This was a good week for Bison Athletics!

Football
NDSU Football visited Illinois State for the Missouri Valley Football Conference opener. The Bison had their way with the Redbirds all day long, with a 14-7 lead at half. That would only grow in the 2nd half, as the Bison would balloon it all the way to 42 points. Illinois State would tack on a field late in the 4th quarter in the 42-10 Bison win. It was a really great day, NDSU now has a ranked win on the season.
This week, the Bison will come home to host a highly anticipated matchup with their rivals to the north, UND. In the 117th edition of the Nickel Trophy matchup, both teams will come in as top 10 squads for only the second time in the series' history. The only other instance was in 2021 when the Bison visited Grand Forks for the first time in over 20 years for a 16-10 win. The game will kickoff at 2:30 PM CT on ESPN+ and ABC ND on Saturday.

North Dakota State Football is 1-0 in MVFC play and 4-1 overall on the season.

Women's Soccer
NDSU Soccer started Summit League play this week with two road games. The first matchup was at Omaha on Thursday, which the teams would tie. Then, on Sunday, the Bison would go into Kansas City and defeat the Roos for their first conference win of the season. 
This week, the Bison will take several days off before also playing our rival to the north, this time in Grand Forks. That game will start on Sunday at 1 PM CT.

North Dakota State Women's Soccer is 1-0-1 in Summit League play and 5-4-3 on the season.

Volleyball
NDSU Volleyball also started Summit League play this week with a game down in St. Paul against St. Thomas. The Bison would win that game in 4 sets, taking their first conference win of the season. 
This week, the Bison will come home to host two conference opponents in Denver (Thursday) and Oral Roberts (Saturday). 

North Dakota State Volleyball is 1-0 in Summit League play and 5-5 on the season.

​Go Bison!!

It was a good week for NDSU athletics!

Football
NDSU Football welcomed Towson into the Fargodome for the homecoming game. The Bison absolutely dominated the first half, taking a 24-3 lead into the break. In the 2nd half, things got tricky as the NDSU defense started allowing some good looks for Towson's offense. The NDSU offense also started to go cold. In the 4th quarter it came to head when Towson made it a one score game. The Bison would finally wake up and score 10 points to seal the game, with the defense getting their first stop since the 2nd quarter. 
This week, the Bison will hit the road for the first MVFC game of the season. They will play Illinois State who will most likely be ranked for the game. Kickoff will be at 2 PM CT and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

North Dakota State Football is 3-1 on the season.

Women's Soccer
NDSU Soccer had one lone game this week to wrap up non-conference play. They defeated NAIA St. Ambrose 5-0 in what was Senior day. 
This week, the Bison will begin Summit League play. They will begin on the road, first visiting Omaha on Thursday, and then Kansas City on Sunday. All conference games will be broadcast on the Summit League Network.

North Dakota State Women's Soccer is 4-4-2 on the season.

Volleyball
NDSU Volleyball made the trip to Arizona for their final non-conference games of the season. The Bison split the Arizona Wildcat Classic, getting swept in their first game against Arizona but then winning in 4 sets over Southern Utah. 
This week, NDSU begins Summit League play with a visit to St. Thomas on Thursday. All conference games will be broadcast on the Summit League Network.

North Dakota State Volleyball is 4-5 on the season.

Go Bison!!

What a week for NDSU sports!

Football
NDSU Football took a trip to Johnson City, Tennessee for the first ever trip to the Volunteer state in school history. It proved to be quite an eventful afternoon/evening. In the first half, both teams offenses appeared near unstoppable. NDSU blinked first in the 2nd quarter - which led to ETSU having their first lead going into halftime. The NDSU defense struggled all day long to get a handle on the Bucs rushing attack. In the 2nd half, NDSU's offense started to sputter a little bit - a combination of lack of execution and questionable play-calling. The Bison offense finally broke through towards the end of the 3rd quarter, but ETSU answered early on in the 4th. NDSU was held out until just under 2 minutes left in the game when they scored a touchdown to make it a 5 point game. NDSU then somehow recovered the onside kick and took back over at midfield! The Bison then drove down and scored off a Cam Miller run, and also converted the 2-point conversion! Suddenly, a game that looked most certainly over no more then 3 minutes earlier was all of a sudden a Bison lead! ETSU got the ball back and was able to move down the field a little, before throwing a game-sealing pick towards NDSU LB Logan Kopp. NDSU escaped Johnson City with a gutsy comeback! The Bison do have a lot to sort out. NDSU's defense needs to patch up their tackling effort, as it was severely lacking at times. Also, the youth of the coaches showed quite a bit - with several play calls seeming very weird late in the game. 
This week, the Bison will come home to host Towson for Homecoming. Kickoff is at 1 PM CT at the Fargodome, and will be broadcast on WDAY and ESPN+.

