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Teams / Mountain West / North Dakota State
Index · this season
65
first season rated
Career—since 1936
Peak—
Last 5—seasons
#65 nationally · 5-1 (2-1 conf)
Résumé #45 · record ahead of its play
Schedule so far #128
Margin ±5 pts (tightens with games)
Why 65? →

North Dakota State Bison

Mountain West · Fargo, ND · Fargodome · Head coach Tim Polasek
Rival
Building rivalry
13-2 all time (15 meetings since 2008)
North Dakota State leads
Last: won 59-21 (2024) · North Dakota State has won 12 straight
Holds it
program traits are earned from history
No recognized national titles since 1936. Counted: AP poll champion, a coaches-poll champion, or the BCS / playoff title-game winner; a split year counts for both.0national titles
Heisman Trophy winners0Heisman
Seasons finishing in the AP top 10 since 19360AP top-10
Consensus All-Americans since 19360All-Americans
NFL draft picks since 19670NFL picks
Winning percentage since 1936100.0%win pct
History since 1936 · football since 2026. Every season →
Chemistry
Chem 58: typical58
Chem 54: typical
54Foundation
Chem 62: typical
62Gel
gel counts 45% so far
first season ratedTrending up
early · #69 of 138
HC year3
Ret. starters—
QB yrs w/ OC1
View chemistry →
Team chemistryearly · #69 of 138 FBS teams
Chem 54: typicalFoundation54+Chem 62: typicalGel62=Chem 58: typicalChem58Gel counts 45% so far (it grows as games are played, up to half)
Foundationwhat the program has built · moves over seasons
Foundation54Staff stability — Coach and coordinator tenure, staff who came along, assistant turnoverStaff stability73Roster continuity — Returning starters and the lineup's experienceRoster continuity12Unit cohesion — QB & coordinator, QB & receivers, offensive line, defense: how long each unit has played togetherUnit cohesion64Administration — Athletic director continuity and coach-AD alignmentAdministration99Investment — Commitment to football: its share of the department's spending and whether that is growing, plus spending and recruitingInvestment40Fan base — How passionate and loyal the fan base is: how often it sells out, and whether it sells out games that don't matterFan basesoon
ContinuityClimate
Continuity · who has played and coached togetherlive

Who has played and coached together, and for how long, ranked against every FBS team at the same point of the season.

▸Staff stability
Coach and coordinator tenure, staff who came along, assistant turnover
73
Staff cohesion60
HC year 3 · OC year 2 · DC year 3
Assistant turnover86
9% of on-field staff new this season (FBS average about 45%)
▸Roster continuity
Returning starters and the lineup's experience
12
Returning core—
Experience12
6 career starts per starter · FBS median 12
▸Unit cohesion
QB & coordinator, QB & receivers, offensive line, defense: how long each unit has played together
64
QB & coordinator55
1st season together · same as 76% of FBS teams
QB & receivers64
4.0 games started together on average · FBS median 3.9
Line cohesion67
5.6 games per linemen pair · FBS median 5.2
Defensive cohesion77
5.7 games per defensive pair · FBS median 4.5
Climate · around the programlive

The administration, money and fans around the team: athletic director continuity, willingness to invest, and crowds.

▸Administration
Athletic director continuity and coach-AD alignment
99
AD continuity99
Matt Larsen · year 11 (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
▸Investment
Commitment to football: its share of the department's spending and whether that is growing, plus spending and recruiting
40
Football's share35
24% of department spending goes to football
Investment trend66
+36% over three years
Football investment14
$8.4M on football (2024-25 federal report)
Recruiting spend14
$0.30M men's recruiting
Department resources31
$35M athletic department revenue
▸Fan base
How passionate and loyal the fan base is: how often it sells out, and whether it sells out games that don't matter
soon
Coming: measured from press conferences and interviews.

Finances: U.S. Department of Education athletics disclosures, as reported by each school. Athletic directors: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Attendance: reported crowds vs stadium capacity.

Gelhow it is working right now · moves week to week
Gel62Playing above its parts — Results vs what its preseason projection expected, game by gamePlaying above its parts73Settled & sharp — A settled starting lineup and clean execution (penalties, turnovers) vs its own normalSettled & sharp45Alignment — Coaches and players telling the same story; the staff on one pageAlignmentsoonResilience — Confidence, and how the team sounds after adversityResiliencesoonFan & media mood — Expectations met or missed this season (preseason rank vs now), stronger for fan bases that react hard; fan and media sentiment joins laterFan & media mood66Coach security — The hard-facts hot seat, inverted: results vs expectation, recent seasons vs the program's norm, stakes, a new ADCoach security86
InternalOn-field fitExternal
Internal · how the program talkscoming

How the team talks in press conferences and interviews, each program against its own normal, so a naturally terse coach isn't read as upset. Being built program by program, Big Ten first.

▸Alignment
Coaches and players telling the same story; the staff on one page
soon
Coming: measured from press conferences and interviews.
▸Resilience
Confidence, and how the team sounds after adversity
soon
Coming: measured from press conferences and interviews.

Readings are team-level; we don't publish psychological readings of individual players.

On-field fit · how it is playing togetherlive

How the team is playing together this season: beating or missing its preseason expectation, a settled lineup, clean execution.

