The University of Minnesota Duluth football team will host Winona State University on Saturday in its annual Homecoming game in James S. Malosky Stadium at 12:00 p.m. The Bulldogs are off to a 4-0 start and will face the Warriors for the first time since the 2021 season.
RANK AND FILE: The Bulldogs are now ranked in both national polls after earning the No. 25 slot in the latest D2 Football national poll. UMD moved up to 19th after debuting at 23rd last week in the latest American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches' Poll.
READY, SET, GO: The Bulldogs are off to a 4-0 start for the fourth time in head coach Curt Wiese's career, and just the 15th time in program history. UMD is averaging 40.8 points a game, which ranks second in the NSIC and 16th in all of the NCAA.
Of note, UMD is also off to a fast start in games -- the Bulldogs are averaging 27.5 points in the first half of action, including 15.2 in the first quarter alone.
A RUSH TO THE TOP: Redshirt sophomore quarterback Kyle Walljasper is tied for first in the nation with eight rushing TDS through his first three games. Walljasper's 395 rushing yards currently sits sixth in the NCAA, one of only two QBs in the top-six.
Other categories where Walljasper currently ranks in the top-3 in the NCAA:
3rd -Total Points Responsible For (102)
3rd - Points Responsible for per Game (25.5)
3rd - Rush Yards per Carry (8.19)
5th - Scoring per game (13.5)
5th - Total Points Scored (54)
Walljasper now has nine rushing TDs to pair with eight passing touchdowns for a total of 17 through the first four games.
HAVE LEGS, WILL RUN: UMD's offense is averaging 259.8 rushing yards a game -- the fifth most yards a game in the NCAA.
SACK ATTACK: The Bulldog defense, which forced Southwest Minnesota State University into a -1 rushing yard total in 23 attempts last Saturday, ranks sixth in the nation in team sacks a game. UMD, who sits second in the NSIC, is averaging 3.75 sacks a game.
Drew Hennessey, who had two sacks last week against the Mustangs and leads UMD with 3.5 on the season, ranks 21st in the NCAA and second in the NSIC with 1.8 tackles for loss a game after recording seven so far this season.
BEST OF THE BEST: The Bulldogs rank in the top-16 nationally in the following categories:
5th -- Rushing Offense (259.8)
12th - 3rd Down Conversion Pct (0.538)
16th - Scoring Offense (40.8)
4th - Punt Run Defense (0.0)
5th - Net Punting (41.60)
THE MATCHUP: Saturday's game will mark the 46th meeting ever between UMD and Winona State. The Bulldogs hold a commanding 36-10 lead in the rivalry, which began way back in 1931 -- the first year of intercollegiate football at UMD -- and have beaten the Warriors nine-straight times (a streak that began in 2008, the year the Bulldogs rejoined the NSIC). The two long-time adversaries last met on Sept. 18, 2021 in Winona, where the Bulldogs held off WSC 29-23 victory.
In that contest, UMD took a 10-3 lead after the first quarter on a Zach Ojile 2-yd run and a Curtis Cox field goal. The Bulldogs tacked on 16 point second quarter behind a 1-yd run from Wade Sullivan, another Cox FG and 64 yard TD reception from John Larson to Armani Carmickle to take a 26-3 lead into halftime.
The Warriors responded with a touchdown late in the third quarter, and after another Cox field goal at 13:37 of the fourth, WSU dialed up two TDs of its own to make it a 29-23 game.
WSC took over at their own 24-yard line with 1:15 left in regulation, and worked the ball into UMD territory. But the Bulldogs forced a fourth and seven from the their own 27-yard line and denied the Warriors shot at the endzone to pick up the road win and keep UMD's extensive winning streak against the Warriors intact.
Other notables from their last meeting --
--Current graduate senior Brad Dati had seven tackles on the day, while quarterback
--Larson, who was 13-of-23 with 206 passing yards on the day, reached 5,000 career passing yards on his TD to Carmickle. It made Larson just the fifth quarterback in UMD football history to do join a list that includes Ted Schlafke, Drew Bauer, Ricky Fitz, and Chase Vogler.
LAST TIME OUT: UMD left Marshall, Minn. with a 33-0 win over Southwest Minnesota State University last Saturday. 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.
NOTES FROM THE SMSU GAME: UMD is 29-7-1 all-time against the Mustangs. The Bulldogs have now won three-straight games against Southwest.
--With 33 points, the Bulldogs put up two more points than they had been against the Mustangs in their previous 11 games (31).
--UMD held the Mustangs to -1 rushing yards on the day, the lowest opponent output of the season, and the lowest opponent output since the Bulldogs held Minot State to -17 yards last season in a 51-7 blowout in Duluth. The Bulldogs have held other teams to negative rushing yards five times in the past five seasons, including twice in the last two years.
--Graduate senior and two-time All-NSIC linebacker Brad Dati returned to the lineup last Saturday after a season-ending injury seven games into the season ended his senior campaign. Dati's return was triumpant -- the captain recorded five tackles and a sack in a game where UMD's defense was dominant.
NSIC NOTABLES: UMD boasts the second best offense in the NSIC with its 40.8 ppg average, and leads the league with the fewest offensive yards allowed a game -- 286.3.
Other UMD NSIC players/stats in the top-10 -
--Kyle Walljasper -- 1st in rushing TDs, 2nd yards per game (106.5), 2nd scoring (13.5 ppg), passing (165.8 yards per game)
--DaShaun Ames, 10th, kick returns (22.1)
--Drew Hennessey, 2nd Sacks (.88, 3.5 total). 2nd tackles for loss (1.75)
--Ethan Beffer, 9th tackles for loss (1.13)
--Tim Pokornowski, 2nd interceptions (2)
--Ty'Rese Gibson, 7th passes defended, (1.00, four total, one interception), 4th fumble returns (1)
-- Logan Kubus, 3rd average punt yardage (43.6 average per punt in 10 attempts)
-- Pokornowski's 95 yard interception against Northern State on Sept. 9 is the second longest one in the NCAA after three weeks. It was just four yards shy of tying UMD's program record of 99 yards set twice -- most recently in 1988 by Chris Westberg against Minnesota Morris on Oct. 1, 1988.
--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 average 10.0 yds per carry.
CARRY BY COMMITTEE: UMD is using four running backs in its backfield, a quad of which have contributed three TDs in the past four games. Graduate senior Chamere Thomas, sophomore Jaylen McKnight, senior Daniel Mitchell and senior Levon Bellemy have all had 15 or more carries, with McKnight with the slight edge of 27 carries for 144 yards and one TD, while Mitchell has 24 for 135 yards and a touchdown. Thomas leads all Bulldog running backs with 149 yards on 16 attempts for a 9.1 yards per carry average and a TD, which also is currently the longest RB TD at 33 yards.
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 Saturday in UMD's 42-34 win over Sioux Falls. All-time, Wiese is 100-32, with a 91-21 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.
