The University of Minnesota Duluth's quest for a third NCAA Division II national championship in six seasons begins this Saturday (Nov. 23) when the Bulldogs play host to Emporia State University in a first-round playoff clash. Opening kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m. at James S. Malosky Stadium (4,500 capacity/artificial turf) on the UMD campus.

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THE RECORDS: UMD, which is riding an eight-game winning streak, is 10-1 overall and tied for second place (with St. Cloud State University) in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference standings with that same record. Emporia, owns a 9-1 mark in all games and in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association play (second place).

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how the Bulldogs and Hornets stacked up in this week's American Football Coaches Association Division II and the D2Football.com polls and the latest NCAA Division II Super Region Three Rankings.

    AFCA    D2Football    Region Three    
UMD    No. 5    No. 4    No. 4
ESU    No. 14    No. 13    No. 5
        
THE BROADCAST: The UMD-Hornet matchup will be carried live on 1490 The Fan (KQDS-AM) with Jeff Papas handling the play-by-play responsibilities and ex-University of North Dakota offensive lineman Gregg Swartwoudt providing color commentary. The broadcast can also be heard on KQ 105.5 FM in Grand Rapids/Hibbing , KQ 106.7 FM in Ely/Virginia as part of the Bulldog Sports Radio Network and at: www.fan1490.com.

In addition, My9 (KBJR DT 6.2/KRII DT 11.9) will televise Saturday's bout with Emporia State. Northland Newscenter sports director Zach Schneider and former long-time UMD defensive coordinator Vince Repesh will serve as the on-air talent. The telecast, which is also available locally on Charter and Mediacom cable, will be videostreammed as well and can be accessed for free at: client.stretchinternet.com/client/umd.portal#

THE COACH: After spending the previous five years overseeing UMD offensive units which moved the football with as much proficiency as any NCAA II team in the country, Curt Wiese received a much-deserved promotion on Dec. 21, 2012 when he became the sixth head coach in the Bulldogs' storied 81-year history.

During his successful half-decade run as the team's offensive coordinator, the Bulldogs finished near the top of the NCAA II leader board four times in scoring (third last fall with a school-record 46.5 points per game average, fifth in 2008, sixth in 2010 and ninth four years ago) and in 2012 possessed the nation's seventh best rushing attack (after ranking seventh, fourth, and third, respectively, in that department the previous three seasons). The 2012 Bulldogs were also the nation's leader in third down conversions (54.8 percent). In addition, no less than 15 of his pupils landed some kind of All-American recognition, including a pair of Harlon Hill Award finalists -- quarterback Ted Schlafke (2008), the school's career passing and total offense leader, and running back Isaac Odim (2009), UMD's all-time top ground gainer and scorer and the holder of 17 school records. Wiese's starting offensive guard from 2009--12, Garth Heikkinen, became the school's first recipient of the Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year of Award and earned a playing spot in the annual East-West Shrine Game last January while offensive tackle Jake Bscherer participated in the Seattle Seahawks Training Camp this past summer.

Since Wiese's arrival at UMD in 2008, the Bulldogs have gone a remarkable 72-8 (a record unmatched by any NCAA II school), captured two NCAA II national championships (2008 and 2010), four overall NSIC titles and five NSIC North Division crowns, made five NCAA II playoff appearances and produced two perfect 15-0 seasons.

Wiese, 37, came to UMD following two years of employment as the head coach at NCAA Division III member Marietta College (Ohio). He compiled a 9-11 career overall record with the Pioneers, including a 6-4 mark in 2006. The Stoughton, Wis., native signed on with the Marietta football program in 2003 when he became the team's offensive coordinator -- a duty he continued to maintain after he was elevated to head coach. In five years of directing the Marietta offense, Wiese helped churn out two All-Americans, 12 All-Ohio Athletic Conference selections and five Academic All-OAC honorees and was a finalist for the American Football Coaches Association Division III Assistant Coach of the Year Award in 2004.

Prior to his move to Marietta, Wiese worked as a graduate assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, tutoring the tight ends for two years and the offensive line for one season. He entered the coaching arena a little over a dozen years ago on the heels of a four-year collegiate playing career. After three seasons at Minnesota State University-Mankato (1995-97), Wiese transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, where as a senior in 1998, he quarterbacked the Pointers to a share of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title.

