That COVID season was the best thing ever if you wanted to see the FCS shaken up, that's for sure. It killed NDSU's momentum by being disruptive to recruiting and development.
Some teams got better (I mean, in some teams' cases, it's hard to imagine them getting worse), but improving on 16-0, +25 ppg, and +200 ypg? That was impossible given the circumstances (and even that season wasn't good enough for some fans.)