The University of Minnesota Duluth will put the finishing touches on a season-opening three-game homestand Saturday (Sept. 15) when the Bulldogs host nationally-ranked University of South Dakota in the 2007 North Central Conference opener for both clubs. Opening kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Malosky Stadium (4,000 capacity/artificial turf) on the UMD campus.



THE RECORDS: The Bulldogs, who closed out 2006 with a 6-4 overall record and placed fourth in the North Central Conference standings by going an even 4-4, and the Coyotes are both off to 1-1 starts this fall. South Dakota was 9-4 in all games one year ago and posted a 6-2 mark in league play (third place) while qualifying for the NCAA Division II playoffs.

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UMD-South Dakota Football




HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and South Dakota stack up in this week's American Football Coaches Association Division II and d2football.com polls:



AFCA d2football

UMD NR NR

USD 19 17

THE BROADCAST: Saturday's Bulldog-Coyote matchup will be carried locally on KDAL-Radio (610 AM) with Ray Schow handling the play-by-play responsibilities. All UMD games during the entire 2007 season can also be heard via the internet at: umdbulldogs.com.

THE COACHES: The 2005 NCC Coach of the Year, Kyle \"Bubba\" Schweigert (Jamestown College, 1985) is in his fourth season at UMD and has an 19-16 overall record to show for it, including a 1-2 mark vs. South Dakota. Two years ago, Schweigert directed his troops to an 8-4 mark (defeating three AFCA Top 20 teams along the way), a share of the school’s initial NCC title, and its second NCAA Division II playoff berth in four years. For his efforts, he was named the d2football.com Northwest Region Coach of the Year and the American Football Coaches Association Division II Coach of the Year for Region 5. Prior to officially being named the school's fifth head coach on Dec. 23, 2003, Schweigert spent 15 seasons at North Dakota where he helped guide the Fighting Sioux to six NCC titles. During his tenure, North Dakota also secured an NCAA II playoff berth on eight occasions, making it to the semifinal round four times and the title game twice (including in 2001 when it won the national championship). Schweigert began his Fighting Sioux coaching career as the team’s defensive secondary coach before taking over the defensive coordinator duties in 1998. Three years later, he added the title of assistant head coach.

Ed Meierkort (Dakota Wesleyan University, 1982) is also in his fourth year at South Dakota, where has amassed a 28-9 overall record. Meierkort's Coyotes have posted nine wins in each of the past three seasons, including last fall when they went 9-4 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA II playoffs before succumbing to two-time national champion Grand Valley State University. Meierkort arrived in Vermillion in December 2003 following an 11-year head coaching stay at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. He racked up a 55-55 overall record with the Blue Devils, and, in 2000, coached that club to a 10-1 mark (10-0 during the regular season) and a berth in the NCAA III playoffs. A former assistant coach at Southwest Minnesota State University (1983-89), Meierkort is an even 3-3 in his six lifetime confrontations against UMD (2-1 while at South Dakota and 1-2 at Wisconsin Stout).

THE RIVALRY: Saturday evening's game will mark just the seventh meeting ever between UMD and South Dakota. The series, which began in 2001 (the two clubs have meet annually since then), is knotted at 3-3. One year ago (Sept. 16), the Coyotes raced to a 21-0 first half lead and went on to upend the visiting Bulldogs 27-14. UMD held the edge in both first downs (22-18) and passing yardage (242-137), but yielded 252 yards on the ground to then-No. 17 ranked South Dakota.

LAST WEEK: Beset by some costly turnovers, UMD was derailed 45-27 by No. 20 Missouri Western State University Saturday night at Malosky Stadium. The Bulldogs put up the kind of numbers which usually translate into success, but six miscues, including three fumbles which led to 17 Griffon points, ultimately did them in. The two teams, which were meeting for the first time, combined for 848 yards of total offense. Junior quarterback Ted Schlafke inflicted most of UMD's offensive damage, passing for 298 yards and four touchdowns while connecting on 32 of 56 attempts. He also added a career-high 91 rushing yards on 19 carries. Freshman wide out Noah Pauley was Schlafke's favorite target, catching nine passes for 82 yards and one touchdown. Missouri Western, a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association and 2006 NCAA II playoff qualifier, never trailed in the game and led 21-13 at halftime. The Griffons also took advantage of a couple of big plays -- a 36-yard scoring run from La'Darrian Page and a 59-yard fumble return by Ahmad Griffin to go up 14-0 in the first quarter. They later added a 75-yard scoring strike from Drew Newhart to Cedric Houston to open the second half.

South Dakota notched its first win of 2007 -- and 20th straight home victory -- by routing Winona State University 49-28 Saturday. Senior running back Amos Allen, a transfer from Dixie State College (Utah), rushed 20 times for 220 yards and three touchdowns while quarterback Noah Shepard completed 17 of 27 passes for 293 yards and two scores.



THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN SPEAKING: A pair of senior linebackers -- Nate Fears and Jon Rufledt -- along with junior quarterback Ted Schlafke are serving as the Bulldogs' team captain this fall. Schlafke also held that role one year ago and was believed to be the first sophomore to ever do so.

NCC FORECAST: The league coaches and media have projected UMD for a middle-of-the pack finish in the final NCC race this fall. The coaches forecasted a fourth-place showing for the Bulldog while the media have UMD holding down the No. 5 spot in their respective preseason polls. (South Dakota was picked second by the coaches and third by the media in those same two polls.)

