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2016 North Dakota

9–⁠3 (8–⁠0 Big Sky).

Schedule and results

North Dakota in 2016, game by game: lost at Stony Brook 9–13; lost at Bowling Green 26–27; won vs. South Dakota 47–44; won at Montana State 17–15; won vs. Cal Poly 31–24; won at Sacramento State 40–7; won vs. Southern Utah 45–23; won at Idaho State 28–21; won vs. Weber State 27–19; won at Northern Colorado 23–13; won vs. Northern Arizona 38–31; lost vs. Richmond 24–27+33−4Lost 9–13 at Stony Brook-4Stony BrookLost 26–27 at Bowling Green-1Bowling GreenWon 47–44 vs. South Dakota+3South DakotaWon 17–15 at Montana State+2Montana StateWon 31–24 vs. Cal Poly+7Cal PolyWon 40–7 at Sacramento State+33Sacramento StateWon 45–23 vs. Southern Utah+22Southern UtahWon 28–21 at Idaho State+7Idaho StateWon 27–19 vs. Weber State+8Weber StateWon 23–13 at Northern Colorado+10Northern Colora…Won 38–31 vs. Northern Arizona+7Northern ArizonaLost 24–27 vs. Richmond-3Richmond
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1atStony BrookL 9–⁠1348%
Sep 10atBowling GreenL 26–⁠2716%
Sep 17vsSouth DakotaW 47–⁠4464%
Sep 24atMontana StateW 17–⁠1542%
Oct 1vsCal PolyW 31–⁠2453%
Oct 8atSacramento StateW 40–⁠767%
Oct 15vsSouthern UtahW 45–⁠2357%
Oct 22atIdaho StateW 28–⁠2174%
Oct 29vsWeber StateW 27–⁠1969%
Nov 5atNorthern ColoradoW 23–⁠1365%
Nov 12vsNorthern ArizonaW 38–⁠3164%
Dec 3vsRichmondL 24–⁠2755%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Richmond 27–⁠24; unranked in the final AP poll; Big Sky champions.

In program history: The best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 62 on file).

Big Sky champions8–⁠0 in the conference, shared with Eastern Washington

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
8–⁠0 shared first in Big Sky
AP final
Unranked
Points
355–⁠264
Coach
—
Elo
1444 +111 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
−14.4 No. 18 of 125 in FCS
Recruiting class
No. 203
Offensive coordinator
Paul Rudolph
Defensive coordinator
Eric Schmidt
Offense
Pistol
Defense
3–⁠4

Leaders

Passing yardsKeaton Studsrud QB219 yds
Passing touchdownsKeaton Studsrud QB1 TD
Rushing yardsJohn Santiago RB119 yds
Rushing touchdownsJohn Santiago RB1 TD
Receiving yardsLuke Stanley WR68 yds
Receiving touchdownsStetson Carr WR1 TD
TacklesBrandon Dranka DL4 tkl
SacksBrandon Dranka DL1 sacks
InterceptionsDeion Harris DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Ray Haas OLB★★No. 3036
Devan Hunt OG★★No. 3036
Bennett Helgren OT★★No. 3857
Evan Holm ATH★★No. 3900
Jake Geier WR★★No. 3900

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers22.00.710
Offensive line22.00.755
Linebackers12.00.767
Athletes and specialists22.00.715
Whole class72.00.732

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

2016 Big Sky standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Eastern Washington8–⁠012–⁠2
North Dakota8–⁠09–⁠3
Weber State7–⁠27–⁠5
Cal Poly5–⁠37–⁠5
Southern Utah5–⁠36–⁠5
Northern Colorado4–⁠45–⁠5
Northern Arizona4–⁠45–⁠6
Montana3–⁠56–⁠5
Montana State2–⁠64–⁠7
UC Davis2–⁠63–⁠8
Portland State2–⁠62–⁠8
Sacramento State2–⁠72–⁠8
Idaho State1–⁠71–⁠9

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.