North Dakota State has endured a hard time scheduling Power Four conference teams as an FCS powerhouse, but the story has yet to be written on how it will go in the FBS.
The Bison may not have a Power Four game this year, according to the Fargo Forum, but Virginia Tech cancelling two games with Liberty in 2029 and 2030 could mean an opportunity for NDSU. That leaves two open dates for Virginia Tech, and the Hokies could schedule a Group of Six team such as the Bison, since Liberty comes for a G6 league, Conference USA.
A member of the ACC, Virginia Tech has nine conference games now, which leaves room for a third non-conference game in 2029. The Hokies have three non-ACC games already for 2030.
NDSU only has one Power Four team secured for the coming years, an early-season game at Oregon in 2023, which was rescheduled from 2020 due to COVID. That said, the Bison and Ducks may end up moving the game, which the Forum reported in the last month.
The Bison have only played two Power Four opponents since a 2016 upset of then-No. 13 Iowa, the year after the Hawkeyes went to the Rose Bowl. NDSU nearly upset Arizona in 2022 and Colorado in 2024.
Hokies Face Challenge in Scheduling NDSU
Whether or not the Hokies would want to take a chance on playing the Bison is a major question.
After all, Virginia Tech plays in a loaded ACC that just sent Miami to the national championship game. The Hokies could have College Football Playoff aspirations under new head coach James Franklin, and a non-conference hiccup won’t look great in the playoff committee’s eyes.
In addition, the 17-team conference makes it impossible for everyone to play everyone, and that’s impacted who plays in the ACC championship game each year. This past season, Duke and Virginia made it, and Miami needed the playoff committee to give an at-large bid.
NDSU Has Peaks and Valleys Amid Power Four Hopes
NDSU’s conference, the Mountain West, has success scheduling Power Four teams in non-conference action.
For 2026, Hawaii faces Stanford and Arizona State, Nevada faces UCLA, New Mexico visits Oklahoma, Northern Illinois visits Iowa and Arizona, San Jose State visits USC, and UNLV faces California. Air Force and Wyoming don’t have any Power Four games this year.
That said, NDSU finished higher in the Sagarin ratings, No. 40, than all of the aforementioned Mountain West teams. The Bison finding Power Four opponents may remain elusive. Fargo Forum columnist and Bison insider Mike McFeely said it all in a Feb. 23 column.
“As has been well-chronicled, NDSU has had difficulty in securing competitive nonconference games for many years in FCS,” McFeely wrote. “Teams — both FCS and FBS — simply didn’t want to play the Bison because they didn’t want to risk a bad beating [FCS] or a beating at all [FBS].”
“As a result, the only teams that would schedule NDSU either wanted a paycheck from the Bison or a home-and-home to get NDSU at their stadium for a better home crowd [which meant more money],” McFeely added.
Power Four teams such as Virginia Tech have no incentive to play the Bison, but that doesn’t mean NDSU won’t at least make the call.
North Dakota State Has 1 New Future Option For a Power Four Game