North Dakota State Football is 2-1 on the season.

Women's Soccer
NDSU Women's Soccer got back to their normal routine this week. Unfortunately that routine didn't lead to any wins. On Thursday, the Bison hosted Weber State, and lost 2-4. Then, on Sunday, they visited the Gophers in Minneapolis. It was a close contest, but the Bison fell 0-1. 
This week, NDSU will close up non-conference play with a tune up at home against St. Ambrose. That game will be at 6 PM CT, and will be streamed on the Summit League Network.

North Dakota State Women's Soccer is 3-4-2 on the season.

Volleyball
NDSU Volleyball had a much different week then the last few. The Bison hosted Montana for a duel this weekend. NDSU was able to win both games, the first was a 3-0 sweep and the second was a 3-1 decision. 
This week, the Bison will hit the road for the final non-conference games of the season. They will head out to Tucson, Arizona for the Arizona Wildcat Classic where they will play host Arizona as well as Southern Utah. The game against the Wildcats will be on Thursday and then the Thunderbirds on Friday.

North Dakota State Volleyball is 3-4 on the season.

​Go Bison!!

It was a good week to be a Bison!

Football
NDSU Football opened up the Fargodome for the first time this season, welcoming in Tennessee State who is a member of the Big South-OVC football association. The Bison came out and just dominated an obviously overmatched opponent. NDSU already had a 14-0 lead at the end of the 1st quarter. By halftime it had gotten completely out of hand as NDSU sat comfortably with a 35-0 lead. This included two touchdown receptions by Bryce Lance, which were the first of his NDSU career. He is indeed the brother of Bison great, Trey Lance. 
After the halftime break, the Bison continued their defensive dominance. Also in the 3rd quarter, redshirt freshman Eli Ozick attempted his first field goal and made it from 51 yards out. This was the longest field goal made by the Bison since 2016. In the 4th quarter, NDSU's backups would put the exclamation point on the game with two touchdowns. Tennessee State would manage a 19 yard field goal to take the goose egg off the board with 5 minutes left in the game.
This week, the Bison will hit the road again to play another school from Tennessee. They will head to Johnson City, Tennessee to play East Tennessee State. 

North Dakota State Football is 1-1 on the season.

Women's Soccer
NDSU soccer took the majority of the week off from game action to recover from their Hawaii trip they took last week. The Bison did host Idaho State on Sunday, and tied that game at 0. Not exactly the best game for the green and gold, but they will get back into rhythm here hopefully. 
This week, the Bison will host Weber State on Thursday at 6 PM CT and will be broadcast on Summit League Network. Then, on Sunday, they will come down I-94 to visit the Golden Gophers in what has become a yearly occurrence. That game will start at 1 PM CT.

North Dakota State Women's Soccer is 3-2-2 on the season.

Volleyball
NDSU volleyball has continued their rough start to the season. This week, they hosted the NDSU/UND tournament, and played West Virginia on Friday and SIU Edwardsville on Saturday. The Bison would lose on Friday in a 5 set decision and win on Saturday in 4 sets. 
This week, NDSU will remain home to host Montana for a duel on Friday (7 PM CT) and Saturday (1 PM CT). 

North Dakota State Volleyball is 1-4 on the season.

​Go Bison!!

NDSU had kind of a rough week....

Football
NDSU Football started their 2024 season out in Boulder playing the Colorado Buffaloes. The Bison started the game with the ball and put the first points of the game on the board with a field goal. Colorado had something to say by throwing a long touchdown. This ping pong battle would continue except with touchdowns, until the end of the 2nd quarter when the Bison would take a 6 point lead. That unfortunately wouldn't last, as Colorado would tack on a field goal before halftime. The Bison would not have a great 3rd quarter, and would give up the lead to Colorado who would lead by 11 points in the 4th quarter. The Bison would score a touchdown with around 2:30 to go in the game to bring it back to a one score game. After a 3 and out by Colorado, NDSU got the ball back with around 40 seconds left to try and win the game. The Bison were able to get off one final heave, but Tyler Terhark was tackled 4 yards short of the goal line and NDSU fell to the Buffaloes. 
Something I noticed about this team, was that they fought the hardest as I have seen in years. This team is going to be something special under Tim Polasek, and I look forward to seeing it unfold!

