The University of Minnesota Duluth will launch its 86th season of intercollegiate football this Thursday (Aug. 30) when the Bulldogs pay a visit to Minot, N.D. for a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division confrontation with Minot State University. Opening kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. at Herb Parker Stadium (4,500/artificial turf).

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THE RECORDS: UMD closed out the 2017 season by winning eight of its final nine games to finish 9-3 overall.  The Bulldogs also placed in a tie for third place (with the University of Sioux Falls) in the overall NSIC standings with a 9-2 mark. Minot State was 3-8 in all outings and in NSIC play (12th place).

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how the Bulldogs and Beavers stacked up in the preseason American Football Coaches Association Division II and the D2Football.com polls:
 

	AFCA	D2Football
UMD	RV	NR
MSU	NR	NR

             
THE BROADCAST: The UMD-Minot State 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.

Thursday night's season opener game will be videostreammed as well and can be accessed for free at: portal.stretchinternet.com/umd.

THE COACH: Curt Wiese is in his sixth season of head coaching duty with the Bulldogs, having guided them to a 52-11 overall record (only one other NCAA II coach has won more games during that stretch), three NCAA II playoff appearances (2013, 2014 and 2016), one overall NSIC title (it shared that honor with Minnesota State University-Mankato in 2014), five straight NSIC North Division crowns and a school-record 22-game home winning streak which stretched between Oct. 5, 2013 and Nov. 12, 2016.

Since being appointed UMD's sixth head coach on Dec. 21, 2012, Wiese has helped produce 18 different All-Americans and 32 All-NSIC first team selections while his Bulldogs have earned NSIC All-Academic status 72 times. Among those were three CoSIDA Academic All-American first team honorees in wide receiver Jason Balts (2017) offensive lineman Andrew Pattock (2013) and defensive end Nick Thorpe (2017).

THE RIVALRY: UMD and Minot State have met on just six previous occasions with all coming since the 2012 season when the Beavers joined forces with the NSIC.
 

Date	Result	Site
10/13/12	UMD 44, MSU 6	Minot, N.D.
10/19/13	UMD 52, MSU 0	Duluth, Minn.
11/15/14	UMD 56, MSU 0	Minot, N.D.
11/14/15	UMD 36, MSU 10	Duluth, Minn.
10/8/16	UMD 38, MSU 7	Minot, N.D.
10/21/17	UMD 37, MSU 0	Duluth, Minn.

THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN SPEAKING: UMD's team captaincy responsibilities in 2018 are assigned to a quintet of seniors -- wide receivers Jason Balts and Nate Ricci (both for the second straight year), center Jason Anderson, cornerback Mitchell Martin-Johnson and outside linebacker A.J. Naatz.

HOW THE NSIC COACHES SEE THINGS: In the annual NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll, the Bulldogs were tabbed as the North Division favorite (for the 11th straight year), but for only the fifth time in the last 11 seasons, they were not picked as the team to beat in the overall standings.  That distinction went to defending champion Minnesota State University-Mankato, which garnered 15 first-place votes and 225 points. Winona State University (197 points and the remaining first-place vote) was next followed by the University of Sioux Falls (195 pts.), UMD (194 pts.), Bemidji State University (165 pts.), Augustana University (148 pts.), St. Cloud State University (133 pts.) and Northern State University (114 pts.).

BEAVER BUSTERS: Not only are the Bulldogs 6-0 all-time versus the Beavers, but they have outscored them 263-23 in those six triumphs while never allowing more than one touchdown.

START ME UP: Some half dozen Bulldogs are expected to make their first collegiate starts this Thursday night. That group includes junior inside linebacker Isaac Erdmann,  junior defensive end Tom Johnson, sophomore offensive guard Noah LeBlanc or redshirt freshman offensive guard Brent Laing,  sophomore wide receiver Johnny McCormick, sophomore defensive end Dan Monson and redshirt freshman running back Wade Sullivan.

START ME UP II: Senior offensive tackle Matt Juneau, a three-time All-NSIC North Division honoree, has started 32 consecutive games -- the longest ironman streak of any 2018 Bulldog. Senior wide receiver Jason Balts is next at 18.

GETTING OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT: The Bulldogs certainly have made a habit of launching new seasons on a winning note as of late, going 15-3 in their last 18 openers. Those three losses, however, have come in the past three years -- 26-7 to the University of Sioux Falls in Duluth last fall, 42-38 at Southwest Minnesota State University in 2016 and  20-17 at then top-ranked Minnesota State University-Mankato in 2015. In addition, UMD has posted a sizzling 42-9 mark in season debuts since 1967.

PRIDE OF THE NORTH: UMD captured its 10th consecutive NSIC North Division title one year ago. Since the league instituted divisional play in 2008, the Bulldogs are a sizzling 63-3 in North Division assignments. That includes a perfect 34-0 mark at home.

GREAT BALTS OF FIRE: Senior wide out Jason Balts, the 2018 NSIC North Division Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, rolled up a NSIC- leading (and a personal-best) 1,003 receiving yards one year ago, becoming just the sixth Bulldog to ever eclipse the 1,000-yard mark yard mark in a single season. Balts has now caught at least one pass in 18 consecutive  games and 23 of the last 24 outings going back to the 2016 season opener (he missed the trip to Minot State that year. while nursing an injury).

QUITE THE CATCH: Jason Balts (112 receptions) and sixth-year senior Nate Ricci (108) hold down the No. 8 and No. 10 spots, respectively, on UMD's all-time catch charts. This marks just the second time in program history UMD will commence  a season with two members of the 100-reception club on their roster (2014 -- with Aaron Roth and Zach Zweifel -- was the other).

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE ROAD: UMD has reeled off 10 straight regular season road wins going back to a 42-38 loss to Southwest Minnesota State University in the 2016 opener

HE'S NO PASSING FANCY: Sophomore John Larson, a 2017 All-NSIC second team pick,was one of six different Bulldogs who has line up under center for at least one snap this season, joining Ben Everhart, Mike Rybarczyk, Mike Connolly, Jason Balts and Nate Ricci. Larson paced the NSIC last fall in both passing efficiency rating (153.9) and per completion yard average (14.44) while current junior quarterback Ben Everhart owned the league's best pass completion percentage (,584) . In the 2017 season finale -- a 38-28 Mineral Water Bowl setback to Central Missouri -- Larson rolled up the sixth highest single-game total offense yards (421) and passing yards (371) in program history.

SEE JOHN RUN:  John Larson, UMD's top returning ground gainer from a year ago (365 yards on 90 carries) had the  Bulldogs' top two longest runs from scrimmage this season -- a 51-yarder vs. Minot State (the longest by a UMD quarterback since Nate Ricci bolted 64 yards for a score against visiting Minot State on Nov. 14, 2015) and a 41-yarder vs. Bemidji State.
THE BEAT GOES ON: The 2017 Bulldogs finished with a winning record for the 10th consecutive year. That's the longest such run by a UMD club since it went 19 seasons in a row above the .500 mark between 1970 and 1988.

GETTING HIS KICKS: Junior Cameron Hausman's 65 punts last season were four shy of the program record and the most since 1998. .

WE'LL SECOND THAT: The Bulldogs outscored the opposition 129-34 in the second quarter last season and did not allow a second-quarter touchdown in any of their final eight games.

QUITE THE RUN: Since taking over the Bulldog program five years ago, Curt Wiese has won 52 of 63 games. Only one other NCAA II head coach -- Colorado State University-Pueblo's John Wristen (54) -- 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).

WHAT A RUSH: UMD has outgained the opposition on the ground in 30 of the past 33 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 exception.

IT TAKES A THIEF: Five current Bulldogs have an interception to their UMD credit and three of those have multiple thefts -- senior strong safety Sam Lynch (five) sophomore strong safety Bill Atkins (three) and sophomore cornerback Justic'e King (two). Senior cornerback Mitchell Johnson-Martin and senior outside linebacker Alex Helmer have the club's two other other career picks. Helmer brought back his first (and only collegiate) interception for an 11-yard touchdown in UMD's 54-6 thrashing of Minnesota Crookston on Nov. 4, 2017.

IN GOOD HANDS: The Bulldogs have held the upper hand in time of possession in 26 of the past 27 games. Last fall, UMD ranked third among all NCAA II school in average possession time (34:57) after pacing the country in that department the previous season. The Bulldogs also ranked second in third down conversion defense (24.8 percent) and turnover margin (+1.33).

WHERE THEY'RE FROM: A little over 92 percent of the current crop of Bulldogs are either Minnesota (43) or Wisconsin (51) natives. Illinois (4), California (1), Iowa (1)  Kansas (1) and Nevada (1)  are home to the remaining eight Bulldogs.

UP NEXT: UMD will make its 2018 home debut on Sept. 8 with a Military Appreciation Night clash against NSIC North Division rival Minnesota State University-Moorhead.