Sometimes, slogans lack substance and can evaporate with ease. At the University of North Dakota, head coach Bubba Schweigert’s slogans have become a way of life for his football team.
Since taking over before the 2014 season, Schweigert had preached a day by day mentality, not putting a timeline on the primary goal of winning a Big Sky Conference championship. That mindful, patient approach helped UND rip off nine straight wins, including eight straight in Big Sky play to earn the first BSC banner in program history.
Schweigert has also preached to his team that if they wanted to avenge the disappointments of last season’s playoff snub, they needed to ‘Leave No Doubt’ they belonged in the FCS playoff field this season. A nine-game winning streak and an outright Big Sky title have done exactly that.
North Dakota is the No. 7 seed, marking the first time UND will participate in the postseason as a Division I member. The Fighting Hawks will have a bye this weekend and host the winner of Richmond and North Carolina A&T on December 3 at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks.
“The 7-seed was great,” UND junior strong safety Cole Reyes, the recently anointed Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Year, said on Wednesday. “We were bummed out last year so it was in the back of our heads, especially for the players. But we made sure to leave no doubt it didn’t happen this year.”
UND head coach Bubba Schweigert/by UND Athletics
That surge also earned Schweigert the league’s top award. The third-year mentor was named the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year on Wednesday morning.
“He’s a great guy who loves us as players,” Reyes said. “He trusts us and does everything for us. I knew it was coming, I was just waiting until it came. I’m so happy for him.”
Schweigert praised his players, a group that included 11 who eared All-Big Sky recognition earlier this week, along with his staff, spearheaded by steady coordinators Paul Rudolph and Eric Schmidt.
“I’m a huge believer in surrounding one self with good people and guys with great work ethic that coach young men the right way,” Schweigert said on Wednesday. “Our staff, I couldn’t be happier for those guys the way they work day after day and the way they coach our guys.
“It’s about surrounding yourself with good players. To all the guys who have put in work and believed in a vision, I’m so proud of those guys, the effort and the time they have put forth. There has to be a belief that if we do things the right way, we can get positive results.”
In Schweigert’s first season, North Dakota completely overhauled the identity it crafted under former head coach Chris Mussman. Instead of the high-flying, high-scoring attack UND used to win the 2011 Great West championship, Schweigert and Rudolph installed a ball control offense predicated on grinding the clock. Schweigert, the former defensive coordinator at Southern Illinois after coordinating UND’s defenses during the Division II glory days in the early 2000s, and Schmidt teamed up to install a pressure-heavy, risking taking 3-4 defense that made waves in 2014 right away.
North Dakota running backs Brady Oliveira, left, and John Santiago, pictured here at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman/ by Brooks Nuanez
The results initially were mixed as UND averaged just 15.9 points per game offensively, gave up big plays too often defensively and stumbled to a 5-7 finish. But 2015 started out with a bang as true freshman running back John Santiago rushed for 155 yards in a 23-14 win over FBS Wyoming. By the time UND posted a 19-17 win over Portland State in Portland, the Fighting Hawks were 4-1 but injuries began to mount.
Weeks after Zach Arnell went down with as season-ending injury, Reyes and sophomore quarterback Keaton Studsrud both suffered injuries that sidelined them in October. UND lost three straight games, including blowing a lead to Idaho State, losing to Weber State by two and getting blown out at Montana. Reyes and Studsrud returned, UND went on a three-game winning streak to end the season and a 7-4 record looked like it might be good enough for an at-large berth into the 24-team playoff field.
But North Dakota was left out, fueling the fire for Reyes, Studsrud, Santiago and other key returners like cornerback Deion Harris, outside linebacker Brian Labat, offensive tackle Michael Coe and power running back Brady Oliveira.
“Coming off last year, we knew we had to just be better so we don’t leave it up to them,” Reyes said. “In the off-season, became a leader with the guys leaving. We had the motto ‘Leave no doubt’ and that was in the back of our heads. The 0-2 start, it was frustrating but we were right there in both games so it was nothing to drop our heads on. We picked it up and got nine in a row.”
North Dakota lost 13-9 at Stony Brook because of a blocked punt the Seawolves returned for a touchdown in the waning minutes. UND fell the next week 27-26 at Bowling Green because of a dropped two-point conversion in the final seconds that would’ve sealed an FBS win for second straight season. The Fighting Hawks have been unbeatable since.
UND junior cornerback Deion Harris, pictured here breaking up a pass against Montana State’s Mitch Herbert, led the Big Sky with five interceptions this season/ by Brooks Nuanez
UND eked out wins at Montana State (17-15) and over Cal Poly at home (31-24) before starting to roll. North Dakota rushed for 422 yards in a 40-7 win at Sac State. Studsrud threw for 282 yards and four touchdowns in a 45-23 win over Southern Utah. UND avoided a letdown against Idaho State before stonewalling Weber State and Northern Colorado, giving up 18 yards rushing total in back-to-back weeks.
The Fighting Hawks fell behind 31-10 to Northern Arizona at home two weeks ago only to score 28 unanswered points, capped by Harris’ third interception return for a touchdown this season to post a 38-31 victory and a perfect conference mark.
North Dakota had the last week of the regular season off on a bye. The Fighting Hawks entered the week as the projected ninth team in the playoffs, needing Central Arkansas to lose at top-ranked Sam Houston State to ensure a seed. That played out and now UND awaits the winner of Richmond and North Carolina A&T.
“There’s a huge difference in how we feel right now because we are in the tournament,” Schweigert said. “We knew when we completed the season last year, we would be on the bubble. But we felt like we really put together a good stretch at the end of the year and nobody can ever take that away from us, what we did at the end of 2015. We had a tough spot in the middle of the season and we knew that was a concern. But we were awful disappointed on Selection Sunday a year ago.
“It’s completely different. We aren’t disappointed. There were some anxious moments at the selection show but more anxious who we were going to play, where are we going to be, what lies in front of us.”
