The University of Minnesota-Duluth will take a brief respite from Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play Saturday (Oct. 4) when the Bulldogs host Waldorf College of Forest City, IA. Game time is set for 6 p.m. at Griggs Field (4,000) on the UMD campus.
THE RECORDS: UMD is an even 2-2 overall and 1-1 in NSIC play while Waldorf College, which is a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) independent, sports an 0-5 mark this fall.
THE RANKINGS: The Bulldogs were ranked 26th in this week's American Football Coaches Association NCAA Division II poll.
THE BROADCAST: Saturday afternoon's Bulldog-Warrior game will be carried live locally on WEBC Radio (560 AM) with Howie Leathers handling the play-by-play and Dave Walter providing color commentary. All UMD games during the 2003 season can be heard via the internet at: www.umdbulldogs.com.
THE COACHES: The 2002 NSIC Coach of the year, Bob Nielson (Wartburg College, 1982) is beginning is fifth year at UMD and has a 32-18 overall record (for a .640 winning percentage) to show for it. Last fall, the Nielson-led Bulldogs posted the first 11-0 regular season record in the program's 70-year history and earned an inaugural berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs. Nielson, who coached UMD to its first-ever post-season appearance in 2001 (Mineral Water Bowl) after his Bulldogs experienced their greatest one-year turnaround in team history the previous fall, joined the UMD program after guiding the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire to the semifinal round of the 1998 NCAA Division III playoffs. He amassed a three-year mark of 22-11 with the Blugolds, including a 10-3 record in his farewell season when Wisconsin-Eau Claire claimed a share of its first WIAC title in 15 years while setting a school mark for victories. Nielson, who sports a 102-51-1 collegiate coaching record (.666), also spent five years (1991-95) as the head coach at Wartburg College where he pieced together five successive non-losing seasons, and two years at Ripon (WI) College (1989-90).
A. David Bolstorff is in his 35th at Waldorf College where he has compiled a 182-154-2 record. He's the namesake of Bolstorff Field, the on-campus home of the football Warriors.
THE SERIES: UMD and Waldorf College, which is in its first year as a four-year institution (it was a two-year community college prior to the 2003-04 season) will meet for the first time Saturday night.
LAST WEEK: UMD made its 2003 NSIC road debut and fell 46-7 to Northern State University Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs trailed 46-0 until midway through the final quarter when freshman backup quarterback Ted Pelzer (Champlin, MN) hit junior wide receiver Chris Kuhl (Ralston, NE) with a five-yard scoring strike. The Bulldogs did hold an edge in time of possession (33:34 to 25:12) and total plays (81 to 62), and were outgained by the Wolves in total offense by a just 359-256 margin. However, the Bulldogs did commit six turnovers on the afternoon, five of which led to Northern State touchdowns.
Waldorf College was upended 31-8 by Peru State College Saturday in Peru, NE.
TEAM CAPTAINS: Cash Langeness (Luck, WI), senior wide receiver Tim Battaglia (Cloquet, MN), senior placekicker Chad Gerlach (Wisconsin Rapids, WI), junior outside linebacker Adam Skinner (Cumberland, WI), and senior left offensive guard Dan Soldner (Cold Spring, MN) -- are serving as UMD team captains for the 2003 season.
SACKING IT TO 'EM: The Bulldogs have been racked up 16 quarterback sacks (while allowing just three by the opposition) in their four games thus far. Junior defensive ends Russ Rabe (Lake Holcombe, WI) and Geoff Fischer (Lakeville, MN) rank 1-2 on the Bulldog charts with 6.5 with 4.0 sacks, respectively. Rabe's 6.5 sacks is currently the fourth highest total among all NCAA II players.
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: The Bulldogs will carry a school-record 14-game home winning steak into Saturday night's matchup with Waldorf College. UMD, which hasn't tasted defeat at Griggs Field since Oct. 27, 2000 (37-27 to Concordia University-St. Paul) has been victorious in 17 of its last 18 games played on campus.
FAMILIAR FOE FOR BUNGUM: Bulldog senior running back Andrew Bungum (Sargeant, MN) played football for a pair of seasons (1999 and 2000) for the-then Waldorf Community College before transferring to UMD in 2001.
