Voice of UND Jack Michaels preview SDSU showdown and describes Hawks' current state of affairs

South Dakota State won't be the only desperate team in Grand Forks on Saturday that has lost its grip on what was a promising season and is holding on for dear life to reach the postseason.   North Dakota was a strong 6-2 — losses only to current No. 2 Montana by one point and Kansas State by three — and ranked No. 8 when the Fighting Hawks soared into Vermillion and were suffocated by South Dakota's defense for most of three quarters, trailing 26-7 en route to a 26-21 loss.    UND followed that up the next week by forcing No. 1 North Dakota State on the ropes before the Bison recovered to deliver a late knockout punch to win 15-10. The Hawks then did what every Missouri Valley Conference Football team does — beat Murray State.   Losers of two of three, UND is now in the same 7-4 boat as SDSU — losers of four straight — likely needing to win Saturday in the Alerus Center to reach the FCS playoffs. While the Hawks have four "quality losses" by five or fewer points, they don't have the win total nor enough "quality wins" to just slip into the postseason.   So, what about UND has made it tough for the top two FCS teams and a Big 12 team to beat the Hawks? And why have they also not been world beaters? Has something slipped down the stretch?   Just like SDSU, UND has a combination of strengths, weaknesses, and key late season injuries. Why are the Hawks the No. 2 defense in the MVFC (18.8 ppg), and how will they make life miserable for an SDSU offense — even if Chase Mason returns — that is averaging just 14 points in the Jacks' recent 0-4 stretch?   All the straight-shooting UND insight you need is in Thursday's Happy Hour pre-game interview with the veteran Voice of the Hawks Jack Michaels.