The No. 13 (AFCA) and No. 10 (D2Football.com) ranked University of Minnesota Duluth football team faces its first program matchup against the newest addition to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), the University of Jamestown Jimmies. This will mark the eighth NSIC matchup of the 2025 season and is set for kickoff at 1:00 p.m. inside Charlotte and Gordon Stadium in Jamestown, North Dakota.

NATIONAL RANK AND FILE: This past Monday, the Bulldogs shifted to No. 13 in the American Football Coaches Association's (AFCA) national rankings, while moving to No. 10 in the D2Football.com rankings.

When they entered the rankings, it marked the first time the team was ranked by the AFCA since week one of the poll last season, where they ranked No. 19.

UNDER CONSIDERATION: This week also marked the first nod of the NCAA Super Region seeding with UMD being considered amongst ten teams in Super Region Three. 

This week, the Bulldogs are placed alphabetically with nine other teams, which include Ashland University (7-1), Augustana University (8-0), Ferris State University (7-0), University of Findlay (8-0), Minnesota State University Mankato (6-2), Northwood University (7-1), Truman State University (5-2), the University of Indianapolis (6-1), and Upper Iowa University (6-1).

OPENING STRONG: The Bulldogs improved their historically strong dominance of season openers to a staggering 66-22-4 all-time record with an impressive 9-3 record under Curt Wiese (six straight since 2018).

Notably, in Luke Dehnicke's breakout performance as a redshirt freshman tight end, he climbed his way to 152 receiving yards to knock out Jason Balt's 2017 performance from the program's 150-yard receiving last time list.

A DYNAMIC DUO: In a multi career game for both redshirt senior quarterback Kyle Walljasper and protege redshirt freshman tight end Luke Dehnicke, they both tied program bests in the UMary victory. With six touchdown passes, Walljasper entered a four-way tie for the record with four of these passes heading to Dehnicke. These passes saw Dehnicke reach a staggering 230 receiving yards (19 short of the program record, 249, Tim Battaglia) and account for 26 points of the 54 point victory. This is the third time this season the pair has combined for Dehnicke to reach over 100 yards in a single game (152 vs Winona, 141 vs Mankato, and now UMary 230).

LEAGUE LEADERS: With eight weeks under each NSIC team's belt, UMD currently leads the conference in overall team scoring offense (averaging 40.4 points per game), rank third in scoring defense (only allowing an average of 19.1 points per game), hold second in total defense (allowing 337.6 yds avg/g), are second in rushing defense (allowing 95.1 yds avg/g), rank first in offensive efficiency (186.1), hold third in kickoff returns (24.9 avg), holds second in punting (38.2 net/p),  are the first best in interceptions (363 yds), third in opponent first down defense (17.1 avg/g), third in opponent third down conversions (32%), first in opponent fourth down conversions (27.8%), and first in fourth down conversions (75%). They are also currently the second least penalized team with an average of 35.8 yards lost per game, rank second in redzone defense (73.7%), and rank first in red zone offense (83.5%).

The team holds multiple NSIC bests in game highs including:
–Points scored (61 against CSP and 63 against SMSU)
–Touchdowns (9 against CSP and SMSU)
–The second, third, and fourth games in passing yards (13.0 avg vs UMary, 12.9 avg at Winona, 12.7 avg at CSP)
–Tied for first on the longest field goal (52 yards, Drew Henson)
–The longest interception return (82 yards, Brock Unger)
–One of three teams with a kick return touchdown (UMD, Northern State, and Sioux Falls)
–Holds the first and second best interceptions (63 yards by Luke Humbert against CSP and 61 yards by Brock Unger against Winona).

Individually, Kyle Walljasper ranks fourth in passing yards (210.1 avg/g), first in passing efficiency (194.9), third in total offense (268.8 yds/g), and fourth in scoring (60 points).
Luke Dehnicke holds second in receiving yards (96 avg/g), has the most receiving touchdowns (9), and total yards (768). Jonathan Shrum is third in kick returns (29.0 avg)

On the defensive side, Mojo Weerts is fourth in sacks (0.57 avg/g), and Brock Unger leads the NSIC in total interception yardage (166) with a tie for second in total interceptions (3).

NCAA LEADERS: Kyle Walljasper currently ranks fourth in completion percentage with an average of 72% and first in passing efficiency (194.9). He also ranks fourth in yards per pass attempt (10.57), fourth in points responsible for per game (21.8), and points responsible for (174).

Luke Dehnicke is tied for eighth in receiving touchdowns (9), ranks fifth in receiving yards (768), holds eighth in receiving yards per game (96), and has the second highest receiving yards in a game nationally (230 yards against UMary).

Brock Unger remains first in total interception return yards (166).

The team ranks third in the NCAA in fewest penalty yards per game (35.75), third in fewest penalty yards (286), tied for tenth in fourth down conversions (75%), seventh in completion percentage (70%), tied for fifth in defensive touchdowns (3), tied for third in passes intercepted (14), sixth in team passing efficiency (186.13), ninth in scoring offense (40.4), and tied for third in punt return defense (0.0).

