2026 Non-UND FCS News/Scores Thread

[Undertherock]

22 minutes ago, Bison06 said:

For someone not discounting NDSU's success, you sure do a solid job of spending the rest of your post discounting their success. I travel everywhere in the US for work, it isn't just north Fargo thinking NDSU football has become a name people recognize in football circles as a high quality brand of football.

 

I think you should buy the bored fans "schtick", its very real.

Didn't discount the on field success at all.  Its the perception of the brand value and the crux of the argument being NDSU will never be P4.  

I still don't buy the bored fan schtick.  NDSU hasn't enjoyed the same success in the 2020s as it has in the 2010s.  If its a matter of competitiveness, then the 2020s should have revived the fan interest.  SDSU primarily, the Montanas and even the UxDs have invested in their programs and filled the void left by the Georgia Southerns and JMUs, who NDSU saw at most once a year.  How does UTEP or San Jose eliminate the fan disinterest?

[Bison06]

Just now, Undertherock said:

Didn't discount the on field success at all.  Its the perception of the brand value and the crux of the argument being NDSU will never be P4.  

I still don't buy the bored fan schtick.  NDSU hasn't enjoyed the same success in the 2020s as it has in the 2010s.  If its a matter of competitiveness, then the 2020s should have revived the fan interest.  SDSU primarily, the Montanas and even the UxDs have invested in their programs and filled the void left by the Georgia Southerns and JMUs, who NDSU saw at most once a year.  How does UTEP or San Jose eliminate the fan disinterest?

What is your evidence that fan disinterest isn’t real? I’m an NDSU fan and talk with NDSU fans all of the time, they were bored. In many cases, they were not renewing season tickets, they were not tailgating, they took a “I’ll plug back in once the playoffs start” approach to the team. It was very real.

[Undertherock]

Anyway, back on topic:  SDSU whipped Stetson 70-7.  Not much to take away from that game other than it sure was prettier than the lethargic game SDSU had against PFL Drake last season.  

JSD beat Central Conn or something like that 59-20.  Sounds like the RF QB had a decent outing.

[SIOUXFAN97]

4 minutes ago, Undertherock said:

Didn't discount the on field success at all.  Its the perception of the brand value and the crux of the argument being NDSU will never be P4.  

I still don't buy the bored fan schtick.  NDSU hasn't enjoyed the same success in the 2020s as it has in the 2010s.  If its a matter of competitiveness, then the 2020s should have revived the fan interest.  SDSU primarily, the Montanas and even the UxDs have invested in their programs and filled the void left by the Georgia Southerns and JMUs, who NDSU saw at most once a year.  How does UTEP or San Jose eliminate the fan disinterest?

or nevada or wyoming or hawaii.....

[Undertherock]

1 minute ago, Bison06 said:

What is your evidence that fan disinterest isn’t real? I’m an NDSU fan and talk with NDSU fans all of the time, they were bored. In many cases, they were not renewing season tickets, they were not tailgating, they took a “I’ll plug back in once the playoffs start” approach to the team. It was very real.

See above re: competitiveness in the 2020s.  NDSU winning titles or even weekly contests was no longer a foregone conclusion but the fans didn't come back.  And even if it is real, the question remains, how do the likes of UTEP and San Jose revive that interest?  Or the Famous Potato Bowl?  Or playing even worse FCS teams in your OOC slate? 

[fightingsioux4life]

49 minutes ago, Bison06 said:

For someone not discounting NDSU's success, you sure do a solid job of spending the rest of your post discounting their success. I travel everywhere in the US for work, it isn't just north Fargo thinking NDSU football has become a name people recognize in football circles as a high quality brand of football.

 

I think you should buy the bored fans "schtick", its very real.

So where's the national television contract for NDSU now that they are a "national brand"?

What happened to "Bring on 'Bama"? Now that both schools are in the same subdivision, I am sure they would LOVE to negotiate a home and home contract with NDSU. Right? 

My point is that if UND moved up to FBS G6, I would not be delusional enough to think that people from coast to coast and border to border would be watching to see what the latest addition to G6 college football can accomplish. Anything outside of the P4 is treated as a curiosity and is not considered "big time" in any way, shape or form.

One thing for certain, if UND wins an FCS title in the next couple of years, I won't be writing any letters to Sports Illustrated complaining that the CFP champion is on the cover instead of UND. A NDSU fan did that several years ago and I still can't believe they printed it.