DEBUTING IN STYLE: Noah Pauley enjoyed quite the coming-out party last Saturday night. The 2007 Duluth Central High School graduate responded to his first collegiate playing assignment by racking up a Bulldog season-high nine pass receptions (the ninth highest single-game total in Bulldog history) for 82 yards and one touchdown.

LEAD \"DOGS: Since falling 33-30 at Winona State on Nov. 10, 2001, the Bulldogs are a staggering 32-0 when leading at halftime and 38-0 when they've headed into the fourth quarter on top. On the flip side, UMD is 0-19 (going back to a 23-21 road triumph over South Dakota on Sept. 22, 2002) when it has trailed at intermission and has lost 20 straight times when it has been behind after three quarters (the Bulldogs last posted a win in that situation on Sept. 8, 2001 by rallying from a 10-7 deficit to defeat South Dakota 14-10).

NO RED SHIRTS FOR THIS QUARTET: In addition to Noah Pauley, three other first-year Bulldogs have been called into action this season (all wide receivers) -- Dennis Carter, Bryan Gambuzza, and D. J. Winfield. Only two true freshmen -- offensive lineman Tobias Lemke and linebacker Robbie Aurich -- used a year of eligibility in 2006.



HE'S NO PASSING FANCY: Although he's just barely into his junior year, Ted Schlafke has already assumed the No. 2 spot on the Bulldogs' all-time passing yardage charts. In only 24 career games, Schlafke has completed 613 of 1,013 passes (60.5 percent) for 6,449 yards. (UMD's all-time leader in that department is Ricky Fritz -- 547-of-1,090 for 8,711 yards). He has also thrown at least one touchdown pass in 23 of 24 games (he was blanked in that department by Minnesota State University-Mankato last October) and now has 57 career scoring strikes --- the second highest total in team history behind Fritz's 90. Schlafke, a two-time NCC All-Academic team pick, finished seventh in the NCAA II in total offense one year ago with a 271.9 yards per game average. In 2005, the Stevens Point, Wis., native established single-season marks for pass completions (305), pass attempts (490), passing yardage (3,335), total offense (3,591 yards) and total plays (625) and surpassed the team single-game records in those same five categories as well. Schlafke, who was named the D2football.com National Offensive Player of the Week twice as a freshman (Oct. 31 and Nov. 7), also paced the NCC in passing yardage (308.0 yards per game in league play) and per game pass completion percentage (an NCC-record 26.16).

SPREADING THE WEALTH: Some 11 different Bulldogs have caught passes this year, including freshman Dennis Carter, who has been credited with a UMD-best 11 receptions and five touchdowns thus far.

INJURY UPDATE: Sophomore cornerback Cole Strilzuk (finger), first-year freshmen wide out D. J. Winfield (ankle) and rookie running back Rob Casasnovas (shoulder) are all sidelined for Saturday's clash with South Dakota.

BULLDOG BITS: Senior placekicker Britt Baumann had his school-record streak of consecutive extra point kicks snapped at 59 in the 45-27 loss to Missouri Western State. Prior to having his second quarter kick blocked Saturday night, Baumann had gone almost two years (versus Minnesota State University-Moorhead on Sept. 19, 2005) without missing a one-point conversion. Last fall, the four-year starter and 2006 All-NCC honorable mention pick ranked first among league kickers in extra point accuracy (he was a perfect 24-of-24 overall) ... UMD has not been below the .500 mark since the end of the 2004 season ... The Bulldogs have tasted defeat just seven times in their last 40 games at Malosky Stadium, a stretch which goes back to the end of the 1999 season. All seven of those setbacks, incidentally, have come the past four years (UMD was 3-3 at home in 2004, 4-1 the following year, 3-2 last fall and is 1-1 this season) ... The Bulldogs have gotten on the scoreboard first in each of their last 17 wins going back to the middle of the 2004 season ... UMD has now gone 18 games without producing a 100-yard rusher (Ted Schlafke came within nine yards of breaking that trend last Saturday). The last Bulldog to reach that milestone was current junior Marek Seta, who ran 25 times for a career-high 112 yards and one touchdown at MSU-Mankato on Oct. 1, 2005. That also remains the only time in the past 24 outings a UMD player has rushed for 100 or more yards ... This year marks only the second time since 1959 that UMD is opening the season with three straight home games (the 2000 Bulldogs also didn't leave Malosky Stadium until the fourth weekend of the season) ... Senior inside linebacker Nate Fears, who has started all but one of the Bulldogs' 35 games over the past three seasons (he was sidelined for the 2004 finale against St. Cloud State while nursing an injured knee), and junior free safety and 2006 All-NCC second team honoree Tyler Yelk each need 10 more tackles to hit the 200-stop mark for their careers (and join 10 other Bulldogs in that group) ... The Bulldogs have managed to come away with points in five of their six visits inside the red zone this fall while the opposition is a perfect 4-of-4 in that department .. UMD is now 10-4 in non-conference games under the four-year reign of head coach Bubba Schweigert ... The Bulldogs are still in search of their first rushing touchdown of 2007.

ON DECK: The Bulldogs will engage in their first road activity of 2007 with a first-ever trip to NCC rival Central Washington University.



COACHES SHOW: The UMD Coach's Show, featuring \"Bubba\" Schweigert, airs each Thursday night during the entire 2007 season at 6 p.m. on KDAL-Radio (610 AM). Ray Schow host the one-hour program, which can also be heard via the internet at: umdbulldogs.com.