ON TAP
North Dakota, fresh off an exhilarating road win at No. 5 Sam Houston State, returns home to face Idaho State in the annual Potato Bowl. This season, the Potato Bowl also falls on Homecoming to make for a jam-packed week of activities in the northern Red River Valley. 
 
UP NEXT
The Fighting Hawks head to Greeley, Colo., for a battle with former North Central Conference and Big Sky Conference foe Northern Colorado next Saturday. UNC has been a bit snake-bit in the early stages of 2018, losing all three games
 
NEXT HOME GAME
UND hosts Montanta on Oct. 13, coming off a bye week. 
 
LAST TIME OUT
North Dakota's Nate Ketteringham found Noah Wanzek in the endzone on a 4th-and-goal with 4:44 left in the fourth quarter to help give UND a thrilling 24-23 win at No. 5 Sam Houston State last Saturday. North Dakota's balanced attack produced 189 yards passing and 187 on the ground, while holding one of the nation's most prolific offenses to just 300 combined yards of total offense.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES vs. THE BENGALS
North Dakota leads the all-time series against Idaho State, 5-1. UND won the last meeting, a 28-21 victory in Pocatello, Idaho in North Dakota's undefeated run through the Big Sky Conference schedule in 2016. ISU's lone win came a season earlier, a 37-31 decision at the Alerus. All four of the Division I matchups between the teams have been decided by one possession. 
 
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.
 
WELCOME BACK
North Dakota re-entered the national poll this week, debuting at 22 in the FCS STATS poll. UND is also just outside the top 25 in the AFCA Coaches Poll, sitting at what would be 27th.
 
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 this weekend. 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.
 
WHAT'S GOOD?
• UND is 41-11 all-time in the Potato Bowl game.
• UND has won three of the four homecoming tilts in Bubba Schweigert's tenure.
• UND owns a 14-7 mark at the Alerus under head coach Bubba Schweigert.
• In the building all-time, North Dakota is 84-25 in 17 seasons.
 
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.
 
THREE ALL-PURPOSE TONS
John Santiago recorded 158 all-purpose yards Sept. 15 at Sam Houston State to push him over 6,000 for his distinguished career. He ranks second all-time at North Dakota in that category (1st- Weston Dressler- 7,072).
 
KETTERING-HAM AND GOOSE-EGGS
Junior quarterback Nate Ketteringham has yet to throw an interception in his three-game North Dakota career. He has thrown 89 times and accounted for six touchdowns (four passing, two rushing) without a pick to start his Fighting Hawk career.
 
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.
 
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 eight 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 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.
 
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.
 
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.