AROUND THE FCS — Big Sky schools (and Dixie State) opened the truncated 2021 spring football season Saturday, the same day that No. 1 North Dakota State saw its school-record 39-game winning streak snapped. The top-ranked Bison fell to Missouri Valley rival Southern Illinois, 38-14 for NDSU's first loss since 2017 and worst loss since joining Division I in 2004. The Bison are now 2-1 and 1-1 in Missouri Valley play, tied with the Salukis in the conference standings. Elsewhere in the FCS top 25, Dixie State made good use of its Division I debut with a dominant road upset of fellow FCS newcomers and Western Athletic Conference (non-football) rival Tarleton State, which drew a No. 22 national ranking following a rout of FBS New Mexico State in El Paso, Texas.