2025 North Dakota State Bison football team

2025 North Dakota State Bison football
MVFC Champion
Conference	Missouri Valley Football Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 1
FCS Coaches	No. 1
Record	11–0 (8–0 MVFC)
Head coach	Tim Polasek (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Dan Larson (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Grant Olson (2nd season)
Home stadium	Fargodome
Seasons ←  2024 2026 →

2025 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 1 North Dakota State $^		8	–	0					11	–	0
No. 16 South Dakota		6	–	2					8	–	4
No. 13 North Dakota		5	–	2					7	–	4
No. 11 Illinois State		5	–	2					8	–	3
No. 18 Youngstown State		4	–	3					7	–	4
No. 22 South Dakota State		3	–	4					7	–	4
No. 24 Southern Illinois		3	–	4					6	–	5
Northern Iowa		1	–	6					3	–	8
Indiana State		1	–	6					3	–	8
Murray State		0	–	7					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant As of November 17, 2025 Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2025 North Dakota State Bison football team represents North Dakota State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2025 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bison are led by second-year head coach Tim Polasek and play home games at the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	11:00 am	at The Citadel *	No. 1	Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	ABC ND/ESPN+	W 38–0	10,691
September 6	1:30 pm	at Tennessee State *	No. 1	Nissan Stadium Nashville, TN	ESPN+	W 59–3	8,569
September 13	2:30 pm	Southeast Missouri State *	No. 1	Fargodome Fargo, ND	ABC ND/ESPN+	W 41–14	17,354
September 27	1:00 pm	No. 17 South Dakota	No. 1	Fargodome Fargo, ND	ABC ND/Midco Sports/ESPN+	W 51–13	18,498
October 4	6:00 pm	at No. 6 Illinois State	No. 1	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	ESPN+	W 33–16	9,829
October 11	2:30 pm	No. 8 Southern Illinois	No. 1	Fargodome Fargo, ND	ABC ND/ESPN+	W 45–17	15,812
October 18	12:00 pm	at Indiana State	No. 1	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	ABC ND/ESPN+	W 38–7	3,252
October 25	7:00 pm	at No. 2 South Dakota State	No. 1	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD (Dakota Marker)	ESPNU	W 38–7	19,477
November 1	2:30 pm	No. 18 Youngstown State	No. 1	Fargodome Fargo, ND	ABC ND/ESPN+	W 38–30	14,607
November 8	1:00 pm	at No. 13 North Dakota	No. 1	Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND (Nickel Trophy)	ABC ND/Midco Sports/ESPN+	W 15–10	12,749
November 15	2:30 pm	Northern Iowa	No. 1	Fargodome Fargo, ND	ABC ND/ESPN+	W 48–16	14,736
November 22	2:30 pm	St. Thomas *	No. 1	Fargodome Fargo, ND	ABC ND/ESPN+
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

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Rankings

Further information: 2025 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ( ) = First-place votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
STATS	1 (54)	1 (53)	1 (49)	1 (52)	1 (51)	1 (51)	1 (54)	1 (55)	1 (55)	1 (56)	1 (56)	1 (55)	1 (56)
Coaches	1 (26)	1 (25)	1 (24)	1 (25)	1 (25)	1 (25)	1 (26)	1 (26)	1 (26)	1 (25)	1 (25)	1 (23)	1 (23)

Preseason

MVFC poll

Main article: 2025 Missouri Valley Football Conference season § Preseason

The Missouri Valley Football Conference released its preseason poll on July 21, 2025, voted on by league athletic directors, coaches, and media members. The Bison were predicted to finish first in the conference. ^[5]

Game summaries

The Citadel

See also: 2025 The Citadel Bulldogs football team

No. 1 North Dakota State Bison (0–0) at The Citadel Bulldogs (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 1 Bison	0	17	14	7	38
Bulldogs	0	0	0	0	0

at Johnson Hagood Stadium, Charleston, SC

• Date: August 30, 2025
• Game time: 11:00 am
• Game weather: Rain; 72 °F (22 °C); Wind: NE 15 mph
• Game attendance: 10,691
• Referee: Jake Grombach
• TV announcers (ESPN+): Pete Yanity (play-by-play), Jay Sonnhalter (analyst) and Dave Friedman (sideline)

Statistics	North Dakota State	The Citadel
First downs	25	8
Plays–yards	69–519	47–126
Rushes–yards	47–256	41–104
Passing yards	263	22
Passing: comp–att–int	16–22–0	2–6–0
Time of possession	36:03	23:57

