2026 North Dakota State Bison football team

2026 North Dakota State Bison football
2026 North Dakota State Bison football
Conference	Mountain West Conference
Record	0–0 (0–0 MW)
Head coach	Tim Polasek (3rd season);
Offensive coordinator	Dan Larson (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Grant Olson (3rd season)
Home stadium	Fargodome
	Seasons ← 2025 2027 →

The 2026 North Dakota State Bison football team will represent North Dakota State University as a member of the Mountain West Conference during the 2026 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bison will be led by third-year head coach Tim Polasek and play home games at the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota.

ConferenceMountain West Conference

Record0–0 (0–0 MW)

Headcoach

Tim Polasek (3rd season)

OffensivecoordinatorDan Larson (2nd season)

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2026 Mountain West Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Air Force	0	–	0	0	–	0
Hawaii	0	–	0	0	–	0
Nevada	0	–	0	0	–	0
New Mexico	0	–	0	0	–	0
North Dakota State	0	–	0	0	–	0
Northern Illinois	0	–	0	0	–	0
San Jose State	0	–	0	0	–	0
UNLV	0	–	0	0	–	0
UTEP	0	–	0	0	–	0
Wyoming	0	–	0	0	–	0
Championship: December 4, 2026
As of July 2, 2026 Rankings from AP poll

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This will be North Dakota State's first season in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and as a member of the Mountain West Conference.^[1]^[2] They were initially scheduled to be ineligible for postseason competition due to the NCAA-mandated two-year transition period for FCS-to-FBS reclassifications. However on June 24, 2026 the NCAA Division I cabinet approved a recommendation from the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision subcommittee to allow all future FCS-to-FBS transitioning programs immediate access to the postseason.^[3] The Bison will be eligible for a bowl game, should they win 6 games or be otherwise selected for one, the Mountain West championship game, and the College Football Playoff this season.

[1]

[2]

[3]

Offense	Defense	Special teams
QB — Quarterback RB — Running back FB — Fullback WR — Wide receiver TE — Tight end OL — Offensive lineman T — Tackle G — Guard C — Center	DL — Defensive lineman DT — Defensive tackle^[a] DE — Defensive end EDGE — Edge rusher LB — Linebacker^[b] DB — Defensive back CB — Cornerback S — Safety^[c]	K — Kicker^[d] P — Punter LS — Long snapper RS — Return specialist^[e]
[a] Includes nose tackle (NT) [b] Includes middle linebacker (MLB/MIKE), weakside linebacker (WILL), strongside linebacker (SAM), off-ball linebacker, and outside linebacker (OLB) [c] Includes free safety (FS) and strong safety (SS) [d] Also known as a placekicker (PK) [e] Includes kickoff and punt returners

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
RaJa Nelson	WR	5'9"	196	Senior	Lakeville, MN	Graduated
Owen Johnson	RB	5'11"	212	Senior	Mankato, MN	Graduated
Bryce Lance	WR	6'3"	209	Senior	Marshall, MN	Graduated/Declared for 2026 NFL draft
Barika Kpeenu	RB	5'10"	213	Senior	West Fargo, ND	Graduated/Declared for 2026 NFL draft
Cole Payton	QB	6'3"	233	Senior	Omaha, NE	Graduated/Declared for 2026 NFL draft
Anthony Chideme-Alfaro	CB	6'2"	206	Senior	Sacramento, CA	Graduated/Declared for 2026 NFL draft
Ryan Jones	S	6'3"	204	Senior	Frisco, TX	Graduated
Truman Werremeyer	FB	6'2"	248	Senior	Fargo, ND	Graduated
Carson Williams	TE	6'4"	247	Senior	Marshalltown, IA	Graduated
Finn Diggins	TE	6'4"	246	Senior	Perham, MN	Graduated
Jack Iuliano	DE	6'3"	257	Senior	Rye, NY	Graduated

Name	No.	Pos.	Height	Weight	Hometown	Year	New school	Source
Jaquise Alexander	0	CB	5'10"	178	Ruskin, FL	Junior	Delaware	^[4]
Jailen Duffie	2	CB	5'11"	175	Waukegan, IL	Sophomore	UCF	^[5]
Chance Symons	11	DE	6'2"	236	Mitchell, NE	Junior	Incarnate Word	^[6]
Eli Ozick	38	K	5'11"	191	Liberty, MO	Sophomore	Iowa	^[7]
Sam Knoll	41	P	6'2"	200	Story City, IA	Freshman	Western Illinois
Caleb Bowers	48	LS	6'1"	224	Whitefish Bay, WI	Junior	Florida State	^[8]
Nathaniel Staehling	52	LB	6'2"	238	Baxter, MN	Junior	Michigan	^[9]
Trent Fraley	63	C	6'1"	303	Moon Township, PA	Junior	Michigan State	^[10]
Beau Johnson	70	OT	6'6"	297	Spring Lake Park, MN	Sophomore	Vanderbilt	^[11]
Wyatt Osterbauer	90	DE	6'4"	234	Montrose, MN	Redshirt Freshman	Minnesota State (Div II)	^[12]
Toby Anene	93	DE	6'4"	259	Cottage Grove, MN	Junior	Colorado	^[13]

