The No. 2 ranked North Dakota State Bison are returning home to the Fargo dome this weekend,
after defeating Illinois State to improve to 1-0 in conference play on the young season. The
Bison handled the Redbirds with ease, as they put up a staggering 42 points in last weeks
victory. NDSU’s next opponent? One that every resident in North Dakota has had circled since
the schedule released, the No. 6 ranked University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks.
Coach Tim Polasek praised the Bison faithful, claiming they’re some of the best in the business,
but the first-year head coach also had a challenge for the Fargo fans, show up and be loud!
Defending the dome and walking out of Saturday with a W is all the Bison head coach has on his
agenda for the weekend. Most importantly, he wants to reiterate to his players how much fun
they should be having. “From the moment we wake up on Saturday, we want smile and joy on
our faces, we want to have fun from the moment we start preparing for the week until the final
whistle.”
This will be the first in-state rivalry game for Tim Polasek as a head coach. A rivalry with rich,
deep history, and tradition. The Fighting Hawks walked away victorious in the most previous
matchup in 2023, as the Bison really never got much going for them in Grand Forks last year. A
24-49 defeat has the green and gold looking for revenge while also looking to do the right
things correctly.
Since UND’s transition to D1 play in 2008 and the Bison’s transition to D1 play in 2004, there
wasn’t much of a rivalry game, as joining different leagues at the time allowed for scheduling
and venue conflicts for games to be played. Then following their rebrand from the Fighting
Sioux to the now Fighting Hawks, in 2015, the two schools matched up for the first time in 12
years.
In the first matchup since 2003, the 2015 meeting was a mark of a renewed rivalry. A 34-9
victory set the tone for the later 2010’s games and would be a familiar site for Bison nation in
the following matchups to come.
The two universities after 2015 wouldn’t matchup again until 2019. In 2019, the Bison had
nearly the same day as a 38-7 route of the Fighting Hawks had the Bison 2-0 in the D1 era.
Following the 2019 meeting, Spring of 2021 would be the next matinee, as the first three games
of this renewed rivalry all happened in the Fargo Dome. UND would put together a little more
offense in 2021, but NDSU once again prevailed for a 34-13 victory.
After the obscure 2021 spring season, the two schools matched up again In the fall of 2021, this
time in Grand Forks. NDSU squeaked out a W by a score of 16-10, the most competitive game
of this rivalry so far.
Returning back to Fargo in 2022, a offense outburst by the Bison had them winners of five
straight vs UND. A 42-21 effort kept Bison Nation proud, while Fighting Hawks faithful were
unsure if their team would ever overcome NDSU.
The most recent and final matchup so far was in 2023. This time, once again, in Grand Forks.
Something, this time, however, was different. UND came out with some fire, and they never
had to look back, finally taking a game with a final score of 49-24.
Head Coach Tim Polasek spoke on the 2023 game, emphasizing how much of an impact he’s
anticipating on special teams, stating that special teams is going to need to play perfect in order
to put the 2023 game in the mirror and walk out of the Fargo dome on Friday with a 2024 team
win against the Fighting Hawks.
Once again, the Bison are looking forward to the opportunity of going 1-0 this week. Not only
securing a rivalry win would make the Bison excited, but especially securing another win in the
Missouri Valley Football Conference is all Coach Polasek and the players are worried about.
Defending Home Field, securing a MVCF win and beating a North Dakota rivalry are the three
most important characteristics outlined by the first-year head coach.
Kickoff will take place at the Fargo Dome, at 2:30 Central Standard time (CST). Viewers can tune
in on ABC stations around North Dakota, or ESPN+ subscribers can also view the game.
*This article was written by Flag Family Media intern Cayden Lloyd*
