North Dakota Looks to Fix Run Defense Ahead of Missouri Valley Opener at Indiana State
The short version
- UND allowed 277 rushing yards to Nebraska after giving up 71 and 54 in its first two games
- The Fighting Hawks open Missouri Valley play at Indiana State on Saturday at noon in Terre Haute
- Indiana State quarterback Elijah Owens is expected to miss the game with a wrist injury
- Sycamores running back Aaron Ball rushed for more than 180 yards against Valparaiso last week
- UND cut its rushing yards allowed per carry from 5.1 in 2024 to 2.9 in 2025 under coach Eric Schmidt
After surrendering 277 rushing yards to Nebraska, the Fighting Hawks turn their attention to stopping the run as conference play begins Saturday in Terre Haute.
North Dakota defensive tackle Logyn Eckheart said this week that the 277 rushing yards the Fighting Hawks surrendered on the ground at Nebraska last Saturday stung personally. "That's embarrassing," Eckheart said. "That's something I take a lot of pride in. We have to improve and be better."
The struggles have developed over the past two games. North Dakota opened the season by holding Long Island University to 71 rushing yards and St. Thomas to 54, but the numbers climbed to 111 against Portland State before the 277-yard day against the Cornhuskers.
Attention now shifts to Terre Haute, where the Fighting Hawks visit Indiana State at noon Saturday to open Missouri Valley Football Conference play. Fixing the run defense is the priority.
Eckheart framed the recent rough patch as useful. "That adversity is good ... to get punched in the face and realize we're not perfect and have stuff to work on," he said. "It's better it happens now than late in the season. We're still focused on winning a Missouri Valley Football Conference championship."
Under head coach Eric Schmidt, who took over the program in Grand Forks, North Dakota's run defense improved dramatically from 2024 to 2025. The Hawks cut their yards allowed per carry from 5.1 to 2.9 — a figure that ranked third in the FCS — and their per-game rushing defense from 187 yards to 102.7, which ranked fifth nationally in the subdivision.
Schmidt, whose team faced three opponents outside the FCS Top 25 to start 2026, echoed Eckheart's view that the Nebraska game served as a useful measuring stick. "You're constantly trying to get data points," Schmidt said. "You're trying to refine things. That's the reason you want to play in games like we played in Saturday night. We want to play good teams so that we can get a barometer. Once you get into conference play, you're going to play really good teams week in and week out."
In both the Portland State and Nebraska games, North Dakota was gashed on the ground early before settling in after halftime. Schmidt said establishing an identity at the line of scrimmage is essential in the Missouri Valley. "You've got to be able to win the line of scrimmage if you're going to have an opportunity to be able to win the conference championship," he said.
The Hawks' most recent trip to Indiana State ended badly, with the Sycamores knocking off a No. 15-ranked North Dakota team. Eckheart downplayed the significance of that result. "It's a nameless, faceless opponent," he said. "We have to play our own game, and that'll take care of it."
Indiana State is expected to be without starting quarterback Elijah Owens, who is dealing with a wrist injury. His absence removes a running threat and figures to put more of the workload on Illinois transfer running back Aaron Ball, who rushed for more than 180 yards against Valparaiso last week. Schmidt emphasized the value of stopping the run in a league filled with run-heavy teams, and said the coaching staff shares responsibility for improvement. "Don't point the finger, point the thumb," Schmidt said. "It starts there with accountability."
Games to watch
