Armed with a 27-game Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference winning streak and an unblemished 2010 record, the University of Minnesota Duluth will play host to St. Cloud State University this Saturday (Oct. 30) in the Bulldogs' regular season home finale. Opening kick off is set for 1:05 p.m. at James S. Malosky Stadium (4,500 capacity/artificial turf) on the UMD campus.
The Bulldogs are a 8-0 overall this fall and sport a 7-0 NSIC mark, which puts them in a three-way tie for first place with Augustana College and St. Cloud State. The Huskies are 7-1 in all games and have won seven straight.
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HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and St. Cloud State stack up in this week's American Football Coaches Association Division II and D2Football.com polls:
AFCA D2Football
UMD 2nd 1st
SCSU 20th 16th
THE BROADCAST: Saturday's Bulldog-Husky clash will be carried locally on 1490 The Fan (KQDS-AM) with Jeff Papas handling the play-by-play responsibilities. The broadcast can also be heard on KQ 105.5 in Grand Rapids/Hibbing and KQ 106.7 in Ely/Virginia and is available on the internet at: www.fan1490.com
In addition, My9 (KBJR DT 6.2/KRII DT 11.9) will televise all UMD home games during the 2010 season, including the one Saturday with St. Cloud State. Veteran sportscaster Tom Hansen and Don Leighton of the iFan Sports Network will serve as the on-air talent. My9 is also available locally on Charter and Mediacom cable. The telecast will be videostreammed as well and can be accessed for free at : www.umnd.nmtvsports.com.
THE COACH: Long-known for his knack of putting college football programs back on the winning track, Bob Nielson has done just that -- and how -- in his two tours of duty with the Bulldogs. After returning to the UMD sidelines in 2008 following a four-season hiatus, he proceeded to oversee one of the most impressive one-season turnarounds in NCAA Division II history, taking a club which had gone 4-6 in 2007 and molding it into a national champion. He followed that up last fall by going 11-2 in all games and advancing to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA II playoffs. UMD also maintained its stranglehold on the NSIC title trophy by posting a second consecutive 10-0 mark against league competition.
Named the 2008 NCAA II Coach of the Year by American Football Monthly magazine, D2Football.com, and the Football Gazette, Nielson owns an impressive 72-21 overall record at UMD (for a .774 winning percentage -- far and away the best mark in the program's rich 78-year existence) and is 142-54-1 (.723) in 18 seasons of collegiate coaching.
Nielson, the 2008 and 2002 NSIC Coach of the Year whose first tour of duty with the Bulldogs ran from 1999-2003, was officially appointed to his old post on Jan. 3, 2008. (He continues to also serve as UMD's athletic director, a position he's held since 2003-04). During his five previous years with the Bulldogs, Nielson helped marshal the UMD program to new heights. In 2002, for example, his Bulldogs posted their second unbeaten, untied regular season record at that time (11-0), advanced to the NCAA II playoffs for the first time ever and captured the NSIC championship. Nielson's resume also includes directing UMD to its inaugural post-season appearance (the 2001 Mineral Water Bowl in Excelsior Springs, Mo.) and the school's second greatest one-year turnaround to date (the Bulldogs went 7-4 in 2000 after managing a 3-8 mark the previous fall).
The runnerup for the 2002 American Football Monthly magazine NCAA II Coach of the Year award, Nielson, 51, joined the UMD staff in the spring of 1999 after he had guided the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire to a share of the 1998 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title (its first since 1983) and an initial berth in the NCAA III playoffs. He amassed a record of 22-11 in three years with the Blugolds, including a 10-3 mark in his farewell season when Wisconsin-Eau Claire notched a team standard for victories. Nielson, the Football Gazette's 1998 Division III Coach of the Year, also was employed for five years as the head football coach at his alma mater, Wartburg College, where he strung together five successive non-losing seasons and attained a pair of back-to-back NCAA III playoff berths (1993 and 1994) and two years at Ripon College (1989-90).
NIELSON BY THE NUMBERS
Record at UMD (Year) 72-21 (8th)
Overall Coaching Record (Year) 142-54-1 (18th)
Career NSIC Record 57-12 (.826)
vs. St. Cloud State 3-1
THE RIVALRY: The Bulldogs and Huskies have met 41 times previously in an intrastate rivalry which began way back in 1933 -- the third year of intercollegiate football at UMD. St. Cloud State holds a 22-19 series lead, but is winless in its last five engagements with the Bulldogs. That includes a 31-7 setback one year ago before the third largest crowd in Malosky Stadium history (5,252). Wide receiver D.J. Winfield had a pair of touchdowns (a nine-yard reception from quarterback Chase Vogler and a 12-yard run) for the Bulldogs, who held the Huskies to a season-low 193 yards of total offense on the day.