    WIESE BY THE NUMBERS
Record at UMD (Year)    10-1 (1st)
Overall Coaching Record (Year)    19-12 (3rd)
Career NSIC Record    10-1
Career UMD Home Record    4-1
Career UMD Road Record    6-0
vs. Emporia State     0-0

THE SERIES: UMD and Emporia State have met only two times previously, but not in the last 68 years. UMD bested the host Hornets 13-7 in its 1955 season finale (Nov. 11) after prevailing 20-7 one year earlier (Oct. 2, 1954) at Public Schools Stadium in Duluth.

LAST WEEK: The Bulldogs closed out the regular season in the same manner they have every year since 2005 -- with a victory -- by overpowering Northern State University 39-7 Saturday afternoon in Aberdeen, S.D. The Wolves hit pay dirt on their first series of the day to take a 7-0 lead, but it was all UMD after that as the Bulldogs reeled off 39 unanswered points. Redshirt freshman quarterback Drew Bauer ran for one touchdown and also hauled in a 15-yard scoring strike from sophomore wide out Justin Fowlkes while going 16-of-26 for 171 yards through the air. Junior running back Austin Sikorski rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries for the Bulldogs, who held the Wolves to  205 yards of total offense, including a scant 82 yards in the second half.

Emporia State punched its ticket into the NCAA II playoffs with a 34-23 home triumph over MIAA rival Washburn University Saturday in a battle of nationally-ranked clubs. The then-No. 16 Hornets got a pair of touchdown receptions from Ray Ray Davis and senior quarterback Brent Wilson threw for two scores and ran for another before exiting in the fourth quarter with a season-ending collarbone injury. He was relieved by redshirt freshman quarterback Corben Jones, who hooked up with Davis on a touchdown pass from 10 yards out to seal the win over the No. 23 Ichabods.

THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN SPEAKING: The Bulldogs' team captaincy responsibilities this fall are being shared by a quartet of seniors -- strong safety Travis Nordhus, offensive tackle Tom Olson, inside linebacker Colby Ring and outside linebacker Nate Zuk -- along with junior wide receiver/return specialist Aaron Roth.

THESE 'DOGS HAD THEIR (NSIC) DAY: A trio of three-time selections -- senior cornerback Kenny Chowa, senior offensive tackle Tom Olson and senior defensive end Chris Vandervest -- highlighted the list of 14 Bulldogs who received All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division recognition for 2013. Accompanying that threesome on the 27-member All-NSIC North Division first team were junior nose tackle Buma Foncham, junior offensive guard Andrew Muer, senior inside linebacker Colby Ring, senior center/offensive guard Grant Schnobrich and junior running back Austin Sikorski. (Chowa, Foncham and Ring were first team honorees as well one year ago while Sikorski and Schnobrich made the second team in 2012). UMD also placed three more players on the All-NSIC North Division second team -- redshirted freshman offensive tackle Peter Bateman, junior wide receiver Aaron Roth (a 2012 first teammer) and senior outside linebacker Nate Zuk. Honorable mention acclaim was attained by senior strong safety Travis Nordhus, senior tight end Jeremy Reierson, sophomore outside linebacker Nathan Zibolski and Roth (as a return specialist).

ON A ROLL: UMD's current eight -game winning streak is its longest since the Bulldogs went a perfect 15-0 en route to winning their second NCAA II national title in 2010.

PLAYOFF PASTS: This marks the eighth year -- all since 2002 -- the Bulldogs have been invited to the NCAA II dance and they are 11-5 in their 16 lifetime playoff assignments. With the exception of a first-round loss at the University of North Dakota in 2005 (when UMD was under the direction of Kyle "Bubba" Schweigert), Bob Nielson had been Bulldog controls for all of those engagements prior to this year. A complete listing of UMD's NCAA II playoff appearances is as follows:

Date    Opponent    Round  UMD-OPP
11/23/02  @NW Missouri State    1st    41-45
11/12/05    @North Dakota    1st    12-23
11/22/08    Chadron State    2nd    20-10
11/29/08    @Grand Valley State    Quart.    19-13 2OT
12/6/08     @California U. (Pa.)    Semis    45-7
12/13/08  NW Missouri State    Champ.    21-14
11/21/09  Nebraska-Kearney    2nd    42-7
11/28/09  Grand Valley State  Quart.    10-24
11/27/10  St. Cloud State    2nd    20-17 OT
12/4/10    Augustana    Quart.  24-13
12/11/10    NW Missouri State    Semis  17-13
12/18/10    Delta State      Champ.    20-17
11/19/11    Saginaw Valley State    1st    30-27 OT
11/26/11    @CSU-Pueblo    2nd    24-21
12/3/11    Wayne State (Mich.)    Quart.  25-31
11/17/12    @Missouri Western    1st    55-57 3OT

Home: 6-2  Road: 3-3  Neutral Site: 2-0

Emporia State has made only one previous NCAA II playoff showing -- in 2003, when it lost 10-3 at Winona State University -- but qualified for the NAIA playoffs three years (1987, 1988 and 1989). The Hornets were NAIA national runners-up in 1989.

