2015 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team

The 2015 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team represented the University of North Dakota during the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second year head coach Bubba Schweigert and played their home games at the Alerus Center. The Fighting Hawks are a member of the Big Sky Conference.

2015 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Record	7–4 (5–3 Big Sky)
Head coach	Bubba Schweigert (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Paul Rudolph (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Pistol
Defensive coordinator	Eric Schmidt (2nd season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Alerus Center
Seasons ← 2014 2016 →

2015 Big Sky Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 18 Southern Utah $^		7	–	1					8	–	4
No. 10 Portland State ^		6	–	2					9	–	3
No. 14 Montana ^		6	–	2					8	–	5
North Dakota		5	–	3					7	–	4
Northern Arizona		5	–	3					7	–	4
Eastern Washington		5	–	3					6	–	5
Weber State		5	–	3					6	–	5
Northern Colorado		3	–	5					6	–	5
Montana State		3	–	5					5	–	6
Cal Poly		3	–	5					4	–	7
UC Davis		2	–	6					2	–	9
Idaho State		1	–	7					2	–	9
Sacramento State		1	–	7					2	–	9
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Although playing most of the season without an official mascot, 2015 was North Dakota's first year with their new nickname as it was announced on November 18 that the university had adopted the Fighting Hawks after a public vote of students, faculty, staff and other members of the University of North Dakota community.

The Fighting Hawks finished the season 7–4, 5–3 in Big Sky play to finish in a four way tie for fourth place.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	3:00 pm	at Wyoming*		War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY		W 24–13	23,669
September 12	5:00 pm	Drake*		Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	Midco SN	W 21–18	9,865
September 19	2:30 pm	at No. 4 North Dakota State*		Fargodome Fargo, ND (Rivalry)	NBC ND/ESPN3	L 9–34	19,044	[1]
September 26	1:00 pm	UC Davis		Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	Midco SN	W 31–24	8,450
October 3	4:00 pm	at No. 16 Portland State		Hillsboro Stadium Hillsboro, OR	WBS	W 19–17	4,765
October 10	1:00 pm	Idaho State	No. 23	Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	Midco SN	L 31–37	9,188
October 17	7:00 pm	at Weber State		Stewart Stadium Odgen, UT	WBS	L 24–25	5,461
October 24	2:30 pm	at No. 19 Montana		Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT	RTNW	L 16–42	25,014
October 31	1:00 pm	No. 19 Montana State		Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	Midco SN	W 44–38	7,090
November 14	1:00 pm	Northern Colorado		Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	Midco SN	W 45–14	6,996
November 21	8:05 pm	at Cal Poly		Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA	WBS	W 45–21	5,746
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[2][3]

Game summaries

Wyoming

	1	2	3	4	Total
North Dakota	7	7	0	10	24
Cowboys	0	0	0	13	13

See also: 2015 Wyoming Cowboys football team

Drake

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	0	0	3	15	18
North Dakota	7	14	0	0	21

See also: 2015 Drake Bulldogs football team

North Dakota State

	1	2	3	4	Total
North Dakota	3	0	6	0	9
#4 Bison	3	21	10	0	34

See also: 2015 North Dakota State Bison football team and Nickel Trophy

UC Davis

	1	2	3	4	Total
Aggies	7	3	7	7	24
North Dakota	14	7	10	0	31

See also: 2015 UC Davis Aggies football team

Portland State

	1	2	3	4	Total
North Dakota	3	3	10	3	19
#16 Vikings	7	3	7	0	17

See also: 2015 Portland State Vikings football team

Idaho State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bengals	6	9	7	15	37
#23 North Dakota	14	7	10	0	31

See also: 2015 Idaho State Bengals football team

Weber State

	1	2	3	4	Total
North Dakota	7	10	0	7	24
Wildcats	3	7	0	15	25

See also: 2015 Weber State Wildcats football team

Montana

	1	2	3	4	Total
North Dakota	7	6	0	3	16
#19 Grizzlies	7	14	14	7	42

See also: 2015 Montana Grizzlies football team

Montana State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#19 Bobcats	7	17	7	7	38
North Dakota	21	10	7	6	44

See also: 2015 Montana State Bobcats football team

Northern Colorado

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	0	0	14	14
North Dakota	7	28	10	0	45

See also: 2015 Northern Colorado Bears football team

Cal Poly

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Hawks	7	21	7	10	45
Mustangs	0	0	14	7	21

See also: 2015 Cal Poly Mustangs football team

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	23	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
Coaches	—	RV	RV	—	RV	25	RV	RV	—	RV	RV	RV	RV