North Dakota State‘s success against FBS opponents kept Power Four teams mostly away for years, but that’s likely changing soon.
Bison insider Mike McFeely of the Fargo Forum reported as such recently. The Bison have only played two Power Four teams since 2016, and the Herd doesn’t have another on the schedule until 2028 against Oregon.
“Sources say the teams NDSU is talking with about future nonconference games are ‘in a different world’ than the schools with which it used to talk,” McFeely wrote.
What that means, McFeely didn’t expound on, but the Bison could expect to land Power Four teams on the schedule eventually as a member of the Mountain West Conference. That could come as soon as 2027, when the SEC has a significant need for non-conference opponents amid a new nine-game schedule, starting this season.
NDSU has never played an SEC team since becoming Division I in 2004, and Mountain West teams seldom play SEC teams. That said, the SEC could easily qualify as that “different world” McFeely reported.
SEC Possibilities for Bison in 2027
The Bison have two non-conference games scheduled at the moment for 2027 with FCS power Montana State in Las Vegas on Sept. 2 and Sacramento State on Sept. 11.
NDSU can add two more non-conference games, and there are options, particularly with the SEC moving to a nine-game conference schedule. Whether or not an SEC team would schedule the Bison is another question, but the open dates exist, which isn’t as much the case for other Power Four conferences.
LSU only has two non-conference games for 2027, with Houston on Sept. 4 and Texas-San Antonio on Sept. 11. Georgia needs another two non-conference games with Georgia Tech as the only non-conference opponent on Nov. 27.
Alabama needs another non-conference opponent with just Marshall on Sept. 4 and Ohio State on Sept. 18 at the moment. Other SEC teams still looking for at least an additional non-conference opponent include Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Arkansas.
Power Four Teams Facing Mountain West Since 2025
Among the current Mountain West teams, there has been a mix of bigger-name opponents from the Big 10, Big 12, ACC and SEC.
Hawaii kicks off with Stanford on Aug. 29 and visits Arizona State on Oct. 10. The Rainbow Warriors played Stanford and Arizona in 2025, splitting those non-conference games.
Nevada visits UCLA on Oct. 31, and the Wolfpack had a major challenge last year in Penn State. New Mexico visits Oklahoma on Sept. 19, and the Lobos played Michigan and UCLA last year.
Northern Illinois visits Iowa on Sept. 5 and Arizona on Sept. 19. The Huskies previously played Maryland and Mississippi State in 2025.
UNLV hosts California on Oct. 3, and the Running Rebels previously faced UCLA in 2025. UTEP has a gauntlet with Oklahoma on Sept. 5 and Michigan on Sept. 19, and the Miners played Texas last year.
Wyoming doesn’t have a Power Four team this year, but the Cowboys played Utah and Colorado last year. Only Air Force hasn’t played a Power Four team since 2025, but the Falcons played Baylor in 2024.
San Jose State notably opens with USC on Aug. 29, an opponent the Bison had at least a logistical case to land amid the move up to the FBS. The Spartans previously played Texas and Stanford in 2025.
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