Bison Media Zone on Xtra: What to look for in NDSU – UND matchup and Week 6 spotlight games

North Dakota and North Dakota State have met six times since each school moved to FCS football and Saturday will mark the second time they will play as top ten ranked teams.

The other time was the forgotten game in March 2021 during the spring season. Hunter Luepke ran for three touchdowns as the fourth ranked Bison beat second ranked UND, 34-13.

Saturday brings us two vs seven, with the Hawks entering on a four-game win streak, winning all of those games at home. UND lost its season opener to Iowa State, then ripped off wins over Montana, Idaho State, San Diego and Murray State. After this week’s game in Fargo, the Fighting Hawks have a bye week and then another game at home against Northern Iowa. They won’t leave the state of North Dakota until October 26.

NDSU is in the midst of a tough opening schedule of Missouri Valley Football Conference play. The Bison have a trip to Carbondale, Illinois next week, followed by hosting South Dakota State after that.

The Bison defense had a vintage performance last Saturday, holding Illinois State to eight rushing yards in a 42-10 win.

NDSU moved senior Sam Jung to the strong safety spot and had Jaylin Crumby return to the lineup to help out a secondary that has been beleagurred all season long.

The Forum’s Mike McFeely and WDAY’s Dom Izzo chat about the matchup and what to look for around the FCS this weekend.

Dom Izzo is the Sports Director at WDAY-TV. He began working for WDAY in 2006 as the weekend sports anchor and was promoted to Sports Director in 2010.