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The second half of the Summit League basketball season has arrived and things couldn't be more different on the men's and women's side. The men's race is a complete free-for-all, with the conference leaders each with three losses, South Dakota State and North Dakota. That's after North Dakota State went to Brookings and beat the Jacks 74-73, the fifth separate overtime game that the Bison have played this season. It was a much needed win for NDSU, which now sits just a half game out of third place and with a win Saturday at UND, can launch themselves right into the conversation of a Summit title. Meanwhile, the NDSU women came up short to SDSU Thursday night, falling 65-58 to the Jacks, losing for a 20th straight time in the series. This game was different than the previous 19, as NDSU tied the game with 1:45 to. SDSU finished on a 8-1 run to close it out. The Bison sit in third place in the league standings with a huge game  looming in Grand Forks Saturday to remain in the top half of the conference race. On the football front, new head coach Tim Polasek has filled out his staff with the hiring of Jake Landry as offensive coordinator. Landry joins Will Johnson and Devin Klieman as the new pieces of the NDSU coaching staff heading into the 2024 season.  

Tim Polasek's first coaching staff is starting to come into shape. This week Polasek announced the hirings of Devin Klieman, the son of former NDSU head coach Chris Klieman as the safeties coach and Will Johnson as the new cornerbacks coach. Each have been graduate assistants at their previous stops and will be making their position coaching debuts in the 2024 season. Polasek has another hire to make with longtime assistant and former standout player Tyler Roehl leaving to take the associate head coach and offensive coordinator job at Tennessee State. Roehl leaves Fargo after not being selected as the new Bison head coach that went to Polasek. Roehl's NDSU career began in 2004 as a player, then returned on Craig Bohl's staff in 2011. He was hired full-time by Klieman in 2014 to coach the fullbacks and tight ends and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2019. The Forum's Jeff Kolpack and WDAY's Dom Izzo discuss the departure of Roehl and who could potentially replace him. They also talk about where each of the NDSU basketball teams sit at as the halfway mark of the Summit League season approaches. The Bison women sit at 5-1 in league play, while the men are at 2-4.

It was a newsy week despite the fact that the FCS season officially came to a close last Sunday in Frisco, Texas. South Dakota State won the national championship with a 23-3 win over Montana, a second straight title for the Jacks. Less than two days later, Montana's quarterback was in the transfer portal and SDSU's offensive coordinator was on the way to Northwestern. NDSU's offensive coordinator is returning to Fargo. Tyler Roehl was officially promoted earlier this week to associate head coach. Roehl was one of the two finalists for the job that eventually went to Tim Polasek.  The Forum's Jeff Kolpack and WDAY's Dom Izzo discuss the decision by Roehl and what it means for the 2024 Bison. They also chat about UND offensive coordinator Danny Freund leaving to take the co-offensive coordinator job at SDSU and what's ahead for the Fighting Hawks. The Summit League basketball season resumes this weekend with the Bison basketball teams in different spots. The men have lost five straight games as they head on the road this weekend to take on Kansas City and Omaha. Boden Skunberg is back with the team after being benched against Montana last week for a failure of team and culture standards. The women are coming off an exciting home win over Northern Arizona and look to keep their conference record perfect, facing two teams that the Bison are favored to beat.

The first podcast of 2024 is here, with plenty of news to discuss. North Dakota State's men's basketball team opened the new year with a loss to Montana in the Big Sky - Summit League Challenge 96-86. The Bison played without their leading scorer and lone senior, Boden Skunberg, who was benched by head coach David Richman for not meeting the team's culture expectations. The Bison have lost four straight games and sit at 7-8 as they head to face Eastern Washington in the back end of the Challenge in Cheney. Richman said there's a possibility that Skunberg could return at some point this season. Also, the NDSU football team picked up a couple of wins over the last week with the news that Cole Wisniewski and Grey Zabel will return for the 2024 season. Each announced late last week that they will be back, turning down sizable NIL offers to transfer. Jeff Kolpack and Dom Izzo discuss the news in hoops and football and where things go with both teams as the new year is here.

