# 2019 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team

The 2019 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team represented the University of North Dakota during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Bubba Schweigert, they played their home games at the Alerus Center. They finished the season 7–5. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs, where they would lose to Nicholls in the first round.
The Fighting Hawks left the Big Sky Conference in 2018 to join the non-football Summit League, with the football program joining the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2020. Although being classified as an independent for football in 2018 and 2019, they continued to play a full Big Sky schedule, and their games counted in the conference standings for their opponents. The Fighting Hawks were ineligible to win the conference championship.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 4:00 p.m. | Drake | | Alerus CenterGrand Forks, ND | Pluto TV | W 47–7 | 8,545 |
| September 7 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 1 North Dakota State | | FargodomeFargo, ND (Nickel Trophy) | ESPN+ | L 7–38 | 18,923 |
| September 14 | 4:00 p.m. | No. 24 Sam Houston State | | Alerus CenterGrand Forks, ND | Pluto TV | W 27–23 | 8,697 |
| September 28 | 4:05 p.m. | at No. 21 Eastern Washington | | Roos FieldCheney, WA | Pluto TV | L 20–35 | 8,726 |
| October 5 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 12 UC Davis | | Alerus CenterGrand Forks, ND | Pluto TV | W 38–36 | 8,987 |
| October 12 | 2:05 p.m. | at Idaho State | | Holt ArenaPocatello, ID | Pluto TV | L 20–55 | 8,731 |
| October 19 | 7:05 p.m. | at Cal Poly | | Alex G. Spanos StadiumSan Luis Obispo, CA | Pluto TV | W 30–26 | 5,186 |
| October 26 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 9 Montana State | | Alerus CenterGrand Forks, ND | Pluto TV | W 16–12 | 8,594 |
| November 9 | 3:00 p.m. | at No. 3 Weber State | No. 22 | Stewart StadiumOgden, UT | Pluto TV | L 27–30 | 9,622 |
| November 16 | 1:00 p.m. | Northern Colorado | | Alerus CenterGrand Forks, ND | Pluto TV | W 45–38 | 7,732 |
| November 23 | 1:00 p.m. | Southern Utah | | Alerus CenterGrand Forks, ND | Pluto TV | W 36–18 | 7,485 |
| November 30 | 3:00 p.m. | at No. 19 Nicholls | No. 24 | John L. Guidry StadiumThibodaux, LA (NCAA Division I First Round) | ESPN3 | L 6–24 | 7,569 |
| HomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### Drake

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Fighting Hawks | 10 | 2 | 21 | 14 | 47 |

### At North Dakota State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Hawks | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 1 Bison | 14 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 38 |

### Sam Houston State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 24 Bearkats | 0 | 14 | 0 | 9 | 23 |
| Fighting Hawks | 14 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 27 |

### At Eastern Washington

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Hawks | 7 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 20 |
| No. 21 Eagles | 14 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 35 |

### UC Davis

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aggies | 0 | 14 | 14 | 8 | 36 |
| Fighting Hawks | 14 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 38 |

### At Idaho State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Hawks | 7 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 20 |
| Bengals | 3 | 28 | 10 | 14 | 55 |

### At Cal Poly

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Hawks | 0 | 7 | 14 | 9 | 30 |
| Mustangs | 3 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 26 |

### Montana State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 9 Bobcats | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 12 |
| Fighting Hawks | 7 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 16 |

### At Weber State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 22 Fighting Hawks | 7 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 27 |
| No. 3 Wildcats | 14 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 30 |

### Northern Colorado

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 7 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 38 |
| Fighting Hawks | 14 | 17 | 14 | 0 | 45 |

### Southern Utah

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Thunderbirds | 0 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 18 |
| Fighting Hawks | 7 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 36 |

## FCS Playoffs

The Fighting Hawks were selected for the postseason tournament, with a first-round pairing against Nicholls.

### At Nicholls–First Round

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 24 Fighting Hawks | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| No. 19 Colonels | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |

## Ranking movements

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Final |
| STATS FCS | RV | RV | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 22 | RV | RV | 24 | |
| Coaches | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | RV | RV | — | RV | 23 | 22 | RV | RV | RV | |