ON TAP
North Dakota takes to the road again this week to face another top-ten ranked team, this time the FCS' No. 4/5 Sam Houston State BearKats. SHSU is one of the premier teams in all of FCS football, with seven straight NCAA playoff appearances, advancing to the semifinals in five of those seasons. 

REVIEW OF LAST WEEK
North Dakota hung tough with ninth-ranked Washington for three quarters before falling, 45-3, last Saturday. Senior John Santiago racked up 260 all-purpose yards, including 139 on the ground in the loss. UND trailed just 24-3 through three stanzas.

WHAT'S TO COME?
UND will play Idaho State in the annual Potato Bowl and Homecoming, Sept. 22 at the Alerus Center. These two schools hooked up in the first edition of the Potato Bowl back in 1966. UND was a 41-0 victor that season and is 41-11 all-time in the Potato Bowl game. 

PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM
The BearKats are consistently in the mix to win a national championship, advancing to the semifinals in five of the last seven years including a pair of title-game berths. Here's a look at SHSU's history over the past seven years. 

Year    Record    NCAA Playoffs
2017    12-2    Semifinals
2016    12-1    Quarterfinals
2015    11-4    Semifinals
2014    11-5    Semifinals
2013    9-5    Second Round
2012    11-4    Championship Game
2011    14-1    Championship Game

INDEPENDENT GEORGE
North Dakota begins its two-year NCAA Independent status this season as it transitions from the Big Sky Conference to the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2020. UND will still be eligible for the NCAA FCS Playoffs, but will have to do so through an at-large bid, not eligible for a conference automatic berth. 

RANK AND FILE
One week after playing its highest-ever ranked team-- Washington at No. 9 in AP poll (FBS)-- North Dakota will follow that up by playing a team tied with the highest-ever rank in FCS (Sam Houston State, No. 4 in AFCA Coaches Poll). North Dakota is 6-23 all-time against ranked Division I FCS teams, with its highest-ever win coming three seasons ago with a road win at No., 15 Portland State (10/24/15). UND has played two other teams at No. 4 in the poll at the time of the game, at Montana State in 2012 and at North Dakota State in 2015. 

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. 

BRADY'S PUNCH
Redshirt freshman Brady Leach punched in his first career field goal Sept. 8 at Washington. The right-footed kick went through from 20 yards out for UND's only score against the Huskies. He has converted all five of his PATs to date. 

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 (FBS). The Huskies were ranked ninth heading into the week two tilt. 

WITH THE SEASON-OPENING WIN...
• UND now holds a 6-5 record in season openers at the DI level. The Fighting Hawks picked up their first DI season-opening road win in 2015 at Wyoming and the 24-13 victory over the Cowboys was the program's first win over an FBS foe. Last season, North Dakota hung tough with 25th-ranked Utah, before falling, 37-16. 
• UND owns a 14-7 mark at the Alerus Center under the direction of head coach Bubba Schweigert.
• North Dakota is 8-2 all-time in the month of August, out-scoring its opponents,  408-112.
• In the building all-time, North Dakota is 84-25 in 18 seasons. 

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 
•56    Wins at the Division I level for UND 
•646    Number of all-time wins for UND (646-424-30)
•3,389    John Santiago's career rushing total (3rd all-time at UND)
•5,960    Santiago's all-purpose yardage (2nd all-time at UND)
•7,346    Total fans shy of 1-million 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. 

GOING FOR A MILLION
The University of North Dakota has welcomed 992,654 fans into the Alerus Center in the 17 seasons since it opened in 2001. Last season, an average of 10,428 fans attended each game, the second-highest average attendance in the building's history. 

UP NEXT
UND will return home on Sep. 22 for a jam-packed game against Idaho State. This game will be the annual Potato Bowl game and will also be the school's Homecoming game. 

POTATO BOWL POINTS
Idaho State was the first-ever Potato Bowl opponent, in a battle for pride among the potato growing regions. UND won that game handily, 41-0, and is 41-11 in Potato Bowl USA history, including a 38-0 blanking of future Missouri Valley Football Conference member Missouri State last season. 

MOORE TO BE ENSHRINED
Former UND standout running back Phillip Moore will be enshrined in the UND Athletics Hall of Fame in September. 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.

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.