North Dakota State's football season has reached the semifinal round for the 12th time in the last 13 years.   The Bison (11-3) who were left for dead by the hosts of this podcast after a 49-24 loss to the University of North Dakota on October 14, are still playing football. They have a chance to make Frisco for the 11th time in the last 13 years Saturday afternoon in Missoula, Montana against the second seeded Grizzlies.   The game seems like an afterthought to some, as the school is in the midst of a head coaching search. Matt Entz announced on Sunday he was leaving NDSU for a job at USC to become the assistant defensive coach and linebackers coach for the Trojans.   As the show was recorded on Thursday afternoon, no coach had been named yet for the Bison. Athletic director Matt Larsen said he wanted to move quickly to find the next head coach, with National Signing Day looming on Wednesday.   The Forum's Jeff Kolpack and WDAY's Dom Izzo discuss the search for the next head coach and discuss the matchup as the Bison and Griz meet in the playoffs for the third time, and for the first time the game is at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

Nearly 38 years to the day of one of the biggest games in Bison football history, North Dakota State and the University of South Dakota are set to face each other again in the playoffs.   December 7, 1985 is a day that will go down in infamy for USD. The Coyotes had the Bison in the Dakota Dome, after beating NDSU 38-14 earlier in the season. The Bison had the last laugh, thanks to one of the most improbable plays, named "The Pitch", as Jeff Bentrim pitched the ball as he falling to James Molstre.   Molstre ran 63-yards down the sidelines for a touchdown and NDSU never looked back. They forced three turnovers in a 16-7 on the way to a second national title in three years.   The two teams would play again in the 1986 Division II title game, a Bison rout. Now, 37 years later, the two schools meet again in the playoffs, this time for a spot in the FCS semifinals.   South Dakota has had a dream year, winning 10 games for the first time in the Division I level. That included a 24-19 win in Fargo back in September. Now the Bison are in their building, with a chance to beat them twice in the same year for the first time.   NDSU (10-3) is playing its best football. The Bison have won four straight games, and have a chance to write a wrong in their minds. NDSU fell behind 21-3 at halftime to the Coyotes in September and could never recover from that slow start.   The Forum's Jeff Kolpack and WDAY's Dom Izzo break down the game and also reminiscence about their memories of covering former Bison head coach Craig Bohl.   Bohl announced on Tuesday that he is retiring from coaching after ten years at Wyoming and the previous ten years at NDSU. They share some of their fondest memories covering Bohl.

North Dakota State's 2023 playoff run will take it outside of Fargo for the first time during a fall season since 2010 Saturday, when they face Montana State.   Ironically enough, the last time the Bison had to go on the road for the postseason in a "normal" season was in Bozeman, a 42-17 win over the Bobcats. It was a monumental win for the program, that sent the Bison on to the FCS quarterfinals and an eventual loss to the national champs that year, Eastern Washington.   The 2023 crew will come to Bobcat Stadium eager to keep its hot play going, where the Bison have scored 38, 48 and 66 points in the last three games.   Montana State enters off a bye week, earned for being selected as the six seed. MSU though, lost two of its final four games, including a 37-7 rout to Montana in the Brawl of the Wild.   With the game as the backdrop; it's also a wildly busy week on the college football front. The head coaching carousel has been busy spinning and the transfer portal has been active all around the Missouri Valley.   There's speculation that several Bison players may be targeted by bigger schools to potentially transfer whenever the NDSU season ends. The guys discuss who may be targeted and what, if anything, NDSU can do about it.   The Forum's Jeff Kolpack and WDAY's Dom Izzo preview the matchup and also discuss the other playoff games as the field will be trimmed to eight teams by the end of the day Saturday.

The FCS Playoffs kick off tomorrow in eight cities across the country and for the first time in 13 years, Fargo is one of them.   North Dakota State will face Drake in the opening round Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome.   The Bison (8-3) will face the Bulldogs (8-3) for the second time in the last 15 months. Drake came to Fargo for the 2022 season opener, a 56-14 NDSU win.   Todd Stepsis is in his fifth season as head coach, who's team has seen the top of the Missouri Valley this season, losing 55-7 and 70-7 to North Dakota and South Dakota State respectively.   The Forum's Jeff Kolpack and WDAY's Dom Izzo preview the matchup between the teams and what the other FCS playoff matchups look like.