Next week the Bison will come home to open up the Fargodome and welcome in Tennessee State. Kickoff is on Saturday at 2:30 PM CT and will of course be broadcast on ESPN+ and ABC ND.
North Dakota State Football is 0-1 on the season.

Women's Soccer
NDSU Women's Soccer headed out to the Aloha State this week for a few games on Hawaii's campus. They started with a win over Hawaii Pacific, 1-0. But they would stumble into the weekend with a loss to Grand Canyon (1-0) and a loss to Hawaii (4-1).
The Bison hope to rebound this week when they come home to host Idaho State on Sunday at 1 PM CT, which will be broadcast on WDAY Xtra and the Summit League Network.
North Dakota State Women's Soccer is 3-2-1 on the season.

Volleyball
NDSU Volleyball started their season down in Fort Myers for the Fort Myers Classic. They unfortunately had a rough week, as they lost all three games. First was a sweep to Albany, then the next two games were 5 set battles with Florida Gulf Coast and Illinois-Chicago.
This week the Bison will come home to host the NDSU/UND tournament. They will play West Virginia on Friday at 7 PM CT, and on Saturday they will play SIU Edwardsville at 11 AM CT.
North Dakota State Volleyball is 0-3 on the season.

​Go Bison!

Some exciting things to talk about this week!

Women's Soccer
NDSU Women's Soccer came home for their home opener this week against Alabama State. The Bison would emerge victorious, stifling the Lady Hornets in a 3-0 victory. 
This week will be a big one for the Bison women. They will head out to Hawaii for three games. On Tuesday they will play Hawaii Pacific, then on Thursday they will matchup with Grand Canyon, and Sunday they will wrap up with host Hawaii. 
North Dakota State Women's Soccer is 2-0-1 on the season.

Football
NDSU Football will begin their 2024 campaign on Thursday night against the Colorado Buffaloes of the Big 12 in front of a national audience on ESPN. This year's Bison have a lot in front of them this year, and a lot of hope amongst NDSU faithful. Last year's team finished 11-4 and fell to Montana in the FCS semifinals to miss out on a title for the second straight season - the first of its kind for NDSU since their dynasty began in 2011. There is a lot of reason to believe this could be a special year for the Bison. For starters - plenty of the team's highlight players return this year for what many will be their last season. NDSU also has a new coach this year, Tim Polasek, a former Bison offensive coordinator back in the Craig Bohl era. Polasek aims to restore NDSU to its former glory, and recapture the magic that propelled the team to 9 FCS titles. Lets break down their schedule.
The Bison will start the season with a rare FBS game, against Big 12 returner Colorado. The Buffaloes have been the talk of college football the last couple of years with former NFL great Deion Sanders coming over from Jackson State to be the head coach in Boulder. Last year, that hype fell short after a strong start with Colorado finishing the season 4-8 and missing a bowl game. Deion seems to be repeating the same formula as last offseason, kicking players out and pulling new ones in just as fast. Lots of questions remain about who will play for the Buffaloes in their first game against the Bison, as well as the Bison having issues of their own. Several NDSU mainstays are having injury issues early on, including defensive star Cole Wisniewski who will not play in Colorado. 5th year senior fullback Hunter Brozio, who was a dual first team preseason MVFC selection this season, will not play at all this year suffering a season ending injury. Top running back Barika Kpeenu is also questionable to appear in the opener in Boulder, but is expected to play this season.
After their tilt with the Buffaloes, NDSU come back to Fargo for the home opener against Tennessee State as part of the first year of a home and home contract. The Tigers hail from the Big South-OVC football association and went 6-5 last season. Then, the Bison will hit the road again and go play East Tennessee State of the Southern Conference. Many believe the SoCon has overtaken the CAA as the third best FCS conference. ETSU should be somewhat familiar to Bison fans, as the team bested them in the quarterfinals of the 2021 FCS playoffs en route to a national title.
NDSU will then return home to the Fargodome for a matchup against Towson of the CAA, that will serve as the homecoming game. NDSU previously beat the Tigers in Maryland also back in 2021. The Bison will then head back on the road to start their Missouri Valley Football Conference schedule, with a game at Illinois State. The Redbirds have a lot of hope behind them that they will improve upon their mediocre record from last season. 
NDSU will then come home to host bitter in-state rival UND for the series' 117th matchup. The Fighting Hawks gave NDSU quite the humbling last season for their first win in the series since 2003. The Bison hope to regain bragging rights this season against a slightly less powerful UND team. Then, NDSU will hit the road to play ever-potent Southern Illinois, who is currently ranked in the FCS Top 25. This matchup also proves to be great football.
After that, the Bison will come back home to host reigning two time national champion South Dakota State - this time in front of a national audience on a yet to be determined ESPN network. This is because of the MVFC's new media contract extension with ESPN that requires at least 2 league games appear on linear television a season. The Bison hope to reclaim the marker for the first time since 2019, as the Jacks have won 5 straight over NDSU. 
After that, the Bison will hit the road again to visit Murray State for the first time. The last matchup was a three touchdown win for the green and gold. NDSU will then come home to host somewhat dormant rival Northern Iowa, the Bison bested the Panthers in Cedar Falls last season. After a week off, NDSU will return to action at home against Missouri State which will be the final matchup between the two programs as FCS teams. The Bears plan to join Conference USA of the FBS after this season and are ineligible for the FCS playoffs in that time.
The Bison will wrap up the regular season with a road game at South Dakota, who hope to have a season replicating what they did last year. USD spoiled NDSU's homecoming last year, and then were blown out by the Bison in the FCS quarterfinals. 
That about does it for the NDSU Football season preview! The season begins on Thursday night against Colorado!!