[Bison06]

10 minutes ago, Undertherock said:

See above re: competitiveness in the 2020s.  NDSU winning titles or even weekly contests was no longer a foregone conclusion but the fans didn't come back.  And even if it is real, the question remains, how do the likes of UTEP and San Jose revive that interest?  Or the Famous Potato Bowl?  Or playing even worse FCS teams in your OOC slate? 

Any fan base has their hardcore base and their casual fans. Casual fans are needed for all sports teams for revenue and butts in seats. Casual fans aren't as plugged into the details. Once we had won 10 championships and everyone who wanted to make the trip to Frisco had done it and in many cases multiple times, the luster wore off. The tailgate on a random September or October had lost it's cache for the "cool thing to do on a Saturday afternoon" in Fargo. We lost the casuals and even some of the hardcores who really just wanted to see quality football and knew that even though the team could potentially lose one or two games a regular season, NDSU was still making the playoffs so they would mostly check out until then. Sure, they'll check the score and maybe even watch a game or two on TV, but it was no longer an event to plan around.

Like it or not, the teams NDSU will be playing now, are perceived as a higher level of competition by those casuals. People have heard of these schools, even if the people who are plugged into the actual game of football know that the MW schools aren't much of a step up from the MVFC. People have heard of UNLV, Hawaii, Air Force and they carry that brand recognition with them when they show up in the FargoDome. 

I also think you are underplaying how good NDSU still has been the last 6 years.

• 2021: 14–1 (FCS National Champions)

• 2022: 12–3 (FCS National Runner-Up)

• 2023: 11–4 (FCS Semifinals)

• 2024: 14–2 (FCS National Champions)

• 2025: 12–1 (FCS Second Round)

In the minds of the casual fans, this 5 year run is still 3 trips to frisco and a loss in double overtime in a thriller that would have had them make the championship game 4/5 years. That's not a fall off by anyone's definition.

[Bison06]

5 minutes ago, fightingsioux4life said:

So where's the national television contract for NDSU now that they are a "national brand"?

What happened to "Bring on 'Bama"? Now that both schools are in the same subdivision, I am sure they would LOVE to negotiate a home and home contract with NDSU. Right? 

My point is that if UND moved up to FBS G6, I would not be delusional enough to think that people from coast to coast and border to border would be watching to see what the latest addition to G6 college football can accomplish. Anything outside of the P4 is treated as a curiosity and is not considered "big time" in any way, shape or form.

One thing for certain, if UND wins an FCS title in the next couple of years, I won't be writing any letters to Sports Illustrated complaining that the CFP champion is on the cover instead of UND. A NDSU fan did that several years ago and I still can't believe they printed it.

Noone who knows anything about football ever said something so stupid as "bring on bama". Casuals sure, but nobody serious.

You might not be delusional enough, but you can be sure that there would be UND fans who would. All fan bases have their people who speak without really knowing what they're talking about.

[thUNDer]

Hmmmm, have generally thought it’s not a bad thing for your favorite team(s) success to be hated by others & when it comes to longstanding college rivalry’s, long live the hate & fun that comes with it.

[SIOUXFAN97]

1 hour ago, Bison06 said:

Any fan base has their hardcore base and their casual fans. Casual fans are needed for all sports teams for revenue and butts in seats. Casual fans aren't as plugged into the details. Once we had won 10 championships and everyone who wanted to make the trip to Frisco had done it and in many cases multiple times, the luster wore off. The tailgate on a random September or October had lost it's cache for the "cool thing to do on a Saturday afternoon" in Fargo. We lost the casuals and even some of the hardcores who really just wanted to see quality football and knew that even though the team could potentially lose one or two games a regular season, NDSU was still making the playoffs so they would mostly check out until then. Sure, they'll check the score and maybe even watch a game or two on TV, but it was no longer an event to plan around.

Like it or not, the teams NDSU will be playing now, are perceived as a higher level of competition by those casuals. People have heard of these schools, even if the people who are plugged into the actual game of football know that the MW schools aren't much of a step up from the MVFC. People have heard of UNLV, Hawaii, Air Force and they carry that brand recognition with them when they show up in the FargoDome. 

I also think you are underplaying how good NDSU still has been the last 6 years.