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
North Dakota State	Passing	Cole Payton	11/17, 192 yds, TD
	Rushing	Cole Payton	11 car, 101 yds
	Receiving	RaJa Nelson	2 rec, 60 yds, TD
The Citadel	Passing	Quentin Hayes	1/3, 14 yds
	Rushing	Israel Benjamin	16 car, 54 yds
	Receiving	Javonte Graves-Billips	1 rec, 14 yds

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP NDSU CIT 2nd 13:36 9 72 3:55 NDSU 31-yard field goal by Eli Ozick (#38) 3 0 2nd 5:10 12 90 6:22 NDSU Barika Kpeenu (#8) 2-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 10 0 2nd 1:36 7 84 1:57 NDSU RaJa Nelson (#3) 34-yard touchdown reception from Cole Payton (#9), Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 17 0 3rd 14:13 2 1 0:34 NDSU Barika Kpeenu (#8) 1-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 24 0 3rd 4:54 12 82 7:14 NDSU DJ Scott (#7) 1-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 31 0 4th 5:07 12 95 7:20 NDSU Isiah St. Romain (#17) 15-yard touchdown reception from Nathan Hayes (#12), Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 38 0 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 38 0

Tennessee State

See also: 2025 Tennessee State Tigers football team

No. 1 North Dakota State Bison (1–0) at Tennessee State Tigers (1–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 1 Bison	17	28	7	7	59
Tigers	0	0	0	3	3

at Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN

• Date: September 6, 2025
• Game time: 1:30 pm
• Game weather: Cloudy; 67 °F (19 °C); Wind: N 2 mph
• Game attendance: 8,569
• Referee: Chris Brison
• TV announcers (ESPN+): Dan Laing (play-by-play) and Darren Arbet (analyst)

Statistics	North Dakota State	Tennessee State
First downs	24	4
Plays–yards	62–433	46–131
Rushes–yards	39–191	28–70
Passing yards	242	61
Passing: comp–att–int	16–23–1	8–18–1
Time of possession	33:37	26:23

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
North Dakota State	Passing	Cole Payton	13/16, 166 yds, TD
	Rushing	Barika Kpeenu	10 car, 57 yds, 3 TD
	Receiving	Mekhi Collins	1 rec, 68 yds, TD
Tennessee State	Passing	Jonathan Palmer	5/13, 38 yds
	Rushing	Kendric Rhymes	12 car, 43 yds
	Receiving	Tyson Edwards	1 rec, 16 yds

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP NDSU TNST 1st 9:31 9 71 5:24 NDSU Barika Kpeenu (#8) 10-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 7 0 1st 7:08 4 20 1:55 NDSU Barika Kpeenu (#8) 4-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 14 0 1st 1:21 9 38 3:39 NDSU 22-yard field goal by Eli Ozick (#38) 17 0 2nd 13:08 5 33 2:04 NDSU Barika Kpeenu (#8) 6-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 24 0 2nd 10:04 2 46 0:50 NDSU DJ Scott (#7) 5-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 31 0 2nd 9:03 NDSU Interception returned 34 yards for touchdown by Donovan Woolen (#1), Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 38 0 2nd 1:21 8 67 5:32 NDSU RaJa Nelson (#3) 3-yard touchdown reception from Cole Payton (#9), Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 45 0 3rd 7:11 5 82 2:56 NDSU Mekhi Collins (#15) 68-yard touchdown reception from Nathan Hayes (#12), Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 52 0 4th 8:27 5 49 2:45 NDSU Myles Mitchell (#45) 2-yard touchdown run, Drew Klein (#37) kick good 59 0 4th 4:05 7 48 4:22 TNST 45-yard field goal by Freddy Perez (#4) 59 3 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 59 3

Southeast Missouri State

See also: 2025 Southeast Missouri State Redhawks football team

Southeast Missouri State Redhawks (1–1) at No. 1 North Dakota State Bison (2–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Redhawks	7	7	0	0	14
No. 1 Bison	14	17	3	7	41

at Fargodome, Fargo, ND

• Date: September 13, 2025
• Game time: 2:30 pm
• Game weather: Indoors; 70 °F (21 °C)
• Game attendance: 17,354
• Referee: Tyler Downs
• TV announcers (ESPN+): Dom Izzo (play-by-play) and Kyle Emanuel (analyst)

Statistics	Southeast Missouri State	North Dakota State
First downs	12	22
Plays–yards	57–217	61–562
Rushes–yards	32–64	37–214
Passing yards	153	348
Passing: comp–att–int	13–25–1	16–24–0
Time of possession	29:12	30:48