LAST WEEK: Senior running back Brad Foss turned in his most productive ground-gaining afternoon as a collegian last Saturday as he rushed for a career-high 159 yards on 23 carries and scored one touchdown in UMD's 27-7 triumph at Northern State University. The turnover-plagued Bulldogs clung to a slim 13-0 lead at halftime thanks to a 14-yard touchdown run by Foss and a 1-yard plunge by sophomore quarterback Chase Vogler. Senior running back Brian Hanson's touchdown (an eight-yard run, which capped off a 7-play 84-yard drive) 6:24 into the third quarter put UMD up 20-0 before junior wide receiver D.J. Winfield put the game away with eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter when he and sophomore quarterback Jon Lynch hooked up on a 39-yard scoring strike. UMD, which coughed up the football four times (all fumbles) in the win, amassed 539 yards of total offense in the win while holding the Wolves to just 220 yards, including a mere 24 yards on 23 rushing attempts.
St. Cloud State remained firmly in the NSIC title picture by dispatching the University of Minnesota Crookston 49-6 in the Huskies annual Homecoming game. Redshirt freshman quarterback Phillip Klaphake ran 10 times for 136 yards and three touchdowns while senior free safety Tyler Niedfeldt took care of business on the other side of the football, intercepting four passes and returning one for six points.
A SENIOR MOMENT: Saturday afternoon will mark the final regular season home appearances for some 16 Bulldog seniors and one junior. That group includes the likes of wide receivers Harrison Andrews, Noah Pauley, Josh Quilling, and D'Andre Sherill, running backs Brian Hanson, Brad Foss and the injured Isaac Odim, nose tackles Jim Kunz and Tim Rahkola, linebackers Robbie Aurich and Kiel Fechtelkotter, tight ends Ryan Hayes and Nick Trout, offensive guard Cole Boden, cornerback Forest Clements and defensive end Matt Haas. Those seniors, along with junior punter Alex Miller, who is scheduled to graduate this December, and former defensive end Riley Lealos, who was forced to forego his final year of collegiate eligibility because of a nagging back injury but is serving as a team manager, will be recognized in a pregame ceremony.
AND THE BEAT GOES ON: Last Saturday's 27-7 victory at Northern State extended the Bulldogs' school-record NSIC winning streak to 27 games -- still seven outings shy of the league mark set by the University of Minnesota-Morris between 1975-79. UMD hasn't lost to a NSIC opponent since falling 24-17 to Winona State University on Nov. 15, 2003 and its last league setback at home came on Oct. 7, 2000 (37-27 to Concordia University-St. Paul). That translates into a 26-game winning streak. And, speaking of streaks, the last time the Bulldogs dropped a game away from Malosky Stadium was on Oct. 20, 2007 when the University of Nebraska-Omaha prevailed 42-17 in a North Central Conference clash. The Bulldogs have reeled off a school-record 19 road wins since.
HE'S NO PASSING FANCY: Sophomore quarterback Chase Vogler, who is 18-1 as a starter during his Bulldog career, has compiled a 180.4 pass efficiency rating this season -- a figure surpassed by only one other NSIC signal caller (his Bulldog counterpart, sophomore Jon Lynch at 242.5). The Inver Grove Heights, Minn., native has been intercepted just once this season (vs. the University of Mary on Oct. 16) in 107 pass attempts while throwing for 10 touchdowns.
A CAREER FOR THE AGES CUT SHORT: Two-time All-American senior running back Isaac Odim underwent surgery on Oct. 16 after injuring his left knee in practice two days earlier and is expected to be out for the remainder of the 2010. Odim, who owns 17 UMD single-game, single-season and career records, is the Bulldogs' all-time rushing (4,245 yds.), scoring (492 points) and all-purpose yardage leader (5,593). He continues to top the nation in scoring (19.0 points per game), is third in all-purpose yards (177.2 ypg) and fifth in rushing (132.7 yards per game). The fourth-leading vote getter for the 2009 Harlon Hill Trophy, Odim has eclipsed the 100-yard barrier in 25 of his 34 games as a Bulldog, including 12 of 13 outings one year ago when he was chosen to a program-best five different All-American teams. The Rochester, Minn., native and 2009 CoSIDA Academic All-American also occupies the No. 4 spot on NSIC's career rushing charts with 3,273 yards in league play.
AND THEY'RE OFF: UMD is off to a 8-0 start for just the sixth time in its 78-year history, joining the 2008, 2002, 1981 and 1980 clubs. In three of those years -- 2008, 2002 (both under current head coach Bob Nielson) and 1980, the Bulldogs went on go unbeaten and untied in the regular season.
