Complete Release (pdf)

The University of Minnesota Duluth will engage in its final Northern Sun Intecercollegiate Conference interdivisional test of the 2018 season this Saturday (Oct. 20) when it pays a visit to Winona, Minn, to take on Winona State University . Opening kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. at Altra Federal Credit Union Stadium (5,000) on the Winona State campus.

THE RECORDS: The 10-time defending Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division champion Bulldogs are 7-0 on the year while Winona State, a NSIC South Division member, sports a 5-2 overall record.

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

	AFCA	D2Football
UMD	No. 5	No. 6
WSU	NR	NR

    
THE BROADCAST: The Bulldog-Warrior clash will be carried live locally on KDAL-Radio (610 AM and 103.9 FM) with Jeff Papas on the call. The broadcast can also be heard at: kdal610.com.

Saturday afternoon's game will be streammed and can be accessed for free at: portal.stretchinternet.com/umd

THE RIVALRY: Saturday's game will mark the 45th meeting ever between UMD and Winona State. The Bulldogs hold a commanding 44-10 lead in the rivalry, which began way back in 1931 -- the first year of intercollegiate football at UMD -- and have beaten the Warriors seven straight times (a streak that began in 2008, the year the Bulldogs rejoined the NSIC). The two long-time adversaries last met on Sept. 10, 2016 in Duluth, where the Bulldogs rallied for a 34-31 victory in front of a record Malosky Stadium crowd of 6,357.

LAST WEEK: UMD kept its perfect 2018 record intact by toppling Southwest Minnesota State University 42-13 Saturday at James S. Malosky Stadium. The Bulldogs held a slim 14-6 lead late in the first half before reeling off 21 straight points en route to hiking their regular season winning streak to 15 games. Junior quarterback Mike Rybarczyk came on in relief of injured sophomore John Larson midway through the second quarter (and with UMD up 7-0) and the spurred the Homecoming victory. Rybarczyk rushed for a game-high and (career-best) 111 yards on just 13 carries and added another 97 yards and one touchdown through the air while going 11-for-15. Redshirt freshman running back Wade Sullivan accounted for three touchdowns, including a pair of rushing scores, while senior cornerback Mitchell Martin-Johnson returned a fumble 50 yards for another six points. Senior inside linebacker Gus Wedig, who forced that fumble, finished with nine total tackles to lead all Bulldogs and had one of the team's eight stops for a loss.

For the second straight Saturday, Winona State surpassed the 50-point plateau as the Warriors hammered the University of Minnesota Crookston 51-13. Winona State outgained the host Golden Eagles 400-175 in total yards.

TITLETOWN, NSIC: Since 1993, UMD and/or Winona State has captured at least a share of every NSIC championship but six -- 1999 (Northern State University), 2006 (Bemidji State University) and 2013, 2015 and 2017 (all Minnesota State University-Mankato) and 2016 (the University of Sioux Falls). The Bulldogs, incidentally, were members of the now-defunct North Central Conference from 2004 to 2007 and were co-league champions of that circuit in 2005.

NOT A BAD OMEN: In its 86-year history, UMD has started a season 7-0 eight times (2018, 2014, 2010, 2008, 2002, 1981, 1980 and 1974) and on five of those occasions (2014, 2010, 2008, 2002 and 1980) the Bulldogs have gone on to run the table during the regular season.

SCORE EARLY, SCORE OFTEN. The Bulldogs, one of 13 unbeaten NCAA II teams remaining, are outscoring the opposition 70-3 in the first quarter this fall and that one opposition field goal was registered in the season opener at Minot State.

GETTING A BIT DEFENSIVE: UMD is giving up just 11.3 points and 223.6 total yards per outing this season, figures that are both bettered by only two other NCAA II schools. Here is how the Bulldogs rank nationally and in the NSIC in various defensive categories:
 

Category	NCAA II/NSIC Rank	Avg./Total
Scoring Defense	3rd/1st	11.3 ppg
Total Defense	3rd/1st	223.6 ypg
Rushing Defense	5th/2nd	79.7 ypg
Passing Eff. Defense	5th/1st	91.49
3rd Down Conv. Def.	5th/1st	.242
Kickoff Return Def.	9th/5th	14.37 ypr
Passing Defense	9th/1st	143.9 ypg
First Downs Allowed	15th/1st	97

