FARGO -- Here are five things you may or may not have noticed in UND's rivalry game against North Dakota State on Saturday afternoon in the Fargodome.
1. Lopsided loss
UND lost four games to FCS opponents last season, but most of them were close games.
Saturday's 38-7 loss to rival North Dakota State in the Fargodome was UND's most lopsided loss since Sept. 16, 2017, when the Fighting Hawks were routed 45-7 by South Dakota in the Dakota Dome.
It also marked UND's most lopsided loss to NDSU since the Bison toppled UND 41-10 in a 1995 Division II playoff game in Grand Forks. It was UND's most lopsided loss in Fargo since 1987.
The Bison beat UND 34-9 -- a 25-point disparity -- during the 2015 meeting between the teams in Fargo.
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2. It wasn't 2015, though....
Although the score was more lopsided than the other Division I meeting between the teams, UND was significantly more effective offensively this time around under first-year coordinator Danny Freund.
During the 2015 meeting, UND managed just three first downs and 61 total yards of offense for the entire game. The Fighting Hawks doubled their number of first downs just a few minutes into the second quarter this time and finished with 13 first downs and 220 total yards.
The Fighting Hawks only sustained one drive, though.
3. Large Dome crowd
The game's attendance was 18,923, which marked the highest-attended game in the Fargodome since North Dakota State's 2015 Homecoming game against Northern Iowa.
The attendance did not eclipse the 2015 meeting between the Bison and Fighting Hawks, though. That meeting drew 19,044 fans to the Fargodome.
4. Rodgers, Canady career high in tackles
UND's defense had no answer for NDSU's offense, but a couple of players had career games.
Linebacker Donnell Rodgers made a career-high 16 tackles -- 14 of them in the game's first three quarters. Safety Jordan Canady also made a career-high in tackles with 14.
One other bright spot on defense was freshman cornerback C.J. Siegel, who made seven tackles and had two pass breakups.
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5. Cochran sees first action
UND used another true freshman for the first time Saturday.
Wide receiver Chrysten Cochran made his college debut during the second half. Cochran made his first-career catch with 3:18 to go in the fourth quarter on a pass from quarterback Noah Grover.
Freshmen are allowed to play in up to four games and still keep their redshirts.
Other true freshmen who have seen action in the first two games includes cornerbacks Sammy Fort and Caleb Nelson and defensive linemen Isaac Moore and Elijah Beach.
Other notes
- Longtime Major League Baseball pitcher Rick Helling of Lakota, N.D., attended the game as a UND guest. Helling originally enrolled at college at UND to play quarterback.
- North Dakota State raised its 2018 NCAA national championship banner before the game.
- UND traditionally travels the day before the game, but it made the 75-mile trek on Saturday morning. That's the same thing UND did during the 2015 game.
- The Fighting Hawks had consecutive illegal formation penalties on the point after its lone touchdown.
- UND starting cornerback Evan Holm was dressed but didn't play in the game. He also missed UND's season opener against Drake.
- Quarterback-turned-wide receiver Brock Boltmann saw one play at quarterback during the game. He ran a draw for 15 yards. He also made his first-career catch.