• 2021: 14–1 (FCS National Champions)

• 2022: 12–3 (FCS National Runner-Up)

• 2023: 11–4 (FCS Semifinals)

• 2024: 14–2 (FCS National Champions)

• 2025: 12–1 (FCS Second Round)

In the minds of the casual fans, this 5 year run is still 3 trips to frisco and a loss in double overtime in a thriller that would have had them make the championship game 4/5 years. That's not a fall off by anyone's definition.

in this case perception isn't reality i guess.....no one watched that mess on saturday and thought .....this is high level football.  

they more than likely thought it was 2 fcs teams going at it...which it kinda was bc

g6 is fcs

fcs is g6

[Siouxphan27]

13 hours ago, Bison06 said:

Any fan base has their hardcore base and their casual fans. Casual fans are needed for all sports teams for revenue and butts in seats. Casual fans aren't as plugged into the details. Once we had won 10 championships and everyone who wanted to make the trip to Frisco had done it and in many cases multiple times, the luster wore off. The tailgate on a random September or October had lost it's cache for the "cool thing to do on a Saturday afternoon" in Fargo. We lost the casuals and even some of the hardcores who really just wanted to see quality football and knew that even though the team could potentially lose one or two games a regular season, NDSU was still making the playoffs so they would mostly check out until then. Sure, they'll check the score and maybe even watch a game or two on TV, but it was no longer an event to plan around.

Like it or not, the teams NDSU will be playing now, are perceived as a higher level of competition by those casuals. People have heard of these schools, even if the people who are plugged into the actual game of football know that the MW schools aren't much of a step up from the MVFC. People have heard of UNLV, Hawaii, Air Force and they carry that brand recognition with them when they show up in the FargoDome. 

I also think you are underplaying how good NDSU still has been the last 6 years.

• 2021: 14–1 (FCS National Champions)

• 2022: 12–3 (FCS National Runner-Up)

• 2023: 11–4 (FCS Semifinals)

• 2024: 14–2 (FCS National Champions)

• 2025: 12–1 (FCS Second Round)

In the minds of the casual fans, this 5 year run is still 3 trips to frisco and a loss in double overtime in a thriller that would have had them make the championship game 4/5 years. That's not a fall off by anyone's definition.

So the plan is to trick casual football fans...I wonder how long that will work. 

[Bison06]

15 minutes ago, Siouxphan27 said:

So the plan is to trick casual football fans...I wonder how long that will work. 

Your comments are always so clever, funny and contribute so much to the conversation. 

[UND1983]

So...a nine win G6 team scores 7 points.  And no discourse about the "strength" of the G6.

[HunterFerguson]

16 hours ago, Undertherock said:

Didn't discount the on field success at all.  Its the perception of the brand value and the crux of the argument being NDSU will never be P4.  

I still don't buy the bored fan schtick.  NDSU hasn't enjoyed the same success in the 2020s as it has in the 2010s.  If its a matter of competitiveness, then the 2020s should have revived the fan interest.  SDSU primarily, the Montanas and even the UxDs have invested in their programs and filled the void left by the Georgia Southerns and JMUs, who NDSU saw at most once a year.  How does UTEP or San Jose eliminate the fan disinterest?

I think that is the stronger point here. Winning and brand value are related, but they are not the same thing.

NDSU can have an incredible football history and still face a ceiling when it comes to conference perception, market size and what a P4 league is actually looking for. None of that takes away from what they have done on the field.

I also do not completely buy the boredom argument. The competition has clearly gotten better in the 2020s, especially with SDSU and the Montana schools, so if close games and uncertainty were all it took, you would expect fan interest to rebound more than it has.

To me the bigger question is whether NDSU has simply reached the maximum level of attention it can generate in its current environment. Moving up might help with novelty, but I am not convinced playing UTEP or San Jose State suddenly fixes the underlying issue either.

[Bison06]

10 minutes ago, HunterFerguson said:

I think that is the stronger point here. Winning and brand value are related, but they are not the same thing.

NDSU can have an incredible football history and still face a ceiling when it comes to conference perception, market size and what a P4 league is actually looking for. None of that takes away from what they have done on the field.

I also do not completely buy the boredom argument. The competition has clearly gotten better in the 2020s, especially with SDSU and the Montana schools, so if close games and uncertainty were all it took, you would expect fan interest to rebound more than it has.

To me the bigger question is whether NDSU has simply reached the maximum level of attention it can generate in its current environment. Moving up might help with novelty, but I am not convinced playing UTEP or San Jose State suddenly fixes the underlying issue either.

Again, as an insider to NDSU football, I can assure you the boredom is real. I have many friends who have decided to renew their season tickets this year after not renewing them 4-5 years ago. The excitement for football in Fargo is as high this year as it was a decade ago.

Will it sustain? That's the only question I have. 

Hard to convince you guys of something that is so obvious to me because I speak with lifelong NDSU fans on a regular basis and also people who became fans in the last 15 years. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one.

