2018 North Dakota State Bison football team

Last updated

2018 North Dakota State Bison football
North Dakota State Bison wordmark.svg
NCAA Division I champion
MVFC champion
Conference Missouri Valley Football Conference
Ranking
STATSNo. 1
FCS CoachesNo. 1
Record15–0 (8–0 MVFC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham (2nd season)
Offensive scheme Pro-style
Defensive coordinator Matt Entz (5th season)
Base defense 3–4
Home stadium Fargodome
Seasons
  2017
2019  
2018 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 1 North Dakota State $^  8 0   15 0  
No. 3 South Dakota State ^  6 2   10 3  
No. 23 Northern Iowa ^  5 3   7 6  
Indiana State  5 3   7 4  
Western Illinois  4 4   5 6  
Illinois State  3 5   6 5  
Youngstown State  3 5   4 7  
South Dakota  3 5   4 7  
Missouri State  2 6   4 7  
Southern Illinois  1 7   2 9  
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2018 North Dakota State Bison football team represented North Dakota State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Chris Klieman, who also coached his final season with the Bison before heading off to take over for the retiring Bill Snyder at Kansas State. The team played their 26th season in the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota as members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They entered the season as defending National Champions and had won six of the last seven FCS titles. In 2018, the Bison finished the regular season 11–0, the first undefeated Bison season since the 2013 campaign, and won their eighth consecutive MVFC title. They received an automatic qualifying bid to the FCS playoff tournament and were seeded as the No. 1 team. The Bison then went 4–0 in the FCS playoffs to finish 15–0 and FCS champions.

Contents

Preseason

Award watch lists

AwardPlayerPositionYear
Walter Payton Award [1] Bruce AndersonRBSR
Easton Stick QBSR
Buck Buchanan Award [2] Greg MenardDESR

Preseason MVFC poll

The MVFC released their preseason poll on July 29, 2018, with the Bison predicted unanimously to win the MVFC championship. [3]

Preseason All-MVFC Teams

The Bison placed eleven players on the preseason all-MVFC teams. [4]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 12:30 p.m. Cal Poly *No. 1 NBC ND/ESPN+ W 49–318,483
September 152:30 p.m. North Alabama *No. 1
  • Fargodome
  • Fargo, ND
NBC ND/ESPN+W 38–718,557
September 221:00 p.m. Delaware *Dagger-14-plain.pngNo. 1
  • Fargodome
  • Fargo, ND
NBC ND/ESPN+W 38–1018,883
September 292:30 p.m.No. 3 South Dakota State No. 1
NBC ND/ESPN+W 21–1718,846
October 61:00 p.m.at No. 22 Northern Iowa No. 1NBC ND/ESPN+W 56–319,899
October 136:00 p.m.at Western Illinois No. 1NBC ND/ESPN+W 34–72,709
October 202:30 p.m.No. 8 Illinois State No. 1
  • Fargodome
  • Fargo, ND
NBC ND/ESPN+W 28–1418,553
October 272:00 p.m.at South Dakota No. 1NBC ND/ESPN+W 59–149,589
November 32:30 p.m. Youngstown State No. 1
  • Fargodome
  • Fargo, ND (Harvest Bowl)
NBC ND/ESPN+W 17–718,028
November 102:00 p.m.at Missouri State No. 1ESPN+W 48–75,224
November 172:30 p.m. Southern Illinois No. 1
  • Fargodome
  • Fargo, ND
NBC ND/ESPN+W 65–1718,008
December 12:00 p.m. No. 23 Montana State *No. 1
NBC ND/ESPN3 W 52–1017,005
December 811:00 a.m.No. 8 Colgate *No. 1
NBC ND/ESPN W 35–016,404
December 147:00 p.m.No. 5 South Dakota State*No. 1
ESPN2 W 44–2118,286
January 511:00 a.m.No. 3 Eastern Washington *No. 1 ESPN2 W 38–24 17,802
  • *Non-conference game
  • Dagger-14-plain.pngHomecoming
  • Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

Game summaries

Polls are based on the FCS STATS Poll

Cal Poly

1234Total
Mustangs30003
No. 1 Bison72114749

North Alabama

1234Total
Lions00077
No. 1 Bison71071438

Delaware

1234Total
Fightin' Blue Hens0001010
No. 1 Bison2873038

South Dakota State

1234Total
No. 3 Jackrabbits7010017
No. 1 Bison0140721

At Northern Iowa

1234Total
No. 1 Bison71472856
No. 22 Panthers14107031

At Western Illinois

1234Total
No.1 Bison31471034
Leathernecks07007

Illinois State

1234Total
No. 8 Redbirds007714
No. 1 Bison7147028

At South Dakota

1234Total
No. 1 Bison211471759
Coyotes077014

Youngstown State

1234Total
Penguins00707
No. 1 Bison0701017

At Missouri State

1234Total
No. 1 Bison201414048
Bears00707

[5]

Southern Illinois

1234Total
Salukis1403017
No. 1 Bison281671465

FCS Playoffs

Montana State–Second Round

1234Total
No. 23 Bobcats307010
No. 1 Bison21177752

Colgate–Quarterfinals

1234Total
No. 9 Raiders00000
No. 1 Bison7714735

South Dakota State–Semifinals

1234Total
No. 5 Jackrabbits7014021
No. 1 Bison7721944

Eastern Washington–Championship

1234Total
No. 4 Eagles0107724
No. 1 Bison10714738

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112Final
STATS FCS 1 (151)1 (157)1 (154)1 (152)1 (152)1 (155)1 (160)1 (160)1 (163)1 (160)1 (158)1 (155)1 (155)1 (156)
Coaches 1 (23)1 (26)1 (25)1 (26)1 (26)1 (26)1 (26)1 (26)1 (26)1 (26)1 (26)1 (26)1 (26)1 (26)

Players drafted into the NFL

RoundPickPlayerPositionNFL Club
5166 Easton Stick QB Los Angeles Chargers

References

  1. "FCS football: 2018 Walter Payton Award watch list". August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  2. "FCS football: 2018 Buck Buchanan Award watch list announced". August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  3. "North Dakota State Picked to Win 2018 MVFC Title".
  4. "Preseason All-Conf and Team (PDF) - Missouri Valley Football Conference" (PDF).
  5. "North Dakota State vs. Missouri State - Box Score - November 10, 2018 - ESPN".