The University of Minnesota Duluth football team suffered its second heartbreaking loss in the last three games Saturday afternoon, this time a 28-24 setback on the road against No. 25 Augustana University at Kirkeby-Over Stadium in Sioux Falls, S.D.
In a back-and-forth battle between two giants of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, the Vikings marched down the field and scored a back-breaking touchdown with 56 seconds left. The Bulldogs, who dipped to 3-2 overall and 2-2 in NSIC play, almost capitalized on excellent field position and all three of their timeouts trailing by four. UMD drove all the way to the Viking nine-yard line before a pair of incompletions set in as time expired.
The game got off to a hot start for the Bulldogs, who forced the Vikings to punt on their first possession with the help of a Preston McQueen sack for a 10-yard loss. Two quick passes from redshirt junior quarterback Kyle Walljasper to Sam Pitz and DaShaun Ames set up UMD for a first down scenario, giving Ryder Patterson the chance to break through and tally the first points of the game on a 46-yard carry to the house at 11:22.
Augustana responded with a 75-yard drive of its own that took eight minutes and tied the score 7-7 with just over three minutes left in the quarter.
A trio of penalties for 25 yards kept the Bulldogs out of the end zone over their next two drives, allowing Augustana to take over the lead 14-7 with six minutes left in the half on a 99-yard drive. The Bulldogs cut into the lead before halftime after a 69-yard drive ended with a successful Curtis Cox field goal and a new scoreline of 14-10 before the break.
The Bulldogs came out into the second half fired up, and recorded back to back 20+ yard receptions from Walljasper to Ben Fritsch and Pitz. The 75-yard drive concluded with Walljasper taking it himself and finding the pylon for another Bulldog touchdown, putting UMD back in the lead 17-14 early into the third quarter.
The two teams would force each other to punt on their next possessions, and Augustana then regained possession with four minutes left in the quarter. The Vikings shot towards midfield was broken up by a big hit from Tyrone McCoy, which deflected the ball into the air and allowed Mac Strand to come in from behind and recover the fumble.
UMD was forced to punt on their possession following the fumble recovery, and it gave the Vikings the opportunity to take back over the lead and move into a 21-14 lead with just over eight minutes left in the game.
The Bulldogs refused to back down, going on to score on the very first play of their next drive with a 53-yard connection through the air from Walljasper to Ames to put UMD back in the lead 24-21. The defense continued to hold its own when Jonathan Shrum forced a fumble at the goal line, recovering the ball in the endzone for a touchback.
A false start penalty as the Bulldogs approached the two minute warning forced UMD to punt, and the Vikings capitalized on their opportunity. Trailing by four points, the Bulldogs were unable to score in the final 53 seconds and left Sioux falls with their second loss of the season.
The offense again was led by Walljasper went 23-for-35 for 231 yards through the air, with one touchdown and no interceptions. The quarterback also added 41 yards and one touchdown on the ground,while Patterson tallied 52 yards on the ground paired with 55 receiving yards and a touchdown – an average 13 yards/carry. Ames recorded three catches for 70 yards and one touchdown, his sixth TD of the season, while Pitz also hauled in six passes for 50 yards.
Shrum led UMD's defensive effort, collecting seven tackles, one forced fumble, and one recovered fumble. Strand added four tackles and one recovered fumble, while McQueen had nine tackles, 2.0 TFL, one sack, and one forced fumble. The Bulldogs converted 6-of-15 third downs and went 2-for-2 on fourth down conversions
The Bulldogs (3-2, 2-2 NSIC) return home next weekend to James S. Malosky Stadium to host Northern State University. Kickoff for the NSIC bout is currently scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 12, at 12:00 p.m.
