FARGO — The all-white uniforms looked sharp. Raising a championship banner is something not many teams do in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision. That’s North Dakota State’s vibe after three nonconference games.

Looking good. Feeling good. But are the No. 1-ranked Bison that good? The best answer: too early to tell considering the teams they played.

But good teams don't let subpar teams hang around and NDSU took care of business on Saturday against Southeast Missouri State. The Bison got an all-time program single-game passing effort from quarterback Cole Payton in beating the Redhawks 41-14 before 17,354 fans, a nice turnout considering SEMO was not SDSU, USD or UND.

Payton threw for 348 yards and saw the fourth quarter for the first time this season. That’s what a schedul

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