ON TAP
North Dakota comes off a bye week hoping to be rested and ready to make a run down the stretch at a playoff berth, hosting Montana Saturday at the Alerus Center. UND is still riding high after a convincing 38-13 road win at Northern Colorado two Saturdays ago.
 
UP NEXT
The Fighting Hawks make the trek to California to take on Sacramento State on Oct.  20. The Hornets find themselves in an 0-2 start in conference play after close losses to Montana and Cal Poly.
 
NEXT HOME GAME
UND hosts Weber State on Oct. 27, a matchup with playoff implications on the line. Weber State fell from 7 to 13 in the AFCA coaches poll this week after a 28-24 setback at Northern Arizona last week.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Visiting North Dakota used a methodical offense and a stifling defense to dominate Northern Colorado, 38-13, on Sep. 29 at Nottingham Field. UND, playing without star John Santiago, got big contributions from Brady Oliveira (123 yards rushing, 2TD) and James Johannesson (career-high 141 yards rushing) to record its second straight road win. That duo combined for 264 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns as the Fighting Hawks out-gained the Bears, 474-201. It was textbook clock control as North Dakota held the ball for 38:51.
 
THE SERIES VS MONTANA
The Griz have won four straight in the all-time series and five of the six meetings in the Division I era. UND's last win in the series came in a crazy 40-34 victory at Alerus Center that saw North Dakota's Braden Hanson pile up 660 passing yards back in 2012, which still stands as a school record
 
POLLING PLACE
The Griz find themselves 22nd in the FCS STATS poll this week and 23rd in the AFCA poll. North Dakota remains just outside the Top 25 in both polls, receiving votes in each.
 
ON THE GROUND IN GREELEY
North Dakota rushed 61 times in the win at Northern Colorado, tied for the most-ever rushing attempts by a team at Nottingham Field. UND's 351 net rushing yards ranked second all-time as the Fighting Hawks scored all five of their touchdowns on the ground, two each from Brady Oliveira and Nate Ketteringham to go along with true freshman Otis Weah's first career score.
 
OUT OF THE WE-AH!
Freshman Otis Weah got his first career touches in the blowout win at Northern Colorado on Sept. 29. The Moorhead, N.D., native rumbled for 18 yards on his first carry to get it inside the three-yardline. Then, he'd push forward through both lines to find paydirt and his first collegiate score. He helped the Fighting Hawks rack up 351 net rushing yards in the win.
 
BENNETT BEASTING
Junior Mason Bennett logged another 1.5 sacks in the win at Northern Colorado to give him 6.5 for the season. That total ranks third-most in all of NCAA FCS football and marks the third game in which he's had multiple sacks already this season.
 
LEACH HITS HIS LONGEST
Freshman Brady Leach knocked through a 37-yarder in the opening drive of the win at Northern Colorado, his longest career field goal. Leach has now converted on each of his last three field goal attempts and is a perfect 16-for-16 on PAT attempts.
 
CADE GOES KA-BOOM
Freshman punter Cade Peterson unleashed his longest punt of his career, a 50-yarder at Northern Colorado. For the day, Peterson hit five punts for 199 yards, including four of those inside the 20-yardline.
 
FARGO FREIGHT TRAIN ON THE EXPRESS ROUTE
Junior James Johannesson piled up a career high 141 yards rushing in the convincing win at Northern Colorado. Johannesson ripped off a 34-yarder to highlight a 22-carry day as UND amassed 351 total rushing yards.
 
OLIVEIRA GOES FOR A HUNDO
Brady Oliveira registered his 10th acreer 100-yard rushing game in the win at Northern Colorado. The senior rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns to give North Dakota its fifth 100-yard rusher of the season and third different person to do  so (John Santiago-2, Oliveira- 2, James Johannesson- 1).
 
SPREADING THE RESPONSIBILITY
The North Dakota defense held Northern Colorado to just 201 yards of total offense. Only one defender had as many as four tackles (Austin Cieslak- 4) with six others checking in with three tackles (Tanner Palmborg, Tykeise Johnson, Hayden Blubaugh, Quentin Seguin, Jaxson Turner and Mason Bennett).
 
A MILLION TIMES, THANK YOU!
The University of North Dakota welcomed its one-millionth fan into the Alerus Center during the Homecoming game against Idaho State. In the 17 seasons since it opened in 2001, UND has seen 1,003,811 fans come through the doors at the Alerus Center, including 10,428 fans per game on average last season, the second-highest average attendance in the building's history.
 
JAXSON TURNER OVERDRIVE
Sophomore Jaxson Turner blocked his first career kick, a big fourth-quarter block that gave UND one final chance on offense in the waning minutes of the game vs. Idaho State.
 
