The University of Minnesota-Duluth will make its 2003 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference road debut Saturday (Sept. 27) when the defending NSIC champion Bulldogs invade Aberdeen, SD, for a 2:30 p.m. matchup with Northern State University. Game time is set for 2:30 p.m. at Swisher Field (6,000).
THE RECORDS: UMD is off to a 2-1 overall start this fall and is 1-0 in NSIC play while Northern State, which opens its NSIC schedule Saturday, owns a 2-1 mark in all games.
RANKINGS: The Bulldogs are ranked 15th in this week's American Football Coaches Association Division II poll and hold down the No. 22 spot in the d2football.com poll. Northern State is not ranked in either of those two polls.
THE BROADCAST: Saturday afternoon's Bulldog-Northern State 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 32-17 overall record (for a .653 winning percentage) record to show for it. The includes a 2-3 mark in five lifetime confrontations against Northern State. 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 102-50-1 collegiate coaching record (.670), 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).
Ken Heupel (Northern State, 1980), the 1999 NSIC Coach of the Year, is in his sixth season at Northern State where he has compiled a 33-25 record (3-2 versus UMD). He guided the Wolves to the NSIC title four years ago on the strength of an 8-0 league record.
THE SERIES: Saturday afternoon's game will mark the 25th meeting ever between UMD and Northern State. The Bulldogs hold a 15-9 lead in the rivalry, which began on Nov. 8, 1980 in Duluth.
LAST MEETING: One year ago (Oct. 26), UMD closed out the road portion of its 2002 regular season schedule by upending the host Wolves 48-22. Current junior running back Dave Rufledt (Bloomer, WI) had three, first-quarter touchdowns and senior quarterback Ricky Fritz completed 17 of 27 passes for 277 yards and four scores for the Bulldogs, who held Northern State to a mere 17 yards on the ground.
LAST WEEK: UMD began defense of its NSIC title with a convincing 39-0 blanking of Southwest Minnesota State University Saturday afternoon in the Bulldogs' 2003 home opener. Senior running back Andrew Bungum (Sargeant, MN) responded to his first collegiate starting assignment by rushing for a game-high 99 yards and two touchdowns. Bungum, who had 19 carries on the day, scored on runs of eight and 15 yards while junior quarterback Erik Anderson (Grand Marais, MN). Defensively, the Bulldogs allowed just eight first downs on the afternoon and 147 yards of total offense. They also sacked Mustang quarterbacks five times.
Northern State dropped a 27-13 decision at nationally ranked St. Cloud State University Saturday for its first setback of the 2003 season. Ronnie Cruz ran for 151 yards on 30 caries for the Wolves, who held a 401-396 advantage in total offense yards.
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.
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: With Saturday's 39-0 triumph over Southwest Minnesota State, the Bulldogs upped their home winning streak to a school-record 14 games. 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.
FAST STARTS: The Bulldogs, who will join the North Central Conference next fall, are 24-2 in their last 26 NSIC openers. The only setbacks during that stretch came at the hands Northern State University (26-22 in 1993) and Southwest Minnesota State (20-14 three years later).
SACKING IT TO 'EM: The Bulldogs have been credited with 14 quarterback sacks (while allowing just two by the opposition) in their three games thus far. Junior defensive ends Russ Rabe (Lake Holcombe, WI) with 5.5 sacks, and Geoff Fischer (Lakeville, MN) with 4.0, rank third and seventh, respectively, among NCAA II players in that department heading into this weekend.
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.
HIGH RETURNS: Senior right cornerback Cash Langeness, who will make his 39th consecutive start Saturday afternoon when UMD faces Northern State, brought back his first punt return for a touchdown as a Bulldog in Saturday's win over Southwest Minnesota State. Langeness, UMD's all-time kick return (1,816) and punt return (713) yardage leader, has now returned four kicks, two interceptions, one punt and one fumble for scores during his Bulldog tenure. Langeness is within five kickoff returns and nine 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) .
BATTAGLIA NEARS TRIO OF SCHOOL MARKS: 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 four passes for a game-high 85 yards Saturday afternoon against Southwest Minnesota State. He now has been credited with at least one pass catch in all 38 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 37 catches, 240 receiving yards and just 2 touchdown pass receptions to supplant his older brother, Steve (1999-2000) in each of those statistical categories.
NSIC HONORS FOR GERLACH: Senior Chad Gerlach was chosen the NSIC's co-Special Teams Player of the Week for his spirited performance in the Bulldogs' 39-0 home win Saturday. Gerlach, a 2002 All-NSIC pick, booted a career-high 48-yard field goal (which was one yard shy of the Bulldog mark), nailed all four of his extra point tries, and had a two-point conversion run in the victory.
SOMETHING HAS GOT TO GIVE: UMD is allowing 264.0 yards of total defense, the 24th best figure in NCAA II football at the moment while Northern State ranks fifth in total offense (477.7 yards per game).
A LONELY JOB: Junior Jason Schreiber (Stewartville, MN) is averaging just three punts per game in 2003. During the past two years, he has been called upon to punt three times or less in seven of the club's 15 outings.
BULLDOG BITS: Second-year starter Woody Seim (Grand Marais, MN) was shelved for the second straight week this past Saturday because of a hamstring injury. The junior free safety was replaced in the starting lineup by sophomore Blake Hendrickson (Lake Park, MN) for the second time in as many games ... Senior left cornerback Chris Gaines (Clemson, SC) received his first collegiate start against the Mustangs as did junior defensive tackle Cody Fetchelkotter (Maple, WI), who transferred to UMD this fall after a two-year football stint at North Dakota State ... This year marks the first time since 1999 (Bob Nielson's inaugural season at UMD) that the Bulldogs haven't jumped out to a 3-0 start ... Senior strong safety Shaun Fisher (Milltown, WI), who bypassed all but the final month of the 2002 season while recovering from reconstructive surgery on his right knee, has assumed the top position on the 2003 Bulldog defensive charts with 20 total tackles ... Bob Nielson, who will assume the role athletic director at UMD on Dec. 1, has compiled a 22-5 record since the start of the 2001 season ... The Bulldogs have outscored their three opponents 59-13 in the opening two quarters of play this season ... Junior running back Dave Rufledt 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 held by Boyd Hanson (1979-82) ... The Bulldogs have 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, made his Bulldog debut Saturday and completed one of four passes for 12 yards and also rushed twice for 13 yards ... UMD's shutout over Southwest State was its first since Oct. 20, 2001 (48-0 vs. Northern State at Griggs Field ... Sophomore backup quarterback Cody Marks (South St. Paul, MN) will undergo surgery on his right knee early next month and is out for the season.
ALL-TIME RECORDS: UMD has compiled a 71-year record of 375-227-24 for a .618 winning percentage -- the 13th best mark among all NCAA II schools.
UP NEXT: UMD will return home Oct. 4 for a non-conference clash with Waldorf College.
