A spat of injuries coupled with the heart of Big Sky Conference play has set North Dakota into a tailspin.
Last Saturday, Montana exploited North Dakota’s biggest weakness: UND’s ability to limit deep balls in the passing game. It’s the third straight week North Dakota’s secondary has been taken advantage. It’s not a coincidence that North Dakota has lost three in a row.
North Dakota defensive back Jahmere Irvin-Sills broke up a pass intended for Montana wide receiver Ellis Henderson/by Evan Frost
Three weeks ago, UND built a 31-15 lead over Idaho State in Grand Forks, But the Bengals scored 22 straight points as Michael Sanders threw for 427 yards and four touchdowns in a 37-31 ISU win. Two weeks ago, Weber State tailed UND 24-10 in the fourth quarter before rallying for a 25-24 win thanks to 273 yards passing and two fourth quarter touchdown passes by WSU quarterback Jadrian Clark.
Last week in Missoula, a previously stagnant Montana offense exploded despite the afternoon marking sophomore Makena Simis’s first start. Simis is UM’s third string quarterback but he looked like an all-conference talent in throwing for 327 yards and a school-record-tying six touchdowns in UM’s 42-16 win.
UND burst out the gates with a 4-1 record, their lone loss coming at the hands of four-time defending national champion North Dakota State in the first meeting between the in-state rivals since 2003. The streak included a 19-16 win over a ranked Portland State team in Hillsboro, Oregon. But a few significant injuries have played factors as North Dakota has blown fourth quarter leads two weeks in a row.
North Dakota sophomore quarterback Keaton Studsrud suffered an ankle injury in the ISU game that cost him starts against Weber and Montana. In his place, junior Ryan Bartels has completed just half his passes for 115 yards per game as the UND offense has become even more one dimensional than head coach Bubba Schweirgert intends. UND wants to run the ball — North Dakota runs the ball 67 percent of the time — but the unbalance has been accentuated since the more mobile, more athletic, more polished Studsrud went down.
MSU quarterback Dakota Prukop scrambles, plants, and looks downfield against ETSU/by Brooks Nuanez
Defensively, UND is missing junior safety Zach Arnell and junior middle linebacker Taj Rich, each who suffered season-ending injuries in recent weeks. Sophomore safety Cole Reyes has also been banged up, but he started at Montana.
On Saturday, UND hosts Montana State, a squad averaging 316 passing yards per game behind honors candidate junior quarterback Dakota Prukop. UND enters the game at 4-4 overall, 2-3 in Big Sky Conference play, meaning North Dakota will certainly have to win its final three games to even be considered a playoff bubble team. Montana State is in a similarly urgent situation. MSU is 2-2 in league play, 4-3 overall but one of the wins came against a Division II school and another, a 63-7 win over East Tennessee State, a revived program that didn’t offer football over the last 13 seasons.
“Our backs are against the wall,” MSU junior captain Chad Newell said after the ETSU victory. “Straight up, that’s how it is. We have to win football games.”
QUICK HITS
Location: Grand Forks, North Dakota
Nickname: None
Founded: 1883. Founded on a strong liberal arts foundation, the school is still one of the top public research institutions in the country.
Enrollment: The school had 15,143 students and an endowment of $198.4 million.
Stadium: Alerus Center. Opened in 2001, the $80 million indoor arena seats 21,000. Last year, UND averaged 7,486 fans during six home games. In three home games this season, North Dakota is averaging 9,168
THE TEAM (2-3 in Big Sky, 4-4 overall in 2015)
The Coach: Bubba Schweigert. After 10 years away, the longtime UND assistant returned to Grand Forks before the 2014 season. Schweigert coached at UND from 1989 to 2003, including serving as the defensive coordinator for the 2001 Division II national championship season. The UND alum served as Southern Illinois’s defensive coordinator for six years leading up to last season, his first as a head coach. Midway through his second season, Schweigert is 9-11 overall, 5-8 in Big Sky play.
THE OFFENSE
Colton Boas
Offensive line, average size: 6-5, 314 pounds — Senior offensive guard Brandon Anderson, a 6-foot-6, 315-pound team captain, has been banged up but played the duration against Montana. Tackle A.J. Stockwell went down with an injury, causing for a reshuffling that might carry over into this week.
The group still has 6-foot-5, 310-pound guardSean Meehan, who will make his 32st straight start against MSU. Senior Colton Boas is a two-year starter at center.
