The University of Minnesota Duluth football team will put the wraps on the 2024 season on Saturday when it hosts No. 18 Minnesota State University, Mankato at James S. Malosky Stadium. The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference showdown will double as Senior Day for the Bulldogs. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.


SENIOR SALUTE: UMD's 2024 senior class consists of 21 players who will be honored pregame on Saturday. That 21 includes seven players who were freshmen during the 2019 season  (Sam Pitz, Andrew Klopp, Drew Hennessey, Justin Hull, Aiden Williams, Curtis Cox, Joel Forgacs, and an entire senior class that was forced to navigate the lost Covid season of 2020. Since 2021, this class has an impressive overall record of 42-12. Here is the complete list of UMD's 2024 senior class:

0 Sam Pitz TE

4 Andrew Klopp LB

7 Cole Ewald WR

10 Jacob Mogensen DB

18 Jimmy Durocher WR

21 Brady Herbst LB

22 Mac Strand LB

23 Daniel Mitchell RB

28 Zach Wallace DB

43 Landon Carter DE

45 Logan Kobus P

48 Luke Danielski LB

56 Drew Hennessey DE

60 Ethan Jauquet OL

67 Liam Fahey OL

69 Justin Hull OL

71 Aiden Williams OL

81 Curtis Cox PK

85 Joel Forgacs TE

91 Jacob Kaszuba DE

94 Cassius Rohadfox DT

AME(S) HIGH: Redshirt junior wide receiver DaShaun Ames is one touchdown away from rewinding the receiving TD clock.

After a three-TD outing last Saturday, the Cumberland, Wis. now has 11 receiving touchdowns over 10 games, tying him with Armani Carmickle's 2021 TD haul over 12 games.

Ames needs just one TD to roll back the clock on that many touchdown receptions. The last player to log 12 or more receiving touchdowns in a single season? You have to go all the way back to 2008 when DJ Winfield caught 14 over 15 games (UMD won its first NCAA title that season and had an extended season). 

Currently ranked second in the NSIC, Ames sits seventh nationally with his 11 TDs.

HENNESSEY CLIMBS ALL-TIME SACK CLUB: Drew Hennessey has pushed his career sack total to 19 – catapulting Hennessey into a tie for the sixth most UMD career sacks in program history. 

Hennessey is now just one of six UMD players ever to record 19 or more sacks in a career and is now tied with Beau Bates, who recorded 19 from 2013 to 2016.

Hennessey, who has five sacks so far this season, turned in eight sacks in 2023 for a career-best, and was just one sack shy of reaching the 10th spot for the most sacks in a single season. UMD has had four players all-time record nine sacks -- in all, 11 players have turned in nine or more sacks in a single season. 

TOP DOGS: UMD has a number of players ranked in the top-three of the NSIC and nationally, as well a number team categories where the Bulldogs are on top.

NSIC Leaders:

1st - Passing Efficiency, Kyle Walljasper (7th NCAA, 178.1)

1st - Yards per Reception, DaShaun Ames (18th NCAA, 20.34)

1st - Punt Returns, Jimmy Durocher (17th NCAA)

2nd - Passing Yards per Completion, Walljasper (14.09)

2nd - Completion Percentage, Walljasper (7th NCAA, 68.8) 

2nd - Points Responsible for Per Game, Walljasper (10th NCAA, 18.0)

2nd - Total Offense, Walljasper (10th NCAA, 284.6 yds)

2nd - Receiving TDs, Ames, (7th NCAA, 11) 

3rd - Rushing Yds per Carry, Walljasper (5.70)

3rd - Rushing Yards, Walljasper (729)

3rd - Rushing Yards per Game, Walljasper (81.0)

As a team, UMD leads the conference in 3rd down conversions (32.6), passing yards per completion (14.24), rushing defense (80.1), scoring offense (34.7), team passing efficiency (169.38), team sacks (3.50), team tackles (8.8),  and total offense (445.2).

THE MATCHUP: UMD leads the all-time series 22-19-1 and is 10-8-1 against the Mavericks at home. Over their last 10 showdowns, the Bulldogs are 4-6 against MSU, and since 2002, UMD is 8-8 and averaging 24.06 points a game.

In the last meeting between the two sides a year ago, the Bulldogs defeated the Mavericks in Mankato, Minn. 33-21 in the final game of the season.

After a scoreless first quarter which included a missed 53-yd kick by the Mavericks, MSU broke the defensive stalemate in what would become a flurry of offense for both teams in the final eight minutes of the second quarter.

It started with a six yard run for the Mavericks from Hayden Ekern at the 8:10 mark, but exactly two plays later, quarterback Kyle Walljasper hit WR DaShaun Ames down the sideline for a 44 yard TD. After a Curtis Cox PA tied it up, MSU retook the lead four minutes later off a 32-yd pass from Hayden to TreShawn Watson.

Less than two minutes after the Mavericks went ahead 14-7, UMD again pulled even. A Chamere Thomas 24 yard run setup a Walljapser 1-yd jaunt into the endzone, and with 1:17 left in the frame, the game was even once more at 14-14.

