Defense and special teams plays were the order of the day on Saturday afternoon at James S. Malosky Stadium.

The University of Minnesota Duluth and Texas A&M University-Commerce combined for only two offensive touchdown and 464 total yards, but in the end it was the defending national champion Lions who prevailed 33-17 in the opening round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.

UMD scored both of its touchdowns on a pair of pick sixes in the second quarter. The first of those came from senior inside linebacker Gus Wedig (a 80-yard return)  and, on the Lions' next series, sophomore outside linebacker Nate Pearson gave the Bulldogs their only lead of the day at 14-10 when he hijacked a short pass and brought it back 29 yards.  That marked the first time the Bulldogs had two interception returns for touchdowns in the same game since doing so against Minnesota State University-Mankato on Nov. 4, 2010.

One of the key turning points for the Lions then came in the waning seconds of the first half when Dominque Ramsey returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown to put Texas &AM Commerce ahead for good at 17-14. The Lions later sealed the win midway through the fourth quarter with a scoop and score off a blocked punt.

"I thought the deciding factor in today's game was that we got beat pretty good in the kicking game," said Head Coach Curt Wiese, whose Bulldogs were appearing in the NCAA II postseason for the ninth time in the last seasons. "We knew that going in we were going to have to flip the field in the kicking game. Giving up the punt return at the end of the first half was a critical mistake and then having one blocked in the third quarter in a situation where we had an opportunity to flip the field, those are game changers and you can't let those happen against good football teams.
 
The Bulldogs were held to just 188 yards of total offense – their lowest total in 12 years – and were a mere 1-for-18 on the third conversions. Texas A&M-Commerce didn't fare a whole lot better, grinding out 276 yards on the afternoon, including a mere 63 yards on the ground. Wedig, one of 22 seniors on the UMD roster, equaled a personal best with 12 total tackles to top both teams while junior free safety Bill Atkins had a hand in seven stops.

Junior quarterback Mike Rybarczyk rushed 12 times for 31 yards to lead all Bulldogs and had UMD's longest run from scrimmage -- an 11-yard scamper.

"We weren't able to establish a run game at all and that was our game plan going in," said Wiese "We mixed things up in the run game all week. I thought we had things locked in and had a good game plan going in. You have to give Commerce credit, they were either in our face or we were out of position to make a play."
 
UMD, which was seeded third in the NCAA II Super Region Four, concluded its 11th season of intercollegiate football with an 11-1 overall record. Texas A&M-Conference (10-2), the No. 6 seed, faces Lone Star Conference rival and No. 2-seeded Tarleton State University.

"To bow out in the first round is a tough thing, especially for our seniors," said Wiese. "But we expect to be back because that is always the expectation of our football program."

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