The road ends in Cedar Falls, Iowa for the 2023 regular season of North Dakota State football.

For the first time since the 2019 season, NDSU ends the regular season on the road and in unfamiliar spot, needing a win to solidify its playoff standing. The Bison picked up a huge 34-10 victory last week against Southern Illinois to reach the 7-win plateau, but another win this week could potentially earn them a playoff seed and with it, a much needed week off.

Northern Iowa was thinking playoff seed at this time last week and then lost a clunker at Missouri State 35-16, in a game that wasn't as close as the score suggests.

UNI now enters with a 6-4 record, needing a win to extend its season to the playoffs, a place they haven't been since losing in the first round in 2021 to Eastern Washington.

The Bison haven't lost to the Panthers since 2014, a 23-3 game that saw UNI end a then-record 33-game win streak for NDSU. Fans stormed the UNI-Dome field. After that, the Bison have posted wins in Cedar Falls in 2016, 2018 and in the weird spring season of 2021.

The Panthers are led by sixth year quarterback Theo Day, who took over as the starter in 2021 and was sacked five times in Fargo in the last game these two teams played, a 34-20 Bison win.

WDAY's Dom Izzo and The Forum's Jeff Kolpack preview the matchup and break down all the potential playoff scenarios surrounding NDSU heading into Selection Sunday.

Saturday's North Dakota State game at the Fargodome may have the most at-stake during the regular season since the Bison championship dynasty began in 2011.

That final regular season home game in 2011, NDSU was matched up with Youngstown State and had a chance to clinch its first Missouri Valley Football Conference title. The Bison raced out to a 21-10 second quarter lead, only to see the Penguins rally and win the game 27-24, denying NDSU a chance to clinch the conference at home.

NDSU had to wait a week and win the league in Macomb, Illinois the following week. The Bison don't want to put off a win this week as they welcome in Southern Illinois for a monumental football game.

Each team enters with a 6-3 record and 3-3 mark in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The winner will get to the elusive 7-win plateau and likely cinch up a playoff berth. If the Bison were to lose, they would have to win a road game at Northern Iowa next week to be considered for the 24-team playoff.

SIU has had an up and down season much like the Bison. SIU started 3-0, which included an FBS win over Northern Illinois, and a road win against Southeast Missouri State. They have a bumpy road in conference play, which included a 31-3 blasting by Youngstown State and home losses to South Dakota State and South Dakota.

The Salukis were held to just 17 combined points in losses to SDSU and USD.

Nick Hill's team has never won in Fargo, losing all six games, including a 38-7 playoff defeat in the second round in 2021.

The Forum's Jeff Kolpack and WDAY's Dom Izzo preview the game and the implications surrounding it. They also discuss Senior Day and the players that could potentially return next season.

The focus of the FCS world centers on Brookings, South Dakota this weekend as top ranked South Dakota State welcomes in rival North Dakota State for the 20th renewal of the Dakota Marker Game.

This game may be unlike any other in the history of this series; with the Jackrabbits as prohibitive favorites over the Bison. SDSU has won four straight over NDSU, a fifth straight win will match a streak that hasn't happened since 1910-1917.

NDSU enters with a 6-2 record after back to back wins over Western Illinois and Murray State. They'll enter this game without backup defensive tackle Will Mostaert, who tore his Achilles tendon in the game last week against the Racers.

The Jackrabbits come in on a 22-game win streak, after dusting rival South Dakota 37-3 on the road last Saturday. SDSU hasn't lost at home since October of 2021, a streak of 16 straight wins.

The Forum's Jeff Kolpack and WDAY's Dom Izzo discuss everything about the matchup, they also reflect on the passing of Hall of Fame basketball coach Bob Knight, who died on Wednesday. Knight coached against North Dakota State when he was at Texas Tech in November of 2006.

North Dakota State wraps up the month of October with a first-time opponent, as Missouri Valley conference newbie Murray State comes to the Fargodome this weekend.

Murray State was a founding member of the Ohio Valley Conference and left in July as the school wanted to join the Missouri Valley Conference to enhance its basketball profile. The football team was added to the MVFC in April 2022, becoming the 12th school in the league.

The Racers are led by 59-year-old head coach Dean Hood, who's trying to end a 22-year playoff drought for MSU. Murray State last made the postseason in 2001.

North Dakota State enters off a 52-7 win over Western Illinois to improve the Bison to a mark of 5-2. They may be shorthanded again this week as tight end Joe Stoffel will likely miss the game with a banged up shoulder. Stoffel fell hard on his right shoulder as he scored a touchdown against Western Illinois and left the game.

