NDSU Announces 2026 Football Schedule

After all the speculation and hype, the inaugural FBS schedule for North Dakota State has been released. NDSU’s first year in the “big leagues” will see them set sail through uncharted waters as their Mountain West schedule will take them to new sites such as Colorado Springs, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Honolulu and San Jose. They will also take on an old FCS rival in the season opener, plus one school that is known for being a stepping stone for one of the most famous coaches in the history of professional football. With NDSU still in search of a waiver that makes them eligible for postseason play beyond these dozen games. Let’s take a look at the North Dakota State football schedule and break down what to look for in the school’s opening slate of FBS competition.

August 29 vs. Jacksonville State

The first FBS game for North Dakota State will be a rematch of the 2015 FCS national championship as the Gamecocks of Jacksonville State will make the trip to Fargo for NDSU’s FBS opener. Jax State will come to town off a nine-win season and a 17-13 win vs. Troy in the IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl. They are coached by Charles Kelly, who is in his second season with the Gamecocks. Jacksonville State will enter its fourth season as an FBS school and has had success, winning nine games in each of the last three seasons. They have appeared in three bowl games — winning two of them — and have won the Conference USA title in 2024 under the coaching of current West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez.

September 5 vs. Fordham

The Bison will open the month of September with a second consecutive home game, and this one will see NDSU dip back into the FCS ranks for a non-conference tilt against the Fordham Rams of the Patriot League. The college, best known for being the alma mater of legendary Packers head coach Vince Lombardi, has struggled as of late as they finished 1-11 last season under head coach Joe Conlin. The Rams have missed the FCS playoffs each of the last three seasons after a first round loss following a 9-3 seasons in 2022. This will be NDSU’s first game against a Patriot League opponent since the 2018 FCS quarterfinals when they blanked No. 8 Colgate 35-0 inside the Fargodome.

September 12 at Air Force

Sept. 12, 2026, will be a historic day in the history of North Dakota State football as the Bison play their game as a member of an FBS conference, opening Mountain West play at the Air Force Academy. This will be NDSU’s second trip to Colorado in three seasons, as they visited Coach Prime’s Colorado Buffaloes to open the 2024 season. The Air Force Falcons are led by Troy Calhoon, who is heading into year 19 at the helm. AFA is coming off a 4-8 season, but the Falcons have appeared in five bowl games over the last 10 years, winning them all, including an Armed Forces Bowl win over James Madison in 2023. One of the last teams to run the triple option is led by quarterback Liam Szarka, who is the highest-rated quarterback returning from the 2025 season, according to PFSN College Analytics.

September 19 at Sacramento State

The first non-conference road game on the calendar pits the two recent FCS to FBS jump-ups, and these two teams couldn’t be more different on the field and in public relations. NDSU’s resume speaks for itself, so they kept their FBS conversations behind lock and key on campus, while Sacramento State president, Dr. Luke Wood, has been talking FBS for years now, specifically trash-talking the Big Sky Conference and calling the FCS “JV Football”. Either way, both teams got their wish, but the Hornets are not as prepared for the move on the field compared to NDSU, as Sac State is coming off a 7-5 season and saw a bulk of their team hit the transfer portal. They also have a new head coach as Alonzo Carter takes over for Brennan Marion, who left to take the offensive coordinator job at Colorado.

October 3 vs. Wyoming

The first Mountain West home game has two things running through it: No. 1 Homecoming, No. 2 Craig Bohl. The architect of the “Dakota Dynasty” won 104 games and three national titles in Fargo before heading to Laramie and winning 61 games. His claim to fame at Wyoming was coaching 2024 NFL MVP Josh Allen. The Cowboys are coming off a 4-8 season under third-year head coach Jay Sawvel and are looking to appear in their sixth bowl game since 2016. Wyoming went 4-2 in those games, all of which were coached by Craig Bohl. Coach Bohl’s final game was a 16-15 win over Toledo in the 2023 Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl.

