The University of Minnesota Duluth football team will hit the road south this weekend to play Concordia University, St. Paul on Saturday at Sea Foam Stadium in St. Paul, Minn.. Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m.
WALLJASPER'S WINNING WEEK: Kyle Walljasper pocketed two awards this week after his incredible performance against Winona State last Saturday.
Walljasper was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Offensive Player of the Week, and followed that by picking up D2Football.com Offensive Player of the Week honors.
The redshirt junior QB led the entire conference in total offense (420 yards), rushing yards (236 yards) and points scored (30), leading the Bulldogs over Winona State University on Saturday 42-38 in Winona, Minn. Walljasper had five rushing touchdowns and 236 yards on the ground on 26 carries for a 9.1 yards per carry average. The Fond du Lac, Wis. native also threw for 184 yards and one one passing touchdowns, including a 74 yard TD connection with Sam Pitz on the opening drive of the game.
MORE ON WALLJAPSER'S ROMP: In all, Kyle Walljasper's performance Saturday -- a career high in both total rushing yards and rushing TDs -- also tied the biggest rushing game by any player in the history of the UMD program. Walljasper tied the program rushing record yard mark set by Erik Conner against Bemidji State University on Oct. 21, 2000, and ran for the second most TDs -- he is now one of four Bulldog players ever to run for five or more touchdowns in a game.
He was also the first player since Logan Lauters on Oct. 18, 2014 -- a decade ago -- to run for over 200 yards. Lauters ran for exactly 200 against Northern State University on that day.
Walljasper was also the first player to record 400 total yards of offense since John Larson had 421 against Central Missouri back on Dec. 2, 2017.
HENNESSEY CLIMBS ALL-TIME SACK CLUB: Drew Hennessey was one of four players to record sacks last weekend, and led the Bulldogs with 1.5 sacks. His effort 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.
LEAGUE LEADERS: UMD continues to lead the NSIC with the fewest rushing yards given up a game with just 80.8.
The Bulldogs also lead the league with an average of 34.7 points a game and an offensive efficiency of 170.0, as well as a total offense average of 440.0.
UMD also leads the league with a league-best 32 sacks for 189 yards, also a league-most.
THE MATCHUP: UMD is 12-3 against the Golden Bears all-time and currently owns a 10-game winning streak that goes back to 2005. The Bulldogs are also 4-2 all-time in St. Paul.
The Bulldogs have put up 431 total points against CSP in their last 10 showdowns for an average of 43.1 points a game. That includes UMD largest margin of victory against the Golden Bears, a 56-0 thrashing on August 29, 2009 in Malosky Stadium.
Last season in Duluth, UMD defeated CSP 44-32. UMD got out early on the Golden Bears and stayed there on Senior Day.
Both sides logged impressive offensive numbers, and the Bulldogs jumped out to a 24-0 lead in the first quarter alone. Quarterback Kyle Walljasper found Sam Pitz for a 25 yard touchdown at 10:23, and less than a minute later, UMD's defense logged a safety after Jacob Mogensen stuffed the Golden Bears in their end zone. Just a little over two and a minutes later, Walljasper was on the receiving end of a touchdown after Jimmy Durocher tossed him the ball, and Walljasper ran it in from 34 yards out to make it a 24-0 game with 14 seconds left in the opening frame.
CSP got on the board at 12:01, but UMD scored twice in the final 3:38 of the second quarter – a two yard reception TD from Walljasper to Nick Ojile and then another two yard touchdown from Walljasper to Nathan Litke with 18 seconds left in the quarter. A Golden Bear field goal with no time remaining made it a 38-11 Bulldog lead into halftime.
CSP held UMD two two Curtis Cox FGs in the second half – one at 11:37 of the third quarter and another with 4:48 left in the fourth, and scored three touchdowns of their own, including a 26 yard punt return off a block at 13:12 of the fourth frame. The Golden Bear had one final TD reception with 1:31 remaining in regulation, but it wasn't enough to overcome the points pile UMD rolled up in the first half.
