2013 North Dakota State Bison football team

2013 North Dakota State Bison football
2013 North Dakota State Bison football
NCAA Division I FCS national champion; MVFC champion
FCS Championship Game, W 35–7 vs. Towson
Conference	Missouri Valley Football Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 1
FCS Coaches	No. 1
Record	15–0 (8–0 MVFC)
Head coach	Craig Bohl (11th season);
Offensive coordinator	Brent Vigen (5th season)
Defensive coordinator	Chris Klieman (2nd season)
Home stadium	Fargodome; (Capacity: 18,700)
	Seasons ← 2012 2014 →

2013 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 1 North Dakota State $^	8	–	0	15	–	0
No. 13 South Dakota State ^	5	–	3	9	–	5
No. 18 Youngstown State	5	–	3	8	–	4
Southern Illinois	5	–	3	7	–	5
Missouri State	5	–	3	5	–	7
Illinois State	4	–	4	5	–	6
South Dakota	3	–	5	4	–	8
Northern Iowa	3	–	5	7	–	5
Western Illinois	2	–	6	4	–	8
Indiana State	0	–	8	1	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 2013 North Dakota State Bison football team represented North Dakota State University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by head coach Craig Bohl, in his 11th and ultimately final season, as he left to become the head coach at Wyoming after the season.^[1] The team, which played their 21st season in the Fargodome, entered the season as the two-time defending national champions. The Bison have been members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference since the 2008 season.

The season started with a road win over defending Big 12 champion Kansas State 24–21, in front of the second-largest crowd in Wildcats history.^[2] According to ESPN.com, Kansas State paid the Bison $350,000 for the matchup.^[3] This was the Bison's fourth straight win against an FBS opponent and seventh overall.

The university hosted ESPN College GameDay on September 21, 2013, as the Bison faced Delaware State that afternoon and defeated the Hornets 51–0. This was the first time in the show's history that it was broadcast live from downtown Fargo, and was a rare feature of a non-FBS program.^[4] On October 12, in a home game against Missouri State, the Fargodome set a new single-game attendance record (19,108).^[5]

With a win at Youngstown State, the Bison won their third consecutive MVFC title, and clinched an automatic playoff spot. The Bison finished the regular season with a perfect overall record of 11–0, their first undefeated record since 1990. NDSU received 17 points in the final AP Poll of the 2013 season, which would have ranked them 29th if that poll ranked teams beyond the top 25.^[6]^[7]

On December 9, 2013, Bohl was introduced as the next head coach at Wyoming effective at the end of the season.^[2] On December 15, Bison defensive coordinator Chris Klieman was selected as Bohl's successor as head coach for the 2014 season.^[8]

Their victory in the 2013 FCS title game, held on January 4, 2014 at Toyota Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas, made the Bison only the second team to win three consecutive FCS national titles, following the 2005–2007 run of Appalachian State. The Bison were also the first unbeaten FCS champions since Marshall in 1996.^[9]

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Year at North Dakota State	Alma Mater (Year)
Craig Bohl	Head Coach	11th	Nebraska (1982)
Brent Vigen	Offensive Coordinator Quarterbacks	16th	North Dakota State (1998)
Chris Klieman	Defensive Coordinator Defensive Backs	3rd	Northern Iowa (1990)
Kenni Burns	Recruiting Coordinator Wide Receivers Coach	4th	Indiana (2006)
A. J. Cooper	Defensive Ends Coach	8th	North Dakota State (2006)
Scott Fuchs	Offensive Line	5th	North Dakota State (1995)
Nick Goeser	Defensive Tackles Coach	4th	Wisconsin–Eau Claire (2003)
Conor Riley	Tight Ends Running Backs	1st	Nebraska–Omaha (2002)
Steve Stanard	Linebackers	2nd	Nebraska (1989)
Gordie Haug	Offensive Assistant	2nd	Bemidji State (2009)
John Richardson	Defensive Assistant	3rd	North Dakota State (2010)
Jake Chapman	Video Coordinator	1st	Ohio (2012)