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Southeast Missouri State	Passing	Jax Leatherwood	12/23, 145 yds, TD
	Rushing	Jax Leatherwood	10 car, 20 yds
	Receiving	Kalvin Gilbert	2 rec, 67 yds, TD
North Dakota State	Passing	Cole Payton	16/23, 348 yds, 4 TD
	Rushing	Barika Kpeenu	14 car, 84 yds
	Receiving	Bryce Lance	4 rec, 159 yds, TD

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP SEMO NDSU 1st 12:15 5 75 2:45 NDSU RaJa Nelson (#3) 15-yard touchdown reception from Cole Payton (#9), Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 0 7 1st 10:37 5 75 1:38 SEMO Kalvin Gilbert (#21) 65-yard touchdown reception from Jax Leatherwood (#12), Justin Keller (#39) kick good 7 7 1st 7:06 2 79 0:46 NDSU Bryce Lance (#5) 75-yard touchdown reception from Cole Payton (#9), Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 7 14 2nd 14:23 5 41 2:40 NDSU 43-yard field goal by Eli Ozick (#38) 7 17 2nd 10:37 4 86 2:09 NDSU Mekhi Collins (#15) 28-yard touchdown reception from Cole Payton (#9), Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 7 24 2nd 4:38 13 81 5:55 SEMO Payton Brown (#22) 1-yard touchdown run, Justin Keller (#39) kick good 14 24 2nd 0:25 11 75 4:13 NDSU RaJa Nelson (#3) 5-yard touchdown reception from Cole Payton (#9), Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 14 31 3rd 11:19 6 41 2:08 NDSU 43-yard field goal by Eli Ozick (#38) 14 34 4th 12:08 7 93 3:39 NDSU Cole Payton (#9) 1-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 14 41 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 14 41

South Dakota

See also: 2025 South Dakota Coyotes football team

No. 17 South Dakota Coyotes (2–2) vs. No. 1 North Dakota State Bison (3–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 17 Coyotes	0	3	0	10	13
No. 1 Bison	13	21	10	7	51

at Fargodome, Fargo, ND

• Date: September 27, 2025
• Game time: 1:00 pm
• Game weather: Indoors; 70 °F (21 °C)
• Game attendance: 18,498
• Referee: Grant Henderson
• TV announcers (ESPN+): Dom Izzo (play-by-play), Kyle Emanuel (analyst) and Sam Goetzinger (sideline)

Statistics	South Dakota	North Dakota State
First downs	13	24
Plays–yards	48–296	69–547
Rushes–yards	27–88	50–274
Passing yards	208	273
Passing: comp–att–int	13–21–1	15–19–0
Time of possession	24:53	35:07

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
South Dakota	Passing	Aidan Bouman	13/21, 208 yds, INT
	Rushing	Reid Watkins	8 car, 39 yds
	Receiving	Tennel Bryant	2 rec, 50 yds
North Dakota State	Passing	Cole Payton	14/18, 273 yds, 2 TD
	Rushing	Cole Payton	11 car, 102 yds, TD
	Receiving	Bryce Lance	4 rec, 98 yds, TD

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP USD NDSU 1st 10:49 8 77 4:06 NDSU Barika Kpeenu (#8) 7-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 0 7 1st 2:17 12 90 6:16 NDSU Cole Payton (#9) 1-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick no good 0 13 2nd 13:44 6 46 2:44 NDSU Barika Kpeenu (#8) 6-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 0 20 2nd 5:38 11 95 5:49 NDSU Bryce Lance (#5) 2-yard touchdown reception from Cole Payton (#9), Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 0 27 2nd 0:53 9 83 1:54 NDSU Reis Kessel (#81) 29-yard touchdown reception from Cole Payton (#9), Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 0 34 2nd 0:00 6 62 0:53 USD 31-yard field goal by Will Leyland (#15) 3 34 3rd 12:43 NDSU Interception returned 43 yards for touchdown by Nathaniel Staehling (#52), Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 3 41 3rd 7:39 8 49 3:58 NDSU 29-yard field goal by Eli Ozick (#38) 3 44 4th 12:23 11 88 6:32 NDSU Jackson Williams (#18) 9-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 3 51 4th 8:06 8 42 4:17 USD 51-yard field goal by Zeke Mata (#39) 6 51 4th 1:11 8 80 4:23 USD Carson Fletcher (#33) 4-yard touchdown run, Will Leyland (#15) kick good 13 51 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 13 51

