North Dakota’s coaching staff will be the first to say UND will face close games with frequency. It is how the Fighting Hawks are built.
Since Bubba Schweigert took over as the head coach of his alma mater before the 2014 season, UND has emphasized a physical brand of football. The Fighting Hawks put a penchant on running the football offensively and stuffing the run defensively. UND brings pressure from various angles on defense, heating up quarterbacks and getting tackles in the backfield against opposing run games as often as any team in the Big Sky Conference.
The formula has helped UND go from a 5-7 squad that averaged 15.9 points per game in Schweigert’s first season to a team on the playoff bubble last season to a surging team on a four-game winning streak and tied atop the league entering the fourth week of conference play.
North Dakota’s offense, led by junior quarterback Keaton Studsrud/ by Brooks Nuanez
North Dakota’s 2016 season began with a pair of narrow losses. UND went to Stony Brook and got stonewalled, managing just 12 first downs and mustering just three field goals. The Seawolves blocked a fourth field goal try and returned it for a touchdown for the different in the 13-9 SBU victory. The next week, junior quarterback Keaton Studsrud executed a two-minute drive to lead UND within one. But a dropped two-point conversion pushed UND to 0-2 after the 27-26 loss at Bowling Green.
Since then, UND has been on fire. The Fighting Hawks rallied for a 47-44 double overtime win over South Dakota in their home opener to spark a four-game winning streak with Southern Utah coming to Grand Forks this weekend.
“There’s a confidence that guys feel like if they prepare well and really put the time in during the week, they can have a positive result every weekend,” North Dakota defensive coordinator Eric Schmidt said on Tuesday. “We know the way we are built, we are going to be in a lot of close games in the fourth quarter. We want to play really good defense and run the football on offense. When you are playing good people, that’s not a recipe to blow teams out.
“They are workman like type guys. They are the same guys every day. They want to come in here and do a good job and they understand they have to play well every single week for us to have a chance.”
North Dakota is off to a 3-0 start in Big Sky Conference play. Along with No. 4 Eastern Washington, UND is the only other team in the league with three straight conference wins. North Dakota is 4-2 overall and holds a No. 22 national ranking entering its matchup with the reigning Big Sky champion Thunderbirds.
UND earned a 17-15 win over Montana State thanks to forcing five turnovers, including two fourth-quarter interceptions of MSU quarterback Tyler Bruggman. The following week, UND stuffed Cal Poly’s triple option, holding the Mustangs to 185 yards less than their average entering the game in a 31-24 win.
After five straight weeks of games decided by one possession, UND finally had a break through. In Sacramento, North Dakota rushed for 422 yards in pile driving Sac State, 40-7.
“We weren’t quite clicking offensively early,” UND offensive coordinator Paul Rudolph said. “You could feel it out in Stony Brook. We weren’t very sharp. We showed some flashes at Bowling Green but lacked consistency. We never really got on track. We had eyes in the wrong spot. We didn’t play well at Montana State. Then after that, we started to find some consistency. It’s been better week in and week out instead of showing flashes here or there.”
MSU running back Chad Newell (17) runs through a pile of North Dakota defenders
UND is out to its best Big Sky start since joining the league in 2012 thanks in large part to a fully stocked defense. Despite the loss of first-team All-Big Sky inside linebacker Will Ratelle, Schmidt’s 3-4 defense has thrived so far this season.It’s been more of performance by committee, Schmidt said, but the presence of veteran junior safeties Cole Reyes and Zach Arnell and a newfound depth in a linebacker unit anchored by inside guys Taj Rich and Connor O’Brien and outside players like Brian Labat have aided in UND’s winning ways thus far.
“We are getting closer,” Schmidt said. “I remember the first year when we got done recruiting, almost all the assistant coaches were in the office asking for one more d-lineman, one more linebacker, one more DB. We knew it wasn’t going to be something with where our roster was that we would be able to fix in a year.”
North Dakota is second in the league in scoring defense (21.7 points per game), second in total defense (355.8 yards per game), and rushing defense (125.3 yards per game) and ranks third in sacks (13).
The Fighting Hawks blitz with as much prevalence and variety as any team in the league. The past few years, the UND defense has fallen victim to the big plays. This years UND defense has given up explosive plays from time to time but has also taken the ball away more frequently. UND leads the league with 11 interceptions.
“I really like our plan that our defensive staff puts together,” Schweigert said. “Our guys understand the plan. We’ve been able to limit big plays. We are still not where we need to be yet and that’s a big concern with a big play offense from Southern Utah. But I think we’ve been consistent and tackled very well.”
A huge key to UND’s defensive improvement has been the emergence of junior Deion Harris as one of the top cornerbacks in the league. The 6-foot-3, 180-pounder has three interceptions this season, including picks he returned for touchdowns against South Dakota and Bowling Green, UND’s three pick-sixes also lead the league.
“I think it’s a maturity deal with him,” Schmidt said. “He’s gotten better with his practice habits. The technique at corner is really something that he struggled to find consistency with. He’s always had the tools. I think he’s become a better, more mature football player and his practice habits have gotten better and it’s carried over into games.”
North Dakota sophomore running back Brady Oliveira/ by Brooks Nuanez
Offensively, All-American sophomore John Santiago rushed for 119 yards against Bowling Green and 140 more against South Dakota. Montana State held him to 57 yards on 19 carries as the Bobcats keyed on him without relent. Santiago suffered a leg injury in the first quarter against Cal Poly, giving way to sophomore Brady Oliveira.
The 5-foot-10, 225-pound bulldog from Calgary has been one of the breakout offensive stars in the Big Sky, averaging 136 yards in UND’s three league wins. Oliveira rushed for a career-high 171 yards and two touchdowns, including a 60-yarder to extend a 10-9 lead to 17-9 at MSU. Oliveira rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown against Cal Poly and got loose for 111 yards and two touchdowns against Sac State.
“He’s been everything he’s always been: he’s a big, strong, tough, physical back,” Rudolph said. “He has a gear where he can set that block up and then a really good acceleration burst. He’s not real tall, but he’s a big, strong kid with good speed and he runs hard.”
North Dakota has the most favorable schedule remaining of the league contenders. UND does not play Montana or Eastern Washington. North Dakota gets Southern Utah, Weber State and Northern Arizona at home with road trips to Idaho State and Northern Colorado remaining.
“We still feel like we need to improve our roster if we want to be a championship team,” Schmidt said. “But we are making progress.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
