Saying it’s difficult to win in the Fargodome is an understatement.

It’s even tougher for first timers.

And beyond that, things get even harder in the postseason.

North Dakota State is 30-2 in the FCS Playoffs, including a 23-1 record at home, since making its inaugural appearance in 2010. NDSU is in the semifinals for the eighth year in a row and won titles in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017.

Since beginning their championship run in 2011, the Bison are 110-8 overall, with a 67-5 mark on their home turf.

James Madison is the only team to win in the Fargodome in the FCS Playoffs.

The fourth-seeded Dukes beat the Bison 27-17 in the semis on Dec. 16, 2016, en route to taking home the title. That snapped NDSU’s 22-game winning streak in the postseason.

“The first thing is, the fans come to affect the game,” SDSU coach John Stiegelmeier said of playing in the Fargodome. “They don’t come to just watch the game, every North Dakota State fan that is out there enters the ‘Dome and wants to impact the game for their team. So it’s an intense environment.

“It’s surely loud; on offense it’s really, really hard to communicate; it’s hard to communicate on the sidelines to the defense when our offense is on the field.

“But, at this time of the year, it’s indoors, so that’s good – we’ll take advantage of that.”

NDSU’s five home losses since the 2011 season:

James Madison 27, NDSU 17

Semifinals; Dec. 16, 2016

The Dukes outgained the Bison 443-348 in total yards of offense to overcome a turnover. They possessed the ball for 27:18.

Tied at 17 through three quarters, JMU kicked a field goal with 11:46 remaining and added a touchdown with 6:59 to go. The Dukes’ defense came through with a key stop on a fourth-and-11 near midfield with 3:53 to play to all but seal the deal.

SDSU 19, NDSU 17

Oct. 15, 2016

Jake Wieneke caught a 2-yard touchdown toss from Taryn Christion on fourth down with 1 second remaining in the game to cap a 14-play, 80-yard drive.

The Jackrabbits racked up 523 yards of offense while limiting the Bison to 304. They also had a 32:23-27:37 advantage in time of possession.

NDSU opened the scoring with a classic drive – 99 yards on 18 plays in 9:01 – early in the second quarter.

Trailing 17-3, Dallas Goedert had a 12-yard TD catch from Christion with 5:26 left in the third and Chase Vinatieri kicked a 42-yard field goal with 11:04 to go in the game.

The Bison avenged the loss with a 36-10 triumph in the quarterfinals.

South Dakota 24, NDSU 21

Oct. 17, 2015

This is easily the most shocking of NDSU’s five home losses since 2011.

Time of possession was nearly even, but the Coyotes held on to the ball for 10:43 in the fourth.

Ryan Saeger polished off a 7 1/2-minute drive with an 8-yard TD pass to Drew Potter that knotted the score with 4:47 to go. Miles Bergner kicked the game-winning field goal from 33 yards out as time expired.

Indiana State 17, NDSU 14

Oct. 13, 2012

This was another surprise, as the Sycamores totaled just 197 yards of offense but Johnny Towalid recorded a pair of pick-sixes in the win.

The Bison, who had three turnovers, finished with 294 yards and had the ball for nearly 33 1/2 minutes.

Towalid had a 27-yard return in the second and a 31-yarder early in the fourth to put ISU ahead 17-6. Brock Jensen scored on a 1-yard run to pull the Bison within 17-14 with 9:56 to play; however, the Sycamores hung on.

Youngstown State 27, NDSU 24

Nov. 12, 2011

The Penguins possessed the ball for 37:36 and outgained the Bison 451-293 in total yards of offense. They forced a pair of turnovers.

Jamaine Cook ran for 147 yards, while Kurt Hess was 20-of-24 for 237 yards with two TDs and an INT. David Brown kicked the go-ahead field goal from 30 yards out with 2:49 to go in the third.

The Jackrabbits are as well-equipped as anyone to win in the Fargodome – postseason or otherwise – as they have the talent on both sides of the ball and plenty of experience in the environment.

“No. 1, our guys believe they can win it,” said Stiegelmeier. “We’re not going up there not having had success against North Dakota State.

“It’s a great rivalry. We’ve never faced them at this phase in the playoffs; we’re going to do everything we can and I believe in our players – I believe in every one of them that is going to get on the bus. So I’m excited about playing another week.”

In addition to last year’s victory, SDSU also won at NDSU in the regular season in 2008.

The Bison edged the Jackrabbits 21-17 earlier this year in Fargo. It was NDSU’s only single-digit margin of victory this season.

South Dakota State is 0-3 at North Dakota State in the FCS Playoffs.

“It’s a whole different game,” Stiegelmeier noted. “Come playoff time, they’re seasoned – and so are we, but we don’t get to play at home. There is always a home-field advantage, I don’t care who you’re playing.

“We just have to go up there and know we can play our best ball and then do it one play at a time.”

This marks the fourth consecutive even-numbered year SDSU and NDSU have met in the playoffs.

NDSU 28, SDSU 3

Second round; Dec. 1, 2012

The Jackrabbits struck first on Justin Syrovatka’s field goal late in the opening period.

The Bison put up 21 points in the second quarter as Brock Jensen sandwiched a 12-yard TD toss to Garrett Bruhn and a 2-yard scoring rush around Ryan Smith’s 32-yard dash to paydirt. Jensen and Bruhn hooked up again for a 9-yard touchdown in the fourth.

NDSU won 20-17 at home in the regular-season game.

NDSU 27, SDSU 24

Second round; Dec. 6, 2014

SDSU grabbed a 24-20 lead with 3:18 remaining on Wieneke’s 3-yard touchdown catch from Austin Sumner. On fourth-and-3, Zach Zenner took a direct snap in the Wildcat formation and ground out a 4-yard gain to keep the drive alive.

Carson Wentz led the Bison downfield after that, hooking up with RJ Urzendowski for a 12-yard score with 54 seconds showing on the clock.

NDSU held a 416-275 advantage in yards of offense.

The Bison won the regular-season meeting 37-17 in Fargo.

NDSU 36, SDSU 10

Quarterfinals; Dec. 10, 2016

After winning the regular-season matchup 19-17, the Jackrabbits built a 10-0 advantage in the postseason game on a 5-yard run by Brady Mengarelli and a 34-yard field goal by Vinatieri.

However, it was all Bison after that as the home team rattled off 36 consecutive points.

NDSU outgained SDSU 490-192 in total yards of offense, including 302-37 on the ground, and had possession of the ball for nearly 41 minutes.

NDSU – FCS PLAYOFFS

Record: 30-2, including 23-1 at home.

[opponent finish in brackets]

2010 (2-1)

First round, Nov. 27 – Won 43-17 vs. Robert Morris

Second round, Dec. 4 – Won 42-17 at No. 4 Montana State

Quarterfinals, Dec. 11 – Lost 38-31 OT at No. 5 Eastern Washington [champion]

2011 (4-0) – No. 2 seed

First round – BYE

Second round, Dec. 3 – Won 26-14 vs. James Madison

Quarterfinals, Dec. 10 – Won 24-0 vs. Lehigh

Semifinals, Dec. 17 – Won 35-7 vs. No. 3 Georgia Southern

Championship, Jan. 7 – Won 17-6 vs. No. 1 Sam Houston State

2012 (4-0) – No. 1 seed

First round – BYE

Second round, Dec. 1 – Won 28-3 vs. South Dakota State

Quarterfinals, Dec. 8 – Won 14-7 vs. Wofford

Semifinals, Dec. 14 – Won 23-20 vs. No. 5 Georgia Southern

Championship, Jan. 5 – Won 39-13 vs. Sam Houston State

2013 (4-0) – No. 1 seed

First round – BYE

Second round, Dec. 7 – Won 38-7 vs. Furman

Quarterfinals, Dec. 14 – Won 48-14 vs. Coastal Carolina

Semifinals, Dec. 20 – Won 51-14 vs. New Hampshire

Championship, Jan. 4 – Won 35-7 vs. No. 7 Towson

2014 (4-0) – No. 2 seed

First round – BYE

Second round, Dec. 6 – Won 27-24 vs. South Dakota State

Quarterfinals, Dec. 13 – Won 39-22 vs. No. 7 Coastal Carolina

Semifinals, Dec. 19 – Won 35-3 vs. Sam Houston State

Championship, Jan. 10 – Won 29-27 vs. No. 5 Illinois State

2015 (4-0) – No. 3 seed

First round – BYE

Second round, Dec. 5 – Won 37-6 vs. Montana

Quarterfinals, Dec. 12 – Won 23-13 vs. Northern Iowa

Semifinals, Dec. 18 – Won 33-7 vs. No. 7 Richmond

Championship, Jan. 9 – Won 37-10 vs. No. 1 Jacksonville State

2016 (2-1) – No. 1 seed

First round – BYE

Second round, Dec. 3 – Won 45-7 vs. San Diego

Quarterfinals, Dec. 10 – Won 36-10 vs. No. 8 South Dakota State

Semifinals, Dec. 16 – Lost 27-17 vs. No. 4 James Madison [champion]

2017 (4-0) – No. 2 seed

First round – BYE

Second round, Dec. 2 – Won 38-3 vs. San Diego

Quarterfinals, Dec. 9 – Won 42-10 vs. No. 7 Wofford

Semifinals, Dec. 15 – Won 55-13 vs. No. 6 Sam Houston State

Championship, Jan. 6 – Won 17-14 vs. No. 1 James Madison

2018 (2-0) – No. 1 seed

First round – BYE

Second round, Dec. 1 – Won 52-10 vs. Montana State

Quarterfinals, Dec. 8 – Won 35-0 vs. No. 8 Colgate

Semifinals, Dec. 14 – vs. No. 5 South Dakota State

   Note: Title games played in Frisco, Texas.

Notes

NDSU is 163-35 in the Division I era (since 2004). … The Bison are 119-13 since 2010. They went 9-5 (6-1 home) in 2010 while qualifying for the FCS Playoffs for the first time and advancing to the quarterfinals. … NDSU leads SDSU 61-42-5 in the all-time series, including 12-6 in the Division I era (3-0 FCS Playoffs). … The Fargodome, which opened in 1992, seats 19,000 for football. NDSU began playing there in 1993 and has a 153-24 record.