^[10]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	7:30 PM	at Kansas State*	No. 1	Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium Manhattan, KS	FS1	W 24–21	53,351
September 7	4:00 PM	Ferris State*	No. 1	Fargodome Fargo, ND	NBC ND/ESPN3	W 56–10	18,979
September 21	4:00 PM	Delaware State*	No. 1	Fargodome Fargo, ND (College GameDay)	NBC ND/FCS	W 51–0	18,995
September 28	2:00 PM	at No. 6 South Dakota State	No. 1	Coughlin–Alumni Stadium Brookings, SD (Dakota Marker)	NBC ND	W 20–0	16,498
October 5	2:30 PM	No. 4 Northern Iowa	No. 1	Fargodome Fargo, ND	NBC ND/FCS	W 24–23	18,840
October 12	1:00 PM	Missouri State	No. 1	Fargodome Fargo, ND	NBC ND/ESPN3	W 41–26	19,108‡
October 19	2:00 PM	at Southern Illinois	No. 1	Saluki Stadium Carbondale, IL	NBC ND/ESPN3	W 31–10	11,121
October 26	2:00 PM	at Indiana State	No. 1	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	ESPN3	W 56–10	5,009
November 9	2:30 PM	Illinois State	No. 1	Fargodome Fargo, ND (Harvest Bowl)	NBC ND/FCS	W 28–10	18,076
November 16	2:00 PM	at No. 15 Youngstown State	No. 1	Stambaugh Stadium Youngstown, OH	NBC ND/ESPN3	W 35–17	13,164
November 23	2:30 PM	South Dakota	No. 1	Fargodome Fargo, ND	NBC ND	W 42–0	18,234
December 7	2:30 PM	Furman*	No. 1	Fargodome Fargo, ND (FCS Playoffs Second Round)	ESPN3	W 38–7	18,455
December 14	11:00 AM	No. 11 Coastal Carolina*	No. 1	Fargodome Fargo, ND (FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals)	ESPN	W 48–14	18,219
December 20	7:00 PM	No. 15 New Hampshire*	No. 1	Fargodome Fargo, ND (FCS Playoffs Semifinals)	ESPN2	W 52–14	18,694
January 4, 2014	1:00 PM	vs. No. 5 Towson*	No. 1	Toyota Stadium Frisco, TX (FCS National Championship)	ESPN2	W 35–7	19,802
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network FCS Poll released prior to game Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Source: Schedule ‡ Denotes single-game home attendance record.

Roster

Bison Roster

Game summaries

at Kansas State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#1 Bison	7	0	10	7	24
Wildcats	0	7	14	0	21

Overall record	Previous meeting	Result
1–1	1931	KSU, 19–6

Box Score. 2nd-largest crowd in Kansas State history (53,351).

Ferris State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	0	7	3	0	10
#1 Bison	21	14	7	14	56

Overall record	Previous meeting	Result
2–0	1999	NDSU, 55–35

Box Score

Delaware State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hornets	0	0	0	0	0
#1 Bison	20	21	10	0	51

Overall record	Previous meeting	Result
1–0	First meeting

Box Score

at South Dakota State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#1 Bison	0	7	0	13	20
#6 Jackrabbits	0	0	0	0	0

Overall record	Previous meeting	Result
56–40–5	2012‡	NDSU, 28–3

Box Score. Set a new home attendance record for South Dakota State (16,498).^[11]

‡Met twice in 2012, once in the regular season and again in the second round of the FCS playoffs. The Bison won the regular season game 20–17.

Northern Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
#4 Panthers	6	7	10	0	23
#1 Bison	0	7	3	14	24

Overall record	Previous meeting	Result
21–25	2012	NDSU, 33–21

Box Score

Missouri State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	13	7	6	26
#1 Bison	10	14	14	3	41

Overall record	Previous meeting	Result
4–2	2012	NDSU, 21–17

Box Score. New home attendance record.

at Southern Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
#1 Bison	0	7	21	3	31
Salukis	7	3	0	0	10

Overall record	Previous meeting	Result
5–3	2012	NDSU, 23–17

Box Score

at Indiana State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#1 Bison	21	28	7	0	56
Sycamores	0	10	0	0	10

Overall record	Previous meeting	Result
4–1	2012	INST, 17–14‡

Box Score ‡NDSU's only loss in 2012.

Illinois State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Redbirds	0	7	3	0	10
#1 Bison	14	7	0	7	28

Overall record	Previous meeting	Result
5–2	2012	NDSU, 38–20

Box Score

at Youngstown State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#1 Bison	7	7	14	7	35
#15 Penguins	7	3	7	0	17

Overall record	Previous meeting	Result
4–4	2012	NDSU, 48–7

Box Score

South Dakota

	1	2	3	4	Total
Coyotes	0	0	0	0	0
#1 Bison	14	14	14	0	42

Overall record	Previous meeting	Result
50–25–3	2012	NDSU, 54–0

FCS Playoffs

Second Round–Furman

	1	2	3	4	Total
Paladins	0	7	0	0	7
#1 Bison	0	10	21	7	38

Overall record	Previous meeting	Result
First meeting

Quarterfinal–Coastal Carolina

	1	2	3	4	Total
#11 Chanticleers	0	7	7	0	14
#1 Bison	17	17	0	14	48

Overall record	Previous meeting	Result
First meeting

Semifinal–New Hampshire

	1	2	3	4	Total
#15 Wildcats	7	0	0	7	14
#1 Bison	7	24	14	7	52

Overall record	Previous meeting	Result
First meeting

Championship–Towson

	1	2	3	4	Total
#5 Tigers	7	0	0	0	7
#1 Bison	7	14	7	7	35

Overall record	Previous meeting	Result
First meeting

Ranking movements

AP Poll

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	RV	RV	RV	RV

FCS polls

Ranking movements
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
Sports Network	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Coaches	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

