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GAME FIVE: No. 1-ranked North Dakota State (4-0, 1-0 Valley Football) is scheduled to host No. 3-ranked Youngstown State (4-0, 1-0 Valley Football) at 1:07 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6, at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome (AstroTurf®’s GameDay Grass™ 3D60 infilled turf / 18,700) ... Saturday is the 92nd Homecoming Game … Last season NDSU defeated Illinois State 20-10 at homecoming ... The Bison are 51-37-3 overall in the Homecoming Game, which began in 1919 ... NDSU defeated No. 14/17-ranked Northern Iowa 33-21 in Cedar Falls on Sept. 29 ... Youngstown State defeated UNI 42-35 at YSU on Sept. 22 ... North Dakota State has won nine straight since the loss to Youngstown State in November 2011.

SERIES RECORD: This is the seventh meeting between North Dakota State and Youngstown State in a series that started in 1972 ... The Penguins lead the series 4-2 ... Youngstown State defeated the Bison 27-24 in Fargo last season (recap on page 4) ... YSU leads in Fargo 2-1 ... Only 28 points have separated the teams in the first six meetings.

AT HOME: North Dakota State has compiled a 240-36-3 record at home since 1964 ... The Bison are 95-22-0 in the Fargodome since moving from Dacotah Field in 1993 ... NDSU is 16-2 over the last three seasons at home and is 46-11 since head coach Craig Bohl took over in 2003.

SELL OUT: North Dakota State recorded its 11th sellout over the past seven seasons with the season-opening crowd of 18,769 vs. Robert Morris at Gate City Bank Field ... NDSU has attracted over 18,000 fans in nine of its last 10 home games including three sellouts ... Tickets for all 2012 North Dakota State University football home football games are currently SOLD OUT ... Additional reserved and standing room tickets may become available on the Friday of game week ... Check GoBison.com/tickets for availability ... To create the best possible home field advantage, NDSU encourages fans to use their tickets for all games at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome ... Fans that have purchased season tickets and are unable to attend select games are encouraged to make sure their seats are filled for each game ... Those looking to sell tickets can use online message boards, Craigslist or NDSU’s facebook page (facebook.com/NDBison) to broker tickets.

TELEVISION: The Missouri Valley Football Conference TV Game of the Week will be televised on the North Dakota NBC Sports Network, ESPN3.com ... Tom Ackerman will describe the play-by-play, Adam Seidel is the color analyst) and Jim Powers will be on the sidelines ... Stations on the North Dakota NBC Sports Network include KVLY-TV (Channel 11, Fargo), KFYR-TV (Channel 5, Bismarck), KMOT-TV (Channel 10, Minot), KQCD-TV (Channel 7, Dickinson) and KUMV-TV (Channel 8, Williston) ... All 11 regular season games in 2012 will be televised for the first time in school history ... The Bison are 104-56-1 (.649) in TV games.

RADIO BROADCASTS: KFGO-AM 790, Fargo ... Veteran sports announcer Scott Miller will handle the play-by-play ... Former NDSU quarterback Steve Walker will handle the color duties, while NDSU director of athletic broadcasting Jeremy Jorgenson is on the sidelines ... Air time is set for 12:30 p.m., kickoff at 1:04 p.m. on Oct. 6 ... Anchored by flagship, The Mighty 790, KFGO-AM, the Bison Radio Network has 20 stations including (Fargo, simulcast on KRWK 101.9 FM); ESPN 710 AM (Bismarck); KHRT 1320 AM (Minot); KSJB 600 AM (Jamestown); KEYZ 660 AM (Williston); KDVL 102.5 FM (Devils Lake); KHND 1470 AM (Harvey); KZZJ 1450 AM (Rugby); KPOK 1340 AM (Bowman); KAUJ – 100.9 FM (Grafton); KLTC 1460 AM (Dickinson); KRCQ 102.3 FM (Detroit Lakes); WLKX 95.9 FM (North) / KBGY 107.5 FM (South) (Minneapolis/St. Paul); KDDG 105.5 FM (Albany); KZCR 103.3 FM (Fergus Falls); KMGK 107.1 FM (Glenwood), and KKCQ 96.7 FM (Fosston) ... The Bison gameday format includes a 30-minute pregame show with comments from Craig Bohl, in-depth analysis and features ... A complete 30-minute postgame show is covered from the press box and locker room areas.

