Stunning would be an understatement, at best.

Blake Gimbel hit Ty Steffensen with a 14-yard scoring pass for the go-ahead touchdown with just 23 seconds to go in the fourth quarter to lift Southwest Minnesota State University to a 42-38 season-opening victory over the University of Minnesota Duluth Thursday night. That capped off a five-play drive in which the Mustangs took over on their own 36-yard line with no timeouts, down by three, and just 50 seconds showing on the clock. The No. 19 Bulldogs had a chance to seal what would have been their ninth straight victory in their previous possession, but went they three-and-out near midfield and then shanked an 11-yard punt.

Four different Bulldogs scored touchdowns in the setback, including junior wide out D.J. Hebert, who ran for one score (an 13-yard sweep around left end) and was on the receiving end of another (a 27-yard toss from senior quarterback Drew Bauer). Hebert, a transfer from Northern Iowa University and a 2015 Bulldog redshirt, was making his UMD debut while Bauer returned to the lineup for the first time since incurring a season-ending injury last Halloween. The two-time All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference honoree followed up that pass to Hebert with a five-yard touchdown run on his team's next series which gave the Bulldogs their biggest lead of the game at 23-7 midway through the second quarter. Senior running back Darren Walker rushed 24 times for a career-high 154 yards and one touchdown for UMD, which also got a solid offensive performance from sophomore wide out Jason Balts (eight catches for 135 yards -- both personal bests -- and one score). Nate Ricci, Bauer's replacement for the final three outings of 2015, resumed his starting wide out role and wound up amassing 111 yards on five catches.

UMD finished with a hefty 539 yards of total offense and held the football more than twice as long as the Mustangs (40:19 to 19:31). Bauer's right arm accounted for 296 of those yards as he completed 19 of 33 passes with one pick. The Bulldogs held Southwest Minnesota State to just 44 yards on the ground, but Gimbel threw for 397 yards while going 25-of-44.

Senior inside linebacker Beau Bates, the Bulldogs' leading tackler from a year ago, topped his teammates in that department against the Mustangs, getting credit for eight stops, while sophomore cornerback Mitchell Johnson-Martin had six takedowns in his first collegiate start.

The Bulldogs will make their 2016 home debut next Saturday night (Sept. 10) with a 6 p.m. bout against another NSIC South Division combatant, Winona State University.

Notes: Senior Tyler McLaughlin, who had backed up All-NSIC placekicker Andrew Brees the past three seasons, made good on field goals of 42 and 25 yards. He also sent a 27-yarder wide left on the last play of the first half, his missed first three-point attempt as a Bulldog (he is now 8-for-9 for his career) ... UMD's last loss to Southwest Minnesota State came on Sept. 25, 1999 (14-9 in Duluth) ... The Bulldogs started the night going a sizzling 10-for-12 on third down conversions before finishing 10-for-17 ... Drew Bauer made his second punt ever as a Bulldog, a first-quarter pooch kick that went 49 yards down to the Mustang two-yard line ... Sophomore defensive back Sam Lynch had UMD's lone interception -- the second pick of his career.