For UND football, next two weeks will dictate season's fate
Nov. 9—GRAND FORKS — The UND football team has a chance to be one of the top-eight seeds in the NCAA FCS playoffs, hosting a Round of 16 game in the Alerus Center.
It would put the Fighting Hawks one home victory away from matching its best season at the Division-I level.
UND also could miss the FCS playoffs altogether.
A lot is riding on the next two weeks.
The Fighting Hawks will travel to Vermillion, S.D., for a game at noon Saturday against No. 6 South Dakota. Then, it will close the regular season Nov. 18 with a home game against Illinois State.
Those games will dictate the fate of this UND team.
So far, the season has gone mostly as expected.
The Fighting Hawks are 6-3.
Their three losses were not unexpected. All three were on the road against quality opponents — Boise State of the FBS, No. 1-ranked South Dakota State and No. 15-ranked Northern Iowa.
Their six wins have mostly come at home. UND is perfect at the Alerus, 5-0, continuing a trend in recent years. The Fighting Hawks are 24-2 at home since November 2018.
In that same stretch, the Fighting Hawks are 7-21 on the road.
Therein lies the importance of the next two games.
If UND loses both, the season is likely over.
If the Fighting Hawks win one, they probably get into the playoffs, but a road game will loom in the first- or second-round. Road teams have had little success in the FCS playoffs — as UND knows well. UND has played three road playoff games in the FCS era. It has lost all of them.
If UND wins both, it opens a realistic shot for its best Division-I season.
Its resume would likely be strong enough to get a top-eight seed, which means a bye to the Round of 16 and a home playoff game. Considering UND's track record at home, a door would open to a potential playoff run.
In the FCS playoffs, home games and bracket positioning are critical to deep runs. Consider: NDSU's nine national title teams never had to play a single road playoff game. Meanwhile, no Bison team that had to play on the road in the playoffs reached Frisco.
UND can probably make the playoffs with one win in the last two games. But if the Fighting Hawks want to make a run, both games are critical.
When: Noon Saturday.
Where: DakotaDome, Vermillion, S.D.
TV: Midco Sports (GF Ch. 27/622 HD).
Radio: The Fox (96.1 FM).
Stream: ESPN Plus.
