The University of Minnesota Duluth will put its 17-game home winning streak on the line this Saturday night (Sept. 24) when the Bulldogs play host to Augustana University in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference interdivision showdown. Opening kickoff is set for 6:05 p.m. at James S. Malosky Stadium (5,000/artificial turf) on the UMD campus.

(Complete Release and Stats)

THE RECORDS: The Bulldogs, who were 9-3 overall and 8-3 in NSIC play (tied for fourth place with Southwest Minnesota State University) one year ago, are off to a 2-1 start this fall. Augustana is a perfect 3-0 in 2016 after also going 9-3 in all games last season while sporting a 9-2 league mark (tied for second place with the University of Sioux Falls).

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how the Bulldogs and Vikings stacked up in this week's American Football Coaches Association Division II and D2Football.com polls.
 
         AFCA    D2Football    
UMD    NR        No. 21    
AU      No. 16    No. 16 
           
THE BROADCAST: The Bulldog-Viking 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 commmentary. The broadcast can also be heard on KQ 105.5 FM in Grand Rapids/Hibbing, Minn.; KQ 106.7 FM in Ely/Virginia, 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 ninth consecutive year, My9 (KBJR DT 6.2/KRII DT 11.9) is televising all UMD home games, including Saturday's clash with Augustana. CBS 3-TV sports anchor Barrett Anderson 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 35-7 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).
Over the course of Wiese's 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 in 2012 with a school-record 46.5 points per game average, fifth in 2008, sixth in 2010 and ninth in 2009) and in 2012 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 No. 1 all-time ground gainer and scorer and the holder of 17 school records. In addition, his starting offensive guard from 2009-12, 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 in January 2013.

Since Wiese's arrival at UMD in February 2008, the Bulldogs have gone 97-14 (for an .874 winning percentage over that stretch -- the second-best mark in NCAA II football) while capturing two NCAA II national championships (2008 and 2010), six overall NSIC titles and eight NSIC North Division crowns. They've also made seven NCAA II playoff appearances and produced two perfect 15-0 seasons and three 11-0 regular seasons.

Wiese, 40, came to UMD following two years of employment as the head coach at NCAA 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 and 12 All-Ohio Athletic Conference selections and was a finalist for the 2004 AFCA Division III Assistant Coach of the Year Award.

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 years 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):  35-7 (4th)
Overall Coaching Record (Year): 44-18 (6th)
Career NSIC Record: 31-5
Career UMD Home Record: 18-1
Career UMD Road Record: 17-6
vs. Augustana: 1-0

THE RIVALRY: UMD and Augustana will square off for the 11th time ever this Saturday night. The Bulldogs have reeled off seven straight wins at the Vikings' expense and now own an 8-2 lead in the all-time series, which began with a 47-16 UMD home victory on Oct. 23, 2004. The two clubs butted heads in each of the next six seasons, including in 2005-07 when both were members of the now-defunct North Central Conference, and last met on Sept. 13, 2014 with UMD pulling out a thrilling 23-22 overtime road triumph after being down 16-6 with just over five minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

LAST WEEK: UMD outlasted Concordia University-St. Paul 52-49 Saturday night on the Golden Bears' home turf. Senior running back Darren Walker's three-yard touchdown run with 2:03 to go in the fourth quarter sealed the win for the Bulldogs, whole rolled up 582 yards of total offense and 32 first downs while defeating Concordia-St. Paul for the sixth straight time. Senior quarterback Drew Bauer rushed 19 times for a game-high 151 yards and one touchdown and completed 21 of 31 passes for 246 yards and another score. UMD, which trailed 35-27 at the half before reeling off the first 17 points of the third quarter to take a somewhat brief 44-35 lead, gave up 511 yards on the night, including 325 through the air.

Augustana kept its perfect 2016 record intact by hammering the University of Minnesota Crookston 56-3 in Sioux Falls.

THEY JUST KEEP COMING: This Saturday will mark the fourth straight week the Bulldogs have faced an unbeaten opponent.

RANK AND FILE: The last time UMD faced a nationally-ranked opponent (from the AFCA II poll) was on Sept. 19, 2015 when it fell 35-31 to then-No. 12 and host Sioux Falls. The Bulldogs' haven't taken on a Top 25 club at home since they upended No. 6 Northwest Missouri State University 25-21 in the first round of the 2014 NCAA II playoffs (Nov. 22).  The defending NCAA II champion Bearcats, incidentally, have not suffered a loss since then.

DOWN TO THE WIRE: In each of the Bulldogs' three games to date, the go-ahead touchdown has come with less than five minutes to go in regulation with UMD doing the scoring in the last two of them. Last Saturday night in St. Paul, Minn., UMD rallied for a 52-49 victory over Concordia-St. Paul -- seven days after it had come from behind late to topple Winona State University before a record James S. Malosky Stadium crowd of 6,357. And, of course, there was the 2016 season opener at Southwest Minnesota State where the host Mustangs overcame a 10-point deficit in the final five minutes of play and hung a 42-38 setback on the Bulldogs.

A NICE RETURN ON ITS INVESTMENT: For his record-breaking evening at Concordia-St. Paul last Saturday, Beau Bofferding was selected the the NSIC Special Teams Player of the Week. The Marshall, Minn., product rolled up 182 kickoff return yards which eclipsed the previous mark of 179 yards which Erik Hanson set against Minnesota State-Mankato on Sept. 4, 1999. On the night, Bofferding brought back five kicks, one of which went for 70 yards and another for 54. That 54-yard return came midway through the fourth quarter right after the Golden Bears had taken a 49-44 lead. He also caught four passes for a team-leading 80 yards, added another 60 yards on the ground (on seven carries) and scored a pair of touchdowns. Thus far, he is averaging 190.0 all-purpose yards per game, the eighth best figure in the nation.

