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.

2012 University of North Dakota football
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Record	5–6 (3–5 Big Sky)
Head coach	Chris Mussman (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Greg Breitbach
Defensive coordinator	Mike Mannausau
Home stadium	Alerus Center
Seasons ← 2011 2013 →

2012 Big Sky Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 4 Eastern Washington +^		7	–	1					11	–	3
No. 5 Montana State +^		7	–	1					11	–	2
No. 12 Cal Poly +^		7	–	1					9	–	3
No. 20 Northern Arizona		6	–	2					8	–	3
Sacramento State		4	–	4					6	–	5
Northern Colorado		4	–	4					5	–	6
Southern Utah		4	–	4					5	–	6
North Dakota		3	–	5					5	–	6
Montana		3	–	5					5	–	6
UC Davis		3	–	5					4	–	7
Portland State		2	–	6					3	–	8
Weber State		2	–	6					2	–	9
Idaho State		0	–	8					1	–	10
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

This season North Dakota officially played without a mascot name after the decision to retire "Fighting Sioux" as the school's mascot amid controversy.^[1]

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 Center Grand Forks, ND	MSN/Big Sky TV	W 66–0	8,847
September 8	6:00 pm	Portland State*	Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	MSN/Big Sky TV	W 45–37	9,210
September 15	7:00 pm	at San Diego State*	Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, CA	KUSI	L 41–49	24,826
September 22	8:00 pm	at Sacramento State	Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA	Big Sky TV	W 35–13	10,774
September 29	6:00 pm	No. 23 Cal Poly	Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	MSN/Big Sky TV	L 17–35	9,531
October 6	6:00 pm	at No. 7 Eastern Washington	Roos Field Cheney, WA	SWX/Big Sky TV	L 17–55	8,646
October 13	3:00 pm	No. 16 Northern Arizona	Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	MSN/Big Sky TV	L 38–45	9,742
October 20	2:30 pm	Montana	Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	RTRM/RTNW	W 40–34	9,000
October 27	3:00 pm	at No. 4 Montana State	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	Big Sky TV	L 10–55	17,137
November 3	1:00 pm	Southern Utah	Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	MSN/Big Sky TV	W 33–29	7,144
November 17	1:00 pm	at Northern Colorado	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	Big Sky TV	L 27–28	3,418
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All 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. ^[2][3]

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

See also: 2012 Portland State Vikings football team

@ San Diego State

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

See also: 2012 San Diego State Aztecs football team

@ Sacramento State

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

See also: 2012 Sacramento State Hornets football team

Cal Poly

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

See also: 2012 Cal Poly Mustangs football team

@ Eastern Washington

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

See also: 2012 Eastern Washington Eagles football team

Northern Arizona

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

See also: 2012 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team

Montana

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

See also: 2012 Montana Grizzlies football team

@ Montana State

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

See also: 2012 Montana State Bobcats football team

Southern Utah

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

See also: 2012 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team

@ Northern Colorado

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

See also: 2012 Northern Colorado Bears football team

References

1. "ND board: Fighting Sioux nickname is retired".
2. "North Dakota Fighting Hawks Schedule 2012". ESPN. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
3. "2012 M Football Schedule". University of North Dakota Athletics. Retrieved December 23, 2022.