Riding the crest of a 14-game home winning streak, the University of Minnesota Duluth returns to James S. Malosky Stadium (4,500 capacity/artificial turf) this Saturday afternoon (Oct. 24) to take on the University of Minnesota Crookston. Opening kickoff for the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division engagement is set for 1:05 p.m.

Complete Release (pdf)

THE RECORDS: UMD, which has won four straight games, is 5-2 on the year while Minnesota Crookston is winless at 0-7.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how the Bulldogs and Golded Eagles stacked up in this week's American Football Coaches Association Division II and the D2Football.com polls:
 
        AFCA    D2Football    
UMD        No. 20    No. 12
UMC        NR    NR
       
THE BROADCAST: The Bulldog-Golden Eagle matchup will be carried live locally on 92.1 FM The Fan 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, Minn.; KQ 106.7 FM in Ely/Virginia, Minn.; 105.7 FM The Fan Siren/Pine City, Minn., and Red Zone Sports Radio 930 in Aitkin, Minn., as part of the Bulldog Radio Network and at: 921thefan.com or free via the iHeartRadio app.

For the eighth consecutive year, My9 (KBJR DT 6.2/KRII DT 11.9) is televising all UMD home games, including the one Saturday night against Minnesota Crookston. 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: portal.stretchinternet.com/umd.

THE COACH: Curt Wiese is now in his third season of head coaching duty with the Bulldogs, having guided them to a 29-5 overall record, two consecutive NCAA II playoff appearances, one overall NSIC title (it shared that honor with Minnesota State University-Mankato last fall) and two straight NSIC North Division crowns. Last fall, UMD went 13-1 (its third most single-season victories ever) and closed out the year holding down the No. 3 spot in the final AFCA Division II poll. That followed up a rookie-go-around that included an 11-2 mark in all games and a No. 8 final AFCA II poll ranking.

For his exemplary efforts, Wiese was selected the 2013 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award winner for Division II, a prestigious honor recognizing coaches for their responsibility, integrity, sportsmanship and excellence, on and off the field.

Since being appointed UMD's sixth head coach on Dec. 21, 2012, Wiese has helped produce 10 All-Americans and 16 All-NSIC first team selections while 26 of his Bulldogs have earned NSIC All-Academic status (including offensive lineman Andrew Pattock, who as a senior in 2013 was named a first team CoSIDA Academic All-American).

In addition, UMD has cracked the Top 25 in every American Football Coaches Association Poll during Wiese's head coaching tenure.
 

THE RIVALRY: The Bulldogs and Golden Eagles have met on 12 previous occasions, including once in each of the past seven seasons. UMD holds an 11-1 lead in the all-time series, which began in Crookston on Sept. 28, 1999 -- the Golden Eagles' inaugural year as members of the NSIC. Minnesota Crookston posted its lone victory over the Bulldogs two seasons later (a 17-13 home decision), but has since fallen to UMD nine straight times. The latest of those setbacks occurred one year ago (Nov. 1) when the visiting Bulldogs reached the end zone on each of theirseven first-half possession and went on to trounce the then winless Golden Eagles 77-3.

LAST WEEK: The Bulldogs blasted the University of Mary 45-0 Saturday afternoon in Bismarck, N.D., putting the game pretty much away by halftime with 28 second-quarter points, and 458 total yards in the opening 30 minutes of play. Junior quarterback Drew Bauer threw for four touchdowns and 280 yards and ran for one other score in the win -- UMD's ninth in nine lifetime matchups with the Maruaders. Hee put an exclamation point on UMD's dominating first half by hooking up with senior wide out Justin Fowlkes on a 80-yard scoring strike with 28 seconds to go before the break that put the Bulldogs up 35-0. UMD  finished the day with 281 yards on the ground and a near-equal 289 yards passing for a 2015-high 570 yards of total offense. Freshman running back Jamiah Newell led all UMD rushers (some eight in all) with 95 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries while sophomore backup quarterback Nate Ricci ran 10 times for 75 yards. Bauer completed nine of 16 passes before being relieved by Ricci in the third quarter.

