The game appears to provide Bison quarterback Trey Lance, a potential top-5 pick, an opportunity to showcase his ability.
Despite the Missouri Valley Conference postponing its fall season, North Dakota State has scheduled a one-off game against Central Arkansas on Oct. 3, the school announced Monday.
"Due to the challenge of completing a full non-conference schedule, we took a pause to consider all our options for this fall, knowing full well it could mean not having the opportunity to play," North Dakota State athletic director Matt Larsen said in a prepared statement. "Upon further consideration, coupled with recent information provided by the NCAA, we felt it was in the best interest of our football program to practice and play one game this fall."
The game appears to provide Bison quarterback Trey Lance, a potential top-5 NFL draft pick, an opportunity to showcase his ability for the pros. North Dakota State is the three-time defending FCS national champion, having won 37 straight games and eight of the past nine FCS national titles.
While Lance has played only one full college season in 2019, he went 16-0, dominating FCS by posting a 28:0 touchdown-to-interception ratio, while also rushing for 1,100 yards and 14 touchdowns.
"We're Back," Lance tweeted upon the school publishing news of the announcement.
According to Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel, who first reported news of the game, it is unclear if NFL scouts will be allowed to attend the game.
Fan attendance at the game will be limited, the school announced.