Box Score The University of Minnesota Duluth held the upper hand in virtually every statistical category at Saturday's Mineral Water Bowl. Except the one that counts the most.

The No. 23 Bulldogs set 2017 single-game highs for total yards, total plays and passing yards, but were outscored 28-6 over the final two quarters of play in a 38-28 loss to the University of Central Missouri in Excelsior Springs, Mo.  The loss snapped an eight-game winning streak for UMD, which closed out the 2017 season with a 9-3 overall record.

Making their 10th consecutive postseason appearance, the Bulldogs took a 22-10 lead into the halftime break as redshirt freshman quarterback John Larson threw a pair of touchdown passes -- a 14-yarder to Nick Larson (his first reception of the season and first touchdown as a Bulldog) and a 40-yarder to fellow senior Dominic Bonner (on a 4th-and-7 situation with 15 seconds remaining in the second quarter). Junior nose tackle and part-time fullback Dre Greer accounted for the other score, capping off an 11-play, 75-yard drive with a one-yard run in the final minute of the first quarter, putting the Bulldogs up 8-7.
 

Central Missouri's Devante Turner and UMD's Obi Ibeneme (a 15-yard strike from Larson) traded touchdowns int he first nine minutes of the second half before the Mules reeled off the final 21 points of the day.  The first of those points came on the ensuing kickoff following Ibeneme's first collegiate touchdown -- a 100-yard return by Jaylen Zachery.  Central Missouri, which came into the weekend ranking second in NCAA Division II in total offense (527.1 yards per game), finished with 495 yards while the Bulldogs rolled up 528, including 449 yards through the air (compared to 302 for the Mules). Larson had a hand in 371 of those yards while completing 23 of 47 passes (all career highs) and also rushed for a team-high 50 yards on 19 carries. He did, however, one interception, just the sixth by a Bulldog quarterback this season. Sophomore Ben Everhart took snaps in the final three quarters and was 6-of-8 for 78 yards.

The Bulldogs also held advantages in time of possession (34:56 to 25:04), first downs (28-21) and total plays (89-72) in its second meeting ever with the Mules and its third-ever Mineral Water Bowl appearance. UMD played the better part of the last three quarters without senior offensive tackle Nolan Folkert and junior wide receiver Jason Balts (its leading receiver this season) after that pair of 2017 All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference first team honorees went down with injuries. Balts still managed to lead both teams with six catches for 110 yards.

UMD was led defensively by redshirt freshman inside backer Cory Dixon, who responded to his first start as a Bulldog by racking up a team-leading 10 total tackles. Outside linebacker Zach Bassuener and free safety Keegan Wirtz, two of the 18 UMD seniors who closed the books on their collegiate careers Saturday, were credited with eight and seven tackles, respectively.