Volleyball
NDSU Volleyball starts their 2024 season on Friday in Fort Myers, Florida! The Bison ladies hope to continue their newfound success from the last couple seasons, as they went 18-11 and 9-7 in Summit play last year. NDSU fell in the Summit League semifinals.
The Bison will begin their campaign with a visit to Fort Myers Florida for the Fort Myers Classic which will feature games against Albany, Florida Gulf Coast (host), and Illinois-Chicago. Then NDSU will begin September with the NDSU/UND tournament that they are co-hosting with their rivals to the north. The Bison will play West Virginia and SIU-Edwardsville for their part of the tournament. Then, NDSU will host Montana for a duel a week later. After that, the Bison will hit the road to the desert for the Arizona Wildcat Classic, hosted by the University of Arizona. They will play the Wildcats, and then Southern Utah. After that classic, the Bison will start Summit League play and finish up the month at St. Thomas. 
In October, the Bison will host Denver and Oral Roberts in a traditional Thursday-Saturday duel. Then they will hit the road for games at Kansas City and Omaha. After that will be a split week at home against South Dakota State and then on the road at South Dakota. NDSU will then have a quick turnaround to come back up to play UND in Grand Forks on a Tuesday. Then, they will finish that week with a home weekend against St. Thomas and Omaha. They will finish the month with the start of a road weekend, first at Oral Roberts.
November will start with a trip to Denver. Then, NDSU will host USD but hit the road to play SDSU. The Bison will finish the regular season hosting Kansas City and UND. The Summit League Tournament will be hosted by Kansas City this season, and will take place from November 24th-26th. 
NDSU Volleyball starts their season this Friday down in Fort Myers!

Fall sports will now be in full swing by the end of the week, college sports are back folks!
​Go Bison!

Well, it was a good start for a Bison team this week. 

Women's Soccer
NDSU Women's Soccer started their 2024 season this week with their Wisconsin trip. On Thursday, they defeated NAIA Viterbo in a 3-1 victory. Then, on Sunday, they took a 0-0 draw with Green Bay. 
This week, the Bison will return to Fargo for the home opener against Alabama State on Thursday. The game will start at 6 PM CT and will be broadcast on WDAY Xtra and the Summit League Network.
North Dakota State Women's Soccer is 1-0-1 on the season.

Stay tuned next week for the football and volleyball season previews!!

Go Bison!

Wow! And just like that - summer is coming to a close. You know what that means - time for College Fall sports to return! This upcoming school year for North Dakota State looks to pack quite a punch, and I look forward to sharing it with you all! This month will mainly feature previews of this year's NDSU Fall Sports teams, with one starting quite soon.

