The University of Minnesota Duluth football team delivered a 42-34 win over the University of Sioux Falls Saturday afternoon at James S. Malosky Stadium on Military Appreciation Day, in a game that also doubled as the 100th win of head coach Curt Wiese's career.

Wiese – who also picked up his 91st win with UMD in the process – and his Bulldogs are 3-0 overall to start the season and 2-0 now in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference games.

The game started offensively for UMD just as its past three games have, with a flash of offense in the first quarter. The Bulldogs first TD came from redshirt sophomore quarterback Kyle Walljasper, who capped off a 73 yard, nine-play opening march down the field with a 1-yard run at 8:57. 

It was the UMD defense that paved the way for the Bulldogs second TD when graduate senior DB Tim Pokornowski forced a fumble on UMD's 5-yard line and graduate senior Ty'Rese Gibson returned it 25 yards to set up the Bulldogs offense with 1:24 left in the opening quarter. With no time left on the clock, redshirt freshman wide receiver Jimmy Durocher ran a reverse to the right side for a 27-yard TD that, coupled with a Curtis Cox kick, gave the Bulldogs a 14-0 lead after one.

The Cougars got on the board with two touchdowns less than four minutes apart on a 1-yd rushing TD from sophomore quarterback Camden Dean. USF then tied the game at 14 apiece on a TD run by Matt Grzybowki at the 8:30 mark of the second quarter after the Cougars intercepted Walljasper and returned it 26 yards right outside the red zone.

Walljasper needed just three plays and under a minute and half to help UMD retake that lead, running for 46 yards to push the Bulldogs into a 21-14 advantage they would hold at halftime.

It was Walljasper again to open the second half, scoring on a 15-yd run to complete a six play, 75-yard drive that doubled UMD's lead to 28-14. Graduate senior running back Chamere Thomas then spun out of the Cougars' grasp for a 31-yard rush TD to stretch the Bulldog margin to 35-14 with 6:01 left in the third quarter.

USF countered with two rushing TDs early in the fourth quarter by Dylan Rudningen just over a minute apart, but UMD and Walljasper again ran in the Bulldogs overall sixth rushing touchdown of the afternoon at 5:09 to push UMD back on top 42-27. The Cougars punched in one last TD in by Dean at 2:03, but the Bulldogs, who never trailed in the contest, held on to their 42-34 final.

Walljasper passed for a career-high 270 yards, while his four rushing touchdowns tied a career mark set last Oct. 8, 2022 against the University of Mary, and his total of 407 offensive yards against USF also marks a high among all NSIC players so far this season. Sam Pitz had eight catches for 133 yards – a career best for the redshirt senior tight end, and the Bulldog offense had a season-high 550 yards on offense, including an even split of 280 on the ground and 270 yards in the air. UMD also had a season-best average of both yards per rush (8.75) and yards per catch (11.74).

On the defensive side, fifth-year senior DB Marcus Glodowski led the Bulldogs with a season-best eight tackles, including seven solos, while redshirt senior linebacker Andrew Klopp had seven (six solo) for his season-high. Both Mac Strand and Pokornowski had six for UMD, which allowed just 137 rushing yards total to the Cougars.

UMD (3-0, 2-0) will head back on the road next week when it travels to Marshall, Minn. to face Southwest Minnesota State University. Game-time is set for 1:00 p.m.

BULLDOG NOTES: The Bulldogs are undefeated in their first three games for the fifth time in Wiese's UMD career, and are one of just three teams in the NSIC that are 3-0 overall … UMD ranks second in the NSIC with a 43.3 points per game average … the Bulldogs also rank second in rushing with a 284 yards per game average … Kyle Walljasper is tied for first in scoring with 16 points per game, and ranks second in the NSIC with a 131.7 rushing yards per game average … Ty'Rese Gibson ranks third in the conference with 1.33 passes defended a game ... the Bulldogs, who have only punted eight times in their first three games, are averaging 42.5 yards a kick ... punter Logan Kobus drilled a 61-yard kick in Saturday's win.