2016 North Dakota State Bison football team
The 2016 North Dakota State Bison football team represented North Dakota State University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Chris Klieman. The team played their 24th season in the Fargodome, entering the season as the five-time defending national champions and five-time Missouri Valley Football Conference Champions. The Bison have been members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference since the 2008 season. The Bison went 12–2 on the season and won their sixth straight conference title with their lone loss coming on a last-second touchdown versus rival SDSU. The Bison received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated San Diego and South Dakota State in the second round and quarterfinals before losing to James Madison in the semifinals, ending their five-year championship run.
Schedule
- Source: STATS Poll
- ** Most watched FCS Game of all time – 1.98m viewers on ESPN
Roster
Recruiting class
Game summaries
Polls are based on the FCS STATS PollCharleston Southern
- CSU – Jacob Smoak 46 yard field goal – CSU 3–0
- NDSU – #36 Cam Pedersen 52 yard field goal – TIED 3–3
- CSU – Mike Holloway 47 yard run – CSU 10–3
- NDSU – #20 Darrius Shepherd 23 yard pass from #12 Easton Stick – TIED 10–10
- NDSU – #16 RJ Urzendowski 47 yard pass from #12 Easton Stick – NDSU 17–10
- CSU – Mike Holloway 6 yard run – TIED 17–17
- NDSU – #22 King Frazier 25 yard run – NDSU 24–17
Eastern Washington
| Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
| 0–1 | 2010 FCS Playoffs | EWU, 38–31 |
- NDSU – #22 King Frazier 8 yard run – NDSU 7–0
- EWU – Cooper Kupp 20 yard pass from Gage Gubrud – TIED 7–7
- NDSU – #12 Easton Stick 1 yard run – NDSU 14–7
- NDSU – #86 Jeff Illies 33 yard pass from #12 Easton Stick – NDSU 21–7
- EWU – Cooper Kupp 8 yard pass from Gage Gubrud – NDSU 21–14
- EWU – Roldan Alcobendas 37 yard field goal – NDSU 21–17
- NDSU – #20 Darrius Shepherd 37 yard pass from #12 Easton Stick – NDSU 28–17
- EWU – Gage Gubrud 13 yard run – NDSU 28–24
- NDSU – #10 Lance Dunn 41 yard run – NDSU 35–24
- EWU – Nsimba Webster 35 yard pass from Gage Gubrud – NDSU 35–31
- NDSU – #49 Nick DeLuca 40 yard interception return – NDSU 41–31
- EWU – Stu Stiles 34 yard pass from Gage Gubrud – NDSU 41–37
- EWU – Tamarick Pierce 1 yard run – EWU 44–41
- NDSU – #36 Cam Pedersen 28 yard field goal – TIED 44–44
- NDSU – #10 Lance Dunn 25 yard run – NDSU 50–44
at Iowa
| Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
| 0–2 | 1947 | IOWA, 59–0 |
- NDSU – #41 MJ Stumpf 21 yard interception return – NDSU 7–0
- IOWA – Riley McCarron 30 yard pass from C. J. Beathard – TIED 7–7
- IOWA – Matt VandeBerg 14 yard pass from C.J. Beathard – IOWA 14–7
- NDSU – #22 King Frazier 1 yard run – TIED 14–14
- IOWA – Matt VandeBerg 9 yard pass from C.J. Beathard – IOWA 21–14
- NDSU – #25 Chase Morlock 7 yard pass from #12 Easton Stick – IOWA 21–20
