North Dakota State is fresh off a big season-opening win over Jacksonville State in the program’s FBS debut, and the Bison are getting extra attention from ESPN.
Two of the network’s analysts have picked the Bison to make the College Football Playoff, and another named the Bison a sleeper team among the unranked teams. In addition, ESPN ran simulations of the 2026 season, which had the Bison winning the Mountain West Conference and making the CFP plus winning a postseason game.
“After winning 10 of the past 16 FCS national titles, the Bison are the most interesting team to ever jump to FBS,” ESPN’s Kyle Bongura wrote regarding his sleeper pick for unranked teams.
Both Bill Connelly and Eli Lederman picked NDSU for the No. 12 seed in the CFP. Bongura notably picked Boise State instead for the last spot, and the Broncos, a perennial Group of Six power, could be the toughest obstacle for the Bison to make it.
In ESPN’s simulation by Connelly, the Bison beat Hawaii for the Mountain West title and make the CFP as the No. 12 seed. NDSU visits Tennessee for the first round and upsets the Volunteers at Neyland Stadium, but the Bison fall to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.
Bison Make R.J. Young’s Top 25
NDSU will need to have a massive win over Fordham to have any shot to make an official top-25 poll when those roll out after Week 1, but the Bison already have made an unofficial top-25 poll.
FOX college football writer R.J. Young ranks the Bison No. 25 after the Week Zero win over JSU. Young wrote that the Bison “looked every bit like a program expecting to win a lot in the FBS.”
“The Bison looked like they have for the last decade: a team that plays fundamentally sound football, doesn’t make a habit of beating itself and knows how to finish in the fourth quarter,” Young wrote. “Their 26-point win is what I’d expect from a top-25 team against an unranked opponent in its weight class.”
“I believe the Bison have everything they need — including a favorable schedule — to earn an invitation to the College Football Playoff in their first season in the FBS,” Young added later.
Nathan Hayes in a Rare Air
Young pointed out Bison quarterback Nathan Hayes did something that is most likely unprecedented in college football — or at least exceedingly rare.
“Nathan Hayes has the honor of being the only quarterback to play four years of FCS football without a start and then make his first career start as a member of an FBS program — and against FBS competition,” Young wrote.
Hayes made the most of the opportunity as he threw for 160 yards and two touchdowns in the 33-7 victory over the Gamecocks. He waited his turn in Fargo throughout his career behind former Bison quarterbacks Cam Miller and Cole Payton.
Whether or not Hayes is the first or only is another question. Multiple teams have moved up from the FCS to the FBS over the years. That said, most programs aren’t starting a four-year FCS backup in Year One of FBS competition.
NDSU Getting Big Nods Amid ESPN Predictions