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Drafted by
Bryce Lance	WR	4	136	New Orleans Saints
Cole Payton	QB	5	178	Philadelphia Eagles

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Hometown	Year	Eligibility Remaining	Prev school	Source
Kene Anene	OL	6'5"	310	Cottage Grove, MN	Sophomore	3	Kansas	^[15]
Gage Gilbert	TE	6'6"	249	Camp Crook, SD	Junior	2	Dickinson State (NAIA)	^[16]
Anthony Okes	DE	6'3"	258	Great Falls, MT	Junior	2	Montana Tech (NAIA)	^[17]
Truman Griffith	DE	6'2"	255	Shawnee, KS	Sophomore	3	Kansas State	^[18]
EJ Davis	CB	6'1"	180	Orlando, FL	Sophomore	3	Wayne State (MI) (Div II)	^[19]
DJ Voltz	CB	6'1"	170	Saginaw, MI	Senior	1	Saginaw Valley State (Div II)	^[20]
Caleb McGrath	P	6'3"	200	Apple Valley, MN	Junior	2	Minnesota	^[21]
Chase Balser	LS	6'1"	205	Westville, OH	Senior	1	Olivet Nazarene (NAIA)	^[21]
Keith Williams Jr.	LB	6'1"	245	Milwaukee, WI	Junior	2	Cornell	^[22]
Jeremiah Patterson	WR	5'10"	169	San Francisco, CA	Senior	1	Arizona	^[23]
Jordan McCants	WR	5'11"	178	Birmingham, AL	Senior	1	West Virginia	^[23]
Chance Tucker	CB	6'0"	183	Encino, CA	Senior	2	Notre Dame	^[24]
Nyeoti Punni	RB	6'1"	220	Lebanon, NH	Senior	1	Holy Cross	^[25]

2026 North Dakota State Bison football team

Offseason

Departures

Team departures

Outgoing transfers

Coaching staff departures

Entered NFL draft

Acquisitions

Incoming transfers

2026 recruiting class

Schedule

Game summaries

Jacksonville State

Fordham (FCS)

