The University of Minnesota Duluth football team will host its last game at James S. Malosky Stadium Saturday when it faces Concordia University St. Paul in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference showdown. The game, which will double as the Bulldogs Senior Day, will get underway at 12:00 p.m. UMD will honor its seniors, their parents or special guests prior to the game.
SENIORITY RULES: 17 seniors will be honored prior to Saturday's game in UMD football's annual Senior Day. Over the past five completed seasons, the Bulldogs have posted a record of 43-12, including a record of 23-5 at Malosky Stadium, and have made one NCAA Division II Playoff appearances in 2018. UMD was also twice NSIC Team Champions -- in 2018 and again in 2021. This Bulldog senior class was also part of back-to-back NSIC Division North Team Championships in 2018 and 2019.
Here are the 17 seniors UMD will celebrate Saturday:
Ethan Beffert - Defensive Line
Levon Bellemy - Running Back
Nathan Bursch - Defensive Line
Treyvon Cahalan - Offensive Line
Curtis Cox - Place Kicker
Brad Dati - Linebacker
Logan Eiden - Linebacker
Joel Forgacs - Tight End
Ty'Rese Gibson - Defensive Back
Ty'Rhae Gibson - Defensive Back
Marcus Glodowski - Defensive Back
Arik Johnson - Offensive Line
Brian Konz - Defensive Line
Caden Osmonson - Defensive Line
Tim Pokornowski - Defensive Back
Chamere Thomas - Running Back
Cooper Yeary - Wide Receiver
STATISTICALLY SUPERIOR: As a team, the Bulldogs are leading the NSIC in a number of categories.
UMD owns the top-ranked scoring offense , turning in 37.6 points a game, as well as the best rushing offense in the NSIC with a 260.1 yards rushed a game. The Bulldogs also sit with the most effective red zone offense in the league, scoring 86.0 of the time.
UMD's rushing offense ranks 7th in the NCAA, while its scoring offense sits 19th.
Other stat lines UMD ranks in the top-2 in the NSIC in currently --
1st (9th NCAA) -- Team Tackles for Loss (8.3)
1st (8th NCAA) -- Net Punting (38.9)
2nd (11th NCAA) -- Rushing Defense (93.2)
2nd -- (17th NCAA) Team Sacks (2.89)
2nd -- (12 NCAA( 3rd Down Conversion (50.8)
2nd --(45th NCAA) 4th Down Conversion (37.5)
TO RUSH OR NOT TO RUSH: The Bulldogs sit atop of the NSIC and high in the NCAA with both their rushing offense and second in the league in rushing defense.
On offense, UMD sits first in the conference and seventh in the NCAA with an average of 260.1 yards a game on the ground and a total of 2,459 with 22 touchdowns. In 356 attempts UMD is averaging 6.6 yards per carry.
Defensively, the Bulldogs are allowing just 78.4 yards game and just 3.1 yards in 269 attempts. That puts UMD 23rd in the NCAA and second in the NSIC.
SECOND HALF STALEMATE: UMD's defense has allowed second half points in only four of the nine games they've played this season.
The Bulldogs are giving up an average of just 6.3 points a game in the second half. In the third quarter alone, UMD has allowed just 3.0 points a game, while in the fourth, just 3.3.
POINT TAKEN (EARLY): The Bulldogs continue to score early through nine games, averaging 21.5 points before halftime. UMD is averaging 11.7 points in the first quarter, and 9.7 in the second quarter.
Overall, the Bulldogs have the highest scoring offense in the NSIC, averaging 37.6 points per game.
A RUSH TO THE TOP: Kyle Walljasper has run for 15 touchdowns through the nine games -- by far surpassing his total output for last season (11).
Walljasper ranks seventh in the nation with a 7.15 yards per carry and fifth in rushing TDs (15).
Other categories where Walljasper currently ranks in the top-15 in the NCAA:
5th -Total Points Responsible For (170)
5th - Points Responsible for per Game (21.2)
6th - Total Points Scored (90)
6th - Total TDs Scored (15)
7th - Scoring per game (10.0)
13th - Rushing Yards (936)
SACK ATTACK: The Bulldogs rank 17th in the NCAA in sacks, averaging 2.89 sacks a game. UMD also sits 9th for tackles for loss, with 8.3 yard a game. In all, UMD has had 26 sacks nine games so far this season.
Twice this season the Bulldogs have turned in eight sacks in a game -- both game-highs for the NSIC this season.