THEY'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE: Nearly half of UMD's 20-member senior class has three years of NCAA II playoff experience on their collegiate resumes. The nine Bulldogs include tight end Pat Alexander, cornerback Kenny Chowa, strong safety Travis Nordhus, offensive tackle Tom Olson, wide out Joe Reichert, inside linebacker Colby Ring, center Grant Schnobrich, defensive lineman Matt Wicklund, and defensive  end Chris Vandervest. Of that group, Alexander, Nordhus, Olson, Reichert, Ring and Schnobrich, along with defensive end Jordan Bauman, are the lone active Bulldogs who saw field time in UMD's last NCAA II title game (2010).

DIVISION DOMINATION: Since the NSIC instituted divisional play in 2008, the Bulldogs are a sizzling 36-2 against NSIC North Division opponents (19-0 at home) with both of those two losses being inflicted by St. Cloud State (51-49 in 2012 and 35-7 in 2011). UMD laid claim to its sixth consecutive NSIC North Division champion this fall.

CATCHING ON FAST: Senor wide out Joe Reichert needs just six more receptions to become the 13th member of UMD's 100-career catch club. A pair of his teammates -- juniors Zach Zweifel and Aaron Roth -- both reached that milestone earlier this fall and now have 117 and 100 receptions, respectively, as Bulldogs.

A WELL-GROUNDED ATTACK: The Bulldogs currently rank ninth among all NCAA II schools in rushing offense with a 287.4 yards per game average. The only time UMD has failed to crack the 200-yard ground plateau this season was on Sept. 21 when Minnesota State-Mankato held the Bulldogs to 158 yards in a 21-17 victory. UMD, which as a team is averaging a nifty 5.7 yards a carry this fall, has produced a 100-yard rusher in five of its 11 games to date including:

Date    Player    Att.    Yds.    TD
Nov. 16    Austin Sikorski    14    129    1
Nov. 9    Austin Sikorski    21    113    1
Oct. 12    Austin Sikorski    21    212*    3
Oct. 12    Logan Lauters    17    153*    3
Oct. 5    Austin Sikorski    17    177    2
Oct. 5    Logan Lauters    12    107    2
Sept. 28    Logan Lauters    11    103    3

*career highs

Junior running back Austin Sikorski now has ten 100-yard career rushing days -- tops among all active Bulldogs -- while sophomore Logan Lauters, who is out this Saturday with a lower body injury, is next with five. Sikorski has run for a career-high 1,117 yards this fall while becoming the first 1,000-yard rusher in three years (Brad Foss with 1,151 yards was the last). Those 1,117 yards are the seventh most in program history. He now also holds down the No. 9 spot on UMD's all-time ground charts with 2,593 yards. At No. 8 on that list is Tom Stoll (2,630 yards between 1978-81) while Amory Bodin resides in the No. 7 position (2,662 yards from 1976-1980).

QUITE A RUN: Since the 2008 season opener, UMD owns both the highest victory total (71) and best winning percentage (.899 off a 71-8 record) of any NCAA II program.

    Wins (2008-present)
1.    UMD            72
2.    Northwest Missouri State    71
3.     Grand Valley State        61
4.    California U. (Pa.)        58
    Bloomsburg             58
    Minnesota State-Mankato    58
7.    West Texas A&M        55
8.    CSU-Pueblo            54
9.    Missouri Western        52
10.    Pittsburg State        51
                
    Winning Percentage (2008-present)
1.    UMD    (72-8)    .900
2.    Northwest Missouri State    (71-11)    .866
3.    Grand Valley State    (61-13)    .824
4.    Bloomsburg     (58-13)    .817
5.    Minnesota State-Mankato    (58-14)    .806
6.    CSU-Pueblo    (54-14)     .794
7.     California U. (Pa.)    (58-18) .763
8.    Shepherd    (50-16) .758
9.    West Texas A&M    (55-19) .743
10.    St. Cloud State    (50-19)    .725

IT'S GOT A NICE RING TO IT: Senior Colby Ring continues his climb up the Bulldogs' career defensive charts and now occupies the No. 6 spot on that list with 272 total tackles. He is only four stops behind the No. 5 occupant, strong safety Jim Johnson (2005-06), and five shy of strong safety Kevin Westbrock (1998-2001), at No. 4. Ring paces all 2013 Bulldogs in tackles (55) and is followed by senior defensive end Chris Vandervest, who is seeking to become the first lineman to finish as UMD's leading tackler since that statistic began officially being kept in 1982. Vandervest, a third-year starter who is up for the 2013 Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year Award, has been credited with 48 stops thus far, including 11.5 for a loss and 3.0 quarterback sacks (both team-bests).

