Sep. 29—GRAND FORKS — A lot has changed for the UND football program since the Fighting Hawks last traveled to Cedar Falls, Iowa, to face Northern Iowa.
On Oct. 21, 2023, UND carried a ton of program momentum to the UNI-Dome after beating North Dakota State in the Alerus Center the previous week.
The Fighting Hawks went to UNI and were shutout 27-0, failing to score a point for the first time in nine years.
UND will head back to Cedar Falls this weekend for the first time since that crushing defeat. No. 15 UND and Northern Iowa kick off at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Since that 27-0 loss at UNI, UND is 1-9 on the road, losers of eight straight on the road and the only win in that stretch came at Missouri Valley Football Conference newcomer Murray State, which still managed to score 31 points in that 45-31 UND win.
On Monday, at UND’s weekly press conference, players and coaches weren’t interested in speaking on road history, which came naturally since none of the four to speak were there in 2023 at UNI. Head coach Eric Schmidt is in his first season in this role, offensive coordinator Isaac Fruechte is in his second season in Grand Forks and players Deng Deng and Jonnie Wiltshire were first-year players in 2024.
“When Saturday gets here, we have to focus on us — doesn’t matter if we’re playing at home or on the road,” said Fruechte, who spent one season (2019) as an assistant coach at UNI. “How can we be better? Can we be tough, mentally and physically? We’re not looking to Saturday. We’re looking to Monday because it’s here right now. Then we can be most prepared for Tuesday, with meetings and practice. Not worrying about who we play and where we’re playing them. It’s all about us.”
UND is 0-2 on the road this season with similar results at Kansas State and Montana. The Hawks held leads in the fourth quarter of both games only to give up a touchdown in the final two minutes of each game.
“We’re not focused on the outcomes of past games,” Wiltshire said. “We’re focused on what’s in front of us. We have to prepare throughout the week.”
Northern Iowa, under first-year coach Todd Stepsis, enters the matchup 2-2 and unranked. Like UND, the Panthers are coming off a bye week. UNI holds wins over Butler and Eastern Washington, with losses to Utah Tech and Wyoming.
“I don’t think our guys look too much into the past, and we don’t talk about it,” Schmidt said. “If we’re going to be successful, we have to establish our toughness. That’s really important for us this week. You need all your effort and focus going forward. It’s important we go down and play physical and play our style of football. We know what we’re walking into. All the environments in our league are tough.”
Who: No. 15 UND at Northern Iowa.
When: 4 p.m., Saturday
Where: Cedar Falls, Iowa, UNI-Dome.
Records: Both teams are 2-2.
