The University of Minnesota Duluth will close the books on its 2016 regular season home schedule this Saturday (Nov. 5) when the Bulldogs play host to Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division rival University of Mary. Opening kickoff for the Bulldogs annual Senior Day game is set for 1:05 p.m. at James S. Malosky Stadium (5,000/artificial turf) on the UMD campus.

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THE RECORDS: The Bulldogs, winners of eight straight, are 8-1 this fall,which gives them sole possession of second place in the 16-team NSIC standings, while the Marauders are 1-8, good for 15th place.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and Mary 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. 18      No. 12           No. 5
Mary         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 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., 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.

For the ninth consecutive year, My9 (KBJR DT 6.2/KRII DT 11.9) is televising all UMD home games, including Saturday's clash with Mary. KBJR-TV 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 in his fourth season of head coaching duty with the Bulldogs, having guided them to a 41-7 overall record (only two NCAA II coaches have won more games during that stretch), two NCAA II playoff appearances (2013 and 2014), one overall NSIC title (it shared that honor with Minnesota State University-Mankato in 2014) and three straight NSIC North Division crowns. Last fall, the Bulldogs went 9-3 after going 13-1 (their third most single-season victories ever) in 2014 and closing 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 15 different All-Americans and 23 All-NSIC first team selections while 39 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).

Wiese is one of 10 head coaches nationwide who are honorary coach nominees for the 2016 Allstate Insurance and American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team.

WIESE BY THE NUMBERS
Record at UMD (Year):  41-7 (4th)
Overall Coaching Record (Year):  50-18 (6th)
Career NSIC Record: 37-5
Career UMD Home Record: 22-1
Career UMD Road Record: 19-6
vs. Mary: 3-0

THE RIVALRY: UMD and Mary will meet for just the 10th time ever this Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs have won all nine of the previous confrontations, outscoring the Marauders 394-127 in the process (or by an average score of 44-14) and are 5-0-0 lifetime versus Mary at Malosky Stadium.
 

LAST WEEK: The Bulldogs made quick work of the University of Minnesota Crookston by racing out to a 26-0 first-quarter lead and going on to thrash the winless Golden Eagles 54-23 Saturday in Crookston. Senior wide out/running back Beau Bofferding ran for four touchdowns (including three in the first quarter along) and also caught a 10-yard scoring strike from senior quarterback Drew Bauer 5:11 into the third quarter before calling it a day. Bauer completed 17 of 21 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns while sophomore wide out Jason Balts and junior wide out Nate Ricci both had six receptions. UMD was held to a season-low 446 yards of total offense, getting nearly half of that output (209 yards) in the opening 15 minutes of play, but limited the Golden Eagles to just 280 overall yards, including eight on the ground. Defensively, the Bulldogs were led by sophomore linebacker Gus Weding (a personal-best 12 total tackles) and senior linebacker Beau Bates (10 stops and 2.5 sacks).

Mary suffered a 52-7 setback at the hands of Northern State University in the Marauders' home finale on Saturday. Mary, which was outgained 574-270 in total offense, got its lone touchdown of the afternoon early in the fourth quarter when Nick McCann hooked up with Harley Mollman on a 56-yard pass.

SENIOR SALUTE: The clash with Mary will mark the final regular season home appearance for the Bulldogs' 14 seniors. That group includes offensive tackle Peter Bateman, inside linebacker Beau Bates, quarterback Drew Bauer, cornerback Tony Beasley, cornerback Tavaughn Blair, wide out/running back/return specialist Beau Bofferding, center Matt Catton, offensive tackle Cameron Hehn, inside linebacker Ben McDonald, placekicker Tyler McLaughlin, offensive guard Connor Randall, nose guard Isaac Vesel, running back Darren Walker, and center Willy Westerman. Eleven of those 14 seniors (the exceptions being Beasley, Blair and Walker) were members of the Bulldogs' 2012 freshman class.

MALOSKY MILESTONES: Last Saturday was the 50th anniversary of the opening of Malosky Stadium and this Saturday the Bulldogs will look to secure win No. 200 at that on-campus facility (they currently sport a 199-54-4 record there). In recent times, opponents have found victories extremely hard to come by at Malosky Stadium as UMD has amassed a sizzling 54-4 mark there since the 2008 opener (with two of those losses coming in the NCAA II playoffs). The Bulldogs, who currently own a school-record 21-game home winning streak, 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 on Sept. 21, 2013 (21-17 -- UMD last loss in Duluth.

