The University of Minnesota Duluth will undertake its first road activity of the young 2013 season this Saturday (Sept. 14) when the Bulldogs invade Fayette, Iowa, for a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference confrontation with Upper Iowa University. Opening kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Harms-Eischeid Stadium (3,500 capacity/artificial turf) on the Upper Iowa campus.

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THE RECORDS: Both the Bulldogs and Peacocks are off to 1-0 starts this fall. UMD went 10-2 in all games one year ago and placed second in the overall NSIC standings with a 10-1 mark. The Bulldog also claimed the NSIC's North Division title for the fifth year in a row and secured their fifth straight NCAA Division II playoffs berth. Upper Iowa posted a 2-9 conference (tied for 13th place with Concordia University-St. Paul and the University of Minnesota Crookston) and overall record in 2012.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and Upper Iowa stacked up in the this week's American Football Coaches Association Division II and the D2Football.com polls.

    AFCA    D2Football    
UMD    No. 7    No. 7
UIU    NR    NR  
     
THE BROADCAST: The UMD-Upper Iowa matchup will be carried live on 1490 The Fan (KQDS-AM) with Bruce Ciskie 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 and at: www.fan1490.com.

In addition, Saturday night's game will be videostreammed and can be accessed for free at: client.stretchinternet.com/client/umd.portal#.

THE COACH: After spending the last 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 five-season run as the team's offensive coordinator, the Bulldogs finished near the top of the NCAA II leader board four times in scoring (third this past fall with a school-record 46.5 points per game average, fifth in 2008, sixth in 2010 and ninth four years ago) and last year 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. In addition, his starting offensive guard over the past four years, 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 63-7 (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 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)    1-0 (1st)
Overall Coaching Record (Year)    10-11 (3rd)
Career NSIC Record    1-0
vs. Upper Iowa     0-0

THE SERIES: UMD has met Upper Iowa just four times previously -- during the Bulldogs' first two seasons in the now defunct North Central Conference (2004 and 2005) and in both 2010 and 2011 -- and has won all four of those engagements, outscoring the Peacocks 159-49 in the process. Half of those victories have come at home, including a 49-22 decision in the 2011 NSIC opener for both clubs.

LAST WEEK: The Bulldogs drove 65 yards in six plays for a touchdown in the opening series of the night and never looked back en route to a 32-7 thrashing of the University of Sioux Falls before an overflow crowd of 5,217 at James S. Malosky Stadium Saturday. Junior running back Austin Sikorski ran for a game-high 97 yards and a pair of scores on 24 carries while redshirt freshman quarterback Drew Bauer completed 10 of 16 passes for 68 yards and also rushed for a touchdown. The Bulldogs, who had never butted heads with the Cougars before, rolled up 28 first downs and 381 yards of total offense (296 on the ground) on the evening and surrendered a mere 144 overall yards.

Upper Iowa launched their 2013 season with a 47-0 road victory over the University of Minnesota Crookston. Junior quarterback Cole Jaeschke threw for 292 yards and five touchdowns while going 17-for-26 and that performance earned the third-year starter NSIC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Three of Jaeschke's scoring strikes went to Shay Gutman and the two others were hauled in by Lucas Hefty. The host Gold Eagles were able to muster a mere 61 yard of total offense in the blanking, the first by the Peacock club in 19 years (Sept. 14, 1994).

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 their annual preseason poll, the league coaches picked the defending NSIC kingpin Minnesota State University-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 years) and place second to the Mavericks overall (like the did one year ago after a four-year 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.

GETTING DEFENSIVE: The 144 yards of total offense the Bulldogs gave up to Sioux Falls int the season opener was a four-year low. The last UMD foe to generate less overall yardage was Minnesota Crookston, who finished with just 78 in a 44-0 setback on Oct. 31, 2009 in Duluth. Senior defensive end Chris Vandervest paced the Bulldogs in tackles on Saturday night with a career-best eight stops (all solos), including three for a loss and one quarterback sack.

A CHANGING OF THE GUARD: For the first time since the 2004 season finale, someone other than Ted Schlafke (47 straight games between 2005-08), Jon Lynch (the first two games in 2010) or Chase Vogler (52 games) started at quarterback for the Bulldogs on Saturday night. Red freshman Drew Bauer did the honors , and was relieved for one possession in the third quarter by sophomore Eric Kline. Kline, a transfer from South Dakota State engineered a 11-play, 36-yard scoring drive before giving way to senior Brent Jorgensen, who took his first snaps in three years. It marked the first time since Nov. 6, 2010 (at Minnesota Crookston). the Bulldogs used more than two quarterbacks in one game.

SPREADING THE WEALTH: In Saturday's 32-7 triumph over Sioux Falls, 11 different Bulldogs ran the football -- the same number that did so during the entire 2012 season.

BULLDOG BITS: Besides Bauer, four other Bulldogs made their first UMD starts Saturday -- redshirt freshman offensive tackle Peter Bateman, junior defensive end Jacob Brusehaver, senior free safety Jason Carlson,who transferred to UMD from Iowa State University, and red freshman offensive guard Connor Randall

•With Saturday night's triumph against Sioux Falls, UMD extended its NSIC home victory streak to 41 games -- a run that stretches back to September 2000. The Bulldogs have now also reeled off 14 straight opening game wins a row.

•Curt Wiese is just the second full-time coach UMD has employed in its 81 year history (there have been five others) to debut with a victory. Kyle "Bubba" Schweigert, now an assistant coach at Southern Illinois University, also accomplished that feat in 2004.

•Junior Andrew Pattock is expected to receive his first collegiate starting assignment this Saturday as a replacement for injured senior center Grant Schnobrich.

•Going back to last season, the Bulldogs have come away with at least one interception in seven straight games. Senior cornerback Kenny Chowa had UMD's lone theft Saturday night, the sixth of his career

•Junior running back Austin Sikorski scored his first two collegiate touchdowns at the expense of Upper Iowa on Sept. 11, 2011) while senior strong safety Travis Nordus returned a kickoff 88 yards yard for a score that same afternoon. That remains Nordhus' lone touchdown of any kind as a Bulldog and is the second longest return by a UMD player since the 2003 season.

•UMD moved up four spots to No. 7 in both the American Football Coaches Association Division II and the D2Football.com 2013 preseason polls. UMD has cracked the Top 25 in every AFCA II poll since Aug. 12, 2008, and hasn't fallen out of the Top 15 in over five years (Sept. 8, 2008).

•Talk about a lonely position. Senior punter Alex Brown was called into action just once last Saturday and over the last two seasons has averaged a mere 2.2 punts per game.

•The 24 rushing attempts junior running back Austin Sikorski generated last Saturday were two shy of his career high. Sikorski leads all current Bulldogs in career ground yards with 1,573 yards. In addition, he has a team-best six 100-yard rushing afternoons to his collegiate credit.

•Since to opening of the 2008 season, no NCAA II outfit in the country has amassed more victories (63) or compiled a better winning percentage (.900 off a 63-7 record) than UMD

•Junior tight end and long snapper Taylor Grant, who spent the previous three years with the University of North Dakota program, is the grandson of Minnesota Vikings coaching legend Bud Grant while his uncle, Bruce Grant (1980-83), and cousin, Ricky Fritz (1998-2002), were both star quarterbacks with the Bulldogs.

•Senior offensive tackle Tom Olson has started all 42 games over the last four seasons, the longest active ironman streak of any Bulldog.

UP NEXT: UMD will be back in Duluth on Sept. 21 to welcome reigning NSIC overall champion Minnesota State-Mankato to Malosky Stadium in the Bulldogs' annual Hall of Fame Game.