The Bulldogs compiled 428 yards of total offense on 241 yards in the air and 197 on the ground, white CSP turned in 421 yards with 302 of them from the air. Both teams were perfect in the red zone on the afternoon – the Bulldogs went 3-of-3, the Golden Bears 4-of-4.
Walljapser had three TDs on 207 yards and a TD reception. DaShaun Ames had a UMD-best 75 receiving yards, including a team-long 40 yd effort.
Defensive back Marcus Glodowski had a Bulldog-best seven tackles – all solo efforts, while Brady Herbst added six solo tackles. Four players recorded sacks, including Drew Hennessey.
LAST TIME OUT: Led by the 30 points and 420 total offensive yards from quarterback Kyle Walljasper, UMD defeated Winona State University 42-38 at Altra Federal Credit Union Stadium in Winona, Minn. last Saturday afternoon.
The game featured a number of season best performances from the Bulldogs, including 322 team rushing yards, the most rushing TDs (Walljasper, with five), most individual rushing yards in a game (Walljasper 236), and both the longest rush (Walljasper, 70 yards), and longest reception (Sam Pitz, 74 yds) of the season.
UMD's offense flexed those season-high efforts early, with Walljasper hitting Pitz a mere 1:34 into the opening quarter for the early 7-0 lead. After the Warriors drew even on a 13-yd pass midway through the frame, Walljasper scampered in with the first of his four rushing TDs nine seconds into the second quarter to push the Bulldogs ahead 14-7.
WSU scored back-to-back rushing touchdowns less than three minutes apart before adding a 8-yard TD reception at 5:35 to go ahead of UMD 28-14, but Walljasper pulled the Bulldogs within a single touchdown with a 13-yd run 1:52 before halftime to make it a 28-21 game.
Another 1-yd run by Walljasper with 53 seconds left in the third quarter drew UMD even at 28-28, and was the only score by either team of the entire third frame.
Both teams traded points in the final quarter, starting with a Warrior TD at 11:58 to retake the lead. Walljasper again answered just 1:25 later on a 4-yd rushing TD to even the game out at 35-35. A sack by Drew Hennessey may have altered the game for WSU, however, forcing the Warriors back nine yards and into a 3rd and 15 at 3:58. WSU settled for a field goal and a three-point lead, and with 3:50 left in the fourth, UMD took possession of the ball on its 25 yardline. Walljasper hit DaShaun Ames for a 31-yd completion on the first possession, moving the ball to the Warriors 44-yd line.
Four plays later, Walljasper rushed out of the shotgun position for 22 yards to WSU's 28, and another two plays later, the redshirt junior QB sealed UMD's winning fate with a 2-yard run, that followed by a Curtis Cox extra point, pushed the Bulldogs ahead 42-38 with just 23 seconds left to play.
Walljasper's monster day had a career high effort too – his rushing mark of 236 yards and his five rushing TDs were both career bests, and he registered 9.1 yards a carry on the afternoon. Pitz was one yard shy of his career-best receiving yards in a game with his season-best 132 yard effort, but his 74 yard reception is the longest of his Bulldog career.
Defensively, UMD was led by Jarrett Bennett's eight tackles, including five solo efforts. Two players had six tackles – Mac Strand and Preston McQueen, while Jacob Mogensen, Tyrone McCoy, Landon Carter and Mason Wilson all recorded five. Hennessey was one of four players to record sacks, and led the Bulldogs with 1.5 sacks.
UMD out gained WSU on offense 535-393, including a 322-170 advantage on the ground.
NOTES ON THE WINONA STATE GAME:
UMD is 38-10 all-time against Winona State and has won 11-straight games against the Warriors dating back to the 2008 season (when UMD rejoined the NSIC). In fact, since 2002 -- which covers 13 games between the league foes -- UMD has lost just once (Nov. 15, 2003). The Bulldogs are also 5-1 in Winona, Minn. over that span.
--Kyle Walljasper led the entire NSIC Saturday in total offense (420), rushing yards (236), and points scored (30), while Sam Pitz led the league with 132 receiving yards.
--Punter Logan Kobus had a season-best punting average of 44.5 yards per punt Saturday.