KELLER, CROCKETT PICK UP WEEKLY VALLEY FOOTBALL HONORS: North Dakota State placekicker Adam Keller was named Missouri Valley Football Conference Special Teams Player of the Week, while running back John Crockett was selected Newcomer of the Week for their performance in No. 1-ranked North Dakota State’s 33-21 win at No. 14/17 Northern Iowa on Sept. 29 ... Keller and Crockett also received College Football Performance Awards.com honors ... Keller, a 6-foot-1, 208-pound sophomore from Lewisberry, Pa. (Red Land H.S.) made 4-of-5 field goals and three extra-points vs. UNI ... Keller made field goals of 30, 28, 43 and 28 yards in the game ... The 43-yard field goal was a career best ... He tied school records with four field goals made, matching Ken Kubisz’ four field goals made against Augustana in 1983 and five field goals attempted by Shawn Bibeau at Minnesota in 2006 ... Keller also averaged 63.6 yards on eight kickoffs ... Crockett, a 6-foot, 202-pound sophomore from Minneapolis, Minn. (Totino-Grace H.S.) rushed 19 times for a career-high 122 yards and two TDs at UNI ... Crockett scored on runs of 3 and 6 yards ... His 43-yard run on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter highlighted a six-play, 80-yard drive that put NDSU ahead 20-7 with 11:51 left in the third quarter ... Crockett was the first Bison running back to rush for over 100 yards this season ... He also caught two passes for eight yards.

TURNER NAMED MVFC OFFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: North Dakota State University offensive tackle Billy Turner was selected the Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week on Oct. 1 ... Turner, a 6-foot-6, 300-pound junior from Shoreview, Minn. (Mounds View H.S.), graded out to 96 percent with seven knockdown blocks in No. 1-ranked North Dakota State’s 33-21 win at No. 14/17 Northern Iowa on Saturday, Sept. 29, before 16,008 fans at the UNI-Dome ... Turner allowed no sacks or quarterback hurries as the Bison recorded 419 yard of total offense and held the ball for nearly 36 minutes.

TRAVIS BECK NAMED COLLEGE SPORTS MADNESS.COM FCS DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: North Dakota State linebacker Travis Beck was credited with five tackles including 2.5 tackles for loss, a pair of sacks and one forced fumble in No. 1-ranked North Dakota State’s 33-21 win over No. 14/17 Northern Iowa on Saturday, Sept. 29, before 16,008 fans at the UNI-Dome ... Beck, a 6-foot, 207-pound sophomore from Munich, N.D. (Langdon-Munich H.S.) earned College Sports Madness.com’s National FCS Defensive Player of the Week ... Beck’s forced fumble led to a Mike Hardie recovery with 1:28 left in the second quarter ... The Bison went on to score and build a 13-7 halftime lead. NDSU had three turnovers overall that led to 17 points ... NDSU defense limited UNI to 285 yards of total offense including 72 yards rushing.

GARRETT BRUHN SEMIFINALIST FOR NFF’S WILLIAM V. CAMPBELL TROPHY: North Dakota State University tight end Garrett Bruhn is one of 147 candidates for the 2012 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards, presented by Fidelity Investments®, a leading provider of not-for-profit workplace retirement savings plans in higher education ... The 147 nominees also comprise the list of semifinalists for the 2012 William V. Campbell Trophy, endowed by HealthSouth, which recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation ... Bruhn, a 6-foot-1, 241-pound senior from Beatrice, Neb. (Beatrice H.S.), maintains a 3.312 grade point average majoring in criminal justice with a minor in accounting ... He is one of four captains for the Bison this season ... Bruhn, who had a career-long 30-yard reception at Western Illinois in 2011, has been a major contributor since his freshman year and has played in 41 games. He helped to open holes for a pair of 1,000-yard rushers last year.