▸Playing above its parts
Results vs what its preseason projection expected, game by game
73
This season73
+4.4 points a game vs its preseason projection (5 games)
▸Settled & sharp
A settled starting lineup and clean execution (penalties, turnovers) vs its own normal
45
This season45
86% of starters kept game to game
External · pressure from outsidelive

Pressure from outside the building: the hard-facts hot seat now; this season's fan and media mood as it is measured.

▸Fan & media mood
Expectations met or missed this season (preseason rank vs now), stronger for fan bases that react hard; fan and media sentiment joins later
66
This season66
outside the AP poll: projected #66 preseason -> #65 in our Index now · results 5-1 (+7, recent games count more)
▸Coach security
The hard-facts hot seat, inverted: results vs expectation, recent seasons vs the program's norm, stakes, a new AD
86
This season86
Tim Polasek, year 1 · 83% wins so far · +4.4 pts a game vs preseason expectation

Dashed gold ring = typical (62). 20-50 is the warning zone; under 10 is a collapse. Spokes with no data yet are dashed and left out until they fill in. Chem blends the two halves, then places the blend among this season's teams.

Trend · Foundationeach program year runs Feb 1 to the title game
'262026 wk 1 vs Fordham: 47 · W2026 wk 2 vs Air Force: 47 · W2026 wk 3 vs Sacramento State: 48 · W2026 wk 5 vs Wyoming: 50 · W2026 wk 6 vs UNLV: 50 · L2026 wk 7 vs Nevada: 54 · next gametypical 62

Every game since 2016, one continuous line; thin rules separate seasons and the chip is where each season finished. Navy dot = win, red = loss. Big drops usually mean a new staff, a new quarterback or a rebuilt line.

Trend · Gelthis season, after each game
typical 62wk 1 vs Fordham · W · on-field 54 · fan mood 75621wk 2 vs Air Force · W · on-field 50 · fan mood 79612wk 3 vs Sacramento State · W · on-field 53 · fan mood 80633wk 5 vs Wyoming · W · on-field 54 · fan mood 81645wk 6 vs UNLV · L · on-field 51 · fan mood 75606

How the team is working right now, rebuilt after each game from only the games so far: on-field fit (results vs preseason expectation, lineup settling, execution) and that week's fan & media mood. Coach security is part of today's Gel number but isn't rebuilt week by week yet. Navy frame = win, red = loss.

Continuity facts
Head coach
Year 3
at this school
Offensive coordinator
Year 2
at this school
Defensive coordinator
Year 3
at this school
HC & OC together
2 seasons
working together
QB with his OC
1 seasons
same play-caller
QB & receivers
4.0 games
started together, average
Offensive line pairs
5.6 games
started together, average
Returning starters
—
from last season
Starter experience
6 starts
career average
Internal facts
Pressers read
soon
this season, coaches and players
Coach tone
soon
vs his own normal
"We" vs "I"
soon
share of team language
Owning mistakes
soon
vs pointing outward
Same story
soon
coaches and players agree
After losses
soon
how fast tone recovers
Leaders named
soon
players teammates point to
Newcomers
soon
transfers talked about as part of it
Openness
soon
forthcoming vs guarded
Measured from press conferences and interviews, program by program.
Climate facts
Athletic director
Matt Larsen
year 11
Football spending
$8.4M
2024-25 federal report
Spending trend
+36%
over three years
Department revenue
$35M
all sports
Recruiting spend
$0.30M
men's teams
Home crowds
—
of capacity
Staff turnover
9%
on-field staff new this season
Fan mood
soon
fans and local media
Coach & AD
soon
on the same page
Finances: U.S. Department of Education athletics disclosures. Athletic directors: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Offense · games started togetherlatest lineup · 11 starters
Hayes
Scott
Collins
Williams
Kokat
Kessel
Anene
Empey
Babatz
Schmidt
Okeson
QBNathan Hayes66534466665
RBDJ Scott66534466665
WRMekhi Collins55833458554
WRJackson Williams33351235333
TELuke Kokat44315445443
TEReis Kessel44424949543
OLKene Anene66534466665
OLGriffin Empey668559633765
OLRyan Babatz66534567765
OLGage Schmidt66534466665
OLCoy Okeson55433355555

Each square: games the two players have started together at this school (darker = more). Gray diagonal: the player's own starts here.

Defense · games started togetherlatest lineup · 11 starters
McCaslin
Larson
Wilson
Stenbroten
James
Woolen
Sell
Givance
Eady
Moore
Voltz
DLKelton McCaslin187186618617955
DLLogan Larson77766767655
DLKeenan Wilson187196619618955
DLMatthew Stenbroten66666666655
LBRay James Jr.66666666655
LBDonovan Woolen187196619618955
LBGavin Sell66666666655
DBDarius Givance177186618630955
DBTaylen Eady96966969955
DBMarion Moore55555555555
DBDJ Voltz55555555555

Each square: games the two players have started together at this school (darker = more). Gray diagonal: the player's own starts here.

Chemistry is Scorebook's own rating of how well a program fits together, on the same all-time 0-99 scale as our other ratings (compared with every FBS team since 2016; 62 is typical, 20-50 signals something is wrong, and single digits are reserved for true collapses; each season is compared with its own era). This early version blends continuity (who has played and coached together, and for how long; it counts most) with the climate around the program; how the program talks joins as it is measured. Within continuity, quarterback-centered pairings count most because they held up when we tested them against results. How our ratings work →