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The University of Minnesota Duluth will look to keep its unbeaten 2018 record intact this Saturday (Oct. 13) when it hosts Southwest Minnesota State University. Opening kickoff for the Homecoming clash is set for 1:05 p.m. at James S. Malosky Stadium (4,500) on the UMD campus.

THE RECORDS: The 10-time defending Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division champion Bulldogs are 6-0 on the year while Southwest Minnesota State, a NSIC South Division member which has reeled off three straight wins, sports an 3-3 overall record.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how the Bulldogs and Mustangs stacked up in this week's American Football Coaches Association Division II and the D2Football.com polls:
 

	AFCA	D2Football
UMD	No. 6	No. 8
SMSU	NR	NR

  
              
THE BROADCAST: The Bulldog-Mustang bout will be carried live locally on KDAL-Radio (610 AM and 103.9 FM) 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 at: kdal610.com.

For the 11th consecutive year, My9 (KBJR DT 6.2/KRII DT 11.9) is televising all UMD home games, including Saturday's matchup with Southwest Minnesota State. KBJR-TV sports director David Coy and former long-time UMD defensive coordinator Vince Repesh will serve as the on-air talent. The telecast will be videostreammed as well and can be accessed for free at: portal.stretchinternet.com/umd

THE RIVALRY: UMD and Southwest Minnesota State will collide for the 35th time ever Thursday evening. The Bulldogs hold a commanding 27-6-1 lead in the all-time series, which began on Oct. 16, 1976 in Duluth. The two clubs last met in the 2016 season opener in Marshall, Minn., where host Southwest Minnesota State rallied from a 38-28 deficit with five minutes to go in regulation to prevail 42-38. The win snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Bulldogs that stretched back to the Sept. 23, 2000.

LAST WEEK: UMD hiked its regular season road unbeaten streak to 13 games by downing Augustana University 28-17 on Saturday afternoon in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Bulldogs used a balance offensive attack (196 rushing and 196 passing yards) and never trailed in the victory -- its ninth straight over the Vikings. UMD took a 12-0 lead into halftime after holding the Vikings to just 56 total yards and was up 15-10 through three quarters before icing things with a pair of touchdowns midway through the final quarter of play.

Sophomore quarterback John Larson rushed for 104 yards on 17 carries and also completed 16 of 30 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns. One of those went to redshirt freshman running back Wade Sullivan, who also capped off the scoring with a 10-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run. That came two plays after senior cornerback Tareq Abulebbeh intercepted his team-leading fifth pass of the year deep in Augustana territory. Abullebbeh, who had a pick in the first half which also eventually led to a Bulldog touchdown, topped the Bulldog defensive charts with six total tackles.

UMD outgained the Vikings 392-230 in total offense and held them to justg 86 yards on the ground.

IT TAKES A THIEF: Senior cornerback Tareq Abulebbeh, a transfer from Southern Illinois University, already has five interceptions this season, which ties him for second on the NCAA II leaderboard (one behind West Liberty University's Josh Ojo). It's also the most picks by a Bulldog since 2010 when Cameron Harper finished with five interceptions in 15 games.

IT TAKES A THIEF II: Six current Bulldogs have an interception to their UMD credit and four of those have multiple thefts -- senior strong safety Sam Lynch (six) sophomore strong safety Bill Atkins (three), senior cornerback Tareq Abulebbeh (five) and sophomore cornerback Justic'e King (two). Senior cornerback Mitchell Johnson-Martin and senior outside linebacker Alex Helmer have the two other interceptions

SOME MALOSKY MOJO: The Bulldogs are unbeaten in 16 of their 17 lifetime matchups with Southwest Minnesota State at Malosky Stadium with that lone setback coming on Sept. 5, 1999 (14-9).

SOME MALOSKY MOJO II: 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 to hold UMD scoreless was St. Cloud State (28-0 in a North Central Conference clash on Nov. 6, 2004).Here are some of the home streaks the Bulldogs will put on the line this Saturday afternoon:

Consecutive Home Wins: 6
Consecutive Home Games Without Being Shut Out: 83
Consecutive NSIC Home Games Without Being Shut Out: 125.

SOME MALOSKY MOJO III: Since the 2008 opener, the Bulldogs are 52-6 at Malosky Stadium (with two of the setbacks suffered at the hands of Minnesota State-Mankato in 2013 and 2017 and two more to foes in the NCAA II playoffs).

HE'S NOT AT A LOSS FOR TACKLES. Senior outside linebacker A.J. Naatz has racked up the fourth-most tackles for a loss in the NSIC with 8.0 to date.

SCORE EARLY, SCORE OFTEN: The Bulldogs are outscoring the opposition 63-3 in the first quarter this fall and that one field goal by the opposition was registered in the season opener at Minot State.