Illinois State

See also: 2025 Illinois State Redbirds football team

No. 1 North Dakota State Bison (4–0) vs. No. 6 Illinois State Redbirds (3–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 1 Bison	7	8	3	15	33
No. 6 Redbirds	2	7	7	0	16

at Hancock Stadium, Normal, IL

• Date: October 4, 2025
• Game time: 6:00 pm
• Game weather: Sunny; 82 °F (28 °C); Wind: N 10 mph
• Game attendance: 9,829
• TV announcers (ESPN+): Greg Halbleib (play-by-play) and Clay Harbor (analyst)

Statistics	North Dakota State	Illinois State
First downs	21	22
Plays–yards	50–407	66–328
Rushes–yards	36–213	31–137
Passing yards	194	191
Passing: comp–att–int	12–14–0	20–35–1
Time of possession	29:38	30:22

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
North Dakota State	Passing	Cole Payton	12/14, 194 yds, TD
	Rushing	Barika Kpeenu	14 car, 116 yds, TD
	Receiving	Jackson Williams	3 rec, 71 yds
Illinois State	Passing	Tommy Rittenhouse	20/35, 191 yds, TD, INT
	Rushing	Victor Dawson	11 car, 68 yds
	Receiving	Daniel Sobkowicz	7 rec, 75 yds, TD

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP NDSU ILST 1st 9:35 ILST Barika Kpeenu (#8) tackled in end zone for a safety by Tye Niekamp (#46) 0 2 1st 2:50 7 47 3:53 NDSU Cole Payton (#9) 13-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 7 2 2nd 11:37 10 65 6:13 ILST Wenkers Wright (#32) 6-yard touchdown run, Matt Maldonado (#31) kick good 7 9 2nd 4:56 3 68 1:25 NDSU Barika Kpeenu (#8) 42-yard touchdown run, 2-point run by Cole Payton (#9) good 15 9 3rd 8:15 11 65 6:38 NDSU 38-yard field goal by Eli Ozick (#38) 18 9 3rd 3:06 9 75 5:09 ILST Daniel Sobkowicz (#2) 3-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Rittenhouse (#16), Matt Maldonado (#31) kick good 18 16 4th 13:14 8 70 4:45 NDSU Bryce Lance (#5) 23-yard touchdown reception from Cole Payton (#9), Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 25 16 4th 8:21 6 73 3:51 NDSU DJ Scott (#7) 5-yard touchdown run, 2-point run by Cole Payton (#9) good 33 16 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 33 16

Southern Illinois

See also: 2025 Southern Illinois Salukis football team

No. 8 Southern Illinois Salukis (4–1) vs. No. 1 North Dakota State Bison (5–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 8 Salukis	3	7	0	7	17
No. 1 Bison	7	10	14	14	45

at Fargodome, Fargo, ND

• Date: October 11, 2025
• Game time: 2:30 pm
• Game weather: Indoors; 70 °F (21 °C)
• Game attendance: 15,812
• Referee: Carl Chapman
• TV announcers (ESPN+): Dom Izzo (play-by-play), Kyle Emanuel (analyst) and Sam Goetzinger (sideline)

Statistics	Southern Illinois	North Dakota State
First downs	22	24
Plays–yards	61–313	62–540
Rushes–yards	32–123	43–264
Passing yards	190	276
Passing: comp–att–int	15–29–1	16–19–0
Time of possession	27:14	32:46

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Southern Illinois	Passing	DJ Williams	15/29, 190 yds, INT
	Rushing	DJ Williams	15 car, 41 yds, TD
	Receiving	Fabian McCray	4 rec, 52 yds
North Dakota State	Passing	Cole Payton	13/16, 243 yds, TD
	Rushing	Bryce Lance	1 car, 75 yds, TD
	Receiving	Bryce Lance	4 rec, 79 yds, TD

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP SIU NDSU 1st 7:15 13 58 7:45 SIU 35-yard field goal by Paul Geelen (#19) 3 0 1st 7:02 1 75 0:13 NDSU Bryce Lance (#5) 75-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 3 7 2nd 14:56 6 65 3:15 SIU Chandler Chapman (#8) 5-yard touchdown run, Paul Geelen (#19) kick good 10 7 2nd 6:12 6 42 2:35 NDSU 38-yard field goal by Eli Ozick (#38) 10 10 2nd 0:29 5 71 0:44 NDSU Bryce Lance (#5) 9-yard touchdown reception from Cole Payton (#5), Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 10 17 3rd 10:57 75 75 4:03 NDSU Cole Payton (#9) 2-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 10 24 3rd 4:51 9 74 5:29 NDSU Cole Payton (#9) 41-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 10 31 4th 11:23 9 75 5:32 NDSU Barika Kpeenu (#8) 6-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 10 38 4th 8:57 4 32 1:54 NDSU DJ Scott (#7) 24-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 10 45 4th 6:58 6 75 1:59 SIU DJ Williams (#1) 3-yard touchdown run, Paul Geelen (#19) kick good 17 45 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 17 45