Air Force

Sacramento State

Wyoming

UNLV

Nevada

New Mexico

UTEP

Hawaii

Northern Illinois

San Jose State

References

Related Articles

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Q Barnslater Cornerback	Burnsville, Minnesota	Apple Valley High School	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Dec 4, 2025
Q Barnslater Cornerback	Recruit ratings: 247Sports:
Earl Brown Offensive line	Pillager, Minnesota	Pillager High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	290 lb (130 kg)	Dec 3, 2025
Earl Brown Offensive line	Recruit ratings: 247Sports:
Cash Danner Tight end	Thompson, North Dakota	Thompson High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Dec 4, 2025
Cash Danner Tight end	Recruit ratings: 247Sports:
Daniel Devine Defensive end	St. Paul, Minnesota	Academy of Holy Angels	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Dec 4, 2025
Daniel Devine Defensive end	Recruit ratings: 247Sports:
Brayden Dozier Cornerback	Maple Grove, Minnesota	Maple Grove Senior High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Dec 4, 2025
Brayden Dozier Cornerback	Recruit ratings: 247Sports:
Myles Ellis Wide receiver	Flossmoor, Illinois	Homewood-Flossmoor High School	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Dec 4, 2025
Myles Ellis Wide receiver	Recruit ratings: 247Sports:
Gatlin Empey Fullback	Stoughton, Wisconsin	Stoughton High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	215 lb (98 kg)
Gatlin Empey Fullback	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Colten Gunderson Tight end	Savage, Minnesota	Prior Lake High School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Dec 1, 2025
Colten Gunderson Tight end	Recruit ratings: 247Sports:
Zach Hellendrung Defensive tackle	Boyceville, Wisconsin	Boyceville High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	250 lb (110 kg)	Dec 4, 2025
Zach Hellendrung Defensive tackle	Recruit ratings: 247Sports:
Jason Hunter Defensive tackle	Fargo, North Dakota	Fargo Davies High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	240 lb (110 kg)	Nov 20, 2025
Jason Hunter Defensive tackle	Recruit ratings: 247Sports:
Roman Johnson Defensive end	Lakeville, Minnesota	Lakeville North High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	250 lb (110 kg)
Roman Johnson Defensive end	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Joaquin Jordan Wide receiver	Flossmoor, Illinois	Homewood-Flossmoor High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)
Joaquin Jordan Wide receiver	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Trey McPartland Offensive line	Valley City, North Dakota	Valley City High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	270 lb (120 kg)	Dec 4, 2025
Trey McPartland Offensive line	Recruit ratings: 247Sports:
Hank Nelson Quarterback	Meridian, Idaho	Mountain View High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)
Hank Nelson Quarterback	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Jayden Onuonga Kicker	Forest Lake, Minnesota	Forest Lake High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)
Jayden Onuonga Kicker	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Godson Rufus-Okomhanru Running back	Mounds View, Minnesota	Mounds View High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Dec 4, 2025
Godson Rufus-Okomhanru Running back	Recruit ratings: 247Sports:
Deron Russell Cornerback	Waseca, Minnesota	Waseca High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Dec 4, 2025
Deron Russell Cornerback	Recruit ratings: 247Sports:
Kobe Russell Cornerback	Prescott, Wisconsin	Prescott High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Dec 4, 2025
Kobe Russell Cornerback	Recruit ratings: 247Sports:
Kye Schlichting Wide receiver	Horace, North Dakota	West Fargo Sheyenne High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Dec 4, 2025
Kye Schlichting Wide receiver	Recruit ratings: 247Sports:
Luke Tetzlaff Linebacker	Kaukauna, Wisconsin	Kaukauna High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	200 lb (91 kg)
Luke Tetzlaff Linebacker	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Gunner Thielges Safety	LaMoure, North Dakota	LaMoure High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Dec 4, 2025
Gunner Thielges Safety	Recruit ratings: 247Sports:
Tucker Thieneman Offensive line	Pewaukee, Wisconsin	Pewaukee High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	300 lb (140 kg)	Dec 4, 2025
Tucker Thieneman Offensive line	Recruit ratings: 247Sports:
Braylon Toliver Running back	Erie, Colorado	Erie High School	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Dec 9, 2025
Braylon Toliver Running back	Recruit ratings: 247Sports:
Gabe Vernetti Longsnapper	Machesney Park, Illinois	Boylan Catholic High School	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Oct 2, 2025
Gabe Vernetti Longsnapper	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Simon Vinton Defensive end	Orono, Minnesota	Orono High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	225 lb (102 kg)
Simon Vinton Defensive end	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Brandon Walton Wide receiver	Kenosha, Wisconsin	Bradford High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Dec 18, 2025
Brandon Walton Wide receiver	Recruit ratings: 247Sports:
Caden Ward Tight end	Lincoln, Nebraska	Lincoln Southeast High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Dec 3, 2025
Caden Ward Tight end	Recruit ratings: 247Sports:
Skyler Werner Defensive tackle	Savage, Minnesota	Prior Lake High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	265 lb (120 kg)	Dec 3, 2025
Skyler Werner Defensive tackle	Recruit ratings: 247Sports:
Jack Wilson Linebacker	Verona, Wisconsin	Mount Horeb High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Dec 4, 2025
Jack Wilson Linebacker	Recruit ratings: 247Sports:
Overall recruit ranking: 247Sports: 113
‡ Refers to 40-yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2026 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 16, 2026. "North Dakota State Football 2026 commits". 247Sports. Retrieved February 16, 2026.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV
August 29	4:30 p.m.	Jacksonville State*	Fargodome Fargo, ND	CBSSN
September 5	2:30 p.m.	Fordham*	Fargodome Fargo, ND	ABC ND/MW+
September 12	9:00 p.m.	at Air Force	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	FS1
September 19	9:30 p.m.	at Sacramento State*	Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA	ESPN
October 3	2:30 p.m.	Wyoming	Fargodome Fargo, ND	The CW
October 10	6:00 p.m.	at UNLV	Allegiant Stadium Paradise, NV	The CW
October 17	6:00 p.m.	Nevada	Fargodome Fargo, ND	CBSSN
October 24	9:00 p.m.	at New Mexico	University Stadium Albuquerque, NM	The CW
October 31	2:30 p.m.	UTEP	Fargodome Fargo, ND	ABC ND/MW+
November 14	10:00 p.m.	at Hawaii	Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex Honolulu, HI	The CW
November 21	3:00 p.m.	Northern Illinois	Fargodome Fargo, ND	The CW
November 27	2:30 p.m.	at San Jose State^[a]*	CEFCU Stadium San Jose, CA	CBSSN
*Non-conference game Homecoming All times are in Central time

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Gamecocks			0
Bison			0

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Bison			0

Quarter	1	2	Total
Bison			0
Falcons			0

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Bison			0
Hornets			0