The 2018 North Dakota State Bison football team represents

North Dakota State University North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...

in the

2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season The 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The FCS Champion ...

. They were led by fifth-year head coach

Chris Klieman Christopher Paul Klieman ( ; born September 27, 1967) is an American football coach and former player, and is currently the head coach for Kansas State University in the Big 12 Conference. He took over from the retiring Bill Snyder after leading ...

, who also coached his final season with the Bison before heading off to take over for the retiring

Bill Snyder William D. Snyder (born October 7, 1939) is a retired college football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach at Kansas State University from 1989 to 2005 and again from 2009 to 2018. Snyder initially retired from the p ...

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

. The team played their 26th season in the

Fargodome Fargodome is an indoor athletic stadium in the north central United States, located on the campus of North Dakota State University (NDSU) in Fargo, North Dakota. Opened in late 1992, the facility is owned by the City of Fargo and built on unive ...

in Fargo, North Dakota as members of the

Missouri Valley Football Conference The Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), formerly the Gateway Football Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivi ...

. They entered the season as defending National Champions and had won six of the last seven FCS titles. In 2018, the Bison finished the regular season 11–0, the first undefeated Bison season since the 2013 campaign, and won their eighth consecutive MVFC title. They received an automatic qualifying bid to the FCS playoff tournament and were seeded as the No. 1 team. The Bison then went 4–0 in the FCS playoffs to finish 15–0 and FCS champions.

Preseason

Award watch lists

Preseason MVFC poll

The MVFC released their preseason poll on July 29, 2018, with the Bison predicted unanimously to win the MVFC championship.

Preseason All-MVFC Teams

The Bison placed eleven players on the preseason all-MVFC teams. Offense ''1st team'' Bruce Anderson – RB Brock Robbins – FB Zack Johnson – OL Tanner Volson – OL ''2nd team''

Easton Stick Easton Michael Stick (born September 15, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Dakota State. College career He graduated from Creighton ...

– QB

Darrius Shepherd Darrius Allen Shepherd (born November 1, 1995) is an American football wide receiver for the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL. He played college football at North Dakota State, and was originally signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted ...

– WR Defense ''1st team'' Greg Menard – DL Aaron Steidl – DL

Jabril Cox Jabril Cox (born April 16, 1998) is an American football linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He played college football at North Dako ...

– LB Robbie Grimsley – DB ''2nd team'' Derrek Tuszka – DL

Schedule

* Source
Schedule
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Game summaries

Polls are based on the FCS STATS Poll

Cal Poly

North Alabama

Delaware

South Dakota State

At Northern Iowa

At Western Illinois

Illinois State

At South Dakota

Youngstown State

At Missouri State

Southern Illinois

FCS Playoffs

Montana State–Second Round

Colgate–Quarterfinals

South Dakota State–Semifinals

Eastern Washington–Championship

Ranking movements

Players drafted into the NFL

References

{{2018 NCAA Division I FCS playoff navbox

North Dakota State North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...

North Dakota State Bison football seasons NCAA Division I Football Champions Missouri Valley Football Conference champion seasons College football undefeated seasons

North Dakota State Bison football The North Dakota State Bison football program represents North Dakota State University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision level and competes in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Bison play in ...