The University of Minnesota Duluth football team put up big offensive numbers Saturday behind an even bigger defensive effort to overwhelm Minot State University 42-7 at First Western Bank Field at Herb Parker Stadium in Minot, ND to improve to 7-1 overall and 6-1 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
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Led by the dual rushing threat of a three-touchdown effort from running back Jaylen McKnight and a two TD showing from quarterback Kyle Walljasper, UMD notched three touchdowns from the ground before half and had hammered out all five before the end of the third quarter. UMD's defense did the rest, holding the Beavers to just 93 total yards on offense, including just 38 on the rush.. In fact, MSU's lone touchdown wasn't generated from its offense – and UMD never allowed the Beavers in the red zone all game.
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McKnight ran in both of UMD's touchdowns in the first quarter, the first a 1-yd run to the left with 8:05 remaining, coupled with a Curtis Cox point after attempt, to give the Bulldogs an 7-0 lead.
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After Knylen Miller-Levi returned the ensuing kick 100 yards to draw MSU even, McKnight struck again less than four minutes later. The redshirt freshman RB ran his second TD of the afternoon from nine yards out at 4:20 to retake the lead for UMD.
McKnight wasn't done – and he ran for the lone points by either team in the second quarter, a monster 21-yd rip that put the Bulldogs up on the Beavers 21-7 with 2:18 left in the half.
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Waljasper – who has rushed for at least a TD in 7-of-8 games he's been under center this season, ran another touchdown in for the Bulldogs at 10:38 of the third quarter, a 2-yard effort to give UMD a 28-7 lead. The redshirt sophomore quarterback did it again in the same frame less than four minutes later, a 45-yd run that registered as his third longest TD of the season, to extend UMD's choke-hold on the scoreboard to 35-7.
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The Bulldog defense, which made the day almost insufferable for the Beavers, put the perfect wrap on UMD's scoring spree with a touchdown of their own. After senior DL Ethan Beffert forced a fumble, redshirt senior DL Brian Konz returned it 57 yards to the end zone to make it a 42-7 game with 10:53 left in the game – the first fumble recovery for a TD for UMD since the 2018 season.
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In all, UMD recorded 398 total yards of offense – 291 yards of which came from the Bulldogs ground game. UMD was 3-of-4 on its own efforts in the red zone, while Cox was a perfect 6-of-6 on extra points in the game.Â
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McKnight and Walljasper both went over 100 rushing yards on the day, the first UMD duo to do that in a single game in five years. McKnight ran for a season and career-best 109 yards and now has four TDs on the season, while Walljasper had a game-high 113. It marks the sixth time this season the QB has run for over 100 yards in a game.
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The Bulldog defense recorded two sacks on the afternoon – one by Beffert and one by Brady Herbst. Overall, Brad Dati led UMD with five tackles, including three solo efforts, while four other players had four tackles in the game – Andrew Klopp, Alex Sylvester, Herbst and Beffert. Ty'Rese Gibson also picked his second interception of the season off, and coupled it with a 25 yard return.
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The Bulldogs will return to James S. Malosky Stadium next weekend in a battle of NSIC heavyweights when Bemidji State University comes to town. Kickoff for the all-important conference clash is set for 12:00 p.m.
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BULLDOG NOTES: Saturday marked the fifth time this season UMD has scored 40 or more points in a game … the last season UMD scored put up 42 or more points in game was in 2019 when the Bulldogs hit the mark a whopping seven times … the last pair of UMD players to run for over 100 yards in a game were Wade Sullivan(180) and Cazz Martin (179), who did so against the University of.Minnesota Crookston back on Nov. 2, 2019 … UMD's last fumble recovery for a touchdown was on Oct. 20, 2018, a seven yard return by Mitchell Johnson-Martin against Winona State University … the Beavers lone TD return was the first a UMD team has allowed since 2019 – also against Minot State.