Head coach Matt Entz says a rotation of Carson Williams, Hunter Brozio and Finn Diggins could likely replace Stoffel in the game this weekend.

The Bison are still searching for a 100-yard rusher out of the running back room, which has yet to happen this season. Barika Kpeenu rushed for 95 yards last week against the Leathernecks.

The Forum's Jeff Kolpack and WDAY's Dom Izzo preview the matchup between Murray State and NDSU and look ahead to the final four weeks of the season as the playoff picture starts to come into focus.

The second half of the 2023 FCS college football season begins Saturday for North Dakota State and in essence, the Bison season really begins this weekend.

NDSU after being flattened by North Dakota last Saturday, returns home to host winless Western Illinois at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome. This game centers more around how the Bison play and who plays for NDSU this weekend than anything that the Leathernecks do.

WIU is leaving the Missouri Valley Football Conference after this season for the Ohio Valley Conference, a move that became official in May. The Leathernecks have not won a football game in nearly two full years, entering on 19-game losing streak.

The Forum's Jeff Kolpack and WDAY's Dom Izzo discuss the issues surrounding this year's Bison football team and where things go from here. They also discuss what potentially may happen over the final five games of the season.

The state's biggest rivalry takes center stage Saturday in Grand Forks as just for the second time in the Division I era, North Dakota State travels to Grand Forks and the Alerus Center to face North Dakota.

The Fighting Hawks enter with a mark of 3-2, with losses to Boise State and South Dakota. UND hasn't defeated NDSU in the D-1 era, with its last win coming in 2003.

Bison quarterback Cam Miller will make his first start in the Alerus Center, Miller got in one play in the game in 2021 after starting quarterback Quincy Patterson had his helmet knocked off. 

UND quarterback Tommy Schuster will make his fourth start against the Bison, looking for his first win against the Bison. 

The Forum's Jeff Kolpack and WDAY's Dom Izzo preview the matchup as a sellout crowd will await the Bison in Grand Forks Saturday afternoon. 

North Dakota State will play its first true road game of the 2023 season Saturday when they make the trip to Springfield, Missouri and a matchup with the Missouri State Bears.

NDSU enters off a deflating 24-19 loss to South Dakota on homecoming, the Bison's first loss to the Coyotes since 2015.

They have a more impressive win streak against MSU, who hasn't beaten NDSU since November of 2010, a 3-0 win in Springfield.

The Bears are led by first-year head coach Ryan Beard, who succeeded Bobby Petrino. Petrino left last off-season to take the offensive coordinator role at Texas A&M.

The Forum's Jeff Kolpack and WDAY's Dom Izzo preview the matchup, take a closer look at what's going at Missouri State and try to diagnose what's up with the Bison thru the first four games of the 2023 season. 

North Dakota State returns to the football field this weekend as they open Missouri Valley Confernece play with South Dakota.

It's also Homecoming Weekend as the Bison will honor the 1983 National Championship team, along with Tim Strehlow and Jared Essler.

The Forum's Jeff Kolpack and WDAY's Dom Izzo preview the matchup with the 2-1 Coyotes and how the Bison have improved their offense thru the first three games of the season. 

North Dakota State enters its bye week at 3-0 after beating Central Arkansas 49-31 last Saturday at the Fargodome.

The Bison defense has forced seven turnovers, while the offense hasn't committed one thru the first three games.

NDSU prepares for Missouri Valley Conference play relatively healthy, with linebacker Nick Kubitz suffering a sprained ankle as the biggest injury NDSU has had thru the first three games.

The Forum's Jeff Kolpack and WDAY's Dom Izzo recap the first three games and look ahead to Valley play in this week's podcast. 

North Dakota State wraps up non-conference play Saturday at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome as they host Central Arkansas out of the United Athletic Conference.

UCA enters with a record of 1-1, losing to Oklahoma State in its season opener, before beating Texas College, an NAIA school, 70-2 last week.

This is the second all-time meeting between the schools, the two teams met in October 2020 in Fargo.

That was Trey Lance's final game as a Bison, rallying NDSU in the fourth quarter to a 39-28 win. There was less than 500 people in attendance as the game was held in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Forum's Jeff Kolpack and WDAY's Dom Izzo discuss the matchup and why Central Arkansas poses a real challenge to a 19-year non-conference home win streak that the Bison currently have.