READY FOR THE STRETCH RUN: Brad Foss, who has started for Odim during each of the past two games (and has averaged 145 yards on the ground during that time), currently occupies on No. 10 spot on the school's career rushing charts. In 40 lifetime outings as a Bulldog, the 2009 All-NSIC North Division second team selection has ran for 2,467 yards on 419 attempts. That figures out to be a nifty 5.9 yards per rush average (6.7 since the start of the 2009 season). Odim has now eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark on nine occasions at UMD, including three times in the past four games. As a freshman in 2007, Foss equalled a team single-game record with 12 receptions in the Bulldogs' 23-13 win at St. Cloud State.
RANK AND FILE: UMD is 2-0 this season versus nationally-ranked teams (35-10 at then No. 5 Central Washington on Aug. 28 and 42-10 against No. 18 Wayne State on Sept. 25) and 8-2 since Bob Nielson returned to the Bulldog head coaching helm in 2008.
CATCH OF THE DAY: Junior wide receiver D.J Winfield, who has paced UMD in receptions in each of the last two seasons and leads the 2010 Bulldogs as well, has now caught at least one pass in each of his 37 games as a collegian (he played in one contest -- against Bemidji State University during his injury-shortened rookie season in 2007), including the last 36 in a row. Winfield has amassed 2,518 yards on 148 lifetime receptions -- the third and fourth best marks, respectively, in team history.
SCORE EARLY, SCORE OFTEN: The Bulldogs have outscored their 2010 opponents 374 and 97-9 in the first quarter alone with all nine of those points coming on field goals. They possess the nation's highest scoring offense (46.75 ppg) at the moment as well as the third stingiest defense (10.6 ppg).
SOLID UP THE MIDDLE: UMD sports what is arguably the best senior inside linebacker tandem in NCAA II football in team captain Kiel Fechtelkotter and Robbie Aurich. Fechtelkotter, a 2009 All-NSIC North Division first team honoree, currently paces UMD in tackles with 48 and is three stops away from becoming the 15 Bulldog to ever reach the 200 career mark. Aurich, the reigning NSIC Defensive Player of the Year, has 267 total tackles to his career credit, good for the No. 4 spot on UMD's all-time defensive list and nine behind the No. 3 occupant, strong safety Jim Johnson (2005-08), his one-time teammate. Another pair of safeties -- current Bulldogs assistant coach Tyler Yelk (323 tackles between 2005-08) and Kevin Westbrock(277 between 1998-2001) rank 1-2 on that chart.
WIN BABY, WIN: UMD is a sizzling 35-2 over its past 37 games (a run which began with a 23-13 win at St. Cloud State in the 2007 season finale) with both of those losses coming at home to a pair of perennial NCAA II powers -- 13-10 to Central Washington University on Sept. 3, 2009 and 24-10 to Grand Valley State University a little less than three months later.
KEEPING THE TURNSTILES TURNING: UMD has drawn an average of 4,511 spectators for its four home games to date. That's 1,100 more per outing than it did a year ago when the Bulldogs set a team record in that department (3,434).
INJURY REPORT: Besides Isaac Odim, freshman linebacker Nate Zuk (knee) and freshman running back Chaz Thomas (knee), who are all sidelined forthe rest of 2010, sophomore offensive tackle Jordan Marriott (ankle) is the only other Bulldog listed as out for this Saturday.
BULLDOG BITS:UMD has yet to surrender a rushing touchdown this season and has scored 33 of its own ...Senior wide out Noah Pauley needs just seven catches to hit the century plateau -- something only nine other Bulldogs have done previously ... The Bulldogs have now gone 68 games in a row without being shut out. The last team to hold UMD off the scoreboard was visiting St. Cloud State University, which pinned a 28-0 whitewash on the Bulldogs in the 2004 season finale (Nov. 6). In addition, UMD hasn't been blanked by an NSIC foe in its last 109 tries -- going back to a 7-0 setback at Southwest Minnesota State University on Oct. 28, 1989 ... UMD will enter Saturday's encounter with Mary armed with nation's best passing efficiency rating (191.43) ... The Bulldogs are 74-1 in the last 75 games they have been ahead after three quarters going back to November 2001. On the flip side, since defeating the University of South Dakota 23-21 on the road on Sept. 22, 2002, UMD has lost 23 straight times when trailing at the half and is 0-25 when it's been behind going into the final quarter. (The Bulldogs last posted a win in that situation on Sept. 8, 2001 by rallying from a 10-7 deficit to best South Dakota 14-10)... The Bulldogs have been ranked second in the AFCA II poll for eight straight weeks and No. 1 in the D2Football.com poll in each of the last five weeks ... UMD has surrendered a first-quarter touchdown in only one of its last 15 games. Grand Valley State University scored twice in the opening 15 minutes of play en route to a 24-10 victory over the host Bulldogs in the 2009 NCAA II playoff quarterfinals last November).
ON TAP: UMD will hit the road for a NSIC assignment with the University of Minnesota Crookston on Nov. 6.
