2025 North Dakota State Bison football team

2025 North Dakota State Bison football
2025 North Dakota State Bison football
Conference	Missouri Valley Football Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 1
FCS Coaches	No. 1
Record	0–0 (0–0 MVFC)
Head coach	Tim Polasek (2nd season);
Offensive coordinator	Dan Larson (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Grant Olson (2nd season)
Home stadium	Fargodome

2025 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

Team	W		L	W		L
No. 6 Illinois State	0	–	0	0	–	0
Indiana State	0	–	0	0	–	0
Murray State	0	–	0	0	–	0
North Dakota	0	–	0	0	–	0
No. 1	0	–	0	0	–	0
Northern Iowa	0	–	0	0	–	0
No. 4 South Dakota	0	–	0	0	–	0
No. 3 South Dakota State	0	–	0	0	–	0
No. 20 Southern Illinois	0	–	0	0	–	0
Youngstown State	0	–	0	0	–	0

As of August 21, 2025 Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2025 North Dakota State Bison football team will represent 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 will be 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
August 30	11:00 am	at The Citadel*	No. 1	Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	ABC ND/ESPN+
September 6	1:30 pm	at Tennessee State*		Nissan Stadium Nashville, TN	ESPN+
September 13	2:30 pm	Southeast Missouri State*		Fargodome Fargo, ND	ABC ND/ESPN+
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

^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

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)
Coaches	1 (26)

Preseason

MVFC poll

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

No. 1 North Dakota State Bison (0–0) vs. The Citadel Bulldogs (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	Total
No. 1 Bison			0
Bulldogs			0

at Johnson Hagood Stadium, Charleston, SC

Date: August 30, 2025
Game time: 11:00 am
Game weather: TBD
TV: ESPN+

Tennessee State

North Dakota State Bison (–) vs. Tennessee State Tigers (–)

Quarter	1	2	Total
Bison			0
Tigers			0

at Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN

Date: September 6, 2025
Game time: 1:30 pm
Game weather: TBD
TV: ESPN+

Southeast Missouri State

Southeast Missouri State Redhawks (–) vs. North Dakota State Bison (–)

Quarter	1	2	Total
Redhawks			0
Bison			0

at Fargodome, Fargo, ND

Date: September 13, 2025
Game time: 2:30 pm
Game weather: Indoors; 70 °F (21 °C)
TV: ESPN+

South Dakota

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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	Sr
RB	`7`	DJ Scott	So
RB	`8`	Barika Kpeenu	Sr
QB	`9`	Cole Payton	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	Sr
S	`20`	Drake Schlosser	Fr
WR	`21`	Chris Kiel	Fr
RB	`22`	Charles Ross III	Fr
RB	`25`	Myles Mitchell	Fr
RB	`26`	Brady Wavrunek	So
RB	`28`	Cortez LeGrant	So
RB	`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
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
CB	`34`	Marion Moore	Fr
LB	`35`	Ryland Satter	Fr
S	`38`	Ben Schepp	Fr
S	`39`	Landon Meier	Fr
LB	`40`	Chase Brixius	Fr
LB	`41`	Peder Haugo	Fr
LB	`42`	Alex Elliott	So
LB	`43`	Logan Kopp	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	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	Sr
DT	`65`	Brody Clubb	Fr
DT	`66`	Jack Hansen	Fr
DE	`69`	Carter Dauner	Fr
DE	`90`	Wyatt Osterbauer	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: August 6, 2025

References

^ "2025 Football Schedule". gobison.com. North Dakota State Bison. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
^ "2025 North Dakota State Football Schedule". fbschedules.com. FBSchedules. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
^ "North Dakota State Bison Schedule 2025". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
^ "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.
^ "Missouri Valley Football Announces predicted order of finish". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. July 21, 2025. Retrieved July 21, 2025.

[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.

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North Dakota State Bison football
Venues	Dacotah Field (1910–1992) Fargodome (1993–present)
Bowls & rivalries	North Dakota: Nickel Trophy South Dakota State: Dakota Marker
Culture & lore	Thundar "On Bison" Gold Star Marching Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold