2025 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team

2025 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football
2025 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football
Conference	Missouri Valley Football Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 14
FCS Coaches	No. 15 (tie)
Record	2–2 (0–0 MVFC)
Head coach	Eric Schmidt (1st season);
Offensive coordinator	Isaac Fruechte (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Base defense	4–2–5
Home stadium	Alerus Center
	Seasons ← 2024 2026 →

Last updated September 23, 2025

2025 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 1 North Dakota State	0	–	0	3	–	0
No. 2 South Dakota State	0	–	0	3	–	0
No. 7 Illinois State	0	–	0	3	–	1
No. 11 Southern Illinois	0	–	0	3	–	1
No. 24 Youngstown State	0	–	0	3	–	1
Indiana State	0	–	0	2	–	2
No. 14 North Dakota	0	–	0	2	–	2
Northern Iowa	0	–	0	2	–	2
No. 17 South Dakota	0	–	0	2	–	2
Murray State	0	–	0	0	–	4

As of September 22, 2025 Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2025 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team represents the University of North Dakota as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2025 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Fighting Hawks are led by first-year head coach Eric Schmidt. Schmidt is taking over for former coach Bubba Schweigert, who stepped down after the 2024 season.^[2] They play home games at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Preseason

MVFC poll

The Missouri Valley Football Conference released its preseason poll on July 21, 2025, voted on by league athletic directors, coaches, and media members. The Fighting Hawks were predicted to finish seventh in the conference.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	6:00 pm	at No. 17 (FBS) Kansas State *		Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium Manhattan, KS	ESPN+	L 35–38	51,927
September 6	6:00 pm	Portland State *	No. 20	Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	Midco Sports/ESPN+	W 50–20	11,469
September 13	2:00 p.m.	at No. 5 Montana *	No. 16	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT	Midco Sports/ESPN+	L 23–24	26,492
September 20	3:00 pm	Valparaiso *	No. 16	Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	Midco Sports/ESPN+	W 58–7	11,424
October 4	4:00 p.m.	at Northern Iowa		UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA	Midco Sports/ESPN+
October 11	3:00 pm	Youngstown State		Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	Midco Sports/ESPN+
October 18	2:00 pm	at Southern Illinois		Saluki Stadium Carbondale, IL	ESPN+
October 25	3:00 pm	Indiana State		Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	Midco Sports/ESPN+
November 1	1:00 pm	at South Dakota		DakotaDome Vermillion, SD (Sitting Bull Trophy)	Midco Sports/ESPN+
November 8	1:00 pm	North Dakota State		Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND (Nickel Trophy)	Midco Sports/ESPN+
November 15	11:00 am	at Murray State		Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+
November 22	1:00 pm	South Dakota State		Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	Midco Sports/ESPN+
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[4]^[5]

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:**██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
STATS	RV	20	16	16	14
Coaches	RV	22	17	17	15т

Game summaries

at No. 17 (FBS) Kansas State

North Dakota Fighting Hawks (0–0) at No. 17 (FBS) Kansas State Wildcats (0–1) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Hawks	7	14	0	14	35
No. 17 (FBS) Wildcats	10	7	14	7	38

at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium, Manhattan, Kansas

Date: August 30, 2025
Game time: 6:00 p.m.
Game attendance: 51,927
TV announcers (ESPN+): Shawn Kenney (play-by-play) and Barrett Brooks (analyst)

Game information

First Quarter

KSU – Luis Rodriguez 30-yard field goal, 5:26. Wildcats 3–0. Drive: 12 plays, 67 yards, 6:11.
UND – Jerry Kaminski 1-yard run (C. J. Elrichs kick), 2:54. Fighting Hawks 7–3. Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 2:32.
KSU – Jayce Brown 44-yard pass from Avery Johnson (Luis Rodriguez kick), 1:55. Wildcats 10–7. Drive: 5 plays, 68 yards, 0:54.

Second Quarter

UND – Jerry Kaminski 1-yard run (C. J. Elrichs kick), 7:46. Fighting Hawks 14–10. Drive: 10 plays, 80 yards, 5:50.
KSU – Jaron Tibbs 30-yard pass from Avery Johnson (Luis Rodriguez kick), 4:15. Wildcats 17–14. Drive: 6 plays, 66 yards, 3:12.
UND – Sawyer Seidl 16-yard run (C. J. Elrichs kick), 0:24. Fighting Hawks 21–17. Drive: 13 plays, 75 yards, 3:51.

Third Quarter

KSU – DeVon Rice 9-yard run (Luis Rodriguez kick), 8:41. Wildcats 24–21. Drive: 10 plays, 57 yards, 4:47.
KSU – DeVon Rice 13-yard run (Luis Rodriguez kick), 3:41. Wildcats 31–21. Drive: 8 plays, 77 yards, 3:58.

Fourth Quarter

UND – Korey Tai 22-yard pass from Jerry Kaminski (C. J. Elrichs kick), 10:12. Wildcats 31–28. Drive: 9 plays, 71 yards, 4:35.
UND – Sawyer Seidl 20-yard run (C. J. Elrichs kick), 4:19. Fighting Hawks 35–31. Drive: 9 plays, 70 yards, 4:41.
KSU – Joe Jackson 6-yard pass from Avery Johnson (Luis Rodriguez kick), 0:42. Wildcats 38–35. Drive: 10 plays, 81 yards, 1:03.

Statistics	UND	KSU
First downs	23	22
Total yards	354	461
Rushing yards	102	143
Passing yards	252	318
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	24–39–0	28–43–0
Time of possession	31:14	28:46

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
North Dakota	Passing	Jerry Kaminski	23/38, 231 yards, TD
	Rushing	Sawyer Seidl	8 rushes, 62 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Caden Dennis	2 receptions, 41 yards
Kansas State	Passing	Avery Johnson	28/43, 318 yards, 3 TD
	Rushing	Joe Jackson	11 rushes, 55 yards
	Receiving	Jayce Brown	12 receptions, 109 yards, TD

Portland State

Portland State Vikings (0–2) vs. No. 20 North Dakota Fighting Hawks (0–1) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Vikings	-	-	-	-	0
No. 20 Fighting Hawks	-	-	-	-	0

at Alerus Center, Grand Forks, ND

Date: September 6, 2025
Game time: 6:00 p.m.
Game weather: Indoors; 70 °F (21 °C)
TV: ESPN+

Statistics	PRST	UND
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Portland State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
North Dakota	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at No. 5 Montana

No. 16 North Dakota Fighting Hawks (1–1) vs. No. 5 Montana Grizzlies (1–1) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 16 Fighting Hawks	-	-	-	-	0
No. 5 Grizzlies	-	-	-	-	0

at Washington–Grizzly Stadium, Missoula, MT

Date: September 13, 2025
Game time: 2:00 p.m.
TV announcers (ESPN+): Trey Bender (play-by-play), Jordan Tripp (analyst) and Kyle Hansen (sideline)

Statistics	UND	MONT
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
North Dakota	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Montana	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Valparaiso

Valparaiso Beacons (1–2) vs. No. 16 North Dakota Fighting Hawks (1–2) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Beacons	-	-	-	-	0
No. 16 Fighting Hawks	-	-	-	-	0

at Alerus Center, Grand Forks, ND

Date: September 20, 2025
Game time: 3:00 p.m.
Game weather: Indoors; 70 °F (21 °C)
TV announcers (ESPN+): Alex Heinert (play-by-play) and Ryan Kasowski (analyst)

Statistics	VAL	UND
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Valparaiso	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
North Dakota	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Northern Iowa

North Dakota Fighting Hawks (2–2) vs. Northern Iowa Panthers (2–2) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Hawks	-	-	-	-	0
Panthers	-	-	-	-	0

at UNI-Dome, Cedar Falls, IA

Date: October 4, 2025
Game time: 4:00 p.m.
Game weather: Indoors; 70 °F (21 °C)
TV: ESPN+

Statistics	UND	UNI
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
North Dakota	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Northern Iowa	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Youngstown State

Youngstown State Penguins (0–0) vs. North Dakota Fighting Hawks (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Penguins	-	-	-	-	0
Fighting Hawks	-	-	-	-	0

at Alerus Center, Grand Forks, ND

Date: October 11, 2025
Game time: 3:00 p.m.
Game weather: Indoors; 70 °F (21 °C)
TV: ESPN+

Statistics	YSU	UND
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Youngstown State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
North Dakota	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Southern Illinois

North Dakota Fighting Hawks (0–0) vs. Southern Illinois Salukis (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Hawks	-	-	-	-	0
Salukis	-	-	-	-	0

at Saluki Stadium, Carbondale, IL

Date: October 18, 2025
Game time: 2:00 p.m.
TV: ESPN+

Statistics	UND	SIU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
North Dakota	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Southern Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Indiana State

