The game didn’t go as all Hawks fans hoped. But the weekend ended alright.
UND lost 42-21 to NDSU on Saturday lowering their record to 7-4 on the season. Some thought it may affect their chances at an at-large bid. Other didn’t think it mattered (me).
As it turns out it didn’t matter as the Hawks were selected to the 2022 FCS Playoff field yesterday. They found out they are traveling to scenic Ogden, UT to take on the Weber State Wildcats. Game time is set for 3:00pm CT this Saturday.
The NDSU game started out poorly and ended poorly. To say I expected more out of the Hawks would be an understatement. I hoped they had gotten over the mental block of not being able to play sound, 3-phase football in the Fargodome. It was no such case as NDSU took it to them offensively early and often.
NDSU had 363 yards rushing. That is embarrassing and should never happen. Especially when a team is as close to one-dimensional as the Bison are. There are zero deep threats on that team.
I didn’t think the defensive line played too badly. For the most part they held up their guys in a way that would lend to the linebackers filling the hole. The problem is the linebackers and safeties seemed to misfit numerous inside runs, leading to big plays.
The first quarter blown coverage on 3rd and 7 when UND had them backed on to the NDSU six yard line was a killer. That play went for 76 yards and crushed early hope.
The defense just didn’t play together at all. Not fast enough, didn’t tackle well, coverage was soft at times. It didn’t flow and then on top of that the opponent is trying to maul you all game.
QB Cam Miller became the workhorse for NDSU with Luepke out, scoring 5 rushing TD’s. The plus-one QB running game fit up UND inside the red zone multiple times. Tough to stop for sure.
The UND offense started to find their groove before half and into the third quarter but started slowly. Falling behind 21-0 in the Fargodome isn’t ideal.
UND rushed for 165 yards, which is about where they usually are. The passing game struggled a bit more this week with the upfield pass rush of NDSU’s defensive ends cutting off Tommy Schuster’s scrambling lanes. Tommy likes to flee the pocket east-west vs step up and the Bison seemed to take that away.
Schuster ended the game 11-19 for 153 yards and 1 TD. It was probably his most average game of the year. Windows are tighter vs a fast, physical defense.
Bo Belquist was a bright spot in this one. The junior grabbed four catches for 102 yards. Belquist ended the season with the most receptions in the MVFC with 61.
UND got the script flipped on them when it came to time of possession. It was 36 to 24 NDSU this week. This led to UND not having the ball and syncing up the offense as they have done in previous weeks.
Kick coverage was poor. Multiple long returns certainly didn’t help the defense.
C.J. Siegel blocked another kick this week – a field goal attempt that Edmund Ocansey could’ve scooped and scored on but struggled to get a handle on the rolling ball. That would’ve made it 42-28 but to no avail.
During the game I tweeted something along these lines: if you want to take the next step then you better beat NDSU. It has always been that way for UND and always will be (as long as they are in same conference). Recruiting should be focused with an eye on matching up with NDSU and SDSU. If we have guys that can’t matchup in this game then what are we doing?
The good news is UND was selected to the 2022 FCS Playoffs! They received an at-large bid and will head out on the road to take on the Wildcats. UND is 1-4 all-time vs the Wildcats.
I predicted UND to be 7-4 and make the FCS playoffs before the season began. This is another big feather in the cap of the the UND staff and players. To make the at-large field this year wasn’t easy. A lot of bubble teams that merited consideration.
Now it’s time to take the next step and win a road playoff game. Weber is an outstanding team and it won’t be easy. But UND has played better teams this year so they know what it takes to beat the best.
Cover photo courtesy of Russ Hons & UND Athletics