Who is favored in Nevada Wolf Pack at North Dakota State Bison?

North Dakota State Bison is favored on the moneyline.

Nevada Wolf Pack at North Dakota State Bison

·Oct 17, 2026·6:00 PM CT·CBSSN·Fargo, ND

By JR·2 min read

Nevada(2-3)

North Dakota State(5-1)

6:00 PM

TLDR: North Dakota State is finding out that the Mountain West plays defense too, and the Bison offense went quiet in Las Vegas. Next up is a Nevada team that just ran for 312 yards between its top 2 backs, coming to Fargo on Saturday, October 17.

SAT 10/17, SAT OCT 17, 6:00 PM CT · Week 7 CBSSN

Nevada

(2-3)

WLLLW

North Dakota State

(5-1)

LWWWW

North Dakota State (5-1) hosts Nevada (2-3) at the Fargodome after its first Mountain West loss, a 13-7 game at UNLV where Nathan Hayes threw 3 interceptions and 2 fourth-down tries came up empty. Nevada ended a 3-game skid by running for 312 yards at UTEP. Most of the game comes down to whether a Bison passing game missing several receivers and a tight end can keep Nevada honest. No betting lines have been posted yet.

Nevada Wolf Pack

Turner and Kelley combined for 312 rushing yards at UTEP
Defense allowed 1 first half first down at UTEP
No injuries listed
Lost 3 straight before UTEP, including 2 at home
Lost to Air Force, a team NDSU beat on the road
UTEP win came against a 1-5 team

North Dakota State Bison

Defense has 2 shutouts and held UNLV to 13
Ran for 176 yards even in the UNLV loss
Home game in the Fargodome
Hayes threw 3 interceptions, 124 yards passing at UNLV
WRs Schlosser, Schlichting, Walton and TE Danner all out
No points from two 4th-and-1 tries at UNLV

This is a Mountain West game, which still sounds strange for the Bison. North Dakota State is 5-1 and 2-1 in league play in its first season in the conference. The first loss came 13-7 at UNLV, and it was an ugly one. The Bison outgained the Rebels 300-255 and ran for 176 yards. Then they gave it all back. Nathan Hayes went 12 of 22 for 124 yards with 3 interceptions. One went back for a touchdown and another came in the last 2 minutes to end the game.

Tim Polasek's choices at UNLV will be talked about in Fargo all week. He passed on a short field goal to go for it on 4th and 1 in the first half. Early in the fourth, down 10-7, he went for it again on 4th and 1 from his own 18. The Bison got stopped both times, and UNLV turned the second one into the field goal that made it 13-7. Being aggressive is fine. Coming away with 0 points on both tries is how you lose a game you outgained the other team in.

Nevada is a harder team to read. The Wolf Pack are 2-3 and 1-1 in the conference. They opened with a 49-14 win over Western Kentucky, then lost 3 straight before going to El Paso and beating UTEP 30-13. That win ended the skid, and they did it on the ground. Hershel Turner Jr. ran for 192 yards on 19 carries, including a 72-yard touchdown, and he and Dominic Kelley combined for 312 yards and 3 scores. The defense gave up just 1 first down in the first half.

Both teams have played Air Force, and it went 2 different ways. North Dakota State won 38-32 in Colorado Springs. Nevada lost 36-33 to the Falcons at home. Nevada's other 2 losses were by 13 to Montana State and by 7 at Middle Tennessee. The North Dakota State defense has already posted shutouts of Fordham and Wyoming, and it held UNLV to 13. That's a tough test for a Nevada run game coming off its best day of the season.

The injury report is the bigger worry for North Dakota State. Running back B. Toliver, receivers D. Schlosser and K. Schlichting, and tight end C. Danner are all listed out, each expected to miss the rest of the season. Receiver B. Walton is out with no timetable, and back D. Scott is listed out with a foot injury. That's a lot of Hayes's targets gone, which helps explain a 124-yard passing night. Nevada lists no injuries. The question for Saturday is simple: can North Dakota State throw well enough that Nevada can't just load up against the run inside the Fargodome?

Nevada Wolf Pack at North Dakota State Bison

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