But the Bulldogs defense stifled the Mavericks in the final 1:17 of the half, which included a sack from Mac Strand, and after UMD got the ball back with no time left on the clock, Cox nailed a 39 FG to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the game at halftime, a 17-14 spread in favor of UMD..

UMD carried that momentum into the third quarter, shutting down the MSU offense that started the frame with possession. Ames then struck again on a reverse and turned it into an 8-yard touchdown run that put the Bulldogs up 24-14 at the 11:59 mark. Cox tacked on another three points at 1:20 in the third quarter from 45 yards out – a season-long FG for the senior – to push UMD ahead 27-14.

MSU got on the board with 6:36 left in the fourth on a 19-yard run from Hayden, but Walljasper found Jimmy Durocher just over a minute later on a 62-yard touchdown pass to make it a 33-21 game with 5:30 left.

Fifth-year defensive back Marcus Glodowski muted the Mavericks for good with 2:54 remaining with his third interception of the season at UMD's 40, and followed it up with a 48 yard return to MSU's 12 to seal the Bulldogs biggest win – a road one at that – of the year.

UMD's defense was the story of the second half, and junior linebacker Strand led the way with a career-best 16 tackles, including a sack. Six Bulldogs had five or more tackles in the game, including Glodowski (7), Ty'Rese Gibson (6), Alex Sylvester (6), Andrew Klopp (5) and Jacob Mogenson (5). 

While Walljasper recorded 210 yards in the air with two TDS and added 98 on the ground with one rushing touchdown, Durocher and Ames had career days for UMD. Durocher had a career-high 152 yards in the air with a TD, while Ames posted his first two-touchdown game with one TD reception and one rushing touchdown.

All told, the Bulldogs posted 210 passing yards and 154 rushing yards for a total 364 on the day. MSU had 232 passing yards and 136 on the ground for 368, but were forced to punt five times while UMD only punted on three occasions. The Bulldogs also converted almost half of their third downs (6-of-13), while holding the Mavericks to just six successful attempts in 16 tries.

LAST TIME OUT: The connection between quarterback Kyle Walljasper and DaShaun Ames was in full view Saturday, and the result was a three touchdown haul, that along with a stingy defense, allowed UMD to defeat Concordia University, St. Paul 35-7 at Sea Foam Stadium in St. Paul, Minn.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Bulldogs broke through in a big way with two touchdowns in the final four minutes of the first half. The first was a 55-yard TD pass from Walljasper to Ames at 3:53, followed by a Curtis Cox extra point kick that gave UMD the game's first lead of 7-0. Then, with just 23 seconds left in the quarter, Walljasper hit Ames again on another 11-yard TD route to give the Bulldogs a 14-0 advantage at the half.

Walljasper and Ames weren't done, however. Jarrett Bennett's interception and 31-yard return at the 12:11 mark set the Bulldogs up well, and UMD scored just five plays later when Walljasper found Ames wide open for the 7-yard TD to push UMD ahead 21-0. 

CSP finally ran a score in with 3:16 left in the frame, but they wouldn't strike again, hemmed in by a UMD defense that caused two turnovers in the contest that led to 14 points. 

The Bulldogs made it a 28-7 game with 8:56 left in the fourth quarter on a 29-yard TD run from Ben Vallafskey, and RB Daniel Mitchell, who lead all backs with 78 yards and a 7.8 yards per carry average, added a final TD with 21 seconds to make it a 35-7 final.

UMD outgained the Golden Bears offensively 492-149, including a 273-74 advantage on the ground.  Walljasper led the Bulldog passing attack with 219 yards through the air, tossed three touchdowns, and added 99 yards on the ground. The redshirt QB completed 76.9% of his passes on the day, going 20-for-26 while averaging 8.4 yards per attempt. Ames led all receivers with 98 yards on six receptions to pair with his three TDs – a career high for the redshirt junior.

Jacob Mogensen paced UMD's defensive effort with one interception, while Andrew Klopp had five tackles, 1.0 TFL, and one sack in the win. Two other players recorded five tackles – Mac Strand and Jonathan Shrum. The Bulldogs limited CSP's offense and allowed just 149 total yards, and kept the Golden Bears under 100 yards on both the ground and through the air, allowing just 75 passing and 74 rushing yards. The Bulldogs defense disrupted the CSP's passing game with two interceptions and broke up two Golden Bears passes.

NOTES ON THE CSP GAME: 

UMD is now 13-3 all-time against the Golden Bears, and has won 11-straight games. The Bulldogs improved to 4-2 in St. Paul, Minn.

--Saturday was the fourth time this season Kyle Walljasper has thrown for 200 or more yards. In fact, Walljasper is averaging 201 yards a game this season.

--DaShaun Ames had his third game this season with two or more touchdowns. Ames haul was a team season-high TD receptions this season.

--UMD has led in time of possession in every game so far this season. Last Saturday against CSP the Bulldogs had a season-most minutes of possession of 8:18.