Armed with an 18-game home winning streak, the University of Minnesota Duluth will undertake its first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division assignment of 2016 this Saturday (Oct. 1) when the Bulldogs take on Minnesota State University-Moorhead. Opening kickoff 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, who were 9-3 in all games and 8-3 in NSIC play (tied for fourth place with Southwest Minnesota State University) one year ago, are off to a 3-1 start this fall. MSU-Moorhead is an even 2-2 in 2016 after posting 6-5 overall and league marks (tied for seventh place with Northern State University, St. Cloud State University, and Upper Iowa University.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how the Bulldogs and Dragons stacked up in this week's American Football Coaches Association Division II and D2Football.com polls.
 
          AFCA    D2Football    
UMD    RV    No. 21    
MSUM    NR    NR  
         
THE BROADCAST: The Bulldog-Dragon 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., 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 MSU-Moorhead. 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 36-7 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 98-14 (for an .875 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): 36-7 (4th)
Overall Coaching Record (Year): 45-18 (6th)
Career NSIC Record: 32-5
Career UMD Home Record: 19-1
Career UMD Road Record: 17-6
vs. MSU-Moorhead: 3-0

THE RIVALRY: Saturday afternoon's game will mark the 58th meeting ever between UMD and MSU-Moorhead. The Bulldogs hold a commanding 36-17-4 lead in the all-time series, which began back in 1932 -- the second season of intercollegiate football at UMD -- and have reeled off 14 straight wins over their long-time rivals, including a 47-14 takedown one year ago (Oct. 3) in Moorhead.

LAST WEEK: The Bulldogs found themselves trailing by 14 points midway through the third quarter before going on a 24-7 run and rallying for a 41-38 triumph over No. 16 Augustana University Saturday evening at James S. Malosky Stadium. The Bulldogs, who took their first lead of the evening (34-31) of the evening three minutes into the fourth quarter, finished with 596 yards of total offense, 470 of which came from senior quarterback Drew Bauer. In addition to throwing for 331 yards and a pair of scores (completing 21 of 35 passes in the process), Bauer rushed 20 times for a game-high 139 yards. Junior wide out Nate Ricci was on the receiving end of both of Bauer's scoring tosses and topped the Bulldogs with six receptions. Augustana committed three second-half turnovers, two of which (a fumble and an interception by sophomore safety Sam Lynch) led to Bulldog touchdowns. The Bulldogs wound up outgaining the Vikings in total yards (596-498), first downs (28-23) and time of possession (38:17-21:43). They also held the ball for all but 4:13 in the fourth quarter en route to defeating Augustana for an eighth straight time. Defensively, senior inside linebacker Beau Bates and first-year freshman cornerback Bishop McDonald both paced the Bulldogs with six tackles. Bates had the Bulldogs' only sack of the evening, but the UMD did register eight quarterback hurries, including four by junior inside linebacker Zach Bassuener.

MSU-Moorhead fell 28-14 at then-No. 21 Minnesota State-Mankato Saturday afternoon, despite getting a 102-yard, one-touchdown rushing performance from sophomore running back Austin Stone.

DRAGON SLAYERS: Not only have the Bulldogs won 14 games in a row at MSU-Moorhead's expense (since dropping a 20-14 decision on Oct. 2, 1999 in Duluth), but over the past eight matchups they've outscored the Dragons by a combined 462-141 while not once being held under 45 points. The 14-game victory streak is currently the Bulldogs' longest against an active NSIC club (it shares that distinction with Bemidji State,which, like the Dragons, has not defeated UMD in 17 years).

THEY JUST KEPT COMING: This Saturday will be the first time in five games this season UMD has not faced an unbeaten opponent -- and not had to play at night.

PRIDE OF THE NORTH: Since the NSIC instituted divisional play in 2008, the Bulldogs are a sizzling 49-3 in NSIC North Division assignments (27-0 at home). Beside the 23-15 setback at Northern State last Halloween, the other losses came in consecutive years to St. Cloud State (51-49 in 2012 and 35-7 in 2011). UMD, the eight-time defending NSIC North Division champion, is aslo perfect 27-0 all-time at home against North Division foes.