- NDSU – #36 Cam Pedersen 37 yard field goal – NDSU 23–21
Illinois State
| Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
| 7–2 | 2014 FCS Championship Game | NDSU, 29–27 |
- ILST – Sean Slattery 23 yard field goal – ILST 3–0
- NDSU – #20 Darrius Shepherd 31 yard run – NDSU 7–3
- ILST – Anthony Fowler 18 yard pass from Jake Kolbe – ILST 10–7
- NDSU – #16 RJ Urzendowski 65 yard pass from #12 Easton Stick – NDSU 14–10
- NDSU – #10 Lance Dunn 38 yard pass from #12 Easton Stick – NDSU 21–10
- NDSU – #85 Nate Jenson 35 yard pass from #12 Easton Stick – NDSU 28–10
- NDSU – #36 Cam Pedersen 47 yard field goal – NDSU 31–10
at Missouri State
| Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
| 6–2 | 2015 | NDSU, 55–0 |
- MOST – Zach Drake 50 yard field goal – MOST 3–0
- NDSU – #36 Cam Pedersen 38 yard field goal – TIED 3–3
- NDSU – #20 Darrius Shepherd 21 yard pass from #12 Easton Stick – NDSU 10–3
- NDSU – #36 Cam Pedersen 21 yard field goal – NDSU 13–3
- NDSU – #22 King Frazier 22 yard run – NDSU 20–3
- NDSU – #22 King Frazier 4 yard run – NDSU 27–3
South Dakota State
| Overall record | Previous meeting | Result |
| 59–40–5 | 2015 | NDSU, 28–7 |
- NDSU – #12 Easton Stick 1 yard run – NDSU 7–0
- SDSU – Chase Vinatieri 38 yard field goal – NDSU 7–3
- NDSU – #36 Cam Pedersen 49 yard field goal – NDSU 10–3
- NDSU – #12 Easton Stick 26 yard run – NDSU 17–3
- SDSU – Dallas Goedert 12 yard pass from Taryn Christion – NDSU 17–10
- SDSU – Chase Vinatieri 42 yard field goal – NDSU 17–13
- SDSU – Jake Wieneke 2 yard pass from Taryn Christion – SDSU 19–17
at Western Illinois
| Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
| 5–2 | 2015 | NDSU, 59–7 |
- NDSU – #22 King Frazier 3 yard run – NDSU 7–0
- WIU – Nathan Knuffman 29 yard field goal – NDSU 7–3
- WIU – Nathan Knuffman 28 yard field goal – NDSU 7–6
- NDSU – #22 King Frazier 1 yard run – NDSU 14–6
- NDSU – #86 Jeff Illies 17 yard pass from #12 Easton Stick – NDSU 21–6
- WIU – Jamie Gilmore 3 yard run – NDSU 21–13
at Northern Iowa
| Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
| 24–26 | 2015 FCS Playoffs | NDSU, 23–13 |
- NDSU – #22 King Frazier 1 yard run – NDSU 7–0
- UNI – Austin Errthum 30 yard field goal – NDSU 7–3
- NDSU – #86 Jeff Illies 31 yard pass from #12 Easton Stick – NDSU 14–3
- UNI – Austin Errthum 25 yard field goal – NDSU 14–6
- NDSU – #25 Chase Morlock 8 yard run – NDSU 21–6
- UNI – Jaylin James 17 yard pass from Eli Dunne – NDSU 21–13
- NDSU – #36 Cam Pedersen 25 yard field goal – NDSU 24–13
- UNI – Briley Moore 4 yard pass from Eli Dunne – NDSU 24–20
Youngstown State
| Overall record | Previous meeting | Result |
| 6–4 | 2015 | NDSU, 27–24 |
- NDSU – #25 Chase Morlock 71 yard run – NDSU 7–0
- NDSU – #36 Cam Pedersen 36 yard field goal – NDSU 10–0
- NDSU – #86 Jeff Illies 15 yard pass from #12 Easton Stick – NDSU 17–0
- YSU – Zak Kennedy 32 yard field goal – NDSU 17–3
- NDSU – #10 Lance Dunn 7 yard run – NDSU 24–3