Women's Soccer
Alright, women's soccer always starts first so lets get down to business here. The Bison women's soccer team have already started work on their season. NDSU played two exhibition games this year, one of them was last Wednesday at home against NAIA Dakota Wesleyan. The Bison dominated the match as expected, winning the preseason game 12-0. Then, on Saturday, NDSU traveled down to Richfield, Minnesota to play Drake in their final tune-up game. They lost, 2-3. This year's team features quite a few names from last year, and does not include a freshman. The Bison will graduate a potential 8 seniors from this year's team, and they hope to bank on that for most success this year. Last year, the Bison finished with an underwhelming 1-3-4 Summit League record, and a 5-6-6 overall record and no postseason appearance. 
North Dakota State's non-conference schedule features a few intriguing matchups as well as some we have become used to. (The Summit features 9 teams again) The Bison will open the season with a couple games on the road. First they will head to La Crosse, Wisconsin to play NAIA Viterbo this Thursday the 15th. Then they will swing by Green Bay to play the Green Bay Phoenix on Sunday the 18th for their first Division I matchup of the young season. Following the Wisconsin trip, NDSU will come home to host Alabama State on Thursday August 22nd, which will also be broadcast on WDAY Xtra. After the home game, NDSU will head out to the Aloha State for a three game invitational hosted by the University of Hawai'i. It will begin with a game against Hawaii Pacific on August 27th, then a match against Grand Canyon on August 29th, and concluding with a match against the host - Hawai'i on September 1st. After the Hawai'i trip, the Bison will come home to host a pair against Idaho State on September 8th (broadcast on WDAY Xtra) and Weber State on September 12th. NDSU will then head down I-94 to play the Golden Gophers in Minneapolis, in what has become an annual affair, on September 15th. The Bison conclude their non-conference schedule with a NAIA tune-up against St. Ambrose at home on September 20th. 
NDSU's Summit League schedule this year will again feature one game against all league opponents, which is 8 (not including NDSU) for the second year in a row. The Bison will open their conference schedule with three road games in a row - starting with a visit to Omaha on September 26th. Then they will head to Kansas City on September 29th, before heading closer to home to play UND in Grand Forks on October 6th. NDSU will play a one-off home game on October 10th against Oral Roberts before hitting the road again to play regular-season reigning champs Denver on October 13th. Then the Bison will conclude the regular season with three home games. The first one will feature a match against reigning league champ South Dakota State on October 17th, the second one against South Dakota (broadcast on WDAY Xtra) on October 20th, and the final one against St. Thomas on October 27th.
Now, I would expect all NDSU's home games and conference games to be available to watch on the Summit League Network from Midco, even for the majority of games which aren't going to be broadcast by NDSU's media partner - WDAY.

Alright, lets go! The Bison start the season this coming Thursday at 1 PM CT.

In a couple weeks here, I will preview the 2024 football season as well as the 2024 volleyball season.

​Go Bison!!

It was not a great week for Bison sports.

Baseball
NDSU Baseball went down to Tulsa for the 2024 Summit League tournament this week. The Bison were the second seed in the tournament, since regular season winner St. Thomas was ineligible. NDSU matched up with 3rd seeded ORU to open the tournament. The Bison were thoroughly outmatched, and were defeated 11-3. Then they played top-seeded Omaha in the first elimination game. While they were down early, they scored 7 runs in the 9th inning to beat the Mavericks and survive to the next elimination game. In the next game, they played 4th seeded Northern Colorado, and started off again a little rocky. They were down 4-0 before a nice 6th inning rally gave them a 7-4 lead, and it would swell to 9-5 in the 8th inning. But in the 9th inning, UNC fought back and scored 4 runs to tie the game and force extra innings. NDSU would fall in the 10th inning after allowing a 1 run single. This concludes the baseball season for the Bison.
North Dakota State Baseball finishes the season with a 14-12-1 record in Summit League play and a 20-30-1 overall record on the season. Great season guys!

This also concludes my week-to-week coverage of the Bison for this academic year. I will see you in August for the start of the football and soccer season! Until then, folks:
Go Bison!!

Well, it was certainly a week for Bison sports.

Baseball
NDSU Baseball finished up the regular season this past weekend with a home series against Northern Colorado. The Bison came through in the first game, but they would fall in the next two games, while vying for the regular season title. They came up just short, finishing third in the Summit League.
We now look towards the Summit League tournament. St. Thomas won the regular season title, but they are ineligible during their transition period, so Omaha will be the number 1 seed, and NDSU will be the number 2 seed. Tournament host Oral Roberts is the number 3 seed, and Northern Colorado is the number 4 seed - making their first Summit League tournament appearance. The Bison will start their tournament run on Wednesday at 6 PM against ORU. All games of the tournament will be broadcast on the Summit League Network.
North Dakota State Baseball is 14-12-1 in Summit League play and 19-28-1 overall on the season.

Go Bison!!