PUTTING IT ON THE LINE: Here are some of the streaks UMD will bring into Saturday's clash with Mary:
Consecutive Overall Wins: 8
Consecutive Home Wins: 21
Consecutive NSIC North Division Home Wins: 30
Consecutive Home Games Without Being Shut Out: 74
Consecutive NSIC Home Games Without Being Shut Out: 116
Consecutive Wins vs. Mary: 9

SACK ATTACK: The 2016 Bulldogs have registered 40 sacks -- the third best total in the nation at the moment. Senior inside linebacker Beau Bates (11.0, which is four shy of the program's single-season record set by Russ Rabe in 2003) and junior outside linebacker Zach Bassuener (8.5) and rank 1-2, respectively, in the NSIC in that department and 9th and 15th nationally. In addition, Bates's 16.0 tackles for a loss are tops among all NSIC defenders. In last Saturda's 54-23 triumph at Minnesota Crookston, the Bulldogs came away with nine sacks (one short of the school single-game record).

MAKING THEIR POINT: The Bulldogs are averaging 43.6 points per game -- the sixth highest figure in the country -- while surrendering an average of 32.2 points per outing (the school record is 27.4 ppg set in 2007).

BAUER POWER: Drew Bauer, who is 38-7 as a starter since assuming that role at the outset of the 2013 season, is averaging 342.0 yards of total offense per game, which puts him No. 2 in the NSIC and seventh nationally. He also currently ranks first among NCAA II quarterbacks in career scoring (242 points), second in rushing (3,004 yards), fifth in touchdown passes (81), sixth in total offense (11,164 yards) and 11th in passing yards (8,160). 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 UMD's career rushing yardage leader for a quarterbacks and is fifth among all Bulldogs in that department.

In UMD's 41-38 triumph over then-No. 16 Augustana earlier this season (Sept. 24), 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).

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 36:32 per game average after occupying the No. 3 spot at the conclusion of the 2015 season (34:08).

START ME UP: Senior Peter Bateman, who earlier this fall was rated as the No. 1 NCAA II offensive tackle in the nation by Hero Sports, has started all 48 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: The five touchdowns Beau Bofferding rolled up at Minnesota Crookston's expense last Saturday afternoon were one less than the UMD record, which All-American running back Ted McKnight amassed against Southwest Minnesota State University back in 1976. Bofferding, a 2015 All-NSIC North Division first team selection, has now caught at least one pass in 34 consecutive games -- a run that began in Week Two of the 2014 season. The Marshall, Minn., product is also averaging the most all-purpose yards (162.44 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 68 takedowns -- 27 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 245 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 48 games over the past four seasons.

SPREADING THE WEALTH: UMD ranks 17th nationally in rushing offense, averaging 236.6 yards per outing. Some 14 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.

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's worth noting that Northwest Missouri State, the defending NCAA II champion, owns the nation's longest winning streak at 24 games, having not lost since falling 25-21 to host UMD in the opening round of the 2014 NCAA II playoffs (Nov. 22).

WELL-GROUNDED: On the flip side, the Bulldogs have allowed the fewest rushing yards (85.3 per game) of any NSIC club and the eight fewest of any NCAA II squad this fall. UMD has outgained its opponents on the ground in 18 straight games going back to a 35-31 road setback at the University of Sioux Falls.

CATCH OF THE DAY: Last Saturday in Crookston, sophomore wide out Jason Balts finished with 177 receiving yards -- the most by a Bulldog since Oct. 29, 2005 (Greg Aker with 185 yards versus the University of South Dakota). Balts had 165 pass reception yards one week earlier in UMD's 54-47 home win over Bemidji State.A team-leading 77.1 percent of Balts' receptions (27 of 35) have gone for first downs in 2016.

CATCH OF THE DAY II: Junior wide out Nate Ricci's team-leading 43 receptions in nine games this fall are 26 more than 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 69 times) while sophomore Jason Balts is next (48 times).

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 out/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: UMD registered its first defensive points of the 2016 season last Saturday when redshirt freshman safety Bill Atkins parlayed his first collegiate interception into a 20-yard pick six. s even Bulldogs now have an interception to their collegiate credit but only sophomore free safety Sam Lynch (three, including a pair in 2016), senior inside linebacker Beau Bates (two) and junior free safety Kegan Wirtz (two, both this season) are the only members of that group with more than one pick ...UMD is 2-0 vs. nationally-ranked opponents this season ... UMD and Mary also met on the Bulldogs' Senior Day two years ago ... Redshirt freshman linebacker Aaron Gorres continues to lead the Bulldogs in special teams tackles with 11 (all on kickoffs) while junior Kale Boomer is next with 10 (all on kickoffs as well) ... UMD has amassed the fifth-most first downs (236) of any NCAA II club in the country and have held the advantage over its opponents in that department in all nine games to date .. Curt Wiese has won 41 of 48 games since taking over the Bulldog program three seasons ago and only two other NCAA II coaches -- Northwest Missouri State's Adam Dorrel (49) and Colorado State University-Pueblo's John Wristen (43) -- have complied more victories during that the time.

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs will conclude the 2016 regular season with a NSIC North Division battle at St. Cloud State on Nov. 12.