NASHVILLE, TENN. – North Dakota State’s football team is in the midst of an NFL stadium tour that will take them to three different locations over the course a five-year span. In 2023, it was U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, for the first college football game played in that building. In 2027, it’s Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas for a matchup with Montana State in an ESPN event.
This weekend it's Nissan Stadium, the home of the Tennessee Titans, and where Tennessee State plays its home games. Bison fans are hoping this is the first of two-trips to the Music City, with the 2026 FCS title game being played in this in January.
“Nashville has just kind of a significant meeting this year with everything that's going on at the end of the season,” said Bison head coach Tim Polasek after the team arrived Friday. “But just the excitement from our fans and the things you're seeing on Twitter and the amount of people down here, I think our guys know it's important to show up and play really well.”
Nissan Stadium holds over 68,000, but Tennessee State hasn’t seen a crowd of over 16,000 in six years when the Tigers hosted Austin Peay in October 2019. That mark may be in jeopardy today with a large contingent of NDSU fans making the trip to Nashville. This game is the back end of a home and home contract that began last year when TSU came to Fargo. It was signed back in 2022, giving fans plenty of time to prepare.
For Polasek, this is the fifth time he’s had a chance to coach in an NFL stadium. His time at Northern Illinois and Iowa has brought him to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, the home of the New England Patriots, Raymond James Stadium in Tampa and Qualcomm Stadium, the former home of the San Diego Chargers.
North Dakota State players disembark off their charter plane after arriving in Nashville, Tennessee.
“Every opportunity you get to be exposed in the National Football League, I take a great deal of pride in all the OTA practices I've been able to go to and sit in those meetings,”he said.
“Anything kind of attached to the NFL adds some excitement to it, just to get a feel for it. I was fortunate to coach in the game at Gillette Stadium when I was at Northern Illinois, and there's been a couple others, it's pretty cool. I hope our kids just take a moment prior to getting into their routines. Walk out there. Feel what this feels like, and hopefully they all believe that they can play at this level.”
NDSU will be without one of its senior captains when they take the field this afternoon. Wide receiver Chris Harris has his right foot in a walking boot, after suffering a foot injury that happened in practice earlier this week. His status does not sound promising going forward.
North Dakota State head coach Tim Polasek is interviewed by WDAY's Dom Izzo prior to the Bison - Tennessee State game.
“Our medical staff isn't real optimistic right now, but I'm going to remain and pray for him,” Polasek said. “Chris is an outstanding leader, and that's where it all starts, as far as leadership goes, and then we'll adjust. Good news is, we got a deep room, and Chris has done a lot to help those young guys get ready.”
Polasek added that senior tight end Finn Diggins has practiced well and should be good to go after injuring himself early in last week’s game against The Citadel. There are a couple of players on this road trip that did not travel last week, including true freshman safety Mikhale Ford, who could play some on special teams during Saturday’s game with TSU.