Indiana State

See also: 2025 Indiana State Sycamores football team

No. 1 North Dakota State Bison (6–0) vs. Indiana State Sycamores (2–4)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 1 Bison	0	10	14	14	38
Sycamores	7	0	0	0	7

at Memorial Stadium, Terre Haute, IN

• Date: October 18, 2025
• Game time: 12:00 pm
• Game weather: Sunny; 55 °F (13 °C)
• Game attendance: 3,252
• Referee: Grant Henderson
• TV: ESPN+

Statistics	North Dakota State	Indiana State
First downs	26	10
Plays–yards	72–444	53–192
Rushes–yards	52–283	29–85
Passing yards	161	107
Passing: comp–att–int	13–20–1	14–24–1
Time of possession	37:19	22:41

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
North Dakota State	Passing	Cole Payton	12/18, 149 yds, TD, INT
	Rushing	Barika Kpeenu	23 car, 113 yds, 2 TD
	Receiving	Bryce Lance	4 rec, 74 yds
Indiana State	Passing	Keegan Patterson	14/24, 107 yds, INT
	Rushing	Nick Osho	16 car, 48 yds, TD
	Receiving	Zack Drawdy Jr.	3 rec, 49 yds

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP NDSU INST 1st 4:11 14 97 6:21 INST Nick Osho (#9) 3-yard touchdown run, Sebastian Lopez (#37) kick good 0 7 2nd 13:38 12 75 5:33 NDSU Truman Werremeyer (#46) 3-yard touchdown reception from Cole Payton (#9), Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 7 7 2nd 1:44 7 19 1:56 NDSU 54-yard field goal by Eli Ozick (#38) 10 7 3rd 14:44 1 3 0:04 NDSU Cole Payton (#9) 3-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 17 7 3rd 7:27 9 80 5:25 NDSU Barika Kpeenu (#8) 15-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 24 7 4th 14:24 10 88 5:43 NDSU DJ Scott (#7) 18-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 31 7 4th 8:26 8 64 4:40 NDSU Barika Kpeenu (#8) 1-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 38 7 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 38 7

South Dakota State

See also: 2025 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team and Dakota Marker

No. 1 North Dakota State Bison (7–0) vs. No. 2 South Dakota State Jackrabbits (7–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 1 Bison	14	17	0	7	38
No. 2 Jackrabbits	0	7	0	0	7

at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, Brookings, SD

• Date: October 25, 2025
• Game time: 7:00 pm
• Game weather: Cloudy; 57 °F (14 °C); Wind: SE 14 mph
• Game attendance: 19,477
• Referee: David Hergert
• TV announcers (ESPNU): Richard Cross (play-by-play), Taylor McHargue (commentator), Tori Petry (sideline)
• Announcers Box Score

Statistics	North Dakota State	South Dakota State
First downs	24	11
Plays–yards	73–500	47–166
Rushes–yards	49–257	28–43
Passing yards	243	123
Passing: comp–att–int	18–24–1	9–19–0
Time of possession	38:01	21:59

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
North Dakota State	Passing	Cole Payton	18/23, 243 yds, INT
	Rushing	Cole Payton	17 car, 137 yds, 4 TD
	Receiving	Bryce Lance	5 rec, 103 yds
South Dakota State	Passing	Luke Marble	7/16, 89 yds, TD
	Rushing	Julius Loughridge	10 car, 38 yds
	Receiving	Lofton O'Groske	2 rec, 43 yds, TD

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP NDSU SDSU 1st 5:11 16 84 9:00 NDSU Cole Payton (#9) 1-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 7 0 1st 0:16 5 63 3:00 NDSU Cole Payton (#9) 2-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 14 0 2nd 10:55 7 68 3:48 NDSU Barika Kpeenu (#8) 2-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 21 0 2nd 5:54 2 43 0:28 SDSU Lofton O'Groske (#1) 17-yard touchdown reception from Luke Marble (#13), Eli Stader (#26) kick good 21 7 2nd 2:38 5 70 3:10 NDSU Cole Payton (#9) 57-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 28 7 2nd 0:02 10 49 0:58 NDSU 43-yard field goal by Eli Ozick (#38) 31 7 4th 11:55 1 47 0:09 NDSU Cole Payton (#9) 47-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 38 7 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 38 7