BISON QUICK-HITTERS: Cornerback Marcus Williams recorded his second interception of the season and 13th of his career at UNI (9-29-12) ... Williams is tied for third all-time at NDSU with Nick Schommer (2005-08) and Wayne Schluchter (1975-78) with the 13 interceptions ... North Dakota State won at Northern Iowa for the first time since 1976 when the Bison posted a 10-9 win at the UNI-Dome. NDSU had lost three straight in Cedar Falls (1979, 2008, 2010) ... Wide receiver Zach Vraa caught a career and season-high eight passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns vs. Prairie View A&M (9-22-12) ... Vraa caught TD passes of 11 and 69 yards from Brock Jensen ... His 69-yard TD reception was the longest for NDSU since Nick Mertens and Gary Williams hooked up on a school record 95-yard score against Illinois State on Oct. 3, 2009 ... His 156 yards receiving were the most for a Bison receiver since Warren Holloway had 184 on seven catches against Western Illinois on Oct. 2, 2010 ... Holloway had eight receptions (96 yards) vs. Georgia Southern in the NCAA FCS semifinals ... North Dakota State’s 81 offensive plays against Colorado State  (9-8-12) were its most since running 83 against Northern Iowa on Oct. 10, 2009 ... NDSU’s 39:52 in time of possession at CSU was its most since holding the ball for 40:17 in a 51-14 win over Cal Poly on Nov. 11, 2006 ... NDSU has allowed just 62 points in its last eight contests, dating back to the start of the 2011 Division I FCS Playoffs ... The Bison have allowed just 48 points in their last seven contests, dating back to a 24-0 shutout victory over Lehigh in the 2011 Division I FCS Quarterfinals ... NDSU has limited its opponent to 10 points or less in 10 of its last 19 games ... Defensive end Cole Jirik had 4 tackles including a safety, two tackles for loss and a sack in North Dakota State’s 22-7 win over Colorado State on Sept. 8 ... His safety with 5:34 left in the first quarter broke a 7-7 tie and gave the Bison the lead for good ... The safety was the first for North Dakota State since Matthew Gratzek’s against Robert Morris in the 2010 FCS playoff game ... North Dakota State’s field goal block by nose guard Ryan Drevlow at Colorado State (9-8-12) was the first since Matt Veldman’s effort against Illinois State (10-1-11) ... North Dakota State’s 52-0 shutout of Robert Morris in the season opener on Sept. 1 at Gate City Bank Field was the first since 2011 when the Bison beat Lehigh 24-0 in the NCAA FCS quarterfinals ... It was NDSU’s first shutout in a home opener since defeating Valparaiso 52-0 in 2004 ... North Dakota State improved to 79-30-7 in season openers including 61-17-4 at home ... North Dakota State committed zero (0) turnovers in eight of 15 games played last season ... The Bison committed only 12 turnovers overall in 15 games in 2011 ... NDSU leads the nation in scoring defense (8.75 avg/g), total defense (204 avg/g) and time of possession (35:27 avg/g); 3rd in rushing defense (61 avg/g); 4th in scoring offense (43.25 avg/g) and passing efficiency (167.43 rating); tied for 4th for turnover margin (+1.75 avg/g) and sacks allowed (0.50 avg/g); 5th in sacks (3.50 avg/g); 8th in pass defense (143 avg/g); 9th in total offense (471.25 avg/g); 15th in tackles for loss (7.50 avg/g); 16th in rushing offense (229.75 avg/g), and 22nd in punt returns (12.73 avg/r) ... With a 79-31 record, NDSU head coach Craig Bohl is No. 2 on the school’s all-time win list behind Rocky Hager (91-25-1, 1987-95) ... Bohl is one of three Bison coaches with 60 wins ... North Dakota State Director of Athletics Gene Taylor is in his second year of a four-year term on the Division I Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association (FCS ADA) Executive Committee.

JENSEN ON TARGET: North Dakota State quarterback Brock Jensen is No. 2 all-time at NDSU in completions (347) and No. 3 in passing yards (4,315), passing Tony Stauss in completions (345, 2003-04) at Northern Iowa (9-29-12) ... Jensen completed 22 of 31 passes for a career-high 243 yards and one touchdown in No. 1-ranked North Dakota State’s 33-21 win at No. 14/17 Northern Iowa on Sept. 29 ... The 22 completions tied a career-high for Jensen and the 31 attempts are a career best ... Jensen recorded his seventh career 200-yard passing game... Jensen completed 13 of 15 passes for 192 yards and three TDs in the first half against Prairie View A&M (9-22-12) ... The three TD passes tie a career-high for Jensen, set three times previously ... The 69-yard TD pass to Zach Vraa was the longest in his career ... Jensen completed 18 of 29 passes for 189 yards and one touchdown at Colorado State on Sept. 8 ... He also rushed 10 times for 42 yards ... Jensen directed an offense that ran 81 plays for 366 yards of total offense and held a 39:52-20:08 advantage in time of possession ... That included scoring drives of 12 plays for 67 yards (5:21), 10 plays for 53 yards (1:44) and 16 plays for 71 yards (9:29) ... He completed passes to seven different receivers ... Jensen completed 16 of 23 passes for 217 yards and three TDs vs. Robert Morris  (9-1-12) ... Jensen threw four interceptions last season ... Following an interception at Southern Illinois, Jensen attempted 142 passes without a pick – adding to his NDSU record ... The old record was 110 set by Steve Walker in 2005-06 ... Jensen had a career-high 30 attempts at Indiana State (11-5-11, 18 completions) ... Jensen completed his first 15 passes vs. Missouri State (10-15-11) to break the school record of 10 in a row set three times previously ... Including the Southern Illinois game, he had completed 19 passes in a row to top the school record of 16 set by Steve Walker in 2004.