October 10 at UNLV

Sin City is the sight for the biggest game on the schedule for the Bison as they head to Las Vegas to take on the pre-season favorites to win the Mountain West in 2026. UNLV is coming off a 10-win season under first-year coach Dan Mullen. The former head coach at Florida brings in a fellow SEC alum. to play quarterback for the Rebels. Jackson Arnold has started games for Oklahoma and Auburn, but is looking for a fresh start, and the Rebels were the perfect fit for the former five-star prospect. This will be the first of two trips for NDSU to Allegiant Stadium over the next few years, as they will face Montana State next year in the Vegas Kickoff Classic.

October 17 vs. Nevada

Following the trip to the home of the Rebels, the Wolfpack comes calling to take on the Bison at the Fargodome, a building the head coach of Nevada knows all too well. Jeff Choate has made two previous trips to Fargo, and they didn’t go well, to be kind. As the head man in Bozeman, Choate lost back-to-back playoff games to NDSU by a combined score of 94-24. The Wolfpack finished 3-9 last year, and this is a make-it-or-break-it year for Choate as he is 6-19 as the head man in Reno through two years on the job. He has won just two conference games in 13 tries; those wins came against San Jose State and Wyoming.

October 24 at New Mexico

The FCS connections don’t stop as the Bison head to Albuquerque to take on the Lobos of New Mexico. Another favorite to win the Mountain West is coached by former South Dakota State offensive coordinator Jason Eck. Before Eck came to town, the Lobos hadn’t had a winning season or appeared in a bowl game since 2016. New Mexico won nine games last year and appeared in the Rate Bowl, where they lost to Minnesota in overtime. Jack Layne will be in his second year as the starter for the Lobos. He passed for just under 2,500 yards and 13 touchdowns. Layne started his college career at Idaho, where Eck was the head coach.

October 31 vs. UTEP

Halloween night sees another first-time opponent visit the Fargodome as the University of Texas-El Paso comes calling. The Miners are best known in basketball as Texas Western when they knocked off Kentucky to win a national title. This is their first year in the Mountain West after spending 20 years in Conference USA. The Miners are hoping a change of scenery will help their football fortunes as they have had just two winning seasons over the last 20 years. Scotty Walden is in his third year as the Miners’ head coach, and he has won just 5 of 19 games through his first two years. It will be a three-man race to see who will be the starting quarterback. Redshirt freshman Chad Warner will be challenged by two FCS transfers, Morgan State transfer Raymond Moore, and Incarnate Word transfer EJ Colson, who joined the Miners roster looking to compete for the starting job.

November 14 at Hawaii

The trip most Bison fans are looking for is the trip to Honolulu to take on a resurgent Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors team. The Warriors are led by Timmy Chang, a former quarterback for the school. He holds the school record for most yards thrown for with 17,072 yards. Chang led his alma mater to a 9-4 record last year and a win in the Hawai’i Bowl over California. The Rainbow Warriors are a dark-horse team to represent the group of six in the College Football Playoff thanks to quarterback Micah Alejado. Alejado was the Mountain West freshman of the year, led the conference in passing TD’s with 24 and finished eighth in the country in passing yards per game.

November 21 vs. Northern Illinois

Northern Illinois has seen the ultimate highs and lows as a football program over the last few years, as two years ago they beat almighty Notre Dame in South Bend. This past year, they went 3-9 and saw their head coach, Thomas Hammock, leave to become the running backs coach for the Seattle Seahawks. Defensive coordinator Rob Harley will serve as interim head coach for the 2026 season. The Huskies enter their first year in the Mountain West after spending 28 years in the MAC. Joining NDSU and UTEP. NIU has appeared in a bowl game two of the last three years, winning the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl and Cameilla Bowl under Hammock’s coaching.

November 27 at San Jose State

The season finale against the Spartans will serve as a non-conference game since SJSU was not on the original conference slate when the Mountain West announced the league schedule. The Spartans are coming off of a 3-9 season as third year head coach Ken Niumatalolo looks to rebuild a team that made three straight bowl games from 2022-2024. Niumatalolo had 11 winning seasons at Navy and looks to bring stability to San Jose State. The Spartans have had four winning seasons over the last six years and need to find a replacement at quarterback for Walker Eget. The two year starter transferred to Duke after the 2025 season ended. There you have it, the 2026 FBS schedule. Let the anticipation begin!