WHAT A RUSH: In last Saturday's triumph at Augustana, sophomore quarterback John Larson became the first Bulldog since last October to eclipse the 100-yard rushing barrier. The 2017 All-NSIC second team honoree ran for a career-high 104 yards to push his team-leading season total to 430 yards (on 72 carries). Larson leads all current Bulldogs in career rushing production (795 yards on 162 attempts) as well. He also ranks first in lifetime rushing touchdowns with seven-- which is four more than senior nose tackle and part-time fullback Dre Greer. Greer has found the end zone three of the four times he's carried the football as a Bulldog with the latest of those touchdowns coming in the 2018 opener at Minot State.

WHAT A RUSH II: UMD has outgained the opposition on the ground in 36 of the past 39 games with the 2017 opener against Sioux Falls (when UMD managed negative-16 yards of rushing offense), the ensuing weekend (59 yards versus Minnesota State-Mankato)and the 2017 finale (79 yards vs. the University of Central Missouri) being the exceptions.

6-0 IS THE WAY TO GO: Each of the previous four times the Bulldogs got off to a 6-0 start (2014, 2010, 2008 and 2002), they finished with an unbeaten 11-0 regular season record.

MOVING ON UP: The Bulldogs, who were unranked in the 2018 AFCA II Preseason Poll, have moved up at least one spot in each of the six regular season rankings, checking in at No. 6 this week. That represents their highest position in the AFCA II Poll since being slotted third in the 2015 preseason.

SACK IT TO ME: The Bulldogs have sacked opposing quarterbacks 18 times this season while allowing just five sacks themselves. A pair of outside linebackers -- senior Alex Helmer and sophomore outside linebacker Nate Pearson -- rank sixth and ninth, respectively among NSIC defenders in that department with 4.5 and 3.5 sacks.

HE'S NO PASSING FANCY: John Larson holds down the No. 3 spot on the NSIC charts for passing efficiency (142.5) and is fourth in both pass completion percentage (.597) and yards per completion (13.45).

WE'LL SECOND THAT: The Bulldogs have outscored the opposition 204-55 in the second quarter since the 2017 season opener and have given up a just one second-quarter touchdown (to St. Cloud State on Sept. 13, 2018) in any of their last 14 games.

CATCH OF THE DAY: Nate Ricci racked up a team-high six pass receptions last Saturday at Augustana, giving him 127 for his career. That's good for the No. 8 spot on UMD's all-time catch charts and one more than fellow senior wide out Jason Balts (who has been sidelined the past two games with a lower body injury).

This year marked just the second time in program history the Bulldogs commenced a season with two members of the 100-reception club on their roster (2014 -- with Aaron Roth and Zach Zweifel -- was the other).

Ricci, a sixth-year senior, is an inaugural nominee for the first-ever Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award. In 2017, he was on the doorstep of an All-American-caliber season before injuring his clavicle three weeks in and missing the remainder of the year.

Balts, the 2018 NSIC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, is one of the 179 finalist (25 from the NCAA II ranks) for 2018 National Football Foundation William V. Campbell Trophy recognizes an individual as the best football scholar-athlete in the nation.

CATCH OF THE DAY II: Thirteen different Bulldogs have recorded a pass reception so far in 2018.

BONUS FOOTBALL HAS BEEN A BONUS FOR UMD: The Bulldogs are 7-1 in their last eight overtime games.

START ME UP: Senior offensive tackle Matt Juneau, a three-time All-NSIC North Division honoree, has started 38 consecutive games -- the longest ironman streak of any 2018 Bulldog

FEELING RIGHT AT ROAD: Since succumbing 42-38 to Southwest Minnesota State University in the 2016 season opener, the Bulldogs have reeled off 12 straight regular season (NSIC) road wins.

ISN'T THAT SPECIAL: Redshirt freshman Javien Versey leads the 2018 Bulldogs in special teams tackles with six (all on kickoff returns) while junior transfer Tyrik Carmickle is next with five (all on on kickoffs as well)

IN GOOD HANDS: The Bulldogs have held the upper hand in time of possession in 32 of the past 33 games. This fall UMD ranks second among all NCAA II schools in that department (37:29) after finishing 3rd and 1st, respectively in 2017 and 2016.

QUITE THE RUN: Since taking over the Bulldog program five years ago, Curt Wiese has won 58 of 69 games. Only one other NCAA II head coach -- Colorado State University-Pueblo's John Wristen (59) -- has accumulated more victories during that the time period. Of Wiese's 11 lifetime losses, seven have come against NSIC South Division members (including four at the hands of Minnesota State-Mankato) and one against a NSIC North Division foe (at Northern State on Oct. 31, 2015). The other three setbacks have occurred in postseason play (besides Minnesota State-Mankato).

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs will hit to face Winona State University on Oct. 20 -- their final NSIC interdivisional assignment of 2018.