The 2019 North Dakota State Bison football team represented North Dakota State University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Matt Entz. The team played in the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota, for the 27th season as members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). They entered the season as defending national champions, having won seven of the prior eight FCS titles. In 2019, the Bison finished the regular season 12–0, the second consecutive undefeated Bison season, and won their ninth 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 16–0 as FCS champions, becoming the first team at any level of college football to finish a season 16–0 since Yale in 1894. They also extended their FCS-record winning streak to 37 games.

Preseason

MVFC poll In the MVFC preseason poll released on July 29, 2019, the Bison were predicted to finish in first place.

Preseason All–MVFC team The Bison had six players selected to the preseason all-MVFC team.

Offense

Zack Johnson – OL

Dillon Radunz – OL

Defense

Derrek Tuszka – DL

Jabril Cox – LB

James Hendricks – DB

Garret Wegner – P

Schedule

Game summaries Regular season Butler

North Dakota

Delaware

UC Davis

Illinois State

Northern Iowa

Missouri State

South Dakota State

Youngstown State

Western Illinois

South Dakota

Southern Illinois

FCS Playoffs The Bison entered the postseason tournament as the number one seed, with a first-round bye.

Nicholls

Illinois State

Montana State

James Madison

Ranking movements AP Poll

FCS polls

Personnel Coaching staff Name Position Alma mater Year EnteringMatt EntzHead CoachWartburg College 1stRandy HedbergAssociate head coach/Passing Game Coordinator/quarterbacksMinot State6thTyler RoehlOffensive coordinator/Tight ends / FullbacksNorth Dakota State 6thDavid BraunDefensive coordinator/SafetiesWinona State 1stNick GoeserSpecial teams coordinator /Defensive tacklesWisconsin–Eau Claire 10thBuddha WilliamsDefensive endsCharleston 3rdKody MorganCornerbacksWisconsin–Stevens Point 4thGrant OlsonLinebackersNorth Dakota State 1stAJ BlazekOffensive lineIowa 1stDan LarsonRunning backsWisconsin–Eau Claire1stNoah PauleyWide receiversMinnesota Duluth 1stEan DenoRecruiting coordinatorMinnesota State–Moorhead 1stLuke OlsonQuality controlMinnesota 1st

Players drafted into the NFL

7 254 Derrek Tuszka OLB Denver Broncos

References