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
ConfOverall
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 represents 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]

Predicted finishTeamVotes (1st place)
1North Dakota State390 (39)
2South Dakota State270
3Northern Iowa258
4Youngstown State248
5Illinois State248
6South Dakota206
7Western Illinois163
8Southern Illinois139
9Missouri State90
10Indiana State41

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

Related Research Articles

The North Dakota Fighting Hawks represent the University of North Dakota, competing as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) in the NCAA Division I's Football Championship Subdivision. From 1973 to 2008, they played in the NCAA's NCAA Division II, winning the national championship in 2001. From 1955 to 1972, they competed in the NCAA's College Division where they participated in and won three bowl games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Dakota State Bison football</span> College Football team of North Dakota State University

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Indiana State Sycamores football team</span> American college football season

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The 2019 North Dakota State Bison football team represented North Dakota State University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Matt Entz. The team played in the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota, for the 27th season as members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). They entered the season as defending national champions, having won seven of the prior eight FCS titles. In 2019, the Bison finished the regular season 12–0, the second consecutive undefeated Bison season, and won their ninth 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 16–0 as FCS champions, becoming the first team at any level of college football to finish a season 16–0 since Yale in 1894. They also extended their FCS-record winning streak to 37 games.

The 2022 Missouri Valley Football Conference football season was the 37th season of college football play for the Missouri Valley Football Conference and part of the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. This was the MVFC's 3rd straight season with 11 teams, and was the last as the conference added a 12th team for the 2023 season.

The 2023 Missouri Valley Football Conference football season is the 38th season of college football play for the Missouri Valley Football Conference and part of the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. This will be the MVFC's 1st season with 12 teams, as the conference added Murray State over the offseason. It will also be the last season with 12 teams for now, as it was announced in May 2023 that Western Illinois will be leaving the MVFC after the 2023 season for the Ohio Valley Conference.

The 2021 Missouri Valley Football Conference football season was the 36th season of college football play for the Missouri Valley Football Conference and part of the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. This was the MVFC's 2nd straight season with 11 teams.
North Dakota State made it to the National Championship and won their 9th FCS title in program history. South Dakota State made the playoffs unseeded, and won their way into the semifinals where they lost to 8th seeded Montana State. Southern Illinois also made it to the playoffs, and beat fellow MVFC member South Dakota in the first round, but would fall to eventual champion North Dakota State in the second round. Northern Iowa also made it to the playoffs, but lost to Eastern Washington in the first round.

The 2020 Missouri Valley Football Conference season was the 35th season of college football play for the Missouri Valley Football Conference and part of the 2020-21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. This was the MVFC's first season with 11 teams, as they added North Dakota in the offseason. Although, the conference technically only had 10 of their members play the season, since Indiana State opted out of the Spring season.

The 2019 Missouri Valley Football Conference season was the 34th season of college football play for the Missouri Valley Football Conference and part of the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. This was the MVFC's 8th consecutive season with 10 teams, and would be their last for now as they added North Dakota in the following offseason.

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".