THE MATCHUP: This matchup marks the first historic meeting between the two programs. Jamestown was added to the NSIC this past July.

MORE ON THE JIMMIES: Jamestown has started the season 1-6 overall, losing to Augustana in week one (7-37), Southwest Minnesota State in week two (7-12), Minnesota State Mankato in week three (7-36), UMary in week five (22-44), Minot State in week six (28-35), and Bemidji State last week (25-47). Their lone victory came against Concordia-St. Paul in week four in a 33-22 fashion.

The Jimmies offense will be led by redshirt sophomore quarterback Cole Hentges, who threw for 185 yards (13 for 27 attempts), two touchdowns, and 85 rushing yards last game. He is backed up by redshirt junior Nate Burke, who has received 331 yards this season in 19 receptions with three touchdowns. Last week, he caught 110 yards and one touchdown against Bemidji State. 

On the defensive side, Jamestown is led by Zach Mueller (42 tackles, 0.5 sacks) and Ryan Beams (36 tackles).

NOTES ON THE UMARY GAME: Walljasper entered a four-way tie with a career best six touchdown passes. Before this feat, his career best had been four passing touchdowns. He also threw for 258 yards with an 81% completion rate, one rushing touchdown, and 90 net rushing yards. Dehnicke caught four of Walljasper's touchdown passes for his career best and earned a career high 230 receiving yards, just 19 yards short of the program record (249 yds, Tim Battaglia).

After a failed first drive that saw UMD go for 40 yards on seven plays, UMary drove down 50 yards but was held to a field goal. The next drive, the Bulldogs jumped out ahead with both a touchdown and a two-point conversion from Dehnicke, which included a 75-yard touchdown pass from Walljasper.

With UMD leading 8-3, the Marauders found room to score after a 64-yard drive to break back ahead 11-8 after a two-point conversion. On the last Bulldog drive of the quarter, Walljasper would fumble after a two-yard rush to allow the Marauders the first possession in the second quarter.

UMD shut down the UMary offense starting the second quarter and scored on their first drive off a 27-yard pass to Francis O'Malley to jump back ahead 15-11 after an extra point from Drew Henson. On the third play of the following Marauder drive, Luke Humbert intercepted Jordan Polo Solomon to set the Bulldog offense up on the UMary 32-yard line.

Walljasper found an open Dehnicke on a 20-yard touchdown pass three plays in to mark his second receiving touchdown of the day. O'Malley rushed in the two-point conversion to lift a dominant 23-11 score over the Marauders.

UMary rallied for a nine-play 84-yard touchdown drive to inch back in at 23-18 with seven minutes to go before halftime. The first Walljasper pass of the UMD drive was picked off by Camani Cobbs to start their offense at their own five-yard line after a penalty. After driving for 41 yards, Polo Solomon fumbled, allowing David Gauderman to recover it and start the UMD offense at the Marauder 19-yard line.

This time, Walljasper rushed twice for a total of 19 yards to score a touchdown, and with a Henson kick, marked a 30-18 lead. The next UMary drive stalled for a loss of eight yards, allowing UMD to start at their own 44-yard line with 1:51 to go before halftime.

The Bulldog offense went on a quick touchdown drive in 52 seconds, culminating in another touchdown pass to Dehnicke for 27 yards to force a 37-18 lead into halftime.

UMary began the final half with possession, failing again after a 13-yard drive. UMD would then score on the next two drives with Walljasper passing to DaShaun Ames and Dehnicke to jump to a 51-18 lead with 4:07 left before the final quarter.

The Marauders scored with two minutes remaining to inch to a 51-25 deficit. The next Bulldog drive sputtered to allow UMary to start the fourth quarter with possession.

Eggert led UMD on their final scoring drive of the game on a seven-play 42-yard drive to get into field goal range to mark the score at 54-25 with 11 minutes to go. After a UMary drive that ended with an interception from Preston McQueen, the following Marauder drive found success in scoring a touchdown with 4:21 left, marking the final score at 54-32.

On the defensive side, McLeod and Mark Rendl each tallied a sack for a loss of over ten yards each. Humbert and McQueen each picked off the UMary quarterback, with McQueen gaining 27 yards afterwards. Joey Krouse and Humbert led the team in total tackles with eight apiece.

Jadon Apgar tallied nine kickoffs for 533 total yards (59.2 avg) with Henson going one for one on field goals and five for five on extra-point kicks. Ryder Patterson led the kick returns with 71 total yards.

As a team, UMD doubled the UMary rushing effort with 209 rushing yards to their 104. However, the Bulldogs were out-passed 354 yards to 300.

THESE ARE YOUR CAPTAINS SPEAKING: UMD has four captains this season, including three redshirt seniors, DaShaun Ames, Kyle Walljasper, and Alex Sylvester, along with senior Mