While Power Four conference championship games take the spotlight on Saturday, a college football titan went down in Division I football.
Ten-time FCS champion and formerly unbeaten No. 1 seed North Dakota State(12-1) fell 29-28 to unseeded Illinois State (10-4) on Saturday at the Fargodome. NDSU, the defending national champion and winner of 10 titles in 16 years, fell in a home FCS playoff game at the dome for only the second time ever.
The Bison have a 38-2 record all-time in the dome for playoff games, and the last loss occurred in 2016 when the James Madison Dukes stunned the Herd 27-17. JMU went on to win the FCS title that season after the semifinal victory.
Illinois State didn’t beat the Bison as soundly as the Dukes on Saturday, but the Redbirds came up with the clutch plays needed. Redbirds quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse completed a 6-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz, followed by a two-point conversion for the victory.
That’s despite five interceptions by the Redbirds. ISU attacked the Bison defense all day despite the miscues with 422 total offensive yards as Rittenhouse threw for 249 yards and three touchdowns on 35-52 passing.
Red Birds running back Victor Dawson rushed for 137 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. Dawson and company helped the Red Birds become only the second team to score more than 20 points against the Bison all season.
Decades Of Dominance Interrupted
NDSU, the top ranked all season, dominated almost all of its games except for a 38-30 win over Youngstown State and a 15-10 win over North Dakota, both in November. The Bison haven’t lost this early in the playoffs since 1997 as a Division II team.
NDSU moved up to the FCS in 2004 after eight national championships in Division II. The Bison became a quick success with a national title in 2011, which began a dynasty of five consecutive titles, followed by another five titles since the 2015 season.
In an era where college football head coaches often advance with success, the Bison have won FCS titles under four different head coaches. That includes Craig Bohl, who later coached Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen at Wyoming, Chris Klieman, most recently the head coach at Kansas State, and Matt Entz, the current coach at Fresno State.
Current NDSU head coach Tim Polasek recently signed a seven-year contract extension through 2033. Polasek led the Bison to a national title in 2024 and nearly upset Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes that year when the Buffs boasted Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders.
Trouble For the FBS and an NFL Factory
NDSU has given FBS teams nightmares in the past 15 years with wins over Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas State, Kansas, Colorado State, Central Michigan, Ball State, and Minnesota twice. The Bison also nearly beat Arizona in 2023 and Minnesota in 2006. Oregon is the next FBS team to host the Bison in 2028, a game rescheduled from 2020 when the Bison had now-Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Trey Lance.
NDSU has produced droves of NFL players: Minnesota Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz, Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive lineman Cody Mauch, New York Giants linebacker Chris Board, Atlanta Falcons quarterback and many others.
Despite NDSU’s unprecedented Division I football success, the program hasn’t received an FBS Group of Five conference invitation, largely due to geography and budget. That said, the kings of the FCS now know they’re not that far above the rest of the FCS herd.
A Colossal Upset in College Football Happened on Saturday