Youngstown State

See also: 2025 Youngstown State Penguins football team

No. 18 Youngstown State Penguins (5–3) vs. No. 1 North Dakota State Bison (8–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 18 Penguins	3	17	3	7	30
No. 1 Bison	7	21	7	3	38

at Fargodome, Fargo, ND

• Date: November 1, 2025
• Game time: 2:30 pm
• Game weather: Indoors; 70 °F (21 °C)
• Game attendance: 14,607
• Referee: John Shay
• TV: ESPN+

Statistics	Youngstown State	North Dakota State
First downs	21	18
Plays–yards	59–371	64–327
Rushes–yards	29–168	40–133
Passing yards	203	194
Passing: comp–att–int	19–30–1	17–24–1
Time of possession	26:45	33:15

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Youngstown State	Passing	Beau Brungard	19/30, 203 yds, TD, INT
	Rushing	Jaden Gilbert	6 car, 63 yds
	Receiving	Max Tomczak	5 rec, 59 yds
North Dakota State	Passing	Cole Payton	17/24, 194 yds, INT
	Rushing	Barika Kpeenu	15 car, 74 yds, 3 TD
	Receiving	Bryce Lance	5 rec, 65 yds

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP YSU NDSU 1st 6:22 11 43 7:16 YSU 47-yard field goal by Andrew Lastovka (#24) 3 0 1st 0:41 11 56 5:34 NDSU Barika Kpeenu (#8) 1-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 3 7 2nd 10:43 9 68 4:51 YSU Beau Brungard (#12) 10-yard touchdown run, Andrew Lastovka (#24) kick good 10 7 2nd 4:52 4 19 1:07 NDSU DJ Scott (#7) 3-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 10 14 2nd 4:17 2 9 0:30 NDSU Barika Kpeenu (#8) 4-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 10 21 2nd 1:49 6 46 2:19 YSU Alex McDonald (#17) 16-yard touchdown reception from Beau Brungard (#12), Andrew Lastovka (#24) kick good 17 21 2nd 1:32 NDSU Kickoff returned 100 yards for touchdown by Jackson Williams (#18), Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 17 28 2nd 0:08 7 44 1:24 YSU 49-yard field goal by Andrew Lastovka (#24) 20 28 3rd 12:51 7 51 2:09 YSU 42-yard field goal by Andrew Lastovka (#24) 23 28 3rd 6:22 12 84 6:23 NDSU Barika Kpeenu (#8) 1-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 23 35 4th 13:54 7 65 2:53 YSU Beau Brungard (#12) 2-yard touchdown run, Andrew Lastovka (#24) kick good 30 35 4th 6:20 12 73 7:25 NDSU 21-yard field goal by Eli Ozick (#38) 30 38 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 30 38

North Dakota

See also: 2025 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team and Nickel Trophy

No. 1 North Dakota State Bison (9–0) vs. No. 13 North Dakota Fighting Hawks (6–3)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 1 Bison	0	6	3	6	15
No. 13 Fighting Hawks	7	0	3	0	10

at Alerus Center, Grand Forks, ND

• Date: November 8, 2025
• Game time: 1:00 pm
• Game weather: Indoors; 70 °F (21 °C)
• Game attendance: 12,749
• Referee: Jason Perkins
• TV: ESPN+

Statistics	North Dakota State	North Dakota
First downs	10	23
Plays–yards	51–268	81–286
Rushes–yards	36–143	43–116
Passing yards	125	170
Passing: comp–att–int	8–15–1	21–38–3
Time of possession	25:18	34:42

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
North Dakota State	Passing	Cole Payton	8/15, 125 yds, INT
	Rushing	Barika Kpeenu	18 car, 73 yds
	Receiving	Bryce Lance	3 rec, 61 yds
North Dakota	Passing	Jerry Kaminski	21/38, 170 yds, 3 INT
	Rushing	Sawyer Seidl	23 car, 68 yds, TD
	Receiving	BJ Fleming	6 rec, 53 yds

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP NDSU UND 1st 2:52 2 11 0:27 UND Sawyer Seidl (#9) 2-yard touchdown run, Kenten Laughman (#27) kick good 0 7 2nd 12:46 13 72 5:01 NDSU 24-yard field goal by Eli Ozick (#38) 3 7 2nd 2:28 7 60 4:05 NDSU 38-yard field goal by Eli Ozick (#38) 6 7 3rd 7:13 14 60 7:47 UND 32-yard field goal by Kenten Laughman (#27) 6 10 3rd 1:09 4 6 1:30 NDSU 33-yard field goal by Eli Ozick (#38) 9 10 4th 2:22 4 49 2:02 NDSU Cole Payton (#9) 8-yard touchdown run, 2-point run by Cole Payton (#9) failed 15 10 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 15 10