Indiana State
| Overall record | Previous meeting | Result |
| 7–1 | 2015 | NDSU, 28–14 |
- NDSU – #20 Darrius Shepherd 84 yard punt return – NDSU 7–0
- NDSU – #12 Easton Stick 16 yard run – NDSU 14–0
- NDSU – #12 Easton Stick 42 yard run – NDSU 21–0
- NDSU – #36 Cam Pedersen 29 yard field goal – NDSU 24–0
- NDSU – #22 King Frazier 2 yard run – NDSU 31–0
- ISU – Kelvin Cook 2 yard run – NDSU 31–7
- NDSU – #36 Cam Pedersen 45 yard field goal – NDSU 34–7
- NDSU – #10 Lance Dunn 14 yard run – NDSU 41–7
- ISU – Jerry Nunez 41 yard field goal – NDSU 41–10
- ISU – Roland Genesy 2 yard run – NDSU 41–17
at South Dakota
| Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
| 53–25–3 | 2015 | USD, 24–21 |
- NDSU – #22 King Frazier 1 yard run – NDSU 7–0
- SD – Tacari Carpenter 36 yard pass from Chris Streveler – TIED 7–7
- NDSU – #20 Darrius Shepherd 40 yard pass from #12 Easton Stick – NDSU 14–7
- SD – Chris Streveler 1 yard run – TIED 14–14
- NDSU – #86 Jeff Illies 13 yard pass from #12 Easton Stick – NDSU 21–14
- NDSU – #87 Connor Wentz 6 yard pass from #12 Easton Stick – NDSU 28–14
- SD – Alonge Brooks 12 yard pass from Chris Streveler – NDSU 28–21
FCS Playoffs
Second Round–San Diego
- NDSU – #41 MJ Stumpf 40 yard interception return – NDSU 7–0
- NDSU – #25 Chase Morlock 16 yard pass from #12 Easton Stick – NDSU 14–0
- NDSU – #16 RJ Urzendowski 11 yard pass from #12 Easton Stick – NDSU 21–0
- USD – Ross Dwelley 1 yard pass from Anthony Lawrence – NDSU 21–7
- NDSU – #25 Chase Morlock 49 yard pass from #12 Easton Stick – NDSU 28–7
- NDSU – #36 Cam Pedersen 31 yard field goal – NDSU 31–7
- NDSU – #10 Lance Dunn 56 yard run – NDSU 38–7
- NDSU – #8 Bruce Anderson 61 yard run – NDSU 45–7
Quarterfinals–South Dakota State
| Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
| 59–41–5 | 10/15/16 | SDSU, 19–17 |
- SDSU – Brady Mengarelli 5 yard run – SDSU 7–0
- SDSU – Chase Vinatieri 34 yard field goal – SDSU 10–0
- NDSU – #10 Lance Dunn 49 yard run – SDSU 10–7
- NDSU – #12 Easton Stick 3 yard run – NDSU 14–10
- NDSU – #90 Grant Morgan Safety – NDSU 16–10
- NDSU – #36 Cam Pedersen 35 yard field goal – NDSU 19–10
- NDSU – #36 Cam Pedersen 45 yard field goal – NDSU 22–10
- NDSU – #12 Easton Stick 14 yard run – NDSU 29–10
- NDSU – #20 Darrius Shepherd 67 yard pass from #12 Easton Stick – NDSU 36–10
Semifinals–James Madison
| Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
| 1–0 | 2011 FCS Playoffs | NDSU, 26–14 |
- JMU – Jonathan Kloosterman 14 yard pass from Bryan Schor – JMU 7–0
- JMU – Tyler Gray 23 yard field goal – JMU 10–0
- JMU – Khalid Abdullah 10 yard pass from Bryan Schor – JMU 17–0
- NDSU – #25 Chase Morlock 3 yard run – JMU 17–7
- NDSU – #36 Cam Pedersen 45 yard field goal – JMU 17–10
- NDSU – #22 King Frazier 16 yard run – TIED 17–17
- JMU – Tyler Gray 45 yard field goal – JMU 20–17
- JMU – John Miller 25 yard pass from Bryan Schor – JMU 27–17
Ranking movements