Armed with a six-game winning streak, the University of Minnesota Duluth will spend the final two weeks of the 2013 regular season on the road beginning this Saturday (Nov. 9) with a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division engagement against the University of Mary. Opening kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at the Bismarck Community Bowl (7,000 capacity/artificial turf) in Bismarck, N.D.

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THE RECORDS: UMD is 8-1 both overall and in NSIC play (tied for second place with St. Cloud State University) while Mary sports a 5-4 mark in all games and shares fourth place with the University of Sioux Falls, Southwest Minnesota State University, Upper Iowa University and Winona State University in the NSIC standings.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how the Bulldogs and Maruaders 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. 3
UM    NR    NR    NR
        
THE BROADCAST: The UMD-Mary clash will be carried live 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 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, Saturday's game will be videostreammed 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 70-8 (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)    8-1 (1st)
Overall Coaching Record (Year)    17-12 (3rd)
Career NSIC Record    8-1
Career UMD Home Record    4-1
Career UMD Road Record    4-0
vs. Mary     0-0

THE SERIES: Saturday afternoon's game will mark only the seventh meeting ever between UMD and Mary. The Bulldogs have won all six of the previous confrontations, outscoring the Marauders 264-78 in the process (or by an average score of 44-19).

Date    Score    Location
11/3/12    UMD 53, Mary 14    Duluth, Minn.
10/15/11  UMD 41, Mary 28  Bismarck, N.D.
10/16/10    UMD 49, Mary 0    Duluth, Minn.
9/26/09    UMD 35, Mary 7    Bismarck, N.D.
9/27/08    UMD 44, Mary 7    Duluth, Minn.
9/9/06    UMD 42, Mary 14    Duluth, Minn.

LAST WEEK: UMD drew the curtain on its 2013 regular season home schedule on Saturday afternoon by blasting the University of Minnesota-Crookston 57-3. The Bulldogs got touchdowns from seven different players and found the end zone on all seven of its first half possessions in the win, its eighth straight over the Golden Eagles. Freshman quarterback Drew Bauer completed 12 of 14 passes for 141 yards and a career-high four touchdowns before calling it an afternoon midway through the second quarter. UMD held substantial advantages over Minnesota Crookston in virtually every statistical category including total yards (471-107), first downs (26-6), rushing yards (248-20), passing yards (223-87) and possession time (37:30-22:30). The Golden Eagles managed just one first down and 23 yards of total offense during the final two quarters of play.  

Running back Vince Ferrante rushed 17 times for 124 yards and a pair of touchdowns and quarterback Craig Bagnell added two more scores through the air while going 25-for-36 in sparking Mary to a 28-14 victory at Northern State University Saturday.

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.

ANOTHER FAVORABLE NSIC FORECAST: For the first time since 2007 (when UMD was a member of the now defunct North Central Conference), the NSIC coaches chose someone other than the Bulldogs as the team to beat in 2013. In their annual preseason poll, the league coaches picked the defending NSIC kingpin Minnesota State-Mankato to finish first in both the South Division and in the overall standings while the Bulldogs were slotted to capture the North Division crown (for a sixth straight year) and place second to the Mavericks overall (like the did one year ago after a four-season run as league champs). UMD had been chosen as the overall NSIC preseason favorite during each of its previous six years of league membership (2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2003.

IT'S GOT A NICE RING TO IT: Senior Colby Ring continues his climb up the Bulldogs' career defensive charts and now occupies a share of the No. 6 spot on that list with 261 total tackles. He needs 16 more stops to supplant Jim Johnson (2005-06) at No. 5 and 17 more to replace another strong safety, Kevin Westbrock (1998-2001), at No. 5. Ring paces all 2013 Bulldogs in tackles (44) 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 and two-time All-NSIC honoree, has been credited with 39 stops thus far, including a team-best 10.5 for a loss.

IT'S GOT A NICE RING TO IT - PART 2: Prior to the opening kickoff of last Saturday's Senior Day matchup with Minnesota Crookston,Ring proposed to his girlfriend, Nadine Abu Azzam (a UMD senior and Duluth Central High School alumnae) on the field and was shown on the James S. Malosky Stadium videoboard She accepted and Ring and the Bulldogs went on to trounce the Golden Eagles 57-3 making it one memorable day for the Baxter, Minn., product.

DIVISION DOMINATORS: Since the NSIC instituted divisional play in 2008, the Bulldogs are a sizzling 34-2 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 is the reigning five-time defending NSIC North Division champion.

QUITE A RUN: Since the 2008 season opener, UMD owns both the highest victory total (70) and best winning percentage (.897 off a 70-8 record) of any NCAA II program.

    Wins (2008-present)
1.    UMD            70
2.    Northwest Missouri State    69
3.     Grand Valley State        59
4.    California U. (Pa.)        57
5.    Bloomsburg             56
    Minnesota State-Mankato    56
7.    West Texas A&M        53
8.    CSU-Pueblo            52
9.    Missouri Western        51
10.    Pittsburg State        50
                
    Winning Percentage (2008-present)
1.    UMD    (70-8)    .897
2.    Northwest Missouri State    (69-11)    .863
3.    Grand Valley State    (59-13)    .819
4.    Bloomsburg     (56-13)    .812
5.    Minnesota State-Mankato    (56-14)    .800
6.    CSU-Pueblo    (52-14)     .788
7.     California U. (Pa.)    (57-17) .770
8.    Shepherd    (48-16) .750
9.    West Texas A&M    (53-19) .736
10.    Pittsburg State    (50-19)    .725

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 this week.  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.

THE'RE CATCHING ON FAST: In last Saturday's triumph over Minnesota Crookston, Aaron Roth became the 12th Bulldog to reach the 100-pass reception mark for a career. The 2012 All-American now has 104 catches to his collegiate credit while fellow junior wide out Zach Zweifel has 108. One more member of the Bulldog receiver brigade, senior Joe Reichert, needs just 10 receptions to join the exclusive 100-catch club.

ROLLING ALONG: One more victory will give UMD its longest winning streak (seven games) since it went 15-0 during the 2010 season.

A WELL-GROUNDED ATTACK: The Bulldogs are first in the NSIC and rank ninth among all NCAA II schools in rushing offense with a 286.1 yards per game average. The only time UMD has failed to crack the 200-yard rush mark this season was on Sept. 21 when Minnesota State-Mankato held the Bulldogs to 158 yards in a 21-17 victory. The Bulldogs, who as a team are averaging a nifty 5.8 yards a carry this fall, have produced a 100-yard rusher in three of their nine games to date including:

Date    Player    Att.    Yds.    TD
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

Sikorski now has eight 100-yard career rushing days -- tops among all active Bulldogs -- while Lauters is next with five. Sikorski has run for a UMD-best 875 yards this season and 2,351 yards (on 393 carries) as a collegian. The longest run from scrimmage by a Bulldog over the past three seasons is 75 yards, which Sikorski registered the last time UMD paid a visit to Bismarck,  (Oct. 15, 2011).

BULLDOG BITS: A number of Bulldogs achieved career firsts last Saturday against Minnesota Crookston. Both senior wide out Austin Selvick and senior linebacker (and temporary fullback) Nate Zuk hauled in their first collegiate touchdown catches, senior quarterback Brent Jorgensen threw his first scoring strike as a Bulldog, and both redshirt freshman placekicker Tyler McLaughlin (from 34 and 23 yards) and senior punter Alex Brown (from 21 yards) booted their first fields goals in a UMD uniform.
 
• The Bulldogs have recovered the second most fumbles (15, including a school-record five against Minot State last month) than all but one NCAA II school in the country -- Oklahoma Panhandle University (15). UMD also ranks second nationally in time of possession (34:38 per game), fifth in third down conversion percentage defense (opponents have connected at a 26.4 percent rate), sixth in kick off return average (26.93 yards per try) and eighth in third down percentage (48.5 percent) -- a category it topped one year ago.

• Sophomore Justin Fowlkes is averaging 33.4 yards per kickoff return this season -- a figure bettered by only four NCAA II combatants at the moment -- and 29.7 yards for his career.

• UMD has given up only 13 points in the fourth quarter this year (one touchdown each at Upper Iowa University and Minnesota State-Moorhead) and has outscored its competition 121-17 in the opening 15 minutes of play. Those 17 points have come on a pair of touchdowns by Wayne Sate four weeks into the season and a field goal by Minnesota State-Moorhead.

• Senior offensive tackle Tom Olson is expected to make his 51st consecutive start (which covers every game over the past four seasons) this Saturday. That's the third longest ironman streak in team history. The leader in that department is three-time All-American offensive guard and current Bulldog graduate assistant coach Garth Heikkinen (54 games between 2009-12), who is followed by record-breaking quarterback Chase Vogler (52 games between 2009-12), now a UMD volunteer assistant coach. In terms of special teams players, three-time All-NSIC placekicker David Nadeau made 56 consecutive starts between 2008-11.

•  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 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 since it enjoyed a five-week stay at No. 2 from Aug. 27 to Sept. 24, 2012.

ON TAP: The Bulldogs will butt heads with Northern State University on Nov. 16 in the regular season finale for both clubs.