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With the University of Minnesota Duluth clinging to a 7-0 second-quarter lead and starting quarterback John Larson done for the day with a lower body injury, junior Mike Rybarczyk came off the bench and provided the kind of relief the Bulldogs were looking for.

Rybarczyk spurred a 42-13 Homecoming victory over Southwest Minnesota State University at James S. Malosky Stadium by rushing for a game-high and (career-best) 111 yards on just 13 carries.  He added another 97 yards and one touchdown through the air while going 11-for-15 as the No. 6 Bulldogs improved to 7-0 on the year and extended their regular season winning streak to 15 games.
 
After Rybarczyk came off the bench, UMD outscored Southwest Minnesota State 28-6 to go up 35-6 with seven minutes to go in the third quarter. The last of UMD's points during that stretch came off a 50-yard fumble recovery return from senior cornerback Mitchell Martin-Johnson after senior inside linebacker Gus Weding popped the ball loose from Mustang quarterback Blake Gimbel. Gimbel completed 21 of 38 passes for 216 yards and a pair of scores, but was picked off twice (by senior free safety Sam Lynch and sophomore cornerback Michael Kirkendoll) with both of those interceptions eventually resulting in UMD  touchdowns.

Redshirt freshman running back Wade Sullivan accounted for three touchdowns, including a pair of rushing scores.

"I wasn't expecting to get the call, but you go to always be ready," said Rybarczyk. " I think the offensive line played well and we did a nice job running the ball. We didn't take any big shots with our passing game -- we just stuck to the script."

Wedig finished with nine total tackles to lead all Bulldogs and had one of the team's eight stops for a loss. UMD outgained the Mustangs in total yards (369-269), but the Southwest Minnesota State defense did sack Rybarczyk and Larson six times after the Bulldogs came into the afternoon having allowed only five sacks all year.

"I thought we played a really good game defensively and held one of the better quarterbacks in the league in check throwing the football," said UMD Head Coach Curt Wiese. "We sputtered a couple times, but overall I thought our guys did a good job up front being able to run the football and establish a run game."
 
UMD is on the road for the next two weekends, beginning with an Oct. 20 showdown at Winona State University.