The road ends in Cedar Falls, Iowa for the 2023 regular season of North Dakota State football.   For the first time since the 2019 season, NDSU ends the regular season on the road and in unfamiliar spot, needing a win to solidify its playoff standing. The Bison picked up a huge 34-10 victory last week against Southern Illinois to reach the 7-win plateau, but another win this week could potentially earn them a playoff seed and with it, a much needed week off.   Northern Iowa was thinking playoff seed at this time last week and then lost a clunker at Missouri State 35-16, in a game that wasn't as close as the score suggests.   UNI now enters with a 6-4 record, needing a win to extend its season to the playoffs, a place they haven't been since losing in the first round in 2021 to Eastern Washington.   The Bison haven't lost to the Panthers since 2014, a 23-3 game that saw UNI end a then-record 33-game win streak for NDSU. Fans stormed the UNI-Dome field. After that, the Bison have posted wins in Cedar Falls in 2016, 2018 and in the weird spring season of 2021.   The Panthers are led by sixth year quarterback Theo Day, who took over as the starter in 2021 and was sacked five times in Fargo in the last game these two teams played, a 34-20 Bison win.   WDAY's Dom Izzo and The Forum's Jeff Kolpack preview the matchup and break down all the potential playoff scenarios surrounding NDSU heading into Selection Sunday.

Saturday's North Dakota State game at the Fargodome may have the most at-stake during the regular season since the Bison championship dynasty began in 2011.   That final regular season home game in 2011, NDSU was matched up with Youngstown State and had a chance to clinch its first Missouri Valley Football Conference title. The Bison raced out to a 21-10 second quarter lead, only to see the Penguins rally and win the game 27-24, denying NDSU a chance to clinch the conference at home.   NDSU had to wait a week and win the league in Macomb, Illinois the following week. The Bison don't want to put off a win this week as they welcome in Southern Illinois for a monumental football game.   Each team enters with a 6-3 record and 3-3 mark in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The winner will get to the elusive 7-win plateau and likely cinch up a playoff berth. If the Bison were to lose, they would have to win a road game at Northern Iowa next week to be considered for the 24-team playoff.   SIU has had an up and down season much like the Bison. SIU started 3-0, which included an FBS win over Northern Illinois, and a road win against Southeast Missouri State. They have a bumpy road in conference play, which included a 31-3 blasting by Youngstown State and home losses to South Dakota State and South Dakota.   The Salukis were held to just 17 combined points in losses to SDSU and USD.   Nick Hill's team has never won in Fargo, losing all six games, including a 38-7 playoff defeat in the second round in 2021.   The Forum's Jeff Kolpack and WDAY's Dom Izzo preview the game and the implications surrounding it. They also discuss Senior Day and the players that could potentially return next season.

The focus of the FCS world centers on Brookings, South Dakota this weekend as top ranked South Dakota State welcomes in rival North Dakota State for the 20th renewal of the Dakota Marker Game. This game may be unlike any other in the history of this series; with the Jackrabbits as prohibitive favorites over the Bison. SDSU has won four straight over NDSU, a fifth straight win will match a streak that hasn't happened since 1910-1917. NDSU enters with a 6-2 record after back to back wins over Western Illinois and Murray State. They'll enter this game without backup defensive tackle Will Mostaert, who tore his Achilles tendon in the game last week against the Racers. The Jackrabbits come in on a 22-game win streak, after dusting rival South Dakota 37-3 on the road last Saturday. SDSU hasn't lost at home since October of 2021, a streak of 16 straight wins. The Forum's Jeff Kolpack and WDAY's Dom Izzo discuss everything about the matchup, they also reflect on the passing of Hall of Fame basketball coach Bob Knight, who died on Wednesday. Knight coached against North Dakota State when he was at Texas Tech in November of 2006.

North Dakota State wraps up the month of October with a first-time opponent, as Missouri Valley conference newbie Murray State comes to the Fargodome this weekend.   Murray State was a founding member of the Ohio Valley Conference and left in July as the school wanted to join the Missouri Valley Conference to enhance its basketball profile. The football team was added to the MVFC in April 2022, becoming the 12th school in the league.   The Racers are led by 59-year-old head coach Dean Hood, who's trying to end a 22-year playoff drought for MSU. Murray State last made the postseason in 2001.   North Dakota State enters off a 52-7 win over Western Illinois to improve the Bison to a mark of 5-2. They may be shorthanded again this week as tight end Joe Stoffel will likely miss the game with a banged up shoulder. Stoffel fell hard on his right shoulder as he scored a touchdown against Western Illinois and left the game.   Head coach Matt Entz says a rotation of Carson Williams, Hunter Brozio and Finn Diggins could likely replace Stoffel in the game this weekend.   The Bison are still searching for a 100-yard rusher out of the running back room, which has yet to happen this season. Barika Kpeenu rushed for 95 yards last week against the Leathernecks.   The Forum's Jeff Kolpack and WDAY's Dom Izzo preview the matchup between Murray State and NDSU and look ahead to the final four weeks of the season as the playoff picture starts to come into focus.