“We’ve gotten bigger and that’s intentional,” Schweigert said in the spring. “We felt that we needed a bigger body type to win Big Sky championships.”
John Santiago
John Santiago, running back, 5-10, 175, freshman — Many thought UAB transfer Jawon Arrington or returner Kyle Norberg would be the go-to running backs, but it’s been the true freshman who came to UND as a wide receiver who’s shouldered the load.
Santiago has rushed for more than 100 yards in six of eight starts this season, including each of UND’s five Big Sky outings. He has 932 yards on 164 carries (5.9 yards per carry) and has scored eight touchdowns. His yardage and carries totals lead the league. Against Montana, he rushed for a career-high 178 yards on 22 carries and scored an 80-yard touchdown on the first play of the game. He caught a pair of passes for 36 yards and returned four kickoffs to fall one yard shy of 300 all-purpose yards against the Griz.
Keaton Studsrud, quarterback, 6-0, 180, sophomore — Junior Joel Mollberg started all last season before a severe leg injury ended his season with four games to go. Bartels filled in before a shoulder injury cost him the rest of his sophomore season as well.
Keaton Strudurd
UND had to scramble. Schweigert elected to pull the redshirt from Studsrud, who struggled initially before leading UND to two straight wins down the stretch. Studsrud completed just 34 percent of his passes for 276 yards and two touchdowns against six interceptions in part time duties last year.
During the off-season, Studsrud emerged as the man under center. In six starts this fall, he has completed 52.5 percent of his passes for 745 yards and seven touchdowns against three interceptions. He has rushed for 213 yards and three scores, including 107 and a score in a 19-16 win over Portland State. But he went down with an ankle injury against Idaho State and has not returned.
In his place, Bartels has struggled. The junior has better size but he has a slow release and limited athleticism. He has thrown for just 231 yards in his two starts.
“For us, we aren’t throwing the ball real well and we think with our top quarterback, we were getting better at throwing it and we are also a better running team when he is in there and he’s not with us right now so we are trying to adjust,” UND second-year head coach Bubba Schweigert said following the Montana loss. “It’s affecting us a bit. We didn’t protect well enough today either. Our attack has changed the last two weeks without our starting quarterback. There’s a reason you have a starting quarterback. Other programs maybe have guys who are pretty similar. I love Ryan. He competes here but he’s not the same type of player as Keaton ability-wise.”
Last week, Schweigert said Studsrud was day to day. His status against Montana State is unknown.
THE DEFENSE
Will Ratelle
Will Ratelle, middle linebacker, 5-11, 255, senior — When the All-Big Sky accolades came down the pipe that season, it could be assumed most at UND were shocked. Ratelle, one of the best downhill linebackers in the league on the conference’s top statistical defense, was the lone player to earn any recognition. And it was only an honorable mention nod.
Last fall, Ratelle notched 106 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, six quarterback hurries and three pass breakups. This season, he’s gone to work trying to prove he is an All-Big Sky candidate. This fall, he has 80 tackles, including 41 solo tackles, 11 tackles for loss and three sacks.
Brian Labat, outside linebacker, 6-3, 235, junior — In Schweigert’s blitzing, high-pressure 3-4 defense, the outside linebackers are of paramount importance.
Brian LaBat
“We play not as much size on defense because we want to run to the football,” Schweigert said in the spring. “Playing a 3-4, that means you have to rotate a lot and we need more depth behind those guys so we don’t get worn down.”
LaBat and senior Dayo Idowu are two of the most athletic outside guys in the conference. Last season, Idowu had nine tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks among his 61 stops. Labat had 12 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks among his 49 tackles. This year, Idowu has five tackles for loss and two sacks among his 22 tackles while LaBat has eight tackles for loss and two sacks among his 25 tackles.
Cole Reyes
Cole Reyes, safety, 6-2, 220, sophomore — Reyes likely would have played as a true freshman in 2013 but a broken hand cost him the season. Last fall, he returned to health and had a solid year in his first season as a starter. The big, rangy player had 59 tackles, five tackles for loss, an interception and five pass breakups last season.
“The key for Cole is consistency because he really has the ability to make a lot of big plays,” Schweigert said. “I think sometimes last year we forgot it was his first year playing. We think he can be a top guy in the league.”
This year, Reyes’ health has been a key. He has 44 tackles, six tackles for loss and two pass breakups. He missed UND’s losses to ISU and Weber before returning last week.
Photo attribution noted. Player head shots courtesy of North Dakota Athletics. All Rights Reserved.