Indiana State Sycamores (0–0) vs. North Dakota Fighting Hawks (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Sycamores	-	-	-	-	0
Fighting Hawks	-	-	-	-	0

at Alerus Center, Grand Forks, ND

Date: October 25, 2025
Game time: 3:00 p.m.
Game weather: Indoors; 70 °F (21 °C)
TV: ESPN+

Statistics	INST	UND
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Indiana State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
North Dakota	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at South Dakota (Sitting Bull Trophy)

North Dakota Fighting Hawks (0–0) vs. South Dakota Coyotes (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Hawks	-	-	-	-	0
Coyotes	-	-	-	-	0

at DakotaDome, Vermillion, SD

Date: November 1, 2025
Game time: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: Indoors; 70 °F (21 °C)
TV: ESPN+

Statistics	UND	SDAK
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
North Dakota	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
South Dakota	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

North Dakota State (Nickel Trophy)

North Dakota State Bison (0–0) vs. North Dakota Fighting Hawks (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bison	-	-	-	-	0
Fighting Hawks	-	-	-	-	0

at Alerus Center, Grand Forks, ND

Date: November 8, 2025
Game time: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: Indoors; 70 °F (21 °C)
TV: ESPN+

Statistics	NDSU	UND
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
North Dakota State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
North Dakota	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Murray State

North Dakota Fighting Hawks (0–0) vs. Murray State Racers (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Hawks	-	-	-	-	0
Racers	-	-	-	-	0

at Roy Stewart Stadium, Murray, KY

Date: November 15, 2025
Game time: 11:00 a.m.
TV: ESPN+

Statistics	UND	MUR
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
North Dakota	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Murray State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

South Dakota State

South Dakota State Jackrabbits (0–0) vs. North Dakota Fighting Hawks (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Jackrabbits	-	-	-	-	0
Fighting Hawks	-	-	-	-	0

at Alerus Center, Grand Forks, ND

Date: November 22, 2025
Game time: 1:00 p.m.
TV: ESPN+

Statistics	SDST	UND
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
South Dakota State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
North Dakota	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

References

↑ "Eric Schmidt plans to implement new base defense at UND for the first time since the 1990s". Grand Forks Herald. December 13, 2024. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
↑ "Head Coach Bubba Schweigert to step down, move into senior administrative role with UND Athletics". fightinghawks.com. North Dakota Fighting Hawks. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
↑ "Missouri Valley Football Announces predicted order of finish". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. July 21, 2025. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
↑ "2025 Football Schedule". fightinghawks.com. North Dakota Fighting Hawks. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
↑ "2025 North Dakota Football Schedule". fbschedules.com. FBSchedules. Retrieved April 10, 2025.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Eric Schmidt plans to implement new base defense at UND for the first time since the 1990s". Grand Forks Herald. December 13, 2024. Retrieved December 13, 2024.

[2] "Head Coach Bubba Schweigert to step down, move into senior administrative role with UND Athletics". fightinghawks.com. North Dakota Fighting Hawks. Retrieved April 10, 2025.

[3] "Missouri Valley Football Announces predicted order of finish". valley-football.org. Missouri Valley Football Conference. July 21, 2025. Retrieved July 22, 2025.

[4] "2025 Football Schedule". fightinghawks.com. North Dakota Fighting Hawks. Retrieved April 10, 2025.

[5] "2025 North Dakota Football Schedule". fbschedules.com. FBSchedules. Retrieved April 10, 2025.

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v t e North Dakota Fighting Hawks football
Venues	Memorial Stadium (1927–2000) Alerus Center (2001–present)
Bowls & rivalries	North Dakota State: Nickel Trophy South Dakota: Sitting Bull Trophy
Culture & lore	"Fight On Sioux" "It's for You, North Dakota U" Pride of the North Native American mascot controversy
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold

2025 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team

Contents

Preseason

MVFC poll

Schedule

Rankings

Game summaries

at No. 17 (FBS) Kansas State

Portland State

at No. 5 Montana

Valparaiso

at Northern Iowa

Youngstown State

at Southern Illinois

Indiana State

at South Dakota (Sitting Bull Trophy)

North Dakota State (Nickel Trophy)

at Murray State

South Dakota State

References