GAME DAY• The University of Minnesota Duluth football Bulldogs return home after back-to-back road games to host North Central Conference foe Augustana College on Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. on Griggs Field at Malosky Stadium.
THE RECORDS• UMD is currently 3-5 overall and 0-3 in the North Central Conference. The Bulldogs lost last week to the University of North Dakota, ranked No. 6 in the American Football Coaches Association Divsion II Poll, 26-0.
• Augustana is currently 3-5 overall and 0-4 in the NCC. The Vikings fell 44-20 to the University of Nebraska-Omaha, ranked No. 25 (AFCA), last week.
THE COACHES• Kyle “Bubba†Schweigert is making his head coaching debut in 2004, serving as the top dog at UMD. He is the fifth head coach in the 72-year history of the Bulldog football program and the first to claim victory in his initial game on the UMD sidelines.
Schweigert completed his 15th year as an assistant coach at the University of North Dakota last fall. For the last 14 seasons, he was in charge of the Fighting Sioux defensive secondary. In 1997, he was appointed the team’s defensive coordinator.
Schweigert was selected as the 2000 AFCA NCAA Division II Assistant Coach of the Year.
• Jim Heinitz is in his 17th season at the Vikings’ helm. He is the longest-serving head coach in Augustana football history, with 81 wins, 100 losses and one tie to his credit.
Heinitz is a two-time NCC Coach of the Year (1988, 1992) and made NCAA DII playoff appearances in 1988 and 1989.
THE SERIES• Saturday’s game will be the first-ever gridiron meeting between the Bulldogs and the Vikings.
LAST WEEK• UND shut the Bulldogs out last Saturday, 26-0. Despite the lopsided final score, the UMD defense recorded a season-high seven sacks and held the Fighting Sioux to just two touchdowns.
• Augustana turned the ball over five times and lost to UNO, 44-20. The NCC-leading Mavericks converted three of those Viking turnovers into touchdowns. Each of Augustana’s scores came in the second half. Quarterback Tommy Flyger threw for 163 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.
ABOUT THE VIKINGS• Like the Bulldogs, Augustana is looking for its first NCC win of 2004. Two Vikings have been selected as NCC Players of the Week this season: punter Joe Nordin (Special Teams, Aug. 30) and running back Josh Fulton (Co-Offense, Sept. 20).
The Vikings feature just eight seniors this season, three of which are captains: quarterback Ryan DeGraff, linebacker Brett Scherschligt and safety Mike Stotz.
COMMON OPPONENTS• UMD and Augustana have played three common opponents thus far: Concordia University (St. Paul), UND and UNO. Both the Bulldogs and the Vikings have lost every game they played against this trio of contending teams but Augustana managed to keep the games closer. The Vikings lost to CU 17-16 in Week One, fell to UND 13-7 and dropped last week’s game to UNO, 44-20. UMD lost to those teams by a combined score of 102-30.
NATIONAL POLLS• Neither UMD nor Augustana is currently ranked nationally. The Bulldogs opened the season ranked No. 34 in the Don Hansen’s Football Gazette Preseason Poll.
AMONG THE NATION’S LEADERS• Fresh off a three-sack weekend against UND, Bulldog defensive lineman Geoff Fischer cracked the nation’s top-10 in sacks with his 1.1 sack-per-game average.
RUNNING TO RECORD HEIGHTS• Dave Rufledt’s early-season injury woes allowed for a pair of running backs to enjoy an increased number of carries for UMD. That situation, combined with Rufledt’s return from injury two weeks ago, has the 2004 Bulldogs on pace to become just the third UMD team in the last 25 years to boast three 500-yard rushers. Last year, UMD achieved the feat with Rufledt (1,218), Cash Langeness (744) and Andrew Bungum (517). Twenty-three years prior, in 1980, Duluth native Stewart Bodin (1,057), Two Harbors graduate Boyd Hanson (649) and Marble native Tom Stoll (603) combined to break to 500-yard barrier. That 1980 squad was the only unbeaten and untied team in Bulldog football history, outscoring its opponents by a combined score of 354-76.
