Toting a seven-game winning streak, the University of Minnesota Duluth will pay a visit to Crookston, Minn., this Saturday (Oct. 29) for a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division engagement with the University of Minnesota Crookston. Opening kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Ed Widseth Field (2,000 capacity/natural grass) on the Minnesota Crookston campus.

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THE RECORDS: The Bulldogs are 7-1 this fall,which gives them sole possession of second place in the NSIC standings, while the last place and winless Golden Eagles are 0-8.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how the Bulldogs and Golden Eagles stacked up in this week's American Football Coaches Association Division II and D2Football.com polls as well as the NCAA II Super Region 3 Rankings.

           AFCA    D2Football    NCAA II Super 3
UMD    No. 21    No. 13            No. 4
UMC      NR        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. The broadcast can also be heard on KQ 105.5 FM in Grand Rapids/Hibbing, Minn., and KQ 106.7 FM in Ely/Virginia, Minn., as part of the Bulldog Radio Network and at: 921thefan.com or free via the iHeartRadio app.

Saturday afternoon's game will be videostreammed as well and can be accessed for free at: portal.stretchinternet.com/umd.

THE RIVALRY: The Bulldogs and Golden Eagles have met on 13 previous occasions, including once in each of the past eight seasons. UMD holds an 12-1 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 10 straight times. The latest of those setbacks occurred one year ago (Oct. 24) when the host Bulldogs UMD got touchdowns from eight different players and rolled up a season-high 378 rushing yards en route to a 66-17 triumph.

LAST WEEK: Buoyed by career-high performances from senior quarterback Drew Bauer, senior wide out/running back Beau Bofferding and sophomore wide out Jason Balts, UMD kept its NCAA II playoff and NSIC title hopes alive by outlasting then-No. 21 Bemidji State University 54-47 in a NSIC North Division slugfest at James S. Malosky Stadium. Bofferding, who was a source of instant relief in the UMD backfield afternoon after starter Darren Walker went down with an injury midway through the second quarter, rushed 18 times for a personal-best 171 yards and four touchdowns, including UMD's final two scores of the game. Bauer equalled a career best with 331 passing yards and three touchdowns, completing 22 of 32 throws in the process while Balts finished with seven receptions which he parlayed into 165 yards and three touchdowns (all personal highs). UMD, which for the fourth straight week never trailed the entire game, amassed 604 yards of total offense en route to downing the Beavers for a 15th consecutive time overall and 22nd straight time in Duluth. The Bulldogs possessed the football for an even 43 of 60 minutes, but did give up their most yards through the air (434) since Oct. 12, 2013. The Beavers managed only 62 yards (213 yards below their season average) on 22 rushing attempts the entire afternoon.

Minnesota Crookston fell 38-30 to Minot State University Saturday in Minot, N.D., despite getting a stellar ground performance from running back Dre Pearson (142 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries).

NORTH DIVISION DOMINATORS: Since the NSIC instituted divisional play in 2008, the Bulldogs are a sizzling 53-3 in NSIC North Division assignments (30-0 at home). Beside a 23-15 defeat at Northern State last Halloween, UMD's other losses came in consecutive years at St. Cloud State (51-49 in 2012 and 35-7 in 2011). The Bulldogs is the eight-time defending NSIC North Division champion and shared the title last year with both Bemidji State and Northern State.

KEEP IT FOR AS LONG AS YOU CAN: No NCAA II outfit in the country has done a better job of controlling the football this season than UMD. The Bulldogs currently rank first nationally in time of possession with a 38:15 per game average after occupying the No. 3 spot at the conclusion of the 2015 season (34:08). The last opponent to outdo the Bulldogs in time of possession was Minnesota Crookston one year ago ago (31:26 to to 28:34 at Malosky Stadium on Oct. 24).