[thUNDer]

1 hour ago, Bison06 said:

Again, as an insider to NDSU football, I can assure you the boredom is real. I have many friends who have decided to renew their season tickets this year after not renewing them 4-5 years ago. The excitement for football in Fargo is as high this year as it was a decade ago.

Will it sustain? That's the only question I have. 

Hard to convince you guys of something that is so obvious to me because I speak with lifelong NDSU fans on a regular basis and also people who became fans in the last 15 years. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one.

It would really suck to be you, no convincing necessary here.

[forksandspoons]

2 hours ago, Bison06 said:

Again, as an insider to NDSU football, I can assure you the boredom is real. I have many friends who have decided to renew their season tickets this year after not renewing them 4-5 years ago. The excitement for football in Fargo is as high this year as it was a decade ago.

Will it sustain? That's the only question I have. 

Hard to convince you guys of something that is so obvious to me because I speak with lifelong NDSU fans on a regular basis and also people who became fans in the last 15 years. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one.

You would be shocked to know that many UND fans also speak with lifelong NDSU fans on a regular basis...

[Herd]

16 hours ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:

in this case perception isn't reality i guess.....no one watched that mess on saturday and thought .....this is high level football.  

they more than likely thought it was 2 fcs teams going at it...which it kinda was bc

g6 is fcs

fcs is g6

FCS isn’t G6 as far as football budgets go.  The investment is 2-3X.  You can type that it’s the same, but that’s not reality.  If it’s the same, what is anyone doing in the FCS? Same, No.   Spending more is no guarantee for winning, but it does guarantee that not everyone can do it.   I’m sure if und dropped hockey it would be no problem.

[Bison06]

14 minutes ago, forksandspoons said:

You would be shocked to know that many UND fans also speak with lifelong NDSU fans on a regular basis...

Oh how interesting and the ones you talked to say they aren’t bored and they are still showing up to games? How does you talking to fans who show up and are still interested in any way refute the fact that I know 100 people who used to be season ticket holders who gave them up for 5 years because they were bored with it?

[Bison06]

26 minutes ago, thUNDer said:

It would really suck to be you, no convincing necessary here.

You really thought you said something with this comment. 

[forksandspoons]

11 minutes ago, Bison06 said:

Oh how interesting and the ones you talked to say they aren’t bored and they are still showing up to games? How does you talking to fans who show up and are still interested in any way refute the fact that I know 100 people who used to be season ticket holders who gave them up for 5 years because they were bored with it?

Where did I say any of that Mr Insider? 

[jdub27]

42 minutes ago, Herd said:

FCS isn’t G6 as far as football budgets go.  The investment is 2-3X.  You can type that it’s the same, but that’s not reality.  If it’s the same, what is anyone doing in the FCS? Same, No.   Spending more is no guarantee for winning, but it does guarantee that not everyone can do it.   I’m sure if und dropped hockey it would be no problem.

As a general rule looking at the entirety of the subdivisions, you aren't wrong. However, the top of the FCS isn't that far behind the bottom of the G6 (and in a few specific spots). So yes, it is an increase in investments.
However, pretty easy to argue on the field that the top of the FCS is on par (or better) than the bottom of the G6. So what are the conferences that aren't the AAC (any maybe the PAC, TBD on them) getting for that 2-3x? Getting to call themselves FBS? Kind of like the bottom of the FCS getting to say they play "D1" football when its more in just name only?

At some point, something is going to have to give somewhere. I know that's been a common saying for a while now, but the gap continues to grow and the arms race is going to absolutely break some schools. And that is pretty much anyone not P4 with even a few of those who are going to have to take a long look in the mirror.

[Siouxphan27]

4 hours ago, Bison06 said:

Your comments are always so clever, funny and contribute so much to the conversation. 

No argument here; someone's gotta do it.

[FSSD]

19 hours ago, Undertherock said:

Anyway, back on topic:  SDSU whipped Stetson 70-7.  Not much to take away from that game other than it sure was prettier than the lethargic game SDSU had against PFL Drake last season.  

JSD beat Central Conn or something like that 59-20.  Sounds like the RF QB had a decent outing.

USD QB looked really good.  They are going to be a challenge in the MVFC this year.  Holloween is going to be fun.

[Kab]

They keep saying ndsu has brand recognition, maybe to those that followed FCs football

ask any of the fans from the power conferences, I doubt they know much about ndsu

the top dogs in the mwc will be leaving for another conference within 5 years, that doesn’t include ndsu, 

‘it would be Unlv, New Mexico, Hawaii , Air Force