Despite some impressive numbers from running back Dre Pearson (18 rushes for 178 yards and a pair of touchdowns), the Golden Eagles were no match for Northern State University, which prevailed 55-21 Saturday in Crookston, Minn.  Flanker Adam Connette rolled up 126 yards on 10 catches in the losing effort.

PRIDE OF THE NORTH: Since the NSIC instituted divisional play in 2008, the Bulldogs are a sizzling 46-2 in NSIC North Division assignments (25-0 at home) with both of those two losses coming in consecutive years to St. Cloud State (51-49 in 2012 and 35-7 in 2011).

PRIDE OF THE NORTH II: UMD, the seven-time defending NSIC North Division champion, will bring a 23-game North Division winning streak into this Saturday's bout with Minnesota Crookston.  

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME: This season marks the 50th year of Bulldog football at Malosky Stadium. Since moving to that on-campus facility on Oct. 29, 1966, the Bulldogs have won over 77 percent of their home games, going 192-54-4 (.776). In recent times, opponents have found victories even harder to come by at Malosky Stadium as UMD has amassed a sizzling 47-4 mark there since the 2008 opener (with two of those losses coming in the NCAA II playoffs). The Bulldogs have also gone 53-1 versus overall NSIC competition at Malosky Stadium since Oct. 21, 2000 with that lone loss being inflicted by Minnesota State-Mankato on Sept. 21, 2013 (21-17).

NOT IN OUR HOUSE: UMD hasn't been held scoreless by a visiting NSIC colleague since Minnesota State University-Moorhead turned the trick (29-0) way back on Oct. 31, 1981.

STREAKS APLENTY: To summarize, here are the streaks the Bulldogs will put on the line this Saturday afternoon:
Consecutive Home Wins: 14
Consecutive NSIC North Division Wins: 23
Consecutive NSIC North Division Home Wins: 25
Consecutive Wins vs. Minnesota Crookston: 9
Consecutive NSIC Home Games Without Being Shut Out: 109.

PUTTING HIS BEST FOOT FORWARD: Senior Andrew Brees capped off the scoring in last Saturday's takedown of Mary by nailing a school-record 57-yard field goal. That kick, which bettered the previous mark by two yards (set by his predecessor, David Nadeau, four years ago at the same facility in Bismarck), secured both a NSIC and USA College Football Special Teams Player of the Week citation for the two-time All-NSIC first team placekicker (2014 and 2012). Brees, who this fall became the first Bulldog to handle both the team's full-time placekicking and punting duties since 1988 (Randy Fietek). has averaged 41.1 yards per punt this season -- the second best figure in the NSIC -- and four of his 28 punts have sailed 50 or more yards. He's also a perfect 26-for-26 on extra point attempts and has connected on seven of nine field goals. On top of this, he's also run for a pair of two-point conversions giving him 49 points on the year to rank second on the club in scoring. This past September, Brees was among 21 placekickers from all divisions to receive a Fred Mitchell Award Kicker of the Month award for excellence on the football field and in the community. It marked the third time during his career he was so honored. He currently is tied for eighth in career field goals (36) among all active NCAA II kickers.

QUITE A RUN: Going back to the start of the 2008 season, no NCAA II outfit in the country has generated a better winning percentage (.883 off an 91-12 record) and only one -- Northwest Missouri State University (with 92) -- has amassed more wins.

BALL HAWK: Senior cornerback and second-year starter Darion Fletcher ranks second in the entire nation in passes defended (breakups and interceptions) with 16. His 29 career pass breakups are a school record (one more than the previous mark set by Brandon Wood; 2006-09) while the 14 knock downs he has compiled this fall are one shy of the program single-season record which belongs to Marcus Davis (2005). The 2014 All-NSIC North Division second team honoree also has two of UMD's three interceptions this season, giving him a team-high seven for his career (no other Bulldog has more than one collegiate theft).

HE'S BEEN QUITE A CATCH: Junior wideout/runningback Beau Bofferding, who tops the 2015 Bulldogs in both receptions (19) and all-purpose yards (798), has caught at least one pass in 20 consecutive games since being blanked in that department in the 2014 season opener against Concordia-St. Paul at Malosky Stadium.  

