North Dakota State returns to the field after its bye week Saturday as they will host surprising Missouri State.

The Bears enter on an eight-game winning streak after losing their first two games of the season. MSU is in its final season of FCS football after announcing this spring they are moving up to FBS and Conference USA in 2025.

Ryan Beard is in his second year as head coach of the Bears, who has turned the reigns over to former Minnesota transfer Jacob Clark. Clark enters with 25 touchdown passes and over 3,000 passing yards.

The Bison offense has been electric this year, averaging nearly 38 points a game. NDSU's defense will get a challenge from a high octane offense.

It's set to be an emotional day with 25 seniors set to be honored before the game. It's a huge class of seniors as some sixth year and fifth year players will play their final regular season game inside the Dome.

The Forum's Jeff Kolpack and WDAY's Dom Izzo preview the matchup between the Bison and Bears.

North Dakota State and Northern Iowa will play in a football game inside the Fargodome for the first time in three years Saturday afternoon.

The Panthers last trip to Fargo coincided with the last time UNI made the FCS Playoffs, 2021. The Panthers posted a 6-5 regular season record and lost in the first round to Eastern Washington.

Since that game in Cheney, Washington, the Panthers have posted a 14-16 record, including six straight losses in 2024 after a 2-0 start. Inconsistent quarterback play and poor defense has plagued UNI in that stretch as they come to Fargo this weekend.

Panthers head coach Mark Farley has gone with sophomore Matthew Schecklman at quarterback over the last handful of games, he threw for 270 yards and three touchdowns last week in UNI's 49-42 loss to Missouri State.

The Bison enter on an eight-game win streak and are getting a couple of players back this week. Cornerback Jailen Duffie will return after missing the last two games with concussion symptoms, defensive tackle/end Will Mostaert will be back after missing last week's game with a hip injury.

Wide receiver Mekhi Collins is expected to return as well after missing last week's game.

The Forum's Jeff Kolpack and WDAY's Dom Izzo discuss the matchup with Northern Iowa, the potential return of Cole Wisniewski to the lineup and the upcoming renovation vote on the Fargodome.

It was an emotional win for North Dakota State last week against South Dakota State and it came at a cost.

The Bison lost two more defensive starters to injury in that game, linebacker Oscar Benson and safety Sam Jung. Benson will be back at sometime this year, while Jung's career is over with a torn pectoral muscle.

NDSU will press on, playing it's ninth consecutive game this Saturday as they travel to Kentucky to face Murray State, the newest member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Racers are led by first-year head coach Jody Wright, a former South Carolina assistant.

MSU is 1-6 on the season and 0-4 in league play. They've allowed 72, 31, 59 and 40 points in its four league games, with only two of those games being single digit contests.

Former Bison quarterback Jayden Johannsen is the starting quarterback for the Racers, who transferrred to Murray after a great career at South Dakota Mines in Rapid City, South Dakota. Johannssen was a finalist for the Harlan Hill Award in 2022.

MSU play athe 50-year old Roy Stewart Stadium, which had nearly 16,000 fans in it last week for Homecoming when they hosted Illinois State. This is a new location for the Bison, who will fly in to Paducah, Kentucky, about an hour north of Murray, before busing there for the game on Saturday.