GAME DAY• The University of Minnesota Duluth football Bulldogs will load the bus bound for Nebraska this week to take on the University of Nebraska-Omaha at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Al F. Caniglia Field (9,500).
THE RECORDS• UMD is currently 3-3 overall and 0-1 in the North Central Conference. The Bulldogs lost last week to Minnesota State University, Mankato in their NCC opener.
• UNO is currently 4-2 overall and 1-0 in the NCC. The Mavericks rolled past non-conference Tiffin (Ohio) University last week, 49-33.
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.
• Pat Behrns is in his 11th season as head coach at UNO and entered the campaign with a Mavericks record of 71-43.
Prior to joining the UNO staff, Behrns served as an Offensive Coordinator at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, as an assistant coach at Utah State and as the head coach at the University of North Dakota for six seasons.
THE SERIES• Saturday’s game will be the first-ever meeting between the Mavericks and the Bulldogs.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?• UNO teams have played under a variety of names since their inception in 1911. The program began as the Ponies, became the Crimson & Black in 1913, then switched to the Maroons in 1920, then the Cardinals in 1924, then Indians in 1939 and, finally, the Mavericks in 1971. Another note of interest regarding the UNO program: it became one of the first college teams to fly to a road game in 1930. The flight was a short one, just 30 miles to nearby Fremont, Neb.
LAST WEEK• A determined Minnesota State effort spelled doom for the UMD on Saturday as the Bulldogs suffered a 34-13 setback on Homecoming Weekend.
Mavericks quarterback Ben King threw for 117 yards and one touchdown to lift Minnesota State to its first win over UMD since 1999, a span of four games. Mavericks running back Sean Treasure also enjoyed a big day, rushing for 132 yards and two touchdowns.
• UNO rumbled over non-conference Tiffin, 49-33. Mavericks junior running back Jamar Day established a school record, rushing for five touchdowns. Day registered 284 yards on the ground, the second-best single game total in UNO history, and was named NCC Offensive Player of the Week.
The Mavericks amassed 552 yards in total offense, including a near-record 504 on the ground. That figure was just five yards short of the school record, 509, set against South Dakota in 1999.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS• UNO was ranked No. 10 in the NCAA Division II Northwest Regional ranking, published on Tuesday. The Mavericks boast the nation’s second-leading sack artist, senior linebacker Randy Stella (7.5 sacks), and the nation’s No. 19-ranked quarterback in terms of passing efficiency, Brian Masek (148.2).
The Mavericks are currently the No. 3-ranked offense overall in the NCC and the No. 6-ranked defense. Only Minnesota State has surrendered more total yards per game (458.0) than UNO (331.7).
COMMON OPPONENTS• UMD and UNO have yet to play a common opponent this season.
NATIONAL POLLS• Neither UMD nor UNO is ranked nationally. The Bulldogs opened the season ranked No. 34 in the Don Hansen’s Football Gazette Preseason Poll. The Mavericks are ranked No. 10 in the latest NCAA regional poll.
AMONG THE NATION’S LEADERS• Two Bulldogs are among the nation’s top-20 in various statistical categories: cornerbacks Tim Garceau and Luke Jipson. The duo is tied for the No. 8 spot nationally in interceptions with four each. Jipson also ranks No. 11 among kick returns with a 28.4 yards-per-return average.
RUNNING TO RECORD HEIGHTS• Dave Rufledt’s early-season injury woes have allowed for a pair of running backs to enjoy an increased number of carries for UMD. That situation, combined with Rufledt’s probable return from injury next week, 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 CLOSING ON RECORD• The aforementioned Rufledt moved closer to UMD’s all-time rushing record two weeks ago and now needs just 66 yards to break Ted McKnight’s career mark of 2,957. McKnight was at UMD from 1973-76.
Rufledt is not expected to play this week due to injury. The Bulldogs are hopeful for a Rufledt return in time for the team’s Oct. 16 contest against the University of North Dakota.
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 2-3 on synthetic surfaces.
AGAINST THE NCC• UMD sports a 34-38-1 all-time record against NCC opponents and a 33-36-1 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 the University of North Dakota (0-3-0). UMD entered the 2004 season with an all-time overall record of 381-230-24.
BIG PERFORMANCES• Only the University of South Dakota has had more players earn NCC weekly honors than UMD thus far in 2004. The Coyotes have had five players of the week; UMD has had four (Joe Russell, Luke Jipson, Brandon Cooley and Jamie Otterblad).
ALL-AMERICANS AT UMD• As summer accolades were handed out by the nation’s college football pundits, three Bulldogs were honored with preseason All-American recognition. Don Hansen’s Football Gazette selected seniors Russ Rabe, Adam Fechhelm and Dave Rufledt for the honor. Rabe was also honored on the Lindy’s, Street and Smith and D2football.com preseason All-American lists. Twenty-three Bulldogs have earned postseason All-American honors since 1959.
SPECIAL TEAMS ARE SPECIAL• UMD’s kickoff returners (Luke Jipson and Vinny Flury) rank second overall in the NCC with a 23.7 yards-per-return average. The Bulldogs’ 107 kick-return yards against Minnesota State was an NCC single-game high for the 2004 season.
SACK MASTERS• The Bulldogs boast one of the NCC’s most potent pass-rushing tandems: senior defensive ends Russ Rabe and Geoff Fischer. Rabe’s three sacks are second on the team and ninth overall in the NCC. Fischer has 5.5 sacks, good for the team lead and third overall in the NCC. Fischer now has 16.5 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 24 sacks stand as the school’s all-time high.
BULLDOG BITS• Joe Russell’s 68-yard touchdown run against Minnesota State University-Moorhead was the Bulldogs’ longest play from scrimmage thus far … UMD’s rushing offense ranks fourth overall in the NCC … The Bulldogs’ pass defense ranks No. 3 overall in the NCC … UMD has lost the second most fumbles overall in the NCC but the Bulldogs still rank among the conference’s top-three in turnover margin. UMD is even for the year thanks to its NCC-best 12 interceptions … The Bulldogs have allowed the second fewest sacks overall in the NCC thus far (6) … The Bulldogs are the most penalized team overall in the NCC … UMD freshman punter Luke Radke ranks fifth overall in the NCC with an average of 35.6 yards per punt … Russ Rabe’s average of just over 1.5 tackles-for-loss per game ranks third overall in the NCC. His 51 total tackles also rank third overall … Bulldog middle linebacker Jon Rufledt has more tackles than any other NCC freshman thus far (30).
