North Dakota at No. 4 seed Tarleton State
Stephenville, Texas (Memorial Stadium)
Series: Series tied 0-0
Kickoff: 12 p.m.
Stream: ESPN+
Radio: Fighting Hawks Radio Network
Weekly Presser: Coach Schmidt, Coach Fruechte, Bennett Walker, Deng Deng

GRAND FORKS, N.D. - No. 19/23 North Dakota will face No. 5/5 Tarleton State in the second round of the FCS playoffs this Saturday. Kickoff between the Fighting Hawks and Texans is scheduled for Noon at Memorial Stadium. The game will be streamed on ESPN+. It will also be carried on the Fighting Hawks Radio Network with a pregame show starting at 11 a.m.

North Dakota comes into the game at 8-5 overall after taking down No. 13 seed Tennessee Tech, 31-6, at Tucker Stadium last weekend. Lance Rucker and UND's defense created chaos all afternoon and forced six turnovers in the victory. Rucker posted a game-best three strip-sacks and also blocked the extra point on TTU's lone touchdown of the afternoon. He also recovered a fumble to go with six tackles in the win and had three of NoDak's six sacks. The six team sacks matched the season best.

Tarleton State enters the playoffs as the No. 4 seed after going 11-1 overall and 7-1 in the United Athletic Conference this season. The Texans shared the UAC title with Abilene Christian and had a first round bye last weekend. TSU has a nose for the football and is an exceptional +29.0 in turnover margin this season, to go with a nation-leading average of +2.42 turnovers per game.

This will be the first all-time meeting between UND and TSU in history. North Dakota is coming off its first road playoff win in its Division I history and is 2-5 in the FCS playoffs in the Division I era. This will be Tarleton State's sixth playoff appearance in its NCAA era (2025, 2019, 2018, 2009, 2003 and 2001) and second at the Division I level. Last season, the Texans beat Drake 43-29 in the FCS First Round before falling at South Dakota, 42-31, in the FCS Second Round.

FULL GAME NOTES ARE HERE.