MANY HAPPY RETURNS: Junior Aaron Roth's 89-yard punt return -- for a touchdown -- two weeks ago at the University of Mary was the longest by a Bulldog in 38 years (Terry Egerdahl brought one back 94 yards for a score at St. Cloud State on Sept. 27, 1975). Roth has the Bulldogs' last two punt return touchdowns with the other coming against Minnesota Crookston on Nov. 5, 2011 in Duluth.

AT THE HEAD OF HIS CLASS: Junior offensive lineman Andrew Pattock, who maintains a 3.98 cumulative grade point average as a biochemical and molecular biology major, earned a spot on the 26-member Capital One Academic All-District 3 Division II team, which was announced earlier this month. Pattock will now try to become the school's sixth football Capital One Academic All-American. Then-senior free safety Cameron Harper attained that distinction one year ago.

NATIONALLY SPEAKING: UMD ranks among the NCAA II leaders in a number of statistical categories including:

Category    Rank    Total/Avg/Pct
Possession Time    3rd    35:09
3rd Down Conv. Defense    4th    26.0%
Rushing Defense    5th    85.0 ypg
3rd Down Conv. Offense    5th    49.4%
Kickoff Returns    5th    26.07 ypr
Fumbles Recovered    5th    16
Scoring Defense    6th    15.0 ppg
Total Defense    6th    281.3 ypg
4th Down Conv. Defense    6th    25.0%
1st Down Defense    7th    163
Punt Returns    7th    15.9 ypr
Red Zone Defense    8th    61.9%
Rushing Offense    9th    287.4 ypg
Scoring Offense    11th    42.2 ppg
Kickoff Return Defense    13th    16.00 ypr
Red Zone Offense    14th    87.7%

START ME UP: Senior offensive tackle Tom Olson is expected to make his 53rd consecutive start (which covers every game over the past four seasons) this Saturday at Malosky Stadium. That put the Coon Rapids, Minn., product one game short of the program's ironman record. That mark is held by three-time All-American offensive guard and current Bulldog graduate assistant coach Garth Heikkinen (54 games between 2009-12). In terms of special teams players, three-time All-NSIC placekicker David Nadeau made 56 consecutive starts from 2008 to 2011.

BULLDOG BITS: Drew Bauer is believed to be the first Bulldog quarterback to ever haul in a pass for a touchdown. He turned that trick last week in UMD's 39-7 victory over Northern State.

•UMD has given up only 13 points in the fourth quarter this year (one touchdown each at Upper Iowa University on Sept. 14 and Minnesota State-Moorhead on Oct. 19) and has outscored its competition 134-24 in the opening 15 minutes of play. Those 24 points have come on a pair of touchdowns by Wayne Sate four weeks into the season, a field goal by Minnesota State University-Moorhead on Oct. 12 and a touchdown by Northern State last Saturday.

• First-year UMD special teams coordinator Greg Bower will celebrate his 43rd birthday Saturday. 

•The Bulldogs have cracked the Top 25 in every AFCA II poll since Aug. 12, 2008, and haven't fallen out of the Top 15 in over five years (the last time being Sept. 8, 2008). UMD's No. 5 ranking this week is its highest since it enjoyed a five-week stay at No. 2 from Aug. 27 to Sept. 24, 2012

• UMD has returned three interceptions for touchdowns this season -- senior inside linebacker Colby Ring at Wayne State College, and junior nose tackle Buma Foncham and sophomore outside linebacker Nathan Zibolski -- both at Upper Iowa University. That's one pick-six shy of the program single-season record set in both 2010 and 1986.

•The Bulldogs have held the upper hand in time of possession in all 11 games to date and the last 13 outings in a row going back to the 2012 season.


TO THE VICTORS: This Saturday's winner will move on to the second round of the NCAA II playoffs (Super Region 3 semifinals) on Nov. 30 to face undefeated and No. 1-seeded Northwest Missouri State (11-0) on the road. No. 2 seed Minnesota State University-Mankato (11-0) will host either Henderson University (No. 3) or St. Cloud State (No. 6) that same afternoon. Those two clubs will square off this Saturday in Arkadelphia, Ark.