# 2012 University of North Dakota football team

The 2012 University of North Dakota football team represented the University of North Dakota in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Chris Mussman and played their home games at the Alerus Center. This was their first year as a member of the Big Sky Conference.
This season North Dakota officially played without a mascot name after the decision to retire "Fighting Sioux" as the school's mascot amid controversy.
They finished the season 5–6, 3–5 in Big Sky play to finish in a three-way tie for eighth place.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 30 | 7:00 pm | South Dakota M&T* | Alerus CenterGrand Forks, ND | MSN/Big Sky TV | W 66–0 | 8,847 |
| September 8 | 6:00 pm | Portland State* | Alerus CenterGrand Forks, ND | MSN/Big Sky TV | W 45–37 | 9,210 |
| September 15 | 7:00 pm | at San Diego State* | Qualcomm StadiumSan Diego, CA | KUSI | L 41–49 | 24,826 |
| September 22 | 8:00 pm | at Sacramento State | Hornet StadiumSacramento, CA | Big Sky TV | W 35–13 | 10,774 |
| September 29 | 6:00 pm | No. 23 Cal Poly | Alerus CenterGrand Forks, ND | MSN/Big Sky TV | L 17–35 | 9,531 |
| October 6 | 6:00 pm | at No. 7 Eastern Washington | Roos FieldCheney, WA | SWX/Big Sky TV | L 17–55 | 8,646 |
| October 13 | 3:00 pm | No. 16 Northern Arizona | Alerus CenterGrand Forks, ND | MSN/Big Sky TV | L 38–45 | 9,742 |
| October 20 | 2:30 pm | Montana | Alerus CenterGrand Forks, ND | RTRM/RTNW | W 40–34 | 9,000 |
| October 27 | 3:00 pm | at No. 4 Montana State | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | Big Sky TV | L 10–55 | 17,137 |
| November 3 | 1:00 pm | Southern Utah | Alerus CenterGrand Forks, ND | MSN/Big Sky TV | W 33–29 | 7,144 |
| November 17 | 1:00 pm | at Northern Colorado | Nottingham FieldGreeley, CO | Big Sky TV | L 27–28 | 3,418 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||
Despite also being a member of the Big Sky Conference, the game with Portland State on September 8 was considered a non conference game and had no effect on the Big Sky Standings.

## Game summaries
### South Dakota M&T

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hardrockers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| North Dakota | 14 | 31 | 7 | 14 | 66 |

### Portland State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vikings | 9 | 15 | 0 | 13 | 37 |
| North Dakota | 14 | 21 | 10 | 0 | 45 |

### @ San Diego State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| North Dakota | 14 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 41 |
| Aztecs | 21 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 49 |

### @ Sacramento State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| North Dakota | 7 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 35 |
| Hornets | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 13 |

### Cal Poly

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #23 Mustangs | 14 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 35 |
| North Dakota | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 17 |

### @ Eastern Washington

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| North Dakota | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| #7 Eagles | 20 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 55 |

### Northern Arizona

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #16 Lumberjacks | 14 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 45 |
| North Dakota | 0 | 17 | 14 | 7 | 38 |

### Montana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Grizzlies | 7 | 10 | 17 | 0 | 34 |
| North Dakota | 17 | 14 | 0 | 9 | 40 |

### @ Montana State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| North Dakota | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| #4 Bobcats | 14 | 14 | 7 | 20 | 55 |

### Southern Utah

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Thunderbirds | 3 | 19 | 0 | 7 | 29 |
| North Dakota | 0 | 13 | 13 | 7 | 33 |

### @ Northern Colorado

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| North Dakota | 14 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 27 |
| Bears | 7 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 28 |