BAUER POWER: Drew Bauer, who is 37-7 as a starter since assuming that role at the outset of the 2013 season, is averaging 350.5 yards of total offense per game, which puts him No. 2 in the NSIC and fifth nationally. He also currently ranks first among NCAA II quarterbacks in career scoring (242 points), second in rushing (2,999 yards), fifth in touchdown passes (75) and sixth in total offense (10,800 yards) and 11th in passing yards (7,891). To date, the two-time All-NSIC North Division honoree has generated the second-most all-time total yards and third most passing yards in team history. He also reigns as the Bulldogs' career yardage leader for a quarterback.

Last month (Sept. 24) in UMD's 41-38 triumph over Augustana, Bauer set a personal best for both total offense (470 yards, the fourth-highest single-game total in program history) and passing yards (331, which stands 10th on the team's all-time single-game charts). Despite being sidelined with an upper body injury for the final three games of 2015, Bauer still paced the Bulldogs in rushing, something only two other quarterbacks had done previously (Chase Vogler in 2012 and Ted Schlafke in 2007).

SPREADING THE WEALTH: UMD ranks 15th nationally in rushing offense, averaging 247.3 yards per outing. Some twelve different Bulldogs have carried the football this fall, including starting offensive guard and part-time fullback Nolan Folkert, who has ran five times for five yards and four touchdowns and senior inside linebacker Beau Bates,who out of punt formation last Saturday against Bemidji State turned his first collegiate rush into a nine-yard gain and a key third-quarter first down.

WELL-GROUNDED: On the flip side, the Bulldogs have allowed the fewest rushing yards (93.4 per game) of any NSIC club this fall. UMD has outgained its opponents on the ground in 17 straight games going back to a 35-31 road setback at the University of Sioux Falls.

LEADERS OF THE SACK: The 2016 Bulldogs have registered 30 sacks -- the seventh best mark in the nation at the moment. Senior inside linebacker Beau Bates (7.5) and unior outside linebacker Zach Bassuener (7.0) and rank 1-2, respectively, in the NSIC in that department. In addition, Bates's 15.5 tackles for a loss are tops among all NSIC defenders.

START ME UP: Senior Peter Bateman, who last month was rated as the No. 1 NCAA II offensive tackle in the nation by Hero Sports, has started all 47 games over the last four seasons -- the longest ironman run of any active Bulldog. A 2016 D2Football.com Preseason All-American first team pick, Bateman collared All-NSIC North Division status for the third straight season one year ago (first team in 2015 and 2014 and second team in 2013) as well as USA College Football All-American (first team) and Don Hansen All-American (honorable mention) acclaim.

BEAU KNOWS OFFENSE: Beau Bofferding, who rushed for 171 yards last Saturday (the most by a Bulldog since quarterback Drew Bauer scorched Minnesota State-Moorhead for 177 yards on Oct. 3, 2015), has now caught at least one pass in 33 consecutive games -- a run that began in Week Two of the 2014 season. The Marshall, Minn., product and 2015 All-NSIC North Division first team selection is also averaging the most all-purpose yards (160.38 per game) in the NSIC at the moment.

BEAU KNOWS DEFENSE: Senior inside linebacker Beau Bates, UMD's leading tackler from a year ago (he had 71 stops for the second consecutive fall), paces the Bulldogs in that statistical category so far this season with 58 takedowns -- 24 more than the next closest Bulldog. For his career, the 2015 Don Hansen All-Super Region 3 second team and All-NSIC North Division first team honoree has accumulated a team-leading 235 tackles. A distant No. 2 on that lifetime tackles list is fellow senior inside linebacker Ben McDonald, a first-year starter who has been credited with 95 stops. Bates and senior offensive tackle Peter Bateman are the lone two Bulldogs to see time in each of UMD's 47 games over the past four seasons.

THE BIG 5-0: This Saturday, incidentally will mark the 50th anniversary of the opening of what is now known as James S. Malosky Stadium. Since christening that on-campus facility on Oct. 29, 1966, the Bulldogs have won 78.2 percent of their home games, going 199-54-4. In recent times, opponents have found victories even harder to come by at Malosky Stadium as UMD has amassed a scorching 54-4 mark there since the 2008 opener (with two of those defeats coming in the NCAA II playoffs). The Bulldogs have also gone 61-1 versus overall NSIC competition (league games and NCAA II playoffs) at Malosky Stadium since Oct. 21, 2000 with that lone setback being inflicted by Minnesota State-Mankato (21-17 on Sept. 21, 2013 -- UMD's last home loss).

