UND football Week 2 primer: How to watch, injuries and matchups with Utah State
Sep. 9—LOGAN, Utah — After a week of a few FCS wins over the FBS, the underdogs might not be sneaking up on the big boys this week.
The UND football team's signature win in the spring of 2021 — a home 28-17 victory over South Dakota State — caught the attention of Utah State head coach Blake Anderson.
"We have a huge challenge, in my opinion," Anderson said. "This team has a tremendous history. North Dakota was 5-2 last year and lost to James Madison and North Dakota State — both great programs. They beat the brakes off South Dakota State, which beat Colorado State this weekend. There's a lot of reason to be awake and alert of the opponent coming in."
No. 9 UND will have its shot Friday at 8 p.m. in a nationally-televised game on CBS Sports Network to try to join the ranks of the FCS uprising.
The Fighting Hawks haven't played an FBS game since 2018 and haven't won an FBS game since its only win over the subdivision at Wyoming in 2015.
"They play in a great league," Anderson said. "You look at the teams they play on a weekly basis ... there's really good football being played. They had a Top 15 defense in the country last year. They're not going to be intimidated."
UND has had more success against the Group of 5 conferences such as the Mountain West than the Power 5 programs.
In 2018, UND lost 45-3 at Washington. In 2017, UND lost 37-16 at Utah. But in 2016, UND missed on a late two-point conversion to fall to Bowling Green 27-26.
"They're not afraid to put a face on you," Anderson said. "It's a physical, blue-collar team in a league that plays that way. They'll expect to be successful and win."
Anderson noted UND's strength offensively in powerful running back Otis Weah and the efficient quarterback Tommy Schuster. Weah had three rushing touchdowns and 114 yards at Idaho State last week, while Schuster was 14-for-18 passing for 183 yards.
"(Weah) is low to the ground and powerful," Anderson said. "They're dedicated to try run downhill. You're going to have to tackle well. (Schuster) connects the dots really well. You can't just stick your head in there and lose sight of the face he has the ability to push the ball down the field."
UND's defense forced three interceptions last week at Idaho State and comes off a spring season in which the Fighting Hawks had 24 sacks.
"They're all exactly where they're supposed to be," Anderson said. "They're super well-coached. They don't get out of gap and don't miss assignments. They play with tremendous effort."
No. 9 UND at Utah State
Kickoff: 8 p.m., Friday
Where: Maverik Stadium, in Logan.
TV: CBS Sports Network (GF Channel 314).
Radio: 96.1 FM (Jack Michaels on play-by-play, Tom Dosch analyst)
Streaming: This game won't be on ESPN-Plus but CBS Sports may have streaming applications options.
Betting line: North Dakota +6, per many online betting sites.
Injuries: The biggest injury to come out of UND's 35-14 win over Idaho State last Saturday was a season-ending leg injury to starting outside linebacker Ray Haas, which means emerging standout Josh Navratil will be asked to bump up his playing time. At wide receiver, UND coach Bubba Schweigert said he anticipates to have Garett Maag and Bo Belquist available. Belquist missed the Idaho State game for an undisclosed reason. Another injury to watch defensively will be safety Jordan Canady, who worked out on the field in Pocatello but didn't dress as he recovers from a spring injury. He's likely a game-time decision in Logan.
The Fighting Hawks will win if they can establish Otis Weah in the run game in order to set up Tommy Schuster, who might have a depleted wide receiver corps to throw at against the Aggies. It'll be important to have a healthy Garett Maag and a fresh Bo Belquist. UND's offensive line will need to take a step forward with one full game under their belts together and clean up some of the sloppy mistakes that prevented UND from truly putting Idaho State out of the game in the second half. Defensively, UND's front seven needs to stop the run like it did against Idaho State which would allow the secondary to focus on the up-tempo passing attack.
The Aggies will win if UND can't establish the ground game with a new-look offensive line and the Fighting Hawks' banged-up wide receiver unit doesn't have enough weapons available to move the chains. UND hasn't played in an FBS game since 2018, meaning much of the roster doesn't have that experience. Utah State will be a team playing with a ton of confidence, playing in a home opener and coming off a win at Washington State. There'll be plenty of buy-in this week with a roster full of transfers and a first-year head coach.
