North Dakota State Football Hosts Morgan State in Home Opener

No. 23-ranked North Dakota State (1-1, 0-1 MVFC) is scheduled to host Morgan State (1-1, 0-0 MEAC) at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18, in the 2010 home opener in the Fargodome (18,700) ... The Bison lost 16-9 to 13/14th-ranked UNI on Sept. 11, while Morgan State lost 62-3 at Atlantic Coast Conference member Maryland ... NDSU is looking to snap a four-game losing streak in the Fargodome ... The last Bison win at home was against Wagner, 59-28, on Sept. 19, 2009 ... This will be NDSU’s 100th game in the Fargodome.

TICKETS: Tickets for North Dakota State home football games are available in advance at the Bison Sports Arena ticket office, online at GoBison.com/tickets, or toll free at (888) 231-NDSU.

AT HOME: North Dakota State has compiled a 224-34-3 record at home since 1964 ... The Bison are 79-20-0 in the Fargodome since moving from Dacotah Field in 1993 ... NDSU was 1-4 last season and are 30-9 at home since head coach Craig Bohl took over in 2003.

SERIES RECORD: This is the first meeting between North Dakota State and Morgan State, located in Baltimore, Md., and members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference ... It is NDSU’s first meeting with a member of the MEAC.

GoBISON.COM VIDEO/AUDIO/LIVE STATS: Follow on the Internet at GoBison.com with live streaming video, audio (Bison Radio Network) and live in-game statistics.

IN THE NCAA FCS STATISTICS: North Dakota State’s defense ranks 4th in scoring defense in the NCAA FCS at 9.5 points per game ... The Bison allowed 82 points in the first two games last season ... NDSU is also 6th in net punting, 8th in sacks, tied for 13th in turnover margin, 15th in punt returns and 24th in pass efficiency defense nationally ... Individually, John Prelvitz is 6th in punting, defensive end Coulter Boyer is tied for 14th in sacks, kicker Ryan Jastram is tied for 15th in field goals, and linebacker Matt Anderson and cornerback Freddie Banks are tied for 24th in interceptions.

SPECIAL TEAMS X-FACTOR: Senior punter John Prelvitz punted six times for an average of 45.5 yards and net of 43.7 per punt at UNI ... Prelvitz ranks 6th in NCAA FCS in punting at 44.71 avg. and the Bison are 6th in net punting at 40.50 ... He matched a career-high with eight punts for an average of 44.1 and net of 38.1 yards per kick (compared to 23 net per kick for Kansas) ... Against UNI, Prelvitz placed one inside the 20 (33 in career) and had two of 50+ yards (15 in career).



BISON QUICK-HITTERS: North Dakota State has six takeaways through the first two games compared to 12 overall in 2009 ... Update from Saturday’s UNI game, linebacker Matt Anderson forced the fumble in the second quarter that went out of the end zone for a touchback and free safety Daniel Eaves forced the fumble picked up by defensive end Coulter Boyer to set up the NDSU TD in the fourth quarter ... Boyer had a career-high five solos and six tackles overall ... He returned a fumble 26 yards to stop a UNI drive inside the red zone in the fourth quarter ... It was Boyer’s fourth career fumble recovery ... He is tied for 14th nationally in sacks ... Cornerback Freddie Banks recorded his first career interception late in the second quarter. ... Tight end Landon Smith made a career best three receptions for 47 yards at Northern Iowa (9-11-10) ... Quarterback Jose Mohler completed 20 of 35 passes for 247 yards -- all career-highs -- in the loss at nationally-ranked UNI (9-11-10) ... Mohler, who completed passes to nine different receivers, also rushed 16 yards for NDSU’s first touchdown of the season ... The -41 yards rushing (including 11 sacks for -77 yards) against UNI is the lowest figure since the Bison had 3 yards in a 20-14 loss to UC Davis during the 2005 season. ... North Dakota State was ranked No. 23 in both national polls released Sept. 13 ... On Sept. 6, the Bison made their first appearance in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Coaches Poll since Nov. 17, 2008, and The Sports Network/Fathead.com poll since Oct. 13, 2008 ... Wide receiver Titus Mack made a career-high four receptions for 46 yards against Kansas (9-4-09) ... The 6-3 win over Kansas was the lowest combined output since NDSU’s 9-0 loss at Southern Illinois (11-19-05), while the three points allowed were the lowest since a 45-0 shutout vs. Mississippi Valley State (10-14-09), and the six points scored is the lowest since a 37-6 loss at Cal Poly (10-8-05) ... The 59 points vs. Wagner in 2009 were the most scored by NDSU since 2006 when the Bison defeated Concordia-St. Paul 66-7 in the season opener ... Speaking of home openers, the Bison have won 11 straight dating back to 1998 when Emporia State defeated NDSU 23-21 ... With a 53-26 record, NDSU head coach Craig Bohl is No. 5 on the school’s all-time win list ... Bohl is one of four Bison coaches with 50 wins ... NDSU is 7-7 against nationally-ranked opponents over the past five seasons (2010: L UNI; 2009: L Southern Illinois, L UNI; 2008, L South Dakota State; L, Youngstown State, W Southern Illinois, L Western Illinois; L UNI; 2007: W, Cal Poly, W, Western Illinois, W, Sam Houston State, 2006: W, Georgia Southern, W, Cal Poly, W, South Dakota State) ... North Dakota State was ranked in the top five for 19 weeks (including eight weeks at No. 1) during the 2007-08 seasons ... The Bison were ranked in the top 10 for 21 weeks in a row and were in the top 25 for 41 weeks in a row ... The 48-45 shootout with Sam Houston State was the most points allowed since 2002 when the Bison lost 49-42 at Nebraska-Omaha.

Courtesy: NDSU Athletic Media Relations