Northern Iowa

See also: 2025 Northern Iowa Panthers football team

Northern Iowa Panthers (3–7) vs. No. 1 North Dakota State Bison (10–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	2	7	7	16
No. 1 Bison	14	17	7	10	48

at Fargodome, Fargo, ND

• Date: November 15, 2025
• Game time: 2:30 pm
• Game weather: Indoors; 70 °F (21 °C)
• Game attendance: 14,736
• Referee: Gregory Gompf
• TV: ESPN+

Statistics	Northern Iowa	North Dakota State
First downs	13	24
Plays–yards	58–201	64–477
Rushes–yards	35–102	39–209
Passing yards	99	268
Passing: comp–att–int	9–23–2	18–25–0
Time of possession	29:47	30:13

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northern Iowa	Passing	Jaxon Dailey	9/23, 99 yds, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Harrison Bey-Buie	9 car, 62 yds
	Receiving	JC Roque Jr.	3 rec, 42 yds, TD
North Dakota State	Passing	Cole Payton	15/17, 212 yds, TD
	Rushing	Cole Payton	10 car, 74 yds, 2 TD
	Receiving	Bryce Lance	8 rec, 131 yds, TD

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP UNI NDSU 1st 9:17 10 83 5:34 NDSU Barika Kpeenu (#8) 1-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 0 7 1st 3:06 1 5 0:05 NDSU Cole Payton (#9) 5-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 0 14 2nd 14:54 UNI Cole Payton (#9) tackled in end zone for a safety by Caleb Frazer (#17) 2 14 2nd 5:57 8 87 4:32 NDSU Bryce Lance (#5) 14-yard touchdown reception from Cole Payton (#9), Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 2 21 2nd 0:59 9 41 3:17 NDSU Barika Kpeenu (#8) 5-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 2 28 2nd 0:03 5 30 0:33 NDSU 46-yard field goal by Eli Ozick (#38) 2 31 3rd 13:12 1 64 0:11 NDSU Cole Payton (#9) 64-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 2 38 3rd 7:21 UNI Punt blocked by Ethan Schoville (#31) returned for touchdown, Max Bartacheck (#0) kick good 9 38 4th 9:59 11 65 5:24 UNI JC Roque Jr. (#0) 14-yard touchdown reception from Jaxon Dailey (#15), Max Bartacheck (#0) kick good 16 38 4th 6:20 9 50 3:33 NDSU 23-yard field goal by Eli Ozick (#38) 16 41 4th 1:25 9 70 3:17 NDSU Nathan Hayes (#12) 34-yard touchdown run, Eli Ozick (#38) kick good 16 48 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 16 48

St. Thomas

See also: 2025 St. Thomas Tommies football team

St. Thomas Tommies (7–4) vs. No. 1 North Dakota State Bison (11–0)

Quarter	1	2	Total
Tommies			0
No. 1 Bison			0

at Fargodome, Fargo, ND

• Date: November 22, 2025
• Game time: 2:30 pm
• Game weather: Indoors; 70 °F (21 °C)
• TV: ESPN+

