North Dakota State Football: Bison ready to roll through FCS again
By Zach Bigalke
Defending national champion North Dakota State will once again be an FCS juggernaut. Can the Bison make it seven national titles in eight years in 2018?
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Five years ago, Craig Bohl left Fargo after leading North Dakota State to a third straight FCS national championship. After building the Bison into a powerhouse, Bohl took the opportunity to move up to the FBS level at Wyoming. It felt like there might finally be an opening for other teams to challenge the Bison for FCS supremacy.
But after Chris Klieman took over, the machine kept humming along. Klieman joined Bohl’s staff right as a defensive coach right as North Dakota State began its string of national titles. And right off the bat, Klieman won two more championships. Falling in the FCS semifinals in 2016 is the closest thing to a dip experienced in Fargo this decade.
Last year, North Dakota State rebounded to win a sixth national championship in seven years. Since 2011, the Bison have been the model of consistency to which all other FCS programs aspire. And even as other FCS programs have made the transition to the top subdivision of college football, North Dakota State remains content to remain a force at the next tier down.
The Bison are hardly unbeatable, with only one perfect season among their seven-year run of success. Can this year’s North Dakota State team run the table and finish 15-0 for its seventh national championship? Let’s look at the Bison offense and defense before diving into the schedule and assessing their prospects for 2018.