# 2018 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team

The 2018 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team represented the University of North Dakota during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Bubba Schweigert and played their home games at the Alerus Center. The Fighting Hawks competed as an FCS independent. They finished the season 6–5.
North Dakota left the Big Sky Conference for all sports except football in 2018 and join the Summit League. The football program joined the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2020. Although being classified as an independent for football in 2018 and 2019, the Fighting Hawks continued to play a full Big Sky schedule, and their game counted in the conference standings for their opponents, North Dakota was ineligible to win the conference championship.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 30 | 6:00 p.m. | Mississippi Valley State | | Alerus CenterGrand Forks, ND | Midco SN | W 35–7 | 8,884 |
| September 8 | 4:00 p.m. | at No. 9 (FBS) Washington | | Husky StadiumSeattle, WA | P12N | L 3–45 | 68,093 |
| September 15 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 5 Sam Houston State | | Bowers StadiumHuntsville, TX | ESPN3 | W 24–23 | 5,373 |
| September 22 | 4:30 p.m. | Idaho State | No. 22 | Alerus CenterGrand Forks, ND | Midco SN | L 21–25 | 11,157 |
| September 29 | 1:00 p.m. | at Northern Colorado | | Nottingham FieldGreeley, CO | Pluto TV 241 | W 38–13 | 4,902 |
| October 13 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 22 Montana | | Alerus CenterGrand Forks, ND | Midco SN | W 41–14 | 10,497 |
| October 20 | 8:00 p.m. | at Sacramento State | | Hornet StadiumSacramento, CA | Pluto TV 233 | W 41–15 | 10,709 |
| October 27 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 4 Weber State | No. 22 | Alerus CenterGrand Forks, ND | Midco SN | L 30–35 | 8,650 |
| November 3 | 4:00 p.m. | at Idaho | | Kibbie DomeMoscow, ID | Pluto TV 242 | L 27–31 | 7,899 |
| November 10 | 2:00 p.m. | Portland State | | Alerus CenterGrand Forks, ND | Midco SN | W 17–10 | 7,494 |
| November 17 | 3:30 p.m. | at Northern Arizona | | Walkup SkydomeFlagstaff, AZ | Pluto TV 239 | L 16–31 | 4,306 |
| HomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### Mississippi Valley State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Delta Devils | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Fighting Hawks | 14 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 35 |

### At Washington

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Hawks | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| No. 9 (FBS) Huskies | 10 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 45 |
at Husky Stadium • Seattle, WA
* Date: September 8, 2018
* Game time: 2:00 p.m. PDT
* Game weather: 69 °F (21 °C) • Overcast • Wind SE @ 6 mph (10 km/h)
* Game attendance: 68,093
* Referee: Chris Wiggins
* TV announcers (P12N): Ted Robinson, Yogi Roth, and Jill Savage

### At Sam Houston State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Hawks | 7 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
| No. 5 Bearkats | 7 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 23 |

### Idaho State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bengals | 6 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 25 |
| No. 22 Fighting Hawks | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 21 |

### At Northern Colorado

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Hawks | 3 | 21 | 0 | 14 | 38 |
| Bears | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 13 |

### Montana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 22 Grizzlies | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Fighting Hawks | 14 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 41 |

### At Sacramento State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Hawks | 14 | 0 | 20 | 7 | 41 |
| Hornets | 3 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 15 |

### Weber State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 4 Wildcats | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
| No. 22 Fighting Hawks | 0 | 20 | 3 | 7 | 30 |

### At Idaho

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Hawks | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 27 |
| Vandals | 14 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 31 |

### Portland State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vikings | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| Fighting Hawks | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 17 |

### At Northern Arizona

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Hawks | 0 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 16 |
| Lumberjacks | 14 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 31 |

## 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 |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
| STATS FCS | RV | RV | RV | 22 | RV | RV | RV | RV | 22 | RV | RV | RV | | |
| Coaches | — | — | — | RV | — | — | RV | RV | 24 | 25 | RV | 25 | | |