Bye weeks are a double-edged sword. Nice to have a week off to rest and heal. Always dicey to break up a good thing.
But after having a few days off, it won’t be hard to refocus. NDSU puts its nine-game winning streak on the line Saturday as 14 th ranked Missouri State invades the Fargodome. The Bison are 9-1 with two very important, and difficult, games to finish the regular season.
The Bison are a lock for the FCS Playoffs no matter the result, but two more wins (home to the Bears and at #5 South Dakota) would ensure home field advantage until a potential trip to Frisco, Texas for the FCS Championship Game on January 6 th .
Missouri State is first up for NDSU, and the Bears know a little something about winning streaks themselves. The visitors have reeled off 8 straight wins after back-to-back losses to open the season at Montana and FBS Ball State. In those 8 wins, the Bears have scored an average of 41 points, and in the last six games, MSU has not been held under 38. The Bears are coming off a 59-21 win at Missouri State on Saturday, a game in which they piled up 579 yards. To be fair, the Racers have a suspect defense, but 579 yards is still 579 yards.
The winner of Saturday’s game will clinch at least a share of the Missouri Valley conference title.
The Bears are led by quarterback Jacob Clark, a University of Minnesota transfer. The 6-5, 220-pound senior passed for 431 yards Saturday at Murray State, setting a program record with 25 touchdown passes in a season. The win gave MSU an eight- game win streak for the first time since 1988-89 and a program milestone with the teams 500th all-time victory.
The Bears have several potent offensive weapons, who shined brightly on a rainy day at Murray State. Standout running back Jacardia Wright scored three times, including two receiving touchdowns. He also rushed for 74 yards and accumulated 92 receiving yards.
Missouri State boasts a pair of high-octane receivers in Hunter Wood and Jmariyae Robinson, who both went over 100 yards against the Racers.
Missouri State’s 8-2 start marks the club’s best since 1990, while its eight-game win streak matches the squad’s longest since a split-season surge from Oct. 28, 1988 to Oct. 7, 1989. It also marked MSU’s first four-game road winning streak since 1996-97.
The Bears have not yet played NDSU or South Dakota State, two of the best defenses in FCS. However, the Missouri State offense is highly ranked in several statistical categories.
MISSOURI STATE IN THE FCS STATISTICS
Jacob Clark Passing Yards – 3171 (2 nd in FCS)
Offensive Yards Per Play – 7.07 (3 rd in FCS)
Jacob Clark Pass Completions – 230 (4 th in FCS)
Total Offensive Yards – 4,495 (9 th in FCS)
Yards Per Game – 449.5 (9 th in FCS)
COMPARING THE TEAM STATISTICS
Yards Per Game
o NDSU – 426.9 (20 th in FCS)
o Missouri State – 449.5 (9 th in FCS)
Yards Allowed Per Game
o NDSU – 309.9 (19 th in FCS)
o Missouri State – 367.8 (67 th in FCS)
AND ABOUT THAT ONE LOSS
NDSU’s only setback this season was an opening night 31-26 loss at Colorado. If there is such a thing as a good loss, this one might qualify, as the Buffaloes are getting better by the week. Colorado won at Texas Tech Saturday 41-27, improving to 7-2 on the season. The Buffs moved up three spots to #18 in this week’s AP Top 25 and still have a chance to make the 12-team FBS College Football Playoff.
FCS COACHES POLL – NOVEMBER 11, 2024
First Place Votes Record Poll Points Last Week
1 North Dakota State (24) 9-1 648 1
2 Montana State (2) 10-0 622 2
3 South Dakota State 8-2 598 3
4 UC Davis 9-1 570 4
5 South Dakota 7-2 527 5
6 UIW 8-2 500 8
7 Richmond 8-2 479 9
8 Villanova 8-2 433 11
9 Mercer 9-1 416 13
10 Idaho 7-3 393 12
11 Montana 7-3 348 7
12 Tarleton State 8-2 342 14
13 Southeast Missouri State 8-2 334 6
14 Missouri State 8-2 310 15
15 ACU 7-3 283 16
16 Illinois State 7-3 270 17
17 Stony Brook 8-2 251 18
18 Rhode Island 8-2 239 10
19 UT Martin 7-3 186 22
20 Jackson State 8-2 181 20
21 Duquesne 7-2 146 24
22 Harvard 7-1 88 25
23 South Carolina State 7-2 66 NR
24 Dartmouth 7-1 35 NR
25T Butler 8-2 31 NR
25T Chattanooga 6-4 31 NR
2024 SCHEDULE
Thu, Aug 29 @Colorado L31-26 0-1 (0-0)
Sat, Sep 7 Vs Tennessee State W52-3 1-1 (0-0)
Sat, Sep 14 @ East Tennessee State W38-35 2-1 (0-0)
Sat, Sep 21 Vs Towson W41-24 3-1 (0-0)
Sat, Sep 28 @ Illinois State W42-10 4-1 (1-0)
Sat, Oct 5 Vs North Dakota W41-17 5-1 (2-0)
Sat, Oct 12 @ Southern Illinois W24-3 6-1 (3-0)
Sat, Oct 19 Vs South Dakota State W13-9 7-1 (4-0)
Sat, Oct 26 @ Murray State W59-6 8-1 (5-0)
Sat, Nov 2 Vs Northern Iowa W42-19 9-1 (6-0)
Sat, Nov 16 Vs Missouri State 2:30 PM
Sat, Nov 23 @ South Dakota 1:00 PM
