2015 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team

The 2015 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team represented the University of North Dakota during the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second year head coach Bubba Schweigert and played their home games at the Alerus Center. The Fighting Hawks are a member of the Big Sky Conference.

2015 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football
Conference	Big Sky Conference
2015 record	7–4 (5–3 Big Sky)
Head coach	Bubba Schweigert (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Paul Rudolph (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Eric Schmidt (2nd season)
Home stadium	Alerus Center (Capacity: 12,283)

2015 Big Sky Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 18 Southern Utah $^		7	–	1					8	–	4
No. 10 Portland State ^		6	–	2					9	–	3
No. 14 Montana ^		6	–	2					8	–	5
North Dakota		5	–	3					7	–	4
Northern Arizona		5	–	3					7	–	4
Eastern Washington		5	–	3					6	–	5
Weber State		5	–	3					6	–	5
Northern Colorado		3	–	5					6	–	5
Montana State		3	–	5					5	–	6
Cal Poly		3	–	5					4	–	7
UC Davis		2	–	6					2	–	9
Idaho State		1	–	7					2	–	9
Sacramento State		1	–	7					2	–	9
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Although playing most of the season without an official mascot, 2015 was North Dakota's first year with their new nickname as it was announced on November 18 that the university had adopted the Fighting Hawks after a public vote of students, faculty, staff and other members of the University of North Dakota community.

The Fighting Hawks finished the season 7–4, 5–3 in Big Sky play to finish in a four way tie for fourth place.

Previous season

In 2014, North Dakota finished with a record of 5–7, 3–5 in Big Sky play, to finish in a tie for eighth place. They failed to qualify for the FCS Playoffs.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	3:00 pm	at Wyoming*		War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY		W 24–13	23,669
September 12	5:00 pm	Drake*		Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	Midco SN	W 21–18	9,865
September 19	2:30 pm	at No. 4 North Dakota State*		Fargodome Fargo, ND (Rivalry)	NBC ND/ESPN3	L 9–34	19,044[1]
September 26	1:00 pm	UC Davis		Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	Midco SN	W 31–24	8,450
October 3	4:00 pm	at No. 16 Portland State		Hillsboro Stadium Hillsboro, OR	WBS	W 19–17	4,765
October 10	1:00 pm	Idaho State	No. 23	Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	Midco SN	L 31–37	9,188
October 17	7:00 pm	at Weber State		Stewart Stadium Odgen, UT	WBS	L 24–25	5,461
October 24	2:30 pm	at No. 19 Montana		Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT	RTNW	L 16–42	25,014
October 31	1:00 pm	No. 19 Montana State		Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	Midco SN	W 44–38	7,090
November 14	1:00 pm	Northern Colorado		Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	Midco SN	W 45–14	6,996
November 21	8:05 pm	at Cal Poly		Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA	WBS	W 45–21	5,746
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS FCS Poll released prior to game Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

[2]

Game summaries

Wyoming

	1	2	3	4	Total
North Dakota	7	7	0	10	24
Cowboys	0	0	0	13	13

Drake

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	0	0	3	15	18
North Dakota	7	14	0	0	21

North Dakota State

	1	2	3	4	Total
North Dakota	3	0	6	0	9
#4 Bison	3	21	10	0	34

UC Davis

	1	2	3	4	Total
Aggies	7	3	7	7	24
North Dakota	14	7	10	0	31

Portland State

	1	2	3	4	Total
North Dakota	3	3	10	3	19
#16 Vikings	7	3	7	0	17

Idaho State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bengals	6	9	7	15	37
#23 North Dakota	14	7	10	0	31

Weber State

	1	2	3	4	Total
North Dakota	7	10	0	7	24
Wildcats	3	7	0	15	25

Montana

	1	2	3	4	Total
North Dakota	7	6	0	3	16
#19 Grizzlies	7	14	14	7	42

Montana State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#19 Bobcats	7	17	7	7	38
North Dakota	21	10	7	6	44

Northern Colorado

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	0	0	14	14
North Dakota	7	28	10	0	45

Cal Poly

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Hawks	7	21	7	10	45
Mustangs	0	0	14	7	21

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	NR	RV	RV	RV	RV	23	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
Coaches	NR	RV	RV	NR	RV	25	RV	RV	NR	RV	RV	RV	RV

References

1. Schnepf, Kevin (September 19, 2015). "For at Least One Day, NDSU-UND Game Was the Biggest Thing in the State Again". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
2. "2015 University of North Dakota schedule". University of North Dakota Department of Athletics. Retrieved September 22, 2015.