED: NDSU’s all-time winningest head football coach, Craig Bohl, will be inducted in the 2024 class of the Bison Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday, Sept. 20. Bohl was a two-time Eddie Robinson Award winner as FCS Coach of the Year and compiled a 104-32 record over 11 seasons from 2003-2013. He guided the Bison through their final season of Division II in 2003 and quickly transitioned the Bison to Division I prominence beating seven FBS opponents and reaching the FCS playoffs four times with three straight national titles in his final three seasons. He retired from coaching following the 2023 season after 10 years at Wyoming and is currently the executive director of the American Football Coaches Association. Tickets to the hall of fame luncheon are on sale at GoBison.com/tickets.