Can Kansas State experience help UND with the tall task at Nebraska?

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Sep. 14—GRAND FORKS — A year ago, the UND football program gave a power conference opponent the biggest scare in the Fighting Hawks' Division I era.

UND led Kansas State 35-31 in the game's final minute before surrendering a touchdown pass with 42 seconds left to lose to the Wildcats 38-35.

This week, UND faces a Nebraska program with plenty of momentum and the Cornhuskers can pack even more bodies into their home venue.

Yet, does a taste of success against Kansas State last season provide any boost in Lincoln when UND plays Nebraska at 6:15 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium?

"I think playing in those venues in the past will help our guys," UND coach Eric Schmidt said. "It's not something they haven't experienced, but I think we're not playing against Memorial Stadium. We're playing against a really good football team on the turf there, and we've got to do a great job of being able to focus on what's important and that's us doing a great job offensively of staying on the field, making sure we can mix it up and do a good job keeping them off balance. Then defensively, we've got to do a better job. Stop the run, prove that we can match up at the line of scrimmage. Limit explosive plays. At the end of the day, our guys have to go out there and focus on their jobs and do it consistently and stay in the moment."

Nebraska is 16-0 all-time against FCS opponents. The Huskers have rolled against a pair of MAC programs to start the year, beating Ohio 49-21 and Bowling Green 56-7.

UND's only win over an FBS program came in 2015 against Wyoming of the Mountain West Conference. The Hawks have never beat a power conference opponent.

The Hawks lost 38-17 to Nebraska to open the 2022 season. The game was tied at 17 with 4:22 left in the third quarter after a 5-yard touchdown run by Tyler Hoosman before the Huskers scored the final 21 points of the game.

"When you're a competitor, you want to have an opportunity like that," Schmidt said. "If you're a real competitor, you want to line up and play the best and see where you measure up."

Last Saturday, Nebraska's home game against Bowling Green drew 86,193. When UND opened the 2022 season at Nebraska, the Huskers drew 86,590 fans. When UND played Kansas State in Manhattan, the Wildcats drew 51,927 fans.

"Playing in a big crowd before helps a lot, and I know Nebraska has a big crowd," said UND starting cornerback Grant Noland, who started as a true freshman at Kansas State. "I don't think much of it — just another game."

It'll be a stark contrast to UND's road test last Saturday in Hillsboro, Ore., where Portland State's home venue is off-campus and not a major draw in Oregon. The official attendance for UND's 47-23 win was 1,455 fans.

"I think it's a great opportunity for a lot of guys on the team, and it's a great test," said UND wide receiver Deng Deng, who grew up playing 9-man football at Four Winds High School in North Dakota. "I just feel like most of the guys know how loud it's going to get and the pressure it'll be on us. It's going to be crazy."

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