Roster

2025 North Dakota State Bison football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 2 Kellen Entz  Jr WR 3 RaJa Nelson  Sr RB 4 Owen Johnson  Sr WR 5 Bryce Lance  (C)  Sr RB 7 DJ Scott  So RB 8 Barika Kpeenu  Sr QB 9 Cole Payton  (C)  Sr QB 10 Trey Drake  So WR 11 Jacob Kilzer  Fr QB 12 Nathan Hayes  Jr QB 13 Zander Smith Fr QB 14 Preston Brown Fr WR 15 Mekhi Collins   Jr WR 17 Isiah St. Romain  Fr WR 18 Jackson Williams So WR 19 Chris Harris (C)  Sr WR 20 Drake Schlosser  Fr WR 21 Chris Kiel Fr RB 22 Charles Ross III Fr RB 26 Brady Wavrunek  So RB 28 Cortez LeGrant  So WR 30 Kelly Watson  So RB 32 Barry Kpeenu So TE 33 Gabriel Cunningham Fr RB 34 Jonathan Harvey  Jr FB 36 McClain Miller   Fr TE 40 Kaden Zenzen  Jr TE 42 Isaac Ellison Fr TE 44 Luke Kokat  Jr RB 45 Myles Mitchell Fr FB 46 Truman Werremeyer  Sr OT 57 Gavin Wang Fr G 59 James Nellis Fr C 61 Gage Schmidt  Fr G 62 Griffin Empey  So C 63 Trent Fraley Jr G 66 Jack Liwienski  So G 67 Kaden Chadwick  Jr G 68 Coy Okeson  Fr G 69 Devin Lockerby  Jr OT 70 Beau Johnson  So OT 71 Nate Tastad  Fr G 72 Nate Schneckloth  So OT 73 Alex Warden Fr G 74 Brett Tastad Fr OT 75 Josh Magin  Jr OT 76 Ryan Babatz Fr OT 77 Austin Schultz  So OT 78 Noah Stommes  Fr WR 80 John Gores  Jr TE 81 Reis Kessel  Fr WR 82 SJ Green Fr WR 83 Cade Osterman  So WR 84 Logan Conklin  Fr TE 85 Jett Zabel  Fr WR 86 Dylan Vokal Fr TE 87 Noah Nelson Fr TE 88 Carson Williams  Sr TE 89 Finn Diggins   Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 0 Jaquise Alexander  Jr LB 1 Donovan Woolen So CB 2 Jailen Duffie  So S 6 Jaylin Crumby  So CB 10 Antoine Booth  Sr DE 11 Chance Symons Jr CB 13 Najee Nelson  So S 14 Taylen Eady  Fr CB 19 Will Rosenmeyer  Fr S 20 Will Steil   Fr LB 21 Noah Taylor  So S 22 Hudson Artz  Jr CB 23 Kegan Huber  Jr CB 24 Anthony Chideme-Alfaro Sr LB 25 Ray James  Fr S 26 Evrett Tait Fr S 27 Ryan Jones  Sr CB 28 Kendrick Carter Fr S 29 Darius Givance  Jr S 30 Jaylen Archibald Fr S 31 Mikhale Ford Fr LB 32 Austin Altepeter   Jr S 33 Walker Braaten Fr S 34 Landon Meier  Fr CB 34 Marion Moore Fr LB 35 Ryland Satter  Fr S 38 Ben Schepp Fr LB 40 Chase Brixius Fr LB 41 Peder Haugo  Fr LB 42 Alex Elliott  So LB 43 Logan Kopp (C)  Sr LB 44 Carter Appl Fr LB 45 Gavin Sell Fr LB 47 Jacob Wrbanek Fr DE 48 Blake Schiltz Fr DE 49 Matthew Stenbroten  Fr LB 50 Damian Devine Fr LB 51 Sam Anderson Fr LB 52 Nathaniel Staehling (C)  Jr DT 53 Chase Evink Fr DT 54 Alijah Wayne Fr LB 55 Oliver Lucht  So DE 56 Allante Burley Jr DT 58 Keenan Wilson  So DE 60 Thomas Roberts Fr DT 64 Jaxon Duttenhefer (C)  Sr DT 65 Brody Clubb Fr DE 69 Carter Dauner Fr DE 90 Wyatt Osterbauer  Fr DT 91 Jack Hansen  Fr DE 91 Ethan Wood Fr DE 92 Kelton McCaslin  Jr DE 93 Toby Anene  Jr DT 94 Logan Larson  Jr DE 95 Zach Vanderpool  Fr DE 96 Abraham Myers  So DE 97 Victor Isele  So DE 98 Jack Iuliano Sr DT 99 Obald Niyonkuru  So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 37 Drew Klein  Jr K 38 Eli Ozick  So P 39 Aaron Bickerton  Jr P 41 Sam Knoll Fr LS 48 Caleb Bowers  Jr	Head coach Tim Polasek (head coach) Coordinators/assistant coaches Dan Larson (offensive coordinator / tight ends / fullbacks) Grant Olson (defensive coordinator / linebackers) Joe Beschorner (quarterbacks) Dylan Chmura (offensive line) Steve Crutchley (wide receivers) Will Johnson (cornerbacks) Devin Klieman (safeties) Kody Morgan (defensive tackles) Carlton Littlejohn (defensive ends) Sam Ojuri (running backs) KeyShawn Carpenter (offensive quality control) Tony Moonen (defensive quality control) Brett Bostad (offensive analyst) David Wienke (defensive anaylst) Marcus Williams (defensive analyst) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: November 4, 2025

References

1. "2025 Football Schedule". gobison.com. North Dakota State Bison. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
2. "2025 North Dakota State Football Schedule". fbschedules.com. FBSchedules. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
3. "North Dakota State Bison Schedule 2025". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
4. "Hot Mic Interview: NDSU head coach Tim Polasek previews the 2025 Bison season at MVFC Media Day". inforum.com. Forum of Fargo/Moorhead. July 21, 2025. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
5. "Missouri Valley Football Announces predicted order of finish". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. July 21, 2025. Retrieved July 21, 2025.