One of the more anticipated matchups on the early slate of Thursday’s college football games happened to be one that most would dismiss off-hand as it features an FCS powerhouse taking on a Power Four starlet.
Do so at your own peril when it comes to North Dakota State traveling to Boulder to take on the Colorado Buffaloes.
The North Dakota State Bison are one of the most prominent teams to come from the FCS or Football Championship Subdivision level. The Bison have won nine national championships from 2011 to 2021 and will look to kick off a new era under first-year head coach Tim Polasek as they travel to Boulder for the battle of the Buffison, or Bisaloes.
Actually, let’s take a look at NDSU’s history against FBS teams instead …
North Dakota State’s All-Time Record Against the FBS
Prior to their game against Colorado, the North Dakota State Bison had an impressive 9-4 record against Football Bowl Subdivision or FBS opponents. Similarly, their last matchup against an FBS opponent came in 2022 against Arizona, a 31-28 comeback win for the Wildcats in Tucson. Before that, NDSU hadn’t faced an FBS opponent since 2016.
While they played their hearts out, and it came down to the last play of the contest, North Dakota State dropped their season-opener against Colorado and now has a 9-5 record against FBS opponents in their history.
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The Bison program has an impressive .668 winning percentage overall and has 31 playoff appearances with a record of 47–5 in those games.
Perhaps some of the reason the Bison haven’t faced an FBS opponent in some time is the simple fact that they had won six straight since 2010, with an impressive resume of wins over programs like Kansas (6-3), Minnesota (37-24), Colorado State (22-7), Kansas State (24-21), Iowa State (34-14) and a monster upset win over an 11th-ranked Iowa at the time by a score of 23-21 in 2016, which effectively put an to end FBS teams scheduling the Bison.
Prior to that winning streak, North Dakota State had won three games over FBS opponents, including victories over Ball State in 2006, Central Michigan in 2007, and Minnesota during the same year.
FCS victories over FBS opponents are few and far between, making the Bison’s record even more impressive and intimidating for Colorado.
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Via FearTheFCS, FCS programs facing FBS foes have won 24 times in the past three years, with 12, 8, and 4 wins in 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively.
The winning percentage of FCS teams in those contests went from 10% to 6% in 2022 and a measly 3% in 2023. FBS teams are a combined 491-16 since the separation of divisions in 1978 for a paltry 14.2% of wins.
The Bison’s 69.2% rate of victory substantially dominates that of other FCS teams and should be one more reason to tune in as they take on Coach Prime and the Buffaloes on Thursday.
As if there was any need other than football being back.
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