THIS WEEK: North Dakota State (1-0) travels to Music City this week to face Ohio Valley Conference opponent Tennessee State (1-0) on Saturday, Sept. 6. Game time is 1:30 p.m. at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn.

TELEVISION: Tennessee State and the Ohio Valley Conference will have exclusive television coverage on ESPN+ available to subscribers on ESPN.com and in the ESPN app.

RADIO: Statewide network coverage on all 25 stations across the Pioneer Seeds Bison Sports Network begins at 12:30 p.m. including Bison 1660 and 107.9 The Fox in Fargo with Sam Neidermann (play-by-play) and Phil Hansen (analyst) describing the action. Streaming is available on GoBison.com/allaccess and the NDSU Athletics mobile app.

TICKETS & PARKING: Tickets start at $40 in advance and $50 on game day and are available on Ticketmaster. Seats are available behind the NDSU bench on the east sideline in Sections 111-121. Game day parking is available in Lot E (north end) and Lot N (south end) and payment is by credit card only at both lots. Tailgating is in Lot R (south end) and additional RV/bus parking is in Lot P (south end). For more information, visit TSUTigers.com/tickets.

CLEAR BAG POLICY: Nissan Stadium follows the NFL Clear Bag Policy. Fans carrying personal items must use a clear bag 12″ x 12″ x 6″ or smaller. Non-transparent bags must be no larger than 4.5″ x 6.5″ even if you are placing it inside your larger clear bag. For more details and stadium policies, visit NissanStadium.com.

THE SERIES: This is the second meeting between North Dakota State and Tennessee State. NDSU won 52-3 in last year’s Trees Bowl game in Week 2 at the Fargodome. The Bison are 3-0 against Ohio Valley Conference teams with wins over Austin Peay (41-6 in the 2008 season opener) and Jacksonville State (37-10 in the 2015 national championship). Tennessee State has not faced any other Missouri Valley Football Conference teams.

ON THE ROAD, AGAIN: This is the fourth time as a Division I program North Dakota State is opening a season with back-to-back road games. The last time was 2014 when the Bison beat Iowa State 34-14 and Weber State 24-7. Others were in 2009 (losing 34-17 to Iowa State and 48-45 to Sam Houston State) and in 2010 (beating Kansas 6-3 and losing to Northern Iowa 16-9).

NEW PLACES: This is NDSU’s second trip to the state of Tennessee, where the Bison played for the first time last year beating East Tennessee State 38-35 in Johnson City. Last week, the Bison checked off their 33rd state playing their first game in the state of South Carolina at The Citadel.

LAST WEEK: Senior quarterback Cole Payton accounted for 293 yards of total offense in his first start to lead North Dakota State to a 38-0 win at The Citadel. Payton went 10 of 16 passing for 192 yards and rushed 11 times for 101 yards. It was the fourth 100-yard rushing game of his career. The Bison averaged 5.4 yards per carry and rushed for 256 yards with Barika Kpeenu rushing 12 times for 79 yards and two touchdowns and DJ Scott picking up 43 yards on 10 totes with one TD. Bryce Lance made four catches for 34 yards and RaJa Nelson had 60 yards on two receptions including a diving 34-yard TD in the corner of the end zone to help build a 17-0 halftime lead.

ROAD SHUTOUT: Last week’s 38-0 win at The Citadel was NDSU’s first shutout since a 20-0 road win at Illinois State in October 2021. NDSU held The Citadel to 2 of 12 on third down and just 104 yards rushing and 2.5 yards per carry. Linebacker Logan Kopp made a team-high nine tackles with a career-high 2.5 tackles for loss including one of NDSU’s five sacks. Kopp had a TFL on a fourth-down stop at the NDSU 3 to help preserve the shutout, and also had a fumble recovery and a pass breakup. Nathaniel Staehling made a career-high six tackles in his first start at middle linebacker and Jaxon Duttenhefer tied a career high with five tackles.

CAPTAINS NAMED: North Dakota State’s six captains for the 2025 football season are quarterback Cole Payton, wide receivers Bryce Lance and Chris Harris, defensive tackle Jaxon Duttenhefer, and linebackers Logan Kopp and Nathaniel Staehling.

BISON PICKED FIRST: Reigning national champion North Dakota State was picked first in a preseason poll of Missouri Valley Football Conference media, coaches and communications directors. NDSU finished 14-2 last season and tied for first in the league with a 7-1 record. The Bison won their 11th conference title and 10th NCAA FCS national title. NDSU received 39 of 42 first-place votes. South Dakota State was picked second and South Dakota was third.

ACADEMIC AWARD: North Dakota State earned the Missouri Valley Football Conference All-Academic Award for the fourth time in school history. NDSU’s 3.398 average team GPA during the 2024-25 school year was the second highest in MVFC history. The Bison have posted 3.0 or better team GPAs in 13 straight semesters and are coming off their two highest semester GPAs since beginning Division I competition in 2004.

WATCH LISTS: North Dakota State has three players under consideration for national player of the year awards. Wide receiver Bryce Lance is on the preseason watch list for the Walter Payton Award, presented annually to the FCS offensive player of the year. Defensive end Toby Anene and linebacker Logan Kopp are on the watch list for the Buck Buchanan Award, presented to the FCS defensive player of the year.

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS: North Dakota State had five players named to the Stats Perform FCS Preseason All-America Team. Center Trent Fraley and wide receiver Bryce Lance were named to the first team. Defensive end Toby Anene, linebacker Logan Kopp and kick returner Jackson Williams were second team.

HALL OF FAME: Two former NDSU football standouts will be inducted into the Bison Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday, Sept. 26. Tickets to attend the luncheon and induction ceremony are on sale at GoBison.com/tickets. Among the eight inductees are wide receiver/return specialist Allen Burrell (2002-2005) and safety Craig Dahl (2003-2006). Burrell, an honorable mention All-North Central Conference receiver in 2003, also starred in track and field as an eight-time conference champion and four-time All-America sprinter. Dahl was a three-time all-conference safety and went on to a nine-year NFL career with the Giants, Rams and 49ers, winning a Super Bowl with the Giants his rookie year.

OFFENSIVE RETURNERS: North Dakota State returns 11 starters this year, including five on offense. Center Trent Fraley and guard Griffin Empey are back to anchor the offensive line, which graduated two NFL tackles in first-round draft pick Grey Zabel and undrafted free-agent signee Mason Miller. In the backfield, the Bison return fullback Truman Werremeyer and running back Barika Kpeenu is the top returning rusher after averaging 5.5 yards per carry with 725 yards and seven touchdowns. Wide receiver Bryce Lance made 75 catches for 1,071 yards (the second most catches and third most yards in NDSU single-season history) and led the FCS with a school-record 17 touchdown catches last year.

DEFENSIVE RETURNERS: North Dakota State returns six starters on defense, including cornerbacks Anthony Chideme-Alfaro and Jailen Duffie, safety Darius Givance, linebacker Logan Kopp, defensive end Toby Anene and defensive tackle Jaxon Duttenhefer. NDSU led the FCS in turnover margin last year at plus-19 with five interceptions and 14 fumbles recovered. Kopp led the Bison with 73 tackles and three interceptions last year, and he was second on the team with 8.5 tackles for loss.

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.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS: North Dakota State is 88-6 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.