BAUER POWER: Junior Drew Bauer, the 2015 NSIC North Division Preseason Offensive Player and the holder of the school's single-season rushing record for a quarterback (983 yards in 2014), has already generated both the fourth most all-time total yards (7,744) and passing yards (5,454) in program history. Bauer, who last week in Bismarck equalled  a career-high with four touchdown passes and set a 2015 season best with 280 pass yards, will enter Saturday's bout with Minnesota Crookston  sporting a 29-5 career record as a starter.

AIRING IT OUT: One of Drew Bauers's four scoring strikes against Mary went to senior wide out Justin Fowlkes for an 80-yard gain. That is UMD's longest pass play from scrimmage since the 2010 season.

WHAT A RUSH: Senior team captain Logan Lauters, who has sat out all but two series (the opening two versus Upper Iowa on Sept. 27) with a lower body injury, occupies the No. 2 on UMD's career rushing charts with 3,297 yards. That's 945 yards behind the No. 1 occupant, three-time All-American Isaac Odim (4,442 yards from 2008-10). Lauters's career 6.4 yards per run average takes a backseat only Odim's 7.2 clip (2008-10) among Bulldogs with 1,000 or more yards. He currently ranks eighth among all active NCAA II players in career yards per carry and 11th in rushing yards. One year ago, Lauters rolled up 1,531 yards on the ground -- a figure eclipsed by only one other Bulldog ever in a single-season (Isaac Odim in both 2009 and 2008).

TOP 'DOGS: UMD captured a share of its league-record 19th NSIC championship last year -- and did so with the most victories (11) in program history. In addition to owning more NSIC crowns than any other institution (they have one more than Winona State University), the Bulldogs have compiled an all-time winning percentage of .737 (a 236-82-5 record), which is second only to Sioux Falls' .800 mark (32-8-0 in three-plus seasons of NSIC membership).

GET IN THE ZONE: UMD has come away with points (including 21 touchdowns) in 25 of its 27 red zone visits this season (92.6 percent). It failed to score once due to a missed field goal attempt and one other time when it turned the ball over on downs.

BALL CONTROL: UMD is 13th among all NCAA II clubs in time of possession (32:54) and leads the entire NSIC in that department.

BULLDOG BITS: The last time UMD and Minnesota Crookston met (Oct. 10, 2014 in Crookston), current sophomore linebacker Zach Bassuener recovered a block punt in the Bulldog end zone for his lone collegiate touchdown to date ... In last Saturday's 45-0 win over Mary (UMD's first shutout since last November), the Bulldogs  set 2015 single-game highs for total yards (570), yards per play (8.8),  and passing yards (289) ... UMD has outscored the opposition 73-33 in the first quarter and 162-57 in the opening 30 minutes of play this season ... Head coach Curt Wiese has won 29 of 35 games since taking over the Bulldog program three seasons ago and only two other NCAA II coaches -- Northwest Missouri State University's Adam Dorrel (32) and Colorado State University-Pueblo's John Wristen (31) -- have complied more victories during that the time period ... Senior Logan Lauters has rushed for 100 or more yards on a team-high 13 occasions as a Bulldog. Drew Bauer is next with seven ... UMD has appeared in every AFCA II Top 25 poll since Aug. 12, 2008 ... Just 10 individuals make up the Bulldogs' 2015 senior class and of those 10, only eight -- David Boegel, Andrew Brees, Ty Fischer (who joined the Bulldogs this fall after a two-season absence), Darion Fletcher, Justin Fowlkes, Logan Lauters, Mark Nahorniak and Brent Stiglich -- began their collegiate careers at UMD ... Both junior quarterback Drew Bauer and junior offensive tackle Peter Bateman have made more career starts (34 in a row) than any other active Bulldog while the senior trio of free safety David Boegel, placekicker Andrew Brees and cornerback Darion Fletcher share the team lead for career appearances (45 of a possible 46). Boegel leads all current Bulldogs in career tackles with 182 while Fletcher is next at 159 .

ON TAP: UMD will be at Northern State next Saturday in the first of two straight road games  before returning to Malosky Stadium on Nov. 14 for its 2015 regular season finale with Minot State University.