North Dakota State's 39-game win streak by the numbers: Bison chasing Oklahoma's all-time record

Bill Bender

North Dakota State's 39-game win streak by the numbers: Bison chasing Oklahoma's all-time record image

No. 1 North Dakota State — the three-time reigning FCS national champion — can join a three-member club with a victory at Southern Illinois on Saturday.  

The Bison (2-0) are looking for their 40th straight victory, which would tie the mark set by Washington from 1908 to 1914 and inch the school closer to the legendary record set by Oklahoma from 1953 to 1957.  

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What is that record? Can the Bison break it this season? When was the last time North Dakota lost? Sporting News looks at those questions.  

What is the Division I winning streak record?  

Oklahoma set the NCAA record with 47 straight victories from 1953 to 1957. The streak started on Oct. 10, 1953, with a 19-14 victory against No. 15 Texas and ended on Nov. 16, 1957, with a 7-0 loss to Notre Dame.  

The Sooners won two national championships in that stretch under coach Bud Wilkinson, and no FBS school has reached 40 straight victories since.  

What was North Dakota State's previous record?  

The Bison won 33 straight games from 2012 to 2014, but they broke that record with the current streak.  

How many Division I teams have won 30 straight games?  

USC won 34 straight games from 2003 to 2005, but most of that streak has been vacated by the NCAA. Miami also won 34 straight games from 2000 to 2002 before losing to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. Those were the longest streaks of the BCS era.   

Florida State took a 29-game win streak into the first CFP semifinal before losing to Oregon. Clemson also had a 29-game win streak  that ran from 2018 to 2020 before losing to LSU in the 2020 CFP championship game.  

Longest Division I win streaks  

TEAM STREAK YEARS
Oklahoma 47 1953-57
Washington 40 1908-14
North Dakota State 39 2017-present
Yale 37 1887-89
Yale 37 1890-93
Toledo 35 1969-71
Penn 34 1896-98
Miami 34 2000-02
North Dakota State 33 2012-14
Penn 31 1896-98
Pitt 31 1914-18
Oklahoma 31 1948-50
Texas 30 1968-70

When was North Dakota State's last loss?  

South Dakota State beat North Dakota State 33-21 on Nov. 4, 2017. The Bison have won every game since, and that includes three straight FCS championship runs.  

How dominant has the streak been?  

North Dakota State has outscored its past 39 opponents by a combined score of 1,503-481. That's an average score of 38.5-12.3. Second-year coach Matt Entz is 18-0 since taking over for Chris Klieman, who took the Kansas State job in 2019. 

Can North Dakota State break the record this year?  

Yes. The Bison have six more regular-season games, and the FCS will have a 16-team playoff beginning April 24. North Dakota State would be at 46 straight victories if it stays unbeaten in the regular season.  

North Dakota State 2020-21 schedule  

DATE OPPONENT SCORE
Oct. 3 vs. Central Arkansas W, 39-28
Feb. 21 vs. Youngstown State W, 25-7
Feb. 27 at Southern Illinois
March 6 at Missouri State
March 13 vs. Illinois State
March 20 vs. North Dakota
March 27 at South Dakota
April 3 vs. South Dakota State
April 10 at Northern Iowa

A fourth straight FCS championship run would break the record set by Oklahoma.  

North Dakota State, of course, will have to do that without quarterback Trey Lance, who entered the 2021 NFL Draft. Lance played in one game last fall against Central Arkansas and is expected to be a first-round pick. Tackle Dillon Radunz also is a potential high-round pick who the Bison won't have this spring.  

Still, North Dakota State can make a run at history. It might just make it in 2021.

Bill Bender

Bill Bender Photo

Bill Bender graduated from Ohio University in 2002 and started at The Sporting News as a fantasy football writer in 2007. He has covered the College Football Playoff, NBA Finals and World Series for SN. Bender enjoys story-telling, awesomely-bad 80s movies and coaching youth sports.