QUITE A RUN: Going back to the start of the 2008 season, only one NCAA II outfit in the country - Northwest Missouri State - has generated a better winning percentage and has amassed more wins than UMD. It is worth noting that Northwest Missouri State, the defending NCAA II champion, owns the nation's longest winning streak at 23 games, having not lost since falling 25-21 to host UMD in the opening round of the 2014 NCAA II playoffs (Nov. 22).

CATCHING ON FAST: Junior wide out Nate Ricci's team-leading 37 receptions in eight games this fall are more than double his previous collegiate best (17 in both 2014 and 2015). Ricci has been UMD's favorite pass target in 2016 (he's been thrown to 63 times) while sophomore Jason Balts is next (41 times). In last Saturday's 54-47 victory over Bemidii State, Balts amassed the most receiving yards (165 ) in over eight years (D.J. Winfield with 172 yards against the University of Mary on Sept. 27, 2008). A team-leading 75.8 percent of Balts' receptions (22 of 29) have gone for first downs in 2016.

GROUND AND POUND: Senior quarterback Drew Bauer has registered 10, 100-yard rushing afternoons as a Bulldog -- including two this fall -- while senior running back Darren Walker (five times), a 2015 transfer from Los Angeles Harbor College, junior wide out/quarterback Nate Ricci (once) and senior wide put/running back Beau Bofferding (once) are the only other three Bulldogs to reach that barrier.

KEEPING ON WITH THE JONESES: Rookie running back Jaleen Jones, who earlier this month against Minnesota State-Moorhead parlayed his third collegiate rushing attempt into an 85-yard touchdown -- the longest run from scrimmage by a Bulldog since All-American Isaac Odim's 86-yard jaunt against Concordia University-St. Paul on Aug. 29, 2009, is one of three true freshmen who have seen playing time for the Bulldogs this fall. Placekicker/punter Cameron Hausman and cornerback Bishop McDonald are the two others.

BULLDOG BITS: With last Saturday's win, UMD is 2-0 vs. nationally-ranked opponents this season ... The Bulldogs just completed a five-week stretch in which it was at home four times ... Redshirt freshman linebacker Aaron Gorres continues to lead the Bulldogs in special teams tackles with 11 (all on kickoffs) ... UMD has amassed the second-most first downs (214) of any NCAA II club in the country and have held the advantage over its opponents in that department in all eight games to date ... The Bulldogs have given up 267 points thus far for a 33.4 per game average. The program single-season records in those two departments are 301 (set during the 12-game 2005 season) and 27.3 (2004), respectively ... Six active Bulldogs have an interception to their collegiate credit but only sophomore free safety Sam Lynch (three, including a pair in 2016) and junior free safety Kegan Wirtz (two, both this season) are the only members of that group with more than one pick ... The 604 yards of total offense UMD finished with last Saturday was their most since Oct. 12, 2013 (619 yards at Minnesota State-Moorhead) ... Curt Wiese has won 40 of 47 games since taking over the Bulldog program three seasons ago and only two other NCAA II coaches -- Northwest Missouri State's Adam Dorrel (48) and Colorado State University-Pueblo's John Wristen (42) -- have complied more victories during that the time period ... Beau Bofferding has had two kickoff returns of 70 yards this season ... UMD and Bemidji State combined for 49 fourth-quarter points last Saturday ... Just under 90 percent of the 2016 Bulldogs come from either Minnesota (54) or Wisconsin (35). Illinois (6), California (1), Colorado (1), Florida (1) and Washington (1) are home to the remaining 10 Bulldogs ..

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs will return to Malosky Stadium on Nov. 5 to host the University of Mary in their 2016 regular season home finale.