CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2017 North Dakota State

14–⁠1 (7–⁠1 Missouri Valley Football Conference).

Schedule and results

North Dakota State in 2017, game by game: won vs. Mississippi Valley State 72–7; won at Eastern Washington 40–13; won vs. Robert Morris 56–0; won vs. Missouri State 38–11; won at Indiana State 52–0; won at Youngstown State 27–24; won vs. Western Illinois 24–12; won vs. Northern Iowa 30–14; lost at South Dakota State 21–33; won vs. South Dakota 49–14; won at Illinois State 20–7; won vs. San Diego 38–3; won vs. Wofford 42–10; won vs. Sam Houston 55–13; won vs. James Madison 17–13+65−12Won 72–7 vs. Mississippi Valley State+65Mississippi Val…Won 40–13 at Eastern Washington+27Eastern Washing…Won 56–0 vs. Robert Morris+56Robert MorrisWon 38–11 vs. Missouri State+27Missouri StateWon 52–0 at Indiana State+52Indiana StateWon 27–24 at Youngstown State+3Youngstown StateWon 24–12 vs. Western Illinois+12Western IllinoisWon 30–14 vs. Northern Iowa+16Northern IowaLost 21–33 at South Dakota State-12South Dakota St…Won 49–14 vs. South Dakota+35South DakotaWon 20–7 at Illinois State+13Illinois StateWon 38–3 vs. San Diego+35San DiegoWon 42–10 vs. Wofford+32WoffordWon 55–13 vs. Sam Houston+42Sam HoustonWon 17–13 vs. James Madison+4James Madison
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsMississippi Valley StateW 72–⁠793%
Sep 9atEastern WashingtonW 40–⁠1354%
Sep 23vsRobert MorrisW 56–⁠091%
Sep 30vsMissouri StateW 38–⁠1191%
Oct 7atIndiana StateW 52–⁠082%
Oct 14atYoungstown StateW 27–⁠2459%
Oct 21vsWestern IllinoisW 24–⁠1275%
Oct 28vsNorthern IowaW 30–⁠1479%
Nov 4atSouth Dakota StateL 21–⁠3361%
Nov 11vsSouth DakotaW 49–⁠1477%
Nov 18atIllinois StateW 20–⁠769%
Dec 2vsSan DiegoW 38–⁠370%
Dec 9vsWoffordW 42–⁠1077%
Dec 15Bowls & playoffvsSam HoustonW 55–⁠1368%
Jan 6Bowls & playoffvsJames MadisonW 17–⁠1348%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat James Madison 17–⁠13; unranked in the final AP poll; Missouri Valley Football Conference champions.

In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 51 on file).

Missouri Valley Football Conference champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Record
14–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠1 first in Missouri Valley Football Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
581–⁠174
Coach
—
Elo
1685 +165 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
2.8 No. 2 of 124 in FCS
Recruiting class
No. 135
Offensive coordinator
Courtney Messingham
Defensive coordinator
Matt Entz
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
3–⁠4

Player leaders are hidden for this season: our source’s player stats for North Dakota State are missing players (they add up to less than 85% of the team’s passing or rushing yards).

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Noah Gindorff TE★★★No. 1843
Holden Hotchkiss PRO★★No. 2210
Tanner Sundt WDE★★No. 2786
Nash Jensen OT★★No. 2917
Lane Tucker DT★★No. 3155

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.00.773
Running backs12.00.767
Receivers52.20.773
Offensive line22.00.761
Defensive line42.00.768
Linebackers22.00.763
Defensive backs32.00.767
Whole class192.10.768

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

2017 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
North Dakota State7–⁠114–⁠1
South Dakota State7–⁠211–⁠3
Northern Iowa6–⁠38–⁠5
Western Illinois5–⁠38–⁠4
South Dakota4–⁠48–⁠5
Illinois State4–⁠46–⁠5
Youngstown State4–⁠46–⁠5
Southern Illinois2–⁠64–⁠7
Missouri State2–⁠63–⁠8
Indiana State0–⁠80–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.