MOORE ENSHRINED
Former UND standout runningback Phillip Moore was enshrined in the UND Athletics Hall of Fame on Sep. 21. The Grand Forks Central grad rushed for a school-record 5,697 yards in his four seasons (1995-98) and added 51 rushing touchdowns, also a school record that still stands.
 
PLAYING 21
North Dakota's win at No. 5 Sam Houston State Sept. 15 snapped the nation's longest home winning streak at 21 games, handing the Bearkats their first loss at home in nearly three years (Sept. 19, 2015 to Lamar).
 
ROAD RANKED RIGHTEOUSNESS
With the win at SHSU, the Fighting Hawks also captured their first triumph against a ranked foe since Oct. 1, 2016 vs. Cal Poly and the first away from Grand Forks since Oct. 3, 2015 at Portland State.
 
GIMME FIVE
That Sept. 15 win at No. 5 Sam Houston State marked the highest-ranked opponent that North Dakota has defeated in the DI era (2008-present). UND is 7-23 against ranked opponents in its Division I era.
 
IZZY GOT BIZZY
Sophomore Izzy Adeoti finished the night with a career-high 82 yards receiving in the win at Sam Houston State. His 48-yard catch in the fourth quarter setup the game-winning score.
 
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BUBBA
Saturday's win at No. 5 Sam Houston State was a fun birthday for UND head coach Bubba Schweigert as it was his 56th birthday.
 
EVAN-ESCENCE
Junior Evan Holm was part of a stiff defense at SHSU that helped produce an upset. Holm and the Fighting Hawk defense forced the Bearkats to attempt field goals rather than find paydirt on multiple occasions. Holm was credited with four pass break-ups, including several in the endzone as the Hawks held the Bearkats to its lowest scoring output at home since 2014.
 
JOHN JUMPING UP THE CHARTS
Senior John Santiago sits third all-time in rushing yardage at UND and is sixth in rushing touchdowns. Here's what's in front of him midway through his final campaign:
 
CAREER RUSHING YARDS
1. Phillip Moore (1995-98)             5,697
2. Shannon Burnell (1990-93)        4,710
3. John Santiago (2015-)               3,447
4. Bill Deutsch (1973-76)               3,345
5. Jed Perkerewicz (1998-01)        2,938
 
CAREER RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS
1. Phillip Moore (1995-98)             51
2. Shannon Burnell (1990-93)        38
    Dale Kasowski (1972-75)           38
4. Mike Deutsch (1970-72)            35
5. Ryan Chappell (2006-07)            29
6. John Santiago (2015-)               28
7. Jed Perkerewicz (1998-01)        24
 
RUN TO THE JOHN
Senior John Santiago piled up 139 rushing yards Sept. 8 at Washington, including a big 69-yard romp on the way to 260 all-purpose yards. Santiago's 69-yard scamper marked the fifth-longest run of his career and the eighth of 50 yards or more.
 
Santiago runs of 50 yards or more
Yds          Game
81            Sept. 31, 2017 at UC Davis
81            Nov. 14, 2015 vs. Northern Colorado
80            Oct. 24, 2015 at Montana
75            Oct. 31, 2015 vs. Montana State
69            Sept. 8, 2018 at Washington
64            Oct. 21, 2017 at Sacramento State
63            Nov. 4, 2017 at Southern Utah
52            Sept. 5, 2015 at Wyoming
 
NO BS AGAINST FBS
Santiago has compiled some of his best games against the top talent. In his four games against FBS opponents in his career, the Andover, Minn., native has rushed for 426 yards with three 100-yard games. Here's a look at his outings against FBS foes:
 
Santiago vs. FBS schools
2018      18-139 at Washington
2017      10-20 at Utah
2016      18-119 at BGSU
2015      24-148 at Wyoming
TOTAL   70-426
 
HEY HEY, HAYDEN HAYDEN
Hayden Blubaugh and Hayden Galvin each registered their first career interceptions Sept. 8 at Washington.
 
CLEAN SHEET
North Dakota was not penalized Sept. 8 at Washington. UND was penalized eight times for 76 yards in the opener.
 
HIGHEST RANK
Washington marked the highest-ranked team that North Dakota has  ever faced in the FBS ranks. The Huskies were ranked ninth heading into the week two tilt. A week later, UND headed to No. 5 Sam Houston State and earned the program's first win over a top-five team since joining the FCS.
 