HENNESSEY TRACKS SINGLE-SEASON SACK TOP-10 LIST: Drew Hennessey, who had 3.5 sacks for a league-high against WSU on Sept. 30, ranks 14th in the country with a 0.89 sack per game average -- which also ranks second in the NSIC. Hennessey has eight sacks so far on the season, which already surpasses his 2022 career-high mark of six. Hennessey's 3.5 sacks against the Warriors was also a single-game best by the redshirt senior.
Hennessey is now just one sack shy of cracking into the single-season sacks top-10 list. The last Bulldog to crack into that top-10 list? Former linebacker Nate Pearson, who registered nine sacks in both 2021 and 2019.
WITNESSING WALLJASPER: Redshirt sophomore quarterback Kyle Walljasper ran for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Walljasper ran his season total through nine games to 32. Those 32 TDs now rank Walljasper 7th all-time for total touchdowns in a season. Walljapser has thrown for 17 TDs and run for 15 so far this season and has racked up 194 total points so far this season.
Walljasper also cracked another top-10 list earlier this season -- he accumulated 406 yards against Sioux Falls on Sept. 16, including 270 on the ground and 136 in the air, the 10th most total yards amassed by a Bulldog in a single game ever.
With 1,164 passing yards and 938 rushing yds, Walljasper sits at 2,102 total yards of offense through seven games in 2023.
HAVE LEGS, WILL RUN: UMD's offense is averaging 260.1 rushing yards a game -- the seventh most yards a game in the NCAA and most in the NSIC.
THE MATCHUP: The Bulldogs and Golden Bears have met 15 times in their history, one that overwhelmingly has favored UMD. The two sides started their rivalry in 1999, one of just three wins for CSP (35-27).
All-time, UMD is12-3 against the Golden Bears, and currently own a nine game winning streak against CSP that started in the 2005.
Last season, the Bulldogs overwhelmed the Golden Bears 53-7 in St. Paul, Minn. inside Sea Foam Stadium. UMD scored 19 points in the first half, including a 3-yard TD by Kyle Walljasper at 9:45 of the second quarter.
The Bulldogs unloaded for 20 third quarter points, beginning with a Wade Sullivan 56 yard return (10:17), a Walljasper to Zach Ojile 19 yard pass (7:29) and a Levon Bellemy 2-yard run (5:42) to make it a 39-0 game.
UMD's defense added a 24-yd interception return for TD from Harrison Kielar at 10:41 of the fourth frame, and Cameron Miller nailed the door shut with 5:35 left in regulation, a 53-7 final.
Walljasper and Garret Olson both threw for over a 100 yards (Walljasper 132 and Olson 106), while Wade Sullivan rushed for 100. Walljasper ran in two touchdowns while also passing for two, and put up a whopping 573 total yards on offense while holding CSP to just 164.
LAST TIME OUT: Then No. 16 Bemidji State University held off a late charge from the then No. 25 Bulldogs last Saturday at Malosky Stadium, defeating UMD 38-31.
For the first time this season, the Bulldogs found themselves trailing by two touchdowns in the first quarter. BSU struck with a receiving TD at 10:17 and then a 30-yard rush to take a 14-0 lead at 5:51 of the first frame. But the Bulldogs responded with a single second left in the quarter, a eight yard pass from redshirt sophomore quarterback Kyle Walljasper to redshirt senior Sam Pitz to cut the deficit in half.
At 8:06 of the second quarter, UMD pulled within three points on a Curtis Cox 27 yard field goal, his eighth of the season, to make it a 10-7 contest. The Beavers responded with two touchdowns just over five minutes apart to close out the half and stretch their lead to 28-10.
After being outscored in the first half, the Bulldogs flipped the scoring in their favor in the second, putting a total of 21 points up while they held BSU to 10. After the Beavers hit a 21 yard field goal at 9:13 of the third quarter, a mere minute later, UMD scored its first of three TDs in the half.
The first was a 78 yard touchdown pass from Walljasper to DaShaun Ames right up the middle of a wide open secondary that made it a 31-17 contest at 8:13. BSU answered with a 74 yard run by Sage Booker at the 3:24 mark of the third, a TD run that eventually helped the Beavers stave off a late offensive onslaught from Walljasper and the Bulldogs.
Walljasper pounded in back-to-back rushing touchdowns from a yard out at 13:43 and 9:29 of the final quarter to put the Bulldogs back within just a single score of BSU, but UMD's offense was finally forced to punt late in the frame. The Beaver offense took the ball back over with 3:56 left in regulation and never relinquished the possession, holding off any final attempt by the Bulldogs to pull even.
