FCS Daily Dose: Can UND keep the momentum going after its big ranked win? + 4 ranked duels this week

The FCS Daily Dose is a blog-style series of articles featuring a selection of news, rumors, breaking news and commentary on a variety of topics.

A new daily dose is published several times a week.

Can UND keep the momentum going after its big ranking win?

North Dakota is back on the FCS radar after beating a top-ranked team. The question now is whether the Fighting Hawks can stay in the national FCS discussion.

UND, ranked 23rd before Saturday’s game, overcame a 24-7 halftime deficit to beat Montana (then ranked 4th) 27-24 in Grand Forks. The team shot up to 10th in the FCS media and coaches’ top-25 polls, though interestingly, it still trails the Grizzlies.

The Hawks now want to carry this momentum and avoid disappointing performances that have caused them problems in recent seasons.

Last year, they embarrassed No. 6 North Dakota State 49-24. The Hawks had a good chance of making the playoffs, but lost 27-0 to unranked Northern Iowa the next week and then narrowly lost to struggling Indiana State and Murray State. UND entered the playoffs 7-4, losing at home in the first round to Sac State. A historic win over the Bison was overshadowed by the performances that followed.

Similar stories have occurred recently.

In 2019, the Hawks beat No. 12 UC Davis 38-36. The next week, they lost to unranked Idaho State 55-20.

In 2018, UND beat No. 5 Sam Houston 24-23. The next week, it lost to unranked Idaho State 25-21.

Guess who the Hawks are playing this week?

Unranked state of Idaho.

UND should have a good run here. The Fighting Hawks will face three unranked teams at home – Idaho State, San Diego and Murray State. Then they’ll face NDSU in what should be a top-10 showdown.

FCS-Top 25: Sam Herder’s ballot

There were a lot of question marks surrounding the Hawks in the preseason after they failed last year and returned only four offensive and four defensive starters. But with a respectable performance at Iowa State in Week 1 and a gutsy comeback against a Montana team with championship prospects, UND has national attention and respect again.

Now it is up to the program to maintain this momentum.

4 Ranked Duels This Week

This week there are four ranked FCS duels based on the Stats Perform Media Poll:

No. 17 UAlbany at No. 4 Idaho
No. 23 Mercer at No. 14 Chattanooga
No. 12 UIW at No. 9 SIU
No. 24 Nicholls at No. 11 Sac State

Some other games feature teams in the top 25:

WCU at No. 22 Elon
No. 13 W&M at Wofford
No. 15 UC Davis in Southern Utah

FCS records 3 more FBS wins

The FCS has already won four games against FBS opponents this season.

Montana State beat New Mexico 35-31 in Week 0. And in Week 2, Saint Francis beat Kent State 23-17, Idaho beat Wyoming 17-13 and Southern Utah defeated UTEP 27-24.

It was SFU’s first FBS win in program history and SUU’s first since 2013.

For Idaho, the Vandals picked up their second FBS win in two seasons. It was the Big Sky Conference’s 10th FBS win since 2021.

Previous daily doses

3 All-American level players from Montana were out in Week 1, status unknown this week … READ MORE

Sun Belt admits referee error in game-winning touchdown between UCA and Arkansas State + 1-score loss between FCS and FBS … READ MORE

Idaho QB Jack Layne out for several weeks with broken collarbone + SEMO QB Paxton DeLaurent returns from shoulder injury … READ MORE