2010 North Dakota State Bison football team

The 2010 North Dakota State Bison football team represented North Dakota State University in the 2010 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bison were led by eighth-year head coach Craig Bohl and played their home games at the Fargodome. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They finished the season 9–5 overall and 4–4 in MVFC play to finish tied for third place. They received an at-large qualifier bid into the FCS playoffs, their first FCS playoff bid in school history since moving to Division I in 2004 and being eligible for the playoffs in 2008.^[1]

2010 North Dakota State Bison football
NCAA Division I Quarterfinal, L 31–38 vs. Eastern Washington
Conference	Missouri Valley Football Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 9
FCS Coaches	No. 9
Record	9–5 (4–4 MVFC)
Head coach	Craig Bohl (8th season)
Offensive coordinator	Brent Vigen (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Scottie Hazelton (1st season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Fargodome
Seasons ← 2009 2011 →

2010 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 19 Northern Iowa $^		6	–	2					7	–	5
No. 17 Western Illinois ^		5	–	3					8	–	5
No. 9 North Dakota State ^		4	–	4					9	–	5
Indiana State		4	–	4					6	–	5
Illinois State		4	–	4					6	–	5
South Dakota State		4	–	4					5	–	6
Missouri State		4	–	4					5	–	6
Southern Illinois		4	–	4					5	–	6
Youngstown State		1	–	7					3	–	8
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The Bison were not expected to make the playoffs but managed enough votes to get in. NDSU punched above their seeding when then beat Robert Morris, 43–17, in the First Round and knocked off #4 Montana State in the Second Round, 42–17. In the Quarterfinals, the Bison lost on a last second fumble against #5 seeded Eastern Washington, 38–31, in overtime during a snowy game in Spokane, Washington. The Bison were driving down the field and were on the 5-yard line when quarterback Brock Jensen ran and appeared to be down at the 1-yard line; the play was called a fumble and recovered by Eastern Washington.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 4	6:10 pm	at Kansas*		Memorial Stadium Lawrence, Kansas	FCS	W 6–3	48,417	^[2]
September 11	6:30 pm	Northern Iowa	No. 21	UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, Iowa		L 9–16	14,422	^[3]
September 18	6:00 pm	Morgan State*	No. 23	Fargodome Fargo, North Dakota		W 35–9	17,340	^[4]
September 25	6:10 pm	No. 21 South Dakota	No. 18	Fargodome Fargo, North Dakota		W 38–16	18,248	^[5]
October 2	1:00 pm	Western Illinois	No. 13	Fargodome Fargo, North Dakota		L 16–28	18,701	^[6]
October 9	4:10 pm	at Youngstown State	No. 18	Stambaugh Stadium Youngstown, Ohio		W 34–29	15,068	^[7]
October 16	2:00 pm	at Illinois State	No. 15	Hancock Stadium Normal, Illinois		L 24–34	10,131	^[8]
October 23	3:10 pm	Indiana State		Fargodome Fargo, North Dakota (Harvest Bowl)		W 27–15	15,245	^[9]
November 6	3:10 pm	Southern Illinois	No. 25	Fargodome Fargo, North Dakota		W 20–6	12,834	^[10]
November 13	3:10 pm	South Dakota State	No. 24	Fargodome Fargo, North Dakota (Dakota Marker)		W 31–24	17,037	^[11]
November 20	1:00 pm	at Missouri State	No. 17	Plaster Sports Complex Springfield, Missouri		L 0–3	4,837	^[12]
November 27	6:05 pm	Robert Morris*	No. 25	Fargodome Fargo, North Dakota (FCS Playoffs First Round)		W 43–17	12,202	^[13]
December 4	12:05 pm	at No. 6 Montana State*	No. 25	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, Montana (FCS Playoffs Second Round)		W 42–17	14,277	^[14]
December 11	12:35 pm	at No. 1 Eastern Washington*	No. 25	Roos Field Cheney, WA (FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals)		L 31–38 ^OT	4,060	^[15]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

References

1. "2010 NDSU football schedule". North Dakota State Athletics. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
2. "North Dakota State humbles Kansas". The Wichita Eagle. September 5, 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Defense does its job in Panthers' victory". The Des Moines Register. September 12, 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Jensen steps up in relief". The Bismarck Tribune. September 19, 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "North Dakota State shuts down Coyotes". Argus-Leader. September 26, 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Western remains perfect in Valley". The Pantagraph. October 3, 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Bison battle back". The Bismarck Tribune. October 10, 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Redbird resiliency, ISU rebounds, upsets No. 14 N. Dakota St". The Pantagraph. October 17, 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "North Dakota State 27, Indiana 15". The Times. October 24, 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "SIU assured of losing record". Southern Illinoisan. November 7, 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Jacks turn marker over to Bison". Rapid City Journal. November 14, 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Bears end on high note with shutout". The Springfield News-Leader. November 21, 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Robert Morris dumped from Div. I-AA playoffs". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. November 28, 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Bison run over Bobcats". Great Falls Tribune. December 5, 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "EWU overcomes odds". The Spokesman-Review. December 12, 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.