The 2015 North Dakota State Bison football team represented North Dakota State University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Chris Klieman. The team, which played its 23rd season in the Fargodome, entered the season as the four-time defending national champions. The Bison have been members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) since the 2008 season.
The Bison went 13–2 on the season, won their fifth straight MVFC title, and their fifth consecutive NCAA Division I Football Championship, becoming the first-ever NCAA football team to win five straight championships at any level. Yale won six straight college football national championships from 1879 to 1884, before the NCAA was formed.
Schedule
Source: (R) indicates record attendance.
Coaching staff Name Position Year atNorth Dakota State Alma mater (Year) Chris Klieman Head coach 5th Northern Iowa (1990) Matt Entz Defensive coordinatorLinebackers 2nd Wayne State (NE) (1995) Tim Polasek Offensive coordinatorRunning backs 9th Concordia (WI) (2002) Atif Austin Special teams coordinatorWide receiver coach 2nd Iowa State (2003) Jamar Cain Defensive ends coach 2nd New Mexico State (2002) Nick Goeser Defensive tackles coach 6th Wisconsin–Eau Claire (2003) Randy Hedberg Quarterbacks coach 2nd Minot State (1977) Joe Klanderman Defensive backs coach 2nd Minnesota State Mankato (2001) Tyler Roehl Tight endsFullbacks 2nd North Dakota State (2009) Brian Gordon Director of football operationsEquipment services 2nd South Florida (2002) Jake Otten Video coordinator 2nd Cal Poly (2013)
Roster
2015 North Dakota State Bison FootballQuarterback 5 Michael Veldman – Freshman 7 Cole Davis – Sophomore 11 Carson Wentz – Senior 12 Easton Stick – Freshman 17 James Hendricks – Freshman *
Tailback 8 Darius Anderson – Senior (+WR) 10 Lance Dunn – Freshman 22 King Frazier – Junior 24 Demaris Purifoy – Freshman * 25 Chase Morlock – Junior 37 Garrett Malstrom – Freshman 42 Bruce Anderson – Freshman *
Fullback 30 Jedre Cyr – Senior 34 Brock Robbins – Freshman * 40 Dan Sargeant – Sophomore 46 Andrew Bonnet – Senior (+TE)
Wide receiver 4 Dimitri Williams – Freshman * 9 Colter Pritchard – Sophomore 13 Eric Perkins – Junior 15 Daniel Polanski – Sophomore 16 RJ Urzendowski – Sophomore 18 Khayvon Hawkins – Freshman 20 Darrius Shepherd – Freshman 33 Marquise Bridges – Freshman * 80 Nate Moody – Senior 81 Isaiah Frandsen – Sophomore 82 Zach Vraa – Senior 83 Dallas Freeman – Freshman
Tight end 39 Ben Ellefson – Freshman * 49 Matt Anderson – Freshman * 85 Nate Jenson – Freshman 86 Jeff Illies – Sophomore 87 Connor Wentz – Sophomore 88 Luke Albers – Senior 89 Isaac Lashua – Freshman
Offensive lineman 53 Max Haskins - OL – Freshman 54 Jeremy Kelly - OG – Senior 58 Andrew Trzebiatowski - OT – Freshman 59 Joe Haeg - OT – Senior 60 Max Polson - C – Sophomore 64 Colin Conner - OT – Freshman 65 Jack Albrecht - OG – Freshman * 66 Zack Johnson - OG – Junior 67 Brock Russell - OG – Senior 68 Zack Johnson - OT – Freshman * 70 Jack Plankers - OT – Junior 71 Luke Bacon - OT – Freshman 72 Erik Olson - OT – Sophomore 73 Zack Ziemer - OG – Sophomore 74 Tanner Volson - OG – Freshman 75 Austin Kuhnert - C – Sophomore 76 Trent Mooney - OG – Freshman * 77 Christian Triplett - C – Freshman 78 Landon Lechler - OT – Junior
Defensive tackle 57 Bryan Carlton – Freshman * 61 Brian Schaetz – Senior 62 Bryce Messner – Sophomore 63 Aaron Steidl – Freshman 69 Blake Williams – Freshman 90 Grant Morgan – Sophomore 92 Jack Darnell – Freshman * 95 Connor Hubbs – Freshman * 98 Austin Farnlof – Junior 99 Nate Tanguay – Sophomore
Defensive end 53 Cole Karcz – Freshman * 56 Caleb Butler – Freshman 91 Derrek Tuszka – Freshman * 93 Jarrod Tuszka – Sophomore 94 Stanley Jones – Freshman 96 Greg Menard – Sophomore 97 Brad Ambrosius – Junior
Placekicker 36 Cam Pedersen – Freshman Linebacker 1 Chris Board – Sophomore 14 Bo Liekhus – Junior 41 MJ Stumpf – Junior 43 Kurt Mattox – Sophomore 44 Matt Plank – Sophomore 45 Levi Jordheim – Freshman 47 Pierre Gee-Tucker – Junior 48 Dan Marlette – Freshman 49 Nick DeLuca – Junior 50 Gray Gochenour – Freshman 52 Jake Brinkman – Freshman * 55 Aaron Mercadel – Freshman *
Cornerback 2 Quinten McCoy – Junior 5 Jordan Champion – Senior 6 CJ Smith – Senior 19 Dom Davis – Freshman * 21 Jalen Allison – Freshman 29 Eric Bachmeier – Freshman 31 Bryce Bennot – Freshman 31 Ty Brooks – Freshman * 32 Dakota Reid – Freshman 34 Ross Effertz – Freshman 37 Tre Fort – Freshman
Safety 3 Tre Dempsey - FS – Sophomore 8 Braden Sikes - SS – Freshman * 23 Jaylaan Wimbush - SS – Freshman 26 Keenan Hodenfield - FS – Sophomore 27 Isaac Cenescar - SS – Freshman 28 Andrew Smith - FS – Junior 35 Robbie Grimsley - SS – Freshman * 38 Jaxon Brown - SS – Freshman *
Punter 9 Ian Gallagher – Freshman 19 Ben LeCompte – Senior (+K)
Long Snappers 51 James Fisher – Sophomore 95 Peder Olson – Freshman (+LB)
Recruiting class
Game summaries
At Montana
Weber State
North Dakota
At South Dakota State
Northern Iowa
South Dakota
At Indiana State
At Southern Illinois
Western Illinois
At Youngstown State
Missouri State
FCS playoffs
Second round – Montana
Quarterfinals–Northern Iowa
Semifinals–Richmond
Championship–Jacksonville State
Ranking movements
2016 NFL draftees Player Round Pick Position NFL Club Carson Wentz 1 2 Quarterback Philadelphia Eagles Joe Haeg 5 155 Guard Indianapolis Colts
References