MANY HAPPY RETURNS: Senior right cornerback Cash Langeness, who will make his 40th consecutive start Saturday night is within four kickoff returns and eight punt returns of equalling the UMD career records in each of those categories (both of those marks are currently held by the late Corey Veech, 1983-86). Langeness, UMD's all-time kick return (1,821) and punt return (724) yardage leader, has now returned four kicks, two interceptions, one punt and one fumble for scores during his Bulldog tenure.
BATTAGLIA NEARING MORE RECORDS: Senior wide receiver Tim Battaglia, a member of both the 2003 Football Gazette and d2football.com Pre-season All-American second teams, was on the receiving end of seven passes for a game-high 100 yards Saturday afternoon at Northern State. He now has been credited with at least one pass catch in all 39 Bulldog outings over the past four years -- a UMD record. Battaglia, a 2002 All-NSIC first team pick who last fall became the first Bulldog ever to eclipse the 1,000-yard pass reception yardage plateau for a single season (he finished with 1,166 yards), needs 30 catches, 140 receiving yards and just 2 touchdown pass receptions to supplant his older brother, Steve (1999-2000) in each of those statistical categories.
HIGH RATINGS: UMD's ninth-place ranking in the Sept. 9, 2003 AFCA Poll was its highest ever in any national poll. Both the 1980 and 1981 Bulldogs also reached the No. 9 spot in the NCAA II polls.
A LONELY JOB: Junior Jason Schreiber (Stewartville, MN) has been called to punt on just 14 occasions (seven of which came last Saturday against Northern State) in four games this fall for a mere 3.5 punts per outing average. During the past two seasons, Schreiber has punted three times or less in seven of the club's 16 outings.
BULLDOG BITS: A pair of Milltown, WI, natives -- senior strong safety Shaun Fisher , who bypassed all but the final month of the 2002 season while recovering from reconstructive surgery on his right knee, and senior linebacker Dave Otto are perched atop the 2003 Bulldog defensive charts with 22 total tackles each ... Second-year starter Woody Seim (Grand Marais, MN) was shelved for the third straight week this past Saturday because of a hamstring injury is expected to bypass the Waldorf College game. The junior free safety has been replaced in the starting lineup by sophomore Blake Hendrickson (Lake Park, MN) during each of the past three weekends ... Bob Nielson, who will assume the role athletic director at UMD on Dec. 1, has compiled a 22-6 record since the start of the 2001 season. Nielson celebrated his 44th birthday this past Sunday ... Saturday's 46-7 loss to Northern State was the Bulldogs' most lopsided setback since they fell 49-0 at the hands of St. Cloud State on Sept. 11, 1999 in St. Cloud, MN ... The Bulldogs have outscored their four opponents 22-12 in the opening quarter of play this season ... Junior running back Dave Rufledt (Bloomer, WI) has now rushed for 22 touchdowns during his two-plus seasons with the Bulldogs which puts him squarely on target to break the school record of 36 TDs held by fullback Boyd Hanson (1979-82) ... Prior to last Saturday, the Bulldogs had reeled off 10 straight wins over NSIC competition going back to the 2001 regular season finale (a 33-30 loss to Winona State University at the Metrodome) ... Quarterback Ted Pelzer (Champlin, MN), who was redshirted as a freshman at North Dakota State last fall, has come off the bench the past two games to complete six of 16 passes for 74 yards and one touchdowns. He's also rushed for another 37 yards on five carries.
INJURY UPDATE: The following veterans are not expected to suit up in Saturday's outing with Waldorf College due to injuries:
Player Pos Injury
Alex Allen OL Fractured Vertebrae
Nick Axtell FB Concussion
Pat Kelly FB Ankle
Woody Seim FS Hamstring
ALL-TIME RECORDS: UMD has compiled a 71-year record of 375-228-24 for a .617 winning percentage -- the 13th best mark among all NCAA II schools.
UP NEXT: UMD will remain at Griggs Field for an Oct. 11 Homecoming engagement with NSIC rival Wayne State College.
