NDSU Arrives in Style Ahead of Air Force Game
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North Dakota State will kick off against Air Force on Saturday night to open Mountain West Conference play, and the Bison arrived in style on Friday.
“Into the mountains,” NDSU social media posted via X with photos of the players arriving.
NDSU players walked off the Allegiant airplane in Colorado Springs donning team athletic gear with light grey pants and jackets over green shirts. The Bison are returning to Colorado for the first time since 2024, when the Herd came up short against the Colorado Buffaloes, 31-26.
That was Bison head coach Tim Polasek’s first game at the helm, and he’s looking to lead the Herd to a win in the program’s first-ever Mountain West game on Saturday.
NDSU has played in Colorado many times over the years with a trip to Colorado State, a 22-7 win in 2012, and games against Northern Colorado before that. The Bison had an 8-6 record on the road against UNC between 1937 and 2005, so NDSU has a 9-7 record all-time in the state.
NDSU started this season 2-0 with wins over Jacksonville State and Fordham in the Fargodome to kick off a first year of FBS football. The Bison moved up from the FCS after dominating the Division I subdivision for 15 years with 10 national championships.
Air Force, which will face NDSU for the first time, opened the season with a 34-0 win over Duquesne on Sept. 5.
Tim Polasek Comes Ready
While Air Force is new to NDSU, the Falcons aren’t new to Polasek, who coached in the Mountain West on Wyoming’s staff under former Bison head coach Craig Bohl. Polasek faced Air Force three times between 2021 and 2023, and he also has FBS experience from his time on Iowa’s coaching staff under Kirk Ferentz between 2017 and 2020.
“The second thing I learned from Coach Ferentz is if you treat people right you can cultivate an environment where it’s fun to show up to work,” Polasek told Dave Campbell of The Associated Press in August. “No matter if the portal or NIL and all this stuff exists or not, hey, let’s treat each other with respect. Everybody in the building should be able to dance to the music the way they want to dance to it.”
Polasek has been a major player in helping NDSU make the move from FCS to FBS on short notice since the program announced the move in February after receiving a Mountain West invitation. The conference had been looking for more teams since five former members moved to the Pac-12 after the 2025 season.
Tim Polasek Gets Honest on a Successful First FBS Season
While Polasek has been open about going “all gas and no brakes” in the FBS, he’s clear that building at the college game’s highest level will take time. In a question-and-answer session with Bison Illustrated, Polasek explained that development, keeping talent and working toward conference championships are the goals.
“So, a successful [first] season looks like: Do we reach our full potential? Are we running a great, first-class program? And then, a Mountain West Conference Championship and being in the conference championship game is critical for bigger and bigger moments in NDSU’s storied history,” Polasek said.
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