RUFLEDT RULES• The aforementioned Rufledt eclipsed UMD’s all-time rushing record two weeks ago and became the charter member of the University’s 3,000-Yard Rushing Club. Rufledt ran past the record of Ted McKnight (UMD 1973-76) who embarked on an NFL career with Kansas City and Buffalo after his departure.
Rufledt also scored a pair of touchdowns two weeks ago, extending his UMD career rushing touchdown record to 45 - and still counting.
NEW SURFACE• The Bulldogs are 2-2 on the new Field Turf surface at Griggs Field. The Bulldogs are 1-0 on natural grass this season and 2-5 on synthetic surfaces.
AGAINST THE NCC• UMD sports a 34-39-1 all-time record against NCC opponents and a 33-38-1 all-time record against current NCC clubs. UMD has had the most NCC success against Minnesota State (16-12-1) and the least success against UND (0-4-0). UMD entered the 2004 season with an all-time overall record of 381-230-24.
SHUTDOWN DEFENSE• UMD held Chadron State College running back Danny Woodhead to just 28 yards on nine carries in Week One. Woodhead has since gone on to become the nation’s top DII running back with 21 touchdowns and over 1,500 rushing yards. His average yards-per-game figure of 187.6 leads all DII backs.
DEFENSE MAKES ‘EM EARN IT• UMD’s defense, ranked third overall in the NCC, has surrendered an average of just 293.8 yards per game thus far -- a figure that ranks behind only the NCC-leading UND (215.9) and the University of South Dakota (279.4).
The Bulldog defense has also done a stellar job of generating turnovers. UMD leads the NCC in both interceptions (12) and fumbles gained (10). The Bulldogs rank last overall in the NCC with a turnover margin of minus-4.
RETURN KINGS• UMD is first overall in the NCC with 864 yards in kick returns and an average yardage per return of 24.0.
TOUGH TO CATCH• UMD’s kick returners, senior Luke Jipson and freshman Vinny Flury, are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 overall in the NCC. They are averaging 25.9 and 25.8 yards-per-return, respectively.
SACK MASTERS• The Bulldogs boast one of the NCC’s most potent pass-rushing tandems: seniors Russ Rabe and Geoff Fischer. Rabe’s six sacks are second on the team and fifth overall in the NCC. Fischer has 8.5 sacks, good for the team lead and second overall in the NCC. Fischer now has 19.5 career sacks and could finish the campaign as the second player to break the school’s previous career sack record in 2004. Rabe, of course, was the first. His 27 sacks stand as the school’s all-time high.
BULLDOG BITS• Joe Russell’s 68-yard touchdown run against Minnesota State University-Moorhead was UMD’s longest play from scrimmage thus far … The Bulldog defense posted a season high of seven quarterback sacks last week … UMD’s pass defense ranks second overall in the NCC … The Bulldogs have allowed their opponents just 33 third-down conversions on 114 attempts, a 28.9 percent efficiency rate. That figure is the best in the NCC … UMD has allowed the second-fewest sacks overall of any NCC team (10) … Bulldog defensive backs Tim Garceau and Luke Jipson rank No. 2 and No. 3 overall in the NCC with four interceptions each … UMD outside linebacker Russ Rabe leads the NCC in overall tackles for a loss with an average of 1.75 per game … The Bulldogs’ total of 12 sacks in conference action ranks second in the NCC … UMD’s Cody Ahmann leads the NCC in punt return average (16.5) … UMD free safety Sam Brown ranks second among all Bulldog defenders with 25 solo tackles. Russ Rabe ranks first with 32 … UMD’s current three-game losing streak is its first such streak since 1999 when the team dropped five games in a row … The Bulldogs are averaging a stout 4.5 yards per carry … UMD has been outscored 51-19 in the third quarter of games this season … Luke Radke’s six punts last week against UND was a single-game season high … Both Luke Jipson and Vinny Flury have kickoff returns of 45 yards or greater this season … UMD freshman wide receiver Greg Aker leads the team in both receptions (24) and receiving yards (358).