NO OFFENSE TAKEN: UMD also currently sits among the NCAA II and NSIC offensive leaders as well:
 

Category	NCAA II/NSIC Rank	Avg./Total
3rd Down Conv. Off	3rd/1st    .	527
Time of Possession	6th/1st	34:12
Tackles for Loss Allowed	14th/1st	4.29 tpg
Scoring Offense	14th/2nd	39.7 ppg
First Downs	19th/4th	161
Punt Returns	19th/3rd	14.67 ypr

FEELING RIGHT AT ROAD: Since succumbing 42-38 to Southwest Minnesota State in their 2016 debut, the Bulldogs have reeled off 13 straight regular season (NSIC) road wins.

WHAT A RUSH: In last Saturday's triumph at Southwest Minnesota State, junior quarterback Mike Rybarczyk became the second Bulldog in as many weeks (but just the second since last October) to eclipse the 100-yard rushing barrier. Rybarczyk, who has made two starts as a collegian (in the opening two games of the 2017 season), ran for a career-high 111 yards, giving him 312 for his career. That's the third most of any current Bulldog. Sophomore John Larson, who is out for the season with a lower body injury, tops UMD in that department  (800 yards on 172 attempts). Redshirt freshman running back Wade Sullivan is next (79 rushes for 419 yards) and ranks first in lifetime rushing touchdowns with nine-- which is six 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 37 of the past 40 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.

HITTING PAY DIRT: Prior to last Saturday (when senior cornerback Mitchell Martin-Johnson turned the trick) the last Bulldog to parlay a fumble into a touchdown was All-NSIC linebacker Zach Bassuener against Mary on Nov. 5, 2016.

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. 5 this week. That represents their highest position in the AFCA II Poll since being slotted third in the 2015 preseason.

START ME UP: Senior offensive tackle Matt Juneau, a three-time All-NSIC North Division honoree, has started 39 consecutive games -- the longest ironman streak of any 2018 Bulldog.

IN GOOD HANDS: The Bulldogs have held the upper hand in time of possession in 32 of the past 34 games (one of the outliers occurred last Saturday against Southwest Minnesota State). This fall UMD ranks sixth among all NCAA II schools in that department (37:29) after finishing 3rd and 1st, respectively in 2017 and 2016.
    
IT TAKES A THIEF: Senior cornerback Tareq Abulebbeh, a transfer from Southern Illinois University who sat out last Saturday with an injury, already has five interceptions this season, and his 0.8 picks per game average ties puts him fifth on the NCAA II leaderboard (and first on the NSIC charts). The last Bulldog to rack up more than five interceptions in one season was Cole Strilzuk in 2018 (6 thefts 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 (seven), senior cornerback Tareq Abulebbeh (five), sophomore strong safety Bill Atkins (three), and sophomore cornerback Justic'e King (two). Senior outside linebacker Alex Helmer, sophomore cornerback Michael Kirkendoll (a 2018 transfer from North Dakota State School of Science) and senior cornerback Mitchell Johnson-Martin have the one interception each.

SACK IT TO ME: Southwest Minnesota State defense sacked Bulldog quarterback Mike Rybarczyk and John Larson six times after the Bulldogs came into the afternoon having allowed only five sacks in the season's first six games. The Bulldogs have been credited with 18 sacks this fall, the second highest figure in the NSIC.

WE'LL SECOND THAT: The Bulldogs have outscored the opposition 218-61 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 15 games.

CATCH OF THE DAY: Nate Ricci finished with a team-high five pass receptions last Saturday at Malosky Stadiuam, giving him 132 for his career. That's good for the No. 8 spot on UMD's all-time catch charts and six more than fellow senior wide out Jason Balts (who incurred a season-ending lower body injury against Bemidji State University in Week Four.).

CATCH OF THE DAY II: Some 14 different Bulldogs have recorded a pass reception so far in 2018 and six of those have a scoring strike to their credit.

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

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

QUITE THE RUN: Since taking over the Bulldog program five years ago, Curt Wiese has won 59 of 60 games. Only one other NCAA II head coach -- Colorado State University-Pueblo's John Wristen (60) -- 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 square off with the University of Minnesota Crookston on Oct. 27 in their final road outing of the 2018 regular season.