The University of Minnesota Duluth football Bulldogs, fresh off their first-ever North Central Conference victory, will travel to Vermillion, S.D., in the southern-most tip of the state, to battle the University of South Dakota Coyotes on Saturday at 2 p.m.
THE RECORDS• UMD is currently 4-5 overall and 1-3 in the NCC. The Bulldogs trampled the Augustana College Vikings last week 47-16.
• USD is currently 8-1 overall and 3-1 in the NCC. The Coyotes also beat an opponent badly last week, stomping non-conference Upper Iowa University 45-12.
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.
• Ed Meierkort is in his 1st season at the Coyotes’ helm. He served previously as the head coach at the NCAA Division III University of Wisconsin-Stout, a capacity in which he served since 1993.
Meierkort was the 2000 WIAC Coach of the Year and the American Football Coaches Association Region V Coach of the Year. That season, he guided UW-Stout to a 10-1 record one season after the team stumbled to a 2-8 mark.
THE SERIES• Saturday’s game will be the fourth all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and the Coyotes. UMD sports a 2-1 all-time mark against USD but the Bulldogs lost 10-7 in the teams’ last meeting, a game played early last season. Following the defeat, UMD went on to win seven of its next eight games.
LAST WEEK• UMD enjoyed its most prolific offensive day of the season, scoring an NCC single-game season-high 47 points in a 47-16 conference victory over Augustana. Redshirt freshman Kyle Opahle threw for five touchdowns in the win and was named NCC Co-Offensive Player of the Week on Monday. Opahle’s five touchdowns were the most by an NCC quarterback this season.
• USD cruised past non-conference Upper Iowa 45-12 on the strength of three touchdown scampers from sophomore running back Tyler Evans. The Coyotes rolled up 508 yards in total offense, their second highest output of the season. USD amassed 548 yards earlier this season in a 49-22 win over Truman State University.
ABOUT THE COYOTES• USD moved up three spots to 10th in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top-25 poll released on Tuesday. For the Coyotes, it is their highest ranking since the 1995 team also earned a top-10 ranking.
The Coyotes are paced on defense by the NCC’s top sack man, Tim Schellhammer. The offense is a balanced one with Wesley Beschorner calling the signals, Chris Mikkelsen hauling in Beschorner passes and Stefan Logan running the ball. All are among the NCC leaders in several categories.
NATIONAL POLLS• UMD is not currently ranked nationally. The Bulldogs opened the season ranked No. 34 in the Don Hansen’s Football Gazette Preseason Poll.
• USD was tabbed as the No. 10 team in the nation by the AFCA on Tuesday. The Coyotes remained in the No. 10 spot regionally as well.
AMONG THE NATION’S LEADERS• With another sack last weekend against Augustana, UMD defensive end Geoff Fischer moved into a tie for sixth nationally in sacks with 9.5. His 1.1 sacks-per-game average ranks No. 10 in the nation.
• UMD freshman Vinny Flury ranks No. 22 nationally with a kick-return average of 25.3 yards per return.
• Bulldogs defensive back Tim Garceau ranks No. 4 in the nation with an average of .8 interceptions per game.
• UMD senior Russ Rabe, the University’s all-time sacks leader, ranks No. 14 nationally with 15 tackles for a loss thus far. His 1.7 tackles for a loss per game rank No. 23 nationally. He is the NCC’s overall leader in tackles for a loss. UMD’s Geoff Fischer is second with 13.5.
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 three 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.
Thus far in 2004, both Rufledt and freshman Joe Russell have eclipsed the 500-yard barrier. With 21 more rushing yards, Aaron Kelly will join them.
RUFLEDT RULES• The aforementioned Rufledt eclipsed UMD’s all-time rushing record three 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.
Against Augustana last week, Rufledt registered two more rushing touchdowns, extending his UMD career rushing touchdown record to 47 - and still counting.
IN 2004, THE SURFACE• The Bulldogs are 3-2 on the new A-Turf surface at Griggs Field. The Bulldogs are 1-0 on grass and 3-5 on synthetic surfaces.
AGAINST THE NCC• UMD sports a 34-39-1 all-time record against NCC opponents and a 34-38-1 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.
CONFERENCE HITTERS• Senior Sam Brown is UMD’s leading tackler in NCC games with 27. Nate Fears and Russ Rabe are just two behind.
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 22 touchdowns and over 1,600 rushing yards. His average yards-per-game figure of 183.6 leads all DII backs.
DEFENSE GETS THE BALL• UMD’s defense leads the NCC in overall interceptions (16) and fumbles gained (10).
RETURN KINGS• UMD is first overall in the NCC with 940 yards in kick returns and an average yardage per return of 23.5.
TOUGH TO CATCH• UMD freshman Vinny Flury leads the NCC with a 25.3 yards-per-kick-return average.
SACK MASTERS• The Bulldogs boast one of the NCC’s most potent pass-rushing tandems: seniors Russ Rabe and Geoff Fischer. Rabe’s seven sacks are second on the team and fourth overall in the NCC. Fischer has 9.5 sacks, good for the team lead and a tie for first overall in the NCC. Fischer now has 20.5 career sacks and could finish the campaign as the second player to break the school’s previous career sack record in 2004. Fischer needs just 2.5 more sacks to achieve the feat. Rabe, of course, was the first. His 28 sacks stand as the school’s all-time high.
BULLDOG BITS• Joe Russell’s 68-yard touchdown run against MSU-Moorhead was UMD’s longest play from scrimmage thus far … Kyle Opahle’s 215.81 single-game quarterback rating against Augustana was among the highest posted in the NCC this season … Only Nebraska-Omaha and USD boast more NCC Players of the Week than UMD this season … UMD’s pass defense ranks No. 2 overall in the NCC. The Bulldogs rank No. 3 overall in NCC total defense … The Bulldogs have allowed the second fewest sacks overall (11) of any team in the NCC despite boasting an offensive line that features just one senior … Opponents have converted on third down just 30.2 percent of the time against UMD, the second best figure overall in the NCC … Tim Garceau leads the NCC in overall interceptions with six … Jon Rufledt is the NCC’s overall freshman leader in tackles with 45 thus far. He averages 5.6 per game.
