2025 North Dakota State Bison football team

2025 North Dakota State Bison football
Conference	Missouri Valley Football Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 1
FCS Coaches	No. 1
Record	3–0 (0–0 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		0	–	0					3	–	0
No. 2 South Dakota State		0	–	0					3	–	0
No. 6 Illinois State		0	–	0					3	–	1
No. 13 Southern Illinois		0	–	0					3	–	1
Youngstown State		0	–	0					3	–	1
Indiana State		0	–	0					2	–	2
No. 16 North Dakota		0	–	0					2	–	2
Northern Iowa		0	–	0					2	–	2
No. 15 South Dakota		0	–	0					2	–	2
Murray State		0	–	0					0	–	4
As of September 21, 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	South Dakota		Fargodome Fargo, ND	ABC ND/Midco Sports/ESPN+
October 4	6:00 pm	at Illinois State		Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	ESPN+
October 11	2:30 pm	Southern Illinois		Fargodome Fargo, ND	ABC ND/ESPN+
October 18	12:00 pm	at Indiana State		Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	ABC ND/ESPN+
October 25	TBA	at South Dakota State		Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD (Dakota Marker)	ESPN Network
November 1	2:30 pm	Youngstown State		Fargodome Fargo, ND	ABC ND/ESPN+
November 8	1:00 pm	at North Dakota		Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND (Nickel Trophy)	ABC ND/Midco Sports/ESPN+
November 15	2:30 pm	Northern Iowa		Fargodome Fargo, ND	ABC ND/ESPN+
November 22	2:30 pm	St. Thomas *		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)
Coaches	1 (26)	1 (25)	1 (24)	1 (25)

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 No. RV Tennessee State Tigers (1–0)

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

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

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. RV 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

South Dakota Coyotes (–) vs. North Dakota State Bison (3–0)

Quarter	1	2	Total
Coyotes			0
Bison			0

at Fargodome, Fargo, ND

• Date: September 27, 2025
• Game time: 1:00 pm
• Game weather: Indoors; 70 °F (21 °C)
• TV: ESPN+

Illinois State

See also: 2025 Illinois State Redbirds football team

North Dakota State Bison (–) vs. Illinois State Redbirds (–)

Quarter	1	2	Total
Bison			0
Redbirds			0

at Hancock Stadium, Normal, IL

• Date: October 4, 2025
• Game time: 6:00 pm
• Game weather: TBD
• TV: ESPN+

Southern Illinois

See also: 2025 Southern Illinois Salukis football team

Southern Illinois Salukis (–) vs. North Dakota State Bison (–)

Quarter	1	2	Total
Salukis			0
Bison			0

at Fargodome, Fargo, ND

• Date: October 11, 2025
• Game time: 2:30 pm
• Game weather: Indoors; 70 °F (21 °C)
• TV: ESPN+

Indiana State

See also: 2025 Indiana State Sycamores football team

North Dakota State Bison (–) vs. Indiana State Sycamores (–)

Quarter	1	2	Total
Bison			0
Sycamores			0

at Memorial Stadium, Terre Haute, IN

• Date: October 18, 2025
• Game time: 12:00 pm
• Game weather: TBD
• TV: ESPN+

South Dakota State

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

North Dakota State Bison (–) vs. South Dakota State Jackrabbits (–)

Quarter	1	2	Total
Bison			0
Jackrabbits			0

at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, Brookings, SD

• Date: October 25, 2025
• Game time: TBA
• Game weather: TBD
• TV: TBA

Youngstown State

See also: 2025 Youngstown State Penguins football team

Youngstown State Penguins (–) vs. North Dakota State Bison (–)

Quarter	1	2	Total
Penguins			0
Bison			0

at Fargodome, Fargo, ND

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

North Dakota

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

North Dakota State Bison (–) vs. North Dakota Fighting Hawks (–)

Quarter	1	2	Total
Bison			0
Fighting Hawks			0

at Alerus Center, Grand Forks, ND

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

Northern Iowa

See also: 2025 Northern Iowa Panthers football team

Northern Iowa Panthers (–) vs. North Dakota State Bison (–)

Quarter	1	2	Total
Bison			0
Panthers			0

at Fargodome, Fargo, ND

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

St. Thomas

See also: 2025 St. Thomas Tommies football team

St. Thomas Tommies (–) vs. North Dakota State Bison (–)

Quarter	1	2	Total
Tommies			0
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 16 Silas Evans  So 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: September 6, 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.