A NICE RETURN ON ITS INVESTMENT II: Junior Nate Ricci currently ranks fourth among all NCAA II combatants in punt return average (20.8 yards) and has already brought back one punt for a touchdown (his first such score as a collegian) this fall -- a 62-yard jaunt in the UMD's last appearance at Malosky Stadium against Winona State University.

BAUER POWER: Drew Bauer, who is 32-7 as a starter since assuming that role at the outset of the 2013 season, is averaging the 365.7 yards of total offense, which puts him No. 1 in the NSIC and sixth nationally in that department. He also currently ranks first among NCAA II quarterbacks in both career rushing (2,719 yards, which is 184 yards shy of UMD's lifetime record) and scoring (230 points) and is sixth in total offense (9,183 yards). Last fall, the Inver Grove Heights, Minn., native became just the third quarterback ever to reign as the Bulldogs' rushing leader with 661 yards (joining Chase Vogler in 2012 and Ted Schlafke in 2007) and to date has generated both the fourth most all-time total yards and passing yards (6,464) in team history.

NOT IN OUR HOUSE: This season marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of Malosky Stadium. Since christening that on-campus facility on Oct. 29, 1966, the Bulldogs have won 77.9 percent of their home games, going 195-54-4 . In recent times, opponents have found victories even harder to come by at Malosky Stadium as UMD has amassed a sizzling 50-4 mark there since the 2008 opener (with two of those losses coming in the NCAA II playoffs). The Bulldogs have also gone 57-1 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). Here are the some of the streaks UMD will put on the line this Saturday (or later this season):

Consecutive Home Wins: 17
Consecutive NSIC North Division Home Wins: 27
Consecutive Home Games Without Being Shut Out: 70
Consecutive NSIC Home Games Without Being Shut Out: 112

The Bulldogs have not been blanked by an NSIC foe at Malosky Stadium since Minnesota State University-Moorhead turned the trick (29-0) back on Oct. 31, 1981. The last visiting team of any kind to hold UMD scoreless was St. Cloud State (28-0 in a North Central Conference clash on Nov. 6, 2004 )

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), tops the Bulldogs in that statistical category so far this season with 22 takedowns. 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 199 tackles. The next closest Bulldog to Bates in lifetime tackles is fellow inside linebacker Ben McDonald, a first-year starter who has been credited with 83 stops. Bates and senior offensive tackle Peter Bateman are the lone two Bulldogs to see field time in each of UMD's 42 games over the past four seasons.

START ME UP: Senior offensive tackle Peter Bateman, who earlier this month was rated as the No. 1 NCAA II offensive tackle in the nation by Hero Sports, has started all 42 games over the past three 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.

GROUND GAINERS: Drew Bauer has registered nine, 100-yard rushing afternoons as a Bulldog while senior running back Darren Walker (five times), a 2015 transfer from Los Angeles Harbor College, junior wide out Nate Ricci (once) and sophomore running back Jamiah Newell (once), who is out for the season with a lower body injury, are the only other three Bulldogs to reach that barrier.

A MILESTONE NIGHT: Saturday's victory in St. Paul was the 500th for the UMD program. In 789 outings over its 84-year history, UMD has rolled up a 500-265-24 record. That figures out to be a .650 winning percentage -- the ninth best lifetime mark of any NCAA II school.

BALL CONTROL: UMD currently ranks third among all NCAA II schools in time of possession (37:28) -- the same spot it occupied at the conclusion of the 2015 season (34:08).

BULLDOG BITS: Beginning this Saturday, UMD is at home for four of its next five dates ... Senior wide out Beau Bofferding has now caught at least one pass in 28 consecutive games since being blanked in the 2014 opener against visiting Concordia-St. Paul. That is still well shorts of the mark of 40 games set by D.J. Winfield between Sept. 28, 2008 and Oct. 27, 2010) ... Six active Bulldogs have an interception to their collegiate credit but sophomore free safety Sam Lynch is the only one from that group with more than one pick (he has two, including one in the 2016 season opener at Southwest Minnesota State University ... The 582 yards of total offense UMD finished with Saturday in St. Paul was  its largest single-game harvest since Oct. 12, 2013 (619 yards vs. Minnesota State-Moorhead) ... Curt Wiese has won 35 of 42 games since taking over the Bulldog program three seasons ago and only two other NCAA II coaches -- Northwest Missouri State's Adam Dorrel (43) and Colorado State University-Pueblo's John Wristen (38) -- have complied more victories during that the time period ... Sophomore wide out Jason Balts has a team-leading 13 pass receptions this season (he shares the top spot with Nate Ricci and junior D.J. Hebert) after making just four catches all of last year ... Just under 90 percent of the 2016 Bulldogs come from either Minnesota (56) or Wisconsin (36). Illinois (six), California (1), Colorado (1), Florida (1) and Washington (1) are home to the remaining 10 Bulldogs ... True freshman Cameron Hausman made good on his first and only collegiate field goal try to date (a 41-yard last Saturday)and is 7-for-8 this season in extra point kicks ... UMD will enter this weekend having generated the third most first downs (81, including 32 this past Saturday) and sixth most total yards (536.3 per game) in the country.

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs will remain at Malosky Stadium to take on Minnesota State University-Moorhead on Oct. 1 in their 2016 NSIC North Division debut. UMD is 49-3 in NSIC North Division assignments (27-0 at home) since the NSIC instituted divisional play in 2008. Beside the 23-15 setback at Northern State on Oct. 31, the other losses came in consecutive years to St. Cloud State (51-49 in 2012 and 35-7 in 2011). The Bulldogs are the eight-time defending NSIC North Division champions