References

^ Kolpack, Jeff (December 8, 2013). "'A Tough One': An Emotional Bohl Officially Announces Move to Wyoming". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
^ ^a ^b Associated Press (August 31, 2013). "K-State Falls To North Dakota State, 24–21". Kansas State Athletics. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
^ Chatmon, Brandon (August 31, 2013). "K-State Joins NDSU's FBS Victims List". ESPN. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
^ Kolpack, Jeff (September 14, 2013). "NDSU Hits "Jackpot," Hosts ESPN's GameDay Next Saturday". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
^ "Jensen Passes Bison to 41–26 Homecoming Win Over Missouri State". North Dakota State Athletics. October 12, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
^ "Bison Unanimous No. 1 in Final FCS Polls; NDSU Gets 17 Votes in AP Top 25". North Dakota State Bison. January 7, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
^ "College football rankings: AP Top 25". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on January 8, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
^ Associated Press (December 15, 2013). "NDSU Names Chris Klieman Coach". ESPN. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
^ "North Dakota St. Cruises to 3rd FCS Title in a Row". ESPN. Associated Press. January 4, 2014. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
^ "2013 Football Coaching Staff". North Dakota State Athletics. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
^ "SDSU Sets Attendance Record During Dakota Marker Game". KSFY. Sioux Falls. September 28, 2013. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2013.

[bohlwyo-1] Kolpack, Jeff (December 8, 2013). "'A Tough One': An Emotional Bohl Officially Announces Move to Wyoming". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. Retrieved December 9, 2013.

[BohlWYO-2] Associated Press (August 31, 2013). "K-State Falls To North Dakota State, 24–21". Kansas State Athletics. Retrieved October 29, 2013.

[3] Chatmon, Brandon (August 31, 2013). "K-State Joins NDSU's FBS Victims List". ESPN. Retrieved October 29, 2013.

[4] Kolpack, Jeff (September 14, 2013). "NDSU Hits "Jackpot," Hosts ESPN's GameDay Next Saturday". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. Retrieved September 16, 2013.

[5] "Jensen Passes Bison to 41–26 Homecoming Win Over Missouri State". North Dakota State Athletics. October 12, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2013.

[6] "Bison Unanimous No. 1 in Final FCS Polls; NDSU Gets 17 Votes in AP Top 25". North Dakota State Bison. January 7, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2014.

[7] "College football rankings: AP Top 25". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on January 8, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2014.

[KliemanHire-8] Associated Press (December 15, 2013). "NDSU Names Chris Klieman Coach". ESPN. Retrieved December 15, 2013.

[9] "North Dakota St. Cruises to 3rd FCS Title in a Row". ESPN. Associated Press. January 4, 2014. Retrieved January 5, 2014.

[10] "2013 Football Coaching Staff". North Dakota State Athletics. Retrieved November 5, 2013.

[11] "SDSU Sets Attendance Record During Dakota Marker Game". KSFY. Sioux Falls. September 28, 2013. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2013.

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v t e North Dakota State Bison football
Venues	Dacotah Field (1910–1992) Fargodome (1993–present)
Bowls & rivalries	North Dakota: Nickel Trophy South Dakota State: Dakota Marker
Culture & lore	Thundar "On Bison" Gold Star Marching Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e NCAA Division I-AA/FCS football champions
1970s	1978: Florida A&M 1979: Eastern Kentucky
1980s	1980: Boise State 1981: Idaho State 1982: Eastern Kentucky 1983: Southern Illinois 1984: Montana State 1985: Georgia Southern 1986: Georgia Southern 1987: Northeast Louisiana 1988: Furman 1989: Georgia Southern
1990s	1990: Georgia Southern 1991: Youngstown State 1992: Marshall 1993: Youngstown State 1994: Youngstown State 1995: Montana 1996: Marshall 1997: Youngstown State 1998: UMass 1999: Georgia Southern
2000s	2000: Georgia Southern 2001: Montana 2002: Western Kentucky 2003: Delaware 2004: James Madison 2005: Appalachian State 2006: Appalachian State 2007: Appalachian State 2008: Richmond 2009: Villanova
2010s	2010: Eastern Washington 2011: North Dakota State 2012: North Dakota State 2013: North Dakota State 2014: North Dakota State 2015: North Dakota State 2016: James Madison 2017: North Dakota State 2018: North Dakota State 2019: North Dakota State
2020s	2020: Sam Houston State 2021: North Dakota State 2022: South Dakota State 2023: South Dakota State