QUITE A DEBUT
Junior transfer Nate Ketteringham made a solid debut for the Fighting Hawks, throwing for 3 TDs and 225 yards without a turnover in the 35-7 win against Mississippi Valley State. Ketteringham found three different receivers for scores and added a rushing touchdown himself to account for four of UND's five scores.
 
SACK CITY
North Dakota officially racked up seven quarterback sacks in the season-opening win against Mississippi Valley State on August 30. The Fighting Hawks had 10 total tackles for loss in the win.
 
METHODIC
UND scored in all four quarters in the win over Mississippi Valley State. North Dakota got going quickly with a score in the first three minutes, adding another in the 1st quarter, en route to a 21-0 halftime lead.
 
PUNTING YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
North Dakota needed just two punts the entire game in the season-opening win. UND scored on five possessions, missed two FGs, punted twice and had one turnover in addition to ending both halves with the football.
 
OWNING THE CLOCK IN THE MIDDLE FRAMES
North Dakota had the ball for over 19 minutes combined in the second and third quarters, owning the time of possession battle in the win over Mississippi Valley State. UND would finish with 33:35 of possession in the win.
 
3RD and CONVERTED
North Dakota cashed in 10 third-down attempts vs. Mississippi Valley State on 16 attempts. In one of the six failed conversions, UND got the first on a fourth down late in the first half.
 
WELCOME BACK CORNER
The injury bug hit North Dakota pretty hard last season. UND welcomed back corners Deion Harris (missed all 11 games) and Evan Holm (7 missed) into the starting lineup after injuries a year ago.
 
NORTH DAKOTA BY THE NUMBERS
•26               Number of conference championships won by UND
•58               Wins at the Division I level for UND
•648             Number of all-time wins for UND (646-407-30)
•3,558          John Santiago's career rushing total (3rd all-time at UND)
•6,253          Santiago's all-purpose yardage (2nd all-time at UND)
•1,003,811   Total fans all-time at the Alerus Center (since 2001)
 
UND AGAINST THE FBS
North Dakota is 1-10 all-time against the FBS with the lone win coming to open the 2015 season at Wyoming. Three of those losses have come by single digits, including a 2016 one-point loss at Bowling Green. Last season, Utah became the first Power Five program UND faced since opening the 2009 season with a 38-13 loss at Texas Tech. Current outside linebackers coach Joel Schwenzfeier tied a UND single-game record with three interceptions against the Red Raiders.
 
CAPTAINS
UND named five players captains for the season: seniors Tanner Palmborg and John Santiago were previously named captains with senior Austin Cieslak, senior Adam Stiner and junior Andrew Zimmerman joining them before the season's start.
 
MAAG-A
True freshman Garett Maag got into the endzone in his first game, and on his first collegiate catch, a 9-yard strike from Nate Ketteringham to give UND a 21-0 lead in the first half of the win over Mississippi Valley State on Aug. 30.
 
FOUR-GAME REDSHIRT RULE
This season, a new rule has been instituted by the NCAA Division I Council which will allow players to participate in up to four games in a season while maintaining their redshirt status starting this fall. Previously, only players who did not play a snap in a season or were sidelined by injury before playing in more than four games were generally granted redshirts by the NCAA. This rule would allow those four games to be played anywhere throughout the season, leaving some flexibility for coaching staffs around the nation.
 
RED JARRETT WAY
University of North Dakota officials announced the renaming of the road in front of the High Performance Center to be dubbed "Red Jarrett Way" in honor of the legendary student-athlete, coach and athletics director.
 
Jarrett, who was enshrined in UND Athletics' Hall of Fame in 1975, was named the football program's first All-American in 1930 and also excelled in basketball and track and field. He lettered three times in each of those sports and would also be the head coach of all three of those programs at various times throughout a stretch from 1946-1958 where he served as the athletics director.
 
FIGHTING HAWKS ONLINE
Visit the newly-redesigned FightingHawks.com for all of the latest information on your UND Fighting Hawks sports teams. Here you can find schedules, rosters, photos, game notes, game recaps and more.
 
FIGHTING HAWKS ON TV
Every UND home game will air live on Midco Sports Network and will be available free online via PlutoTV. All games against Big Sky Conference teams are also streamed on PlutoTV. UND's trip to Washington will air on PAC-12 Network while the trek to Sam Houston State can be seen on WDAY/Z Xtra, the KX Network across the state and ESPN3.
 
FIGHTING HAWKS ON RADIO
Jack Michaels returns for another season of UND football action, joined in the booth by Hall Of Fame Coach Mike Berg and sideline reporter Paul Ralston on the Home of Economy Radio Network across the state and region. The flagship for UND football is 96.1 The Fox in Grand Forks.