Six days removed from breaking into the national rankings for the first time this season, the University of Minnesota Duluth football team proved it was every bit worthy Saturday with a 33-0 win over Southwest Minnesota State University at Mattke Field at The Schwan Regional Event Center Marshall, Minn. 

 

The win, the Bulldogs fourth in a row to open the season 4-0, also doubles as UMD's third-straight triumph in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action. The Bulldogs are off to their best start since the 2019 season, and the fourth 4-0 record to begin a season in head coach Curt Wiese's career. Saturday also marked UMD's first shutout since it blanked the University of Minnesota Crookston 63-0 back on Nov. 2, 2019.

 

Despite being held to a third of the total first quarter offense it owned prior to the game, UMD used two 33-yard field goals from kicker Curtis Cox at 12:36 and again at 9:06 to take a 6-0 lead early in the quarter. UMD's defense and special teams were a big part of the opening quarter – after Cox hit his first FG, the Bulldogs recovered their onside kick to regain possession of the ball, which eventually led to the second Cox FG.

 

When the Mustangs offense got its first touch on the ball with under nine minutes left in the first, Bulldog graduate senior cornerback Ty'Rese Gibson stripped the ball on SMSU's fourth play and recovered it for UMD. Then it was senior Ethan Beffert's turn, whose strip sack was recovered by Marcus Martin on the Bulldogs 47 yard line.

 

11 plays and 40 yards later, the Bulldogs picked up their first touchdown of the day when redshirt sophomore Kyle Walljasper punched a rushing TD in from a yard out at 12:54 for the 13-0 lead. UMD then made it a 20-0 game before half when sophomore running back Daniel Mitchell hit the jets for a 28 yard touchdown with 1:16 remaining before halftime, his first touchdown of the season.

 

The Bulldogs opened the third quarter with another interception, this time by Tim Pokornowski, his second of the season. Pokornowski's pick came at 12:21, and paved the way for yet another Cox field goal at 8:55 for 40 yards and the 23-0 advantage.

 

Marcus Glodowski grabbed UMD's second interception of the day at 6:17, and although the Bulldogs didn't cash on Glodowski's pick, Cox would later drill his fourth field goal of the day at 12:07 of the fourth from 21 yards out and the 26-0 lead.

 

UMD struck one final time with 3:36 left in the game on a quick pitch from Walljasper to Cameron Miller for a 3-yd TD, that coupled with a Cox point after, stretched the Bulldogs winning margin to 33-0.

 

The Bulldogs defense stifled the Mustangs all day long, and five players recorded five or more tackles in the game, including redshirt senior linebacker Drew Hennessey, who also hauled in two sacks in addition to his four solo tackles. Beffert and graduate senior linebacker Brad Dati – making his first appearance since an injury forced him out last season, had five tackles and a sack apiece, while Ty'Rese Gibson had a team-high six tackles to go with his strip and fumble recovery. Junior defensive back Jacob Mogenson also had a sack for UMD, which registered five on the day against SMSU.

 

Overall, the Bulldogs had 349 yards on offense, with 187 rushing yards and  162 passing. Walljasper's 162 yards of passing offense was mostly divided between Jimmy Durocher, with 74 yards on three receptions, and DaShaun Ames, who had a team-high four catches for 66 yards. While it was the Bulldogs second best day in the air over their first four games, it was it also marked their second game this season without a turnover.

 

The Bulldogs (4-0, 3-0) will head back to James S. Malosky Stadium next Saturday to play host to Winona State University in a Homecoming showdown.  Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m.

BULLDOG NOTES: UMD's 4-0 start marks the 15th time in program history a team has gone 4-0 out of the starting gates … Curtis Cox was a perfect 4-of-4 on field goals and racked up a season-high 444 yards on seven kickoff attempts.