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 three of them. This past Saturday night, junior wide out Nate Ricci did the honors by hauling in a 46-yard touchdown strike from senior quarterback Drew Bauer with 2:19 left on the clock. One Sept. 17 in St. Paul, Minn., UMD, behind senior running back Darren Walker's three-yard scoring run with 2:03 to play, 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 3:11 of the fourth quarter and hung a 42-38 setback on the stunned Bulldogs.

BAUER POWER: Drew Bauer, who is 33-7 as a starter since assuming that role at the outset of the 2013 season, is averaging 365.7 yards of total offense, which puts him No. 1 in the NSIC and fourth nationally in that department. He also currently ranks first among NCAA II quarterbacks in career scoring (230 points), second in rushing (2,858 yards, which is 45 yards shy of UMD's lifetime record set by Chase Vogler from 2009-12) and sixth in both total offense (9,653 yards) and touchdown passes (68). 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 (6,795) in team history.

In last Saturday'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).

A NICE RETURN ON ITS INVESTMENT:  Junior Nate Ricci currently ranks seventh among all NCAA II combatants in punt return average (20.0 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 UMD's first 2016 appearance at Malosky Stadium against Winona State. This past Saturday, Ricci set a career-high with his 153 receiving yards and matched another with his six pass receptions. The last Bulldog pass catcher to crack the 150-yard barrier was D.J. Winfield, who did it (160 yards) at Central Washington University on Aug. 30, 2010. His 19 receptions in  four games this season are two more than his previous best (17 in both 2014 and 20015).

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 43 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.

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 196-54-4 . In recent times, opponents have found victories even harder to come by at Malosky Stadium as UMD has amassed a sizzling 51-4 mark there since the 2008 opener (with two of those losses coming in the NCAA II playoffs). The Bulldogs have also gone 58-1 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:

Consecutive Home Wins: 18
Consecutive NSIC North Division Home Wins: 27
Consecutive Home Games Without Being Shut Out: 71
Consecutive NSIC Home Games Without Being Shut Out: 113

In addition, the Bulldogs haven't been blanked by a NSIC foe at Malosky Stadium since MSU-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).

GETTING IT DONE: 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(.889) and has amassed more wins (104) than UMD (.875/94).
   
BEAU KNOWS OFFENSE: Senior wide out Beau Bofferding is averaging the second most all-purpose yards (157.7) in the NSIC at the moment. He's also caught at least one pass in 29 consecutive games since being blanked in the 2014 opener against visiting Concordia-St. Paul. That is still well short of the mark of 40 straight games set by D.J. Winfield between Sept. 28, 2008 and Oct. 27, 2010).

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 28 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 205 tackles. The next closest Bulldog to Bates in lifetime tackles is fellow senior inside linebacker Ben McDonald, a first-year starter who has been credited with 85 stops. Bates and senior offensive tackle Peter Bateman are the lone two Bulldogs to see field time in each of UMD's 43 games over the past four seasons.

GROUND GAINERS: 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 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.

IN YOUR FACE: Junior outside linebacker and second-year starter Zach Bassuener has seven of UMD's 20 quarterback hurries and ranks second on the club in sacks with 3.5.

BULLDOG BITS: UMD currently ranks first among all NCAA II schools in time of possession (37:40) -- after occupying the No. 3 spot at the conclusion of the 2015 season (34:08) ... Junior offensive guard Nolan Folkert lined up in the UMD backfield for the second straight week this past Saturday night and, like he did one week earlier at Concordia-St. Paul, parlayed his only rush into a one-yard touchdown ... 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 three, including one in the 2016 season opener at Southwest Minnesota State University and the other last Saturday) ... UMD is in the midst of a stretch in which it is home for four of five games ... The 596 yards of total offense UMD finished last Saturday at Malosky Stadium was its largest single-game harvest since Oct. 12, 2013 (619 yards vs. MSU-Moorhead) ... Curt Wiese has won 36 of 43 games since taking over the Bulldog program three seasons ago and only two other NCAA II coaches -- Northwest Missouri State's Adam Dorrel (44) and Colorado State University-Pueblo's John Wristen (39) -- have complied more victories during that the time period ... 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 cornerback Bishop McDonald made his collegiate starting debut last Saturday and was credited with a team-high six tackles ... UMD will enter this weekend having generated the fourth most first downs (109) in the country.

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs will hit the road for an Oct. 8 bout with Minot State University.