The University of Minnesota Duluth will launch its 81st season of intercollegiate football this Saturday night (Sept. 7) with a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference clash against the University of Sioux Falls. Game time is set for 6:05 p.m. at James S. Malosky Stadium (4,500 capacity/artificial surface) on the UMD campus.

THE RECORDS: UMD went 10-2 in all games last fall and placed second in the overall NSIC standings with a 10-1 mark. The Bulldogs, who also claimed the NSIC's North Division title for the fifth year in a row, secured their fifth straight NCAA Division II playoffs berth. In their first NSIC go-around, Sioux Falls posted a 9-2 conference (third-place tie with Winona State University) and overall record.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and Sioux Falls stacked up in the 2013 preseason American Football Coaches Association Division II and the D2Football.com polls.

          AFCA    D2Football    
UMD    No. 11    No. 11
USF    NR         NR     

THE BROADCAST: The UMD-Sioux Falls 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 doing color 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, My9 (KBJR DT 6.2/KRII DT 11.9) is televising all UMD home games during the 2013 season, including Saturday's season opener with the Cougars. 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 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 62-7 (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):   0-0 (1st)
Overall Coaching Record (Year):    9-11 (3rd)
Career NSIC Record:    0-0
vs. Sioux Falls:    0-0
 
THE SERIES: The Bulldogs and Cougars will collide for the first time ever Saturday night.

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.

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NSIC FORECAST IS AGAIN FAVORABLE: 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.

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 (first two games in 2010) or Chase Vogler (the last 52 games) will take the opening snap for the Bulldogs this evening. Redshirted freshman Drew Bauer, who, like Vogler, hails from Inver Grove Heights, Minn., has been tabbed to fill that role against the Cougars. Incidentally, UMD's current crop of quarterbacks have accounted for a combined seven career offensive plays as Bulldogs. All of those are courtesy of senior Brent Jorgensen (five pass and two rush) and were registered three years ago. A new addition to the UMD signal calling crew in 2013 is Eric Kline, who transferred from South Dakota State University, where one year ago he completed four of 11 passes for 32 yards and rushed for another 24 yards on six attempts while appearing in six games – including one as a starter (the season opener at the University of Kansas).

START ME UP: Besides Bauer, four other Bulldogs are expected to make their first UMD starts tonight -- redshirted freshman offensive tackle Peter Bateman, junior defensive end Jacob Brusehaver, senior free safety Jason Carlson, a transfer from Iowa State University, and redshirted offensive guard Connor Randall.

GETTING OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT: Launching a new season on a winning note has pretty much been a given for UMD -- particularly in recent times. Not only have the Bulldogs rolled up 13 consecutive opening-day victories, but they are a whopping 40-6 in season debuts since 1967. The last time UMD started a year 0-1 was in 1999 following a 35-17 setback to visiting Minnesota State University-Mankato in then-head coach Bob Nielson's first outing with the Bulldogs. Nielson's successor, Curt Wiese, will make his inaugural appearance as UMD's head coach Saturday night.

SOME MALOSKY MOJO: Since being upended 37-27 by Concordia University-St. Paul on Oct. 7, 2000, the Bulldogs have reeled off 40 consecutive NSIC victories within the confines of Malosky Stadium. What's more, they are 45-0 overall against NSIC schools (non-conference and NCAA II playoff games) in Duluth during that stretch.

BULLDOG BITES: Of the five previous head coaches the Bulldogs have employed in their eight decades of existence, only one -- Kyle "Bubba" Schweigert -- has debuted with a win. Schweigert, who is now an assistant coach at Southern Illinois University, directed his charges to a 35-21 home triumph over Chadron State College in 2004 ... Junior tight end and long snapper Taylor Grant, who spent the last 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 ... UMD held down the No. 11 spot 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 was one of only eight schools to accomplish that feet all 13 weeks one year ago ... Both Curt Wiese and first-year offensive coordinator Dan Larson celebrated their 37th and 34th birthdays, respectively, this past Wednesday ... Since the opening of the 2008 season, no NCAA II outfit in the country has amassed more victories (62) or compiled a better winning percentage (.898 off a 62-7 record) than UMD ... UMD was a perfect 6-0 at Malosky Stadium in 2012 (outscoring the opposition 257-109 in the process) and is 20-1 there over the past three seasons ... Last year marked the first time in program history that more than one individual resided atop the team's rushing charts as both current junior running back Austin Sikorski and since-graduated quarterback Chase Vogler ran for a team-high 893 yards. Sikorski leads all current Bulldogs in career ground yards with 1,476 yards. In addition, he has a team-best six 100-yard rushing afternoons to his collegiate credit ... Senior offensive tackle Tom Olson has started all 41 games over the last three season ... UMD hasn't been blanked by a visiting NSIC opponent since Minnesota State University-Moorhead turned the trick (29-0) back on Oct. 31, 1981.

UP NEXT: UMD will pay a visit to Fayette, Iowa, next Saturday for an night clash with Upper Iowa University before returning to Malosky Stadium on Sept. 21 to face reigning NSIC overall champion Minnesota State-Mankato in a pivotal, early-season showdown.