With a win Beating committee No. 6 North Dakota (6-2 D-I, 2 strong-opponent FCS wins) at home would add a marquee quality win. It would protect home-field résumé credibility and add a quality win. It also helps the conference record, though the quality of the opponent is the more distinctive résumé factor here. With South Dakota anchored at seed No. 8 in this mock, it could strengthen the case to retain a top-eight bye.

With a loss A loss against committee No. 6 is more defensible than a loss to a weak opponent, but costs a direct opportunity to strengthen the seeded résumé. For a current top-eight team like South Dakota, the bye/seed position could come under greater scrutiny.

With a win Beating committee No. 10 Harvard (5-0 D-I, 2 strong-opponent FCS wins) on the road would add a marquee quality win. A road win would add a particularly useful away-site result. This is also a head-to-head chance against a current conference co-leader, relevant to the provisional AQ race. That would be important evidence for an at-large selection or a possible seed.

With a loss A loss against committee No. 10 is more defensible than a loss to a weak opponent, but costs a direct opportunity to strengthen the seeded résumé. Losing head-to-head to a current conference leader could weaken the AQ path, subject to unresolved league tiebreak steps. The team would have one fewer marquee-win chance to distinguish its at-large case.

With a win Beating committee No. 1 Montana State (6-1 D-I, 2 strong-opponent FCS wins) on the road would add a marquee quality win. A road win would add a particularly useful away-site result. It also helps the conference record, though the quality of the opponent is the more distinctive résumé factor here. That would be important evidence for an at-large selection or a possible seed.

With a loss A loss against committee No. 1 is more defensible than a loss to a weak opponent, but costs a direct opportunity to strengthen the seeded résumé. The team would have one fewer marquee-win chance to distinguish its at-large case.

With a win Beating committee No. 4 Stephen F. Austin (6-0 D-I) on the road would add a marquee quality win. A road win would add a particularly useful away-site result. This is also a head-to-head chance against a current conference co-leader, relevant to the provisional AQ race. That would be important evidence for an at-large selection or a possible seed.

With a loss A loss against committee No. 4 is more defensible than a loss to a weak opponent, but costs a direct opportunity to strengthen the seeded résumé. Losing head-to-head to a current conference leader could weaken the AQ path, subject to unresolved league tiebreak steps. The team would have one fewer marquee-win chance to distinguish its at-large case.

With a win Beating committee No. 3 Youngstown State (6-2 D-I, 2 strong-opponent FCS wins) on the road would add a marquee quality win. A road win would add a particularly useful away-site result. This is also a head-to-head chance against a current conference co-leader, relevant to the provisional AQ race. With North Dakota anchored at seed No. 6 in this mock, it could strengthen the case to retain a top-eight bye.

With a loss A loss against committee No. 3 is more defensible than a loss to a weak opponent, but costs a direct opportunity to strengthen the seeded résumé. Losing head-to-head to a current conference leader could weaken the AQ path, subject to unresolved league tiebreak steps. For a current top-eight team like North Dakota, the bye/seed position could come under greater scrutiny.

With a win Defeating Monmouth (5-2 D-I, 1 strong-opponent FCS win) on the road would add a result against a winning D-I opponent with proven strong-opponent FCS victories. A road win would add a particularly useful away-site result. This is also a head-to-head chance against a current conference co-leader, relevant to the provisional AQ race.

With a loss A loss removes a useful quality-win opportunity; selection and seeding would hinge more heavily on other completed results. Losing head-to-head to a current conference leader could weaken the AQ path, subject to unresolved league tiebreak steps.

With a win Beating committee No. 5 South Dakota State (5-2 D-I, 2 strong-opponent FCS wins) on the road would add a marquee quality win. A road win would add a particularly useful away-site result. It also helps the conference record, though the quality of the opponent is the more distinctive résumé factor here. With South Dakota anchored at seed No. 8 in this mock, it could strengthen the case to retain a top-eight bye.

With a loss A loss against committee No. 5 is more defensible than a loss to a weak opponent, but costs a direct opportunity to strengthen the seeded résumé. For a current top-eight team like South Dakota, the bye/seed position could come under greater scrutiny.

With a win Beating committee No. 2 Tarleton State (7-0 D-I, 1 strong-opponent FCS win) on the road would add a marquee quality win. A road win would add a particularly useful away-site result. This is also a head-to-head chance against a current conference co-leader, relevant to the provisional AQ race. That would be important evidence for an at-large selection or a possible seed.

With a loss A loss against committee No. 2 is more defensible than a loss to a weak opponent, but costs a direct opportunity to strengthen the seeded résumé. Losing head-to-head to a current conference leader could weaken the AQ path, subject to unresolved league tiebreak steps. The team would have one fewer marquee-win chance to distinguish its at-large case.