No. 13/15 UND hosts No. 1/1 NDSU this weekend in a ranked FCS matchup.

Check out our preview and prediction below.

UND vs. NDSU On TV

The matchup between UND vs. NDSU airs on Midco Sports, ABC ND, and ESPN+.

Kickoff is at 1 p.m. CT on Saturday, Nov. 8. It takes place at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, N.D.

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UND vs. NDSU Preview

The playoff implications in this one remain high, although UND’s loss last week took some sizzle out of things for Top 4 seed discussions. Had the Fighting Hawks kept their winning streak alive, we’d be talking about UND as a team in the argument for a Top 2 seed with a win over NDSU. But the Fighting Hawks suffered a setback last week, losing 26-21 at South Dakota.

Now at 6-3 (6-2 vs. the FCS) with games remaining vs. NDSU, at Murray State, and vs. SDSU, the pressure has risen to at least split its ranked matchups vs. the Bison and Jackrabbits. And, of course, handling business at Murray. At 8-4, UND is in the playoffs. At 9-3, it’s a Top 8 seed. At 7-5, the Hawks are somewhere on the bubble with several other 7 and 8-win teams. They would have a great strength of schedule and some ranked wins as a good argument to get into the bracket.

NDSU, meanwhile, has more wiggle room to earn a Top 2 playoff seed after UND and Tarleton State lost last week. It is 9-0 with *five *currently-ranked wins. No one else in the Top 10 even has three. If the Bison were to lose Saturday and then win out (vs. Northern Iowa and St. Thomas), it’s hard to find two teams to seed above an 11-1 NDSU team with five ranked victories. It’d be a similar scenario as last season when NDSU lost at USD in the regular-season finale, but still received the No. 2 seed a day later.

We could see UND with a higher sense of urgency on Saturday due to these implications. Add in the homefield advantage — NDSU is 1-1 in its last two games at the Alerus Center with two ugly performances, and UND can be a different animal in Grand Forks — and this has upset potential.

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After playing arguably its worst game of the season last week (although it was still a ranked W over Youngstown State), expect a sharper NDSU performance. Cole Payton, Bryce Lance, Barika Kpeenu, and Co. have been machine-like offensively. They will run into crowd noise and a Hawks defense that is much improved from last year. UND leads the MVFC and is No. 6 nationally in rush defense, allowing 90.2 yards per game. Malachi McNeal leads the way with 56 tackles, while Lance Rucker has tallied 9.5 TFLs and six sacks.

On the other side of the ball, Jerry Kaminski and Sawyer Seidl have stepped up. Seidl is up to 650 rushing yards and nine TDs behind one of the better offensive lines in the FCS. Kaminski had an uncharacteristically off day last week at USD, throwing a couple of picks. Overall, the redshirt sophomore has been terrific, passing for 1,767 yards, 22 touchdowns, and four interceptions.

NDSU’s defense will be without two key defensive backs. Safety Jaylin Crumby and cornerback Jailen Duffie are out this week. The unit has shown off its depth this season, though, and has only allowed over 17 points once — last week’s 38-30 win over YSU.

Don’t be surprised if UND gets a win Saturday. The Fighting Hawks are built well on both sides of the ball, the home crowd will be electric, and UND needs this win more than NDSU. But picking against the Bison this season, even in this spot, doesn’t come with much confidence.

Prediction: NDSU 31-24