The game featured two of the best quarterbacks in the conference, and both players under center delivered. Walljasper was responsible for four total TDs – two in the air and two on the ground, and threw for 135 yards and ran for 131, while Ames posted a career-best 86 receiving yards along with his touchdown, his second of the season and first out of the air. Super senior BSU QB Brandon Alt threw for 271 yards and two touchdown passes, and got 120 yards of rushing and one TD from Booker.
BSU had 483 yards of total offense on 66 plays, while the Bulldogs recorded 355 total yards of offense on 54 plays. UMD ws perfect in the red zone at 4-for-4, while the Beavers went 4-of-5.
On the other side of the ball, fifth-year senior defensive back Marcus Glodowski led both sides with 10 tackles, while Ty'Rhae Gibson registered the second most tackles in the game for either team with eight.
NOTES FROM THE BEMIDJI STATE GAME:
UMD is 48-13 all-time against the Beavers since and have now gone three seasons without registering a win against BSU.
--Kyle Walljasper's 78 yard TD connection to DaShaun Ames was the longest passing touchdown so far of the season.
--Logan Kobus averaged an impressive 40.4 yards in five punts Saturday despite wind and 30 degree temperatures. Kobus' longest punt was 54 yards.
--Walljasper has now recorded four or more touchdowns five times this season, and now has 17 passing TDs to pair with 15 rushing touchdowns for a total of 32 TDs this season. The last UMD QB to turn in 30 or more touchdowns in a season was Drew Bauer, who was responsible for 36 in 2016.
SHUT IT DOWN: The Bulldogs shut out UMary three weeks ago 46-0, the second time this season that UMD has held an opponent scoreless.
It also marks the first time since the 2017 season that the Bulldogs have posted two or more cleansheets in a season. In 2017, UMD held three-straight teams without a point -- Northern State (41-0), Minot State (37-0) and Bemidji State (17-0).
In fact, over the past 20 years, UMD has posted two shutouts or more in season just four times -- in addtion to this season and 2017, in 2009 (2) and 2003 (2).
NSIC SEASON NOTABLES:
--Kyle Walljasper has scored more rushing TDs than anyone else in the NSIC (15). Walljasper's 24 points again Sioux Falls on Sept. 16 is tied for the most points in a game so far this season, as well as his four TDs, (and rushing TDs) in the same game ranks is tied for the most touchdowns in a single game.
--DaShaun Ames' ranks second in the NSIC with a 27.4 yards per return average on nine returns. His 93-yd return against WSU is tied for the longest in the league this season.
--Drew Hennessey, 2nd Sacks (.89, 8 total). 2nd tackles for loss (1.39)
--Ethan Beffert, 3rd, tackles for loss (1.33)
--Tim Pokornowski, tied for first in interceptions (3).
--Curtis Cox leads in the NSIC in scoring by a kicker with an average of 7.0 pts per game. Cox tied a program record for fields goals in a game on Sept. 23 against Southwest Minnesota State by making four field goals, the first UMD kicker to hit four in a game since David Nadeau did it against Bemidji State on Sept. 24, 2011.
--The Bulldogs 550 offensive yards against Sioux Falls on Sept. 16 ranks as the biggest haul by any team so far in the NSIC. The Bulldogs averaged 10.0 yds per carry.
REPORTING FOR DUTY: The Bulldogs have five captains for the 2023 season -- graduate seniors Brad Dati, Treyvon Cahalan, Marcus Glodowski, Nathan Bursch and redshirt sophomore Kyle Walljasper.
WIESE HITS 100: Curt Wiese picked up his 100th career victory last in UMD's 42-34 win over Sioux Falls on Sept. 16. All-time, Wiese is 102-32, with a 93-21 record at the helm of the Bulldogs.
Wiese is currently the third all-time winningest coach in UMD program history, and is closing in on the second winningest coach Bob Nielson, who had 100 wins in 10 total seasons.
NOTES ON CSP: The Golden Bears are 3-6 overall and coming off a 20-14 win over Northern State last weekend in St. Paul. Junior running back Jaylin Richardson leads CSP with nine touchdowns, while junior QB COnner Cordts has thrown for four passing TDs and run for two. Junior Cyrus McClure has a Golden Bear-best 52 tackles, and Koffi Gbekle leads CSP with 4.5 sacks this season.
HEAD COACH CURRIER: Shannon Currier is in his 12th season with CSP where he owns a 71-102 record overall. The Golden Bears were NSIC champions in 2003 and never finished lower than third in his first stint at CSP from 2000-2003. Currier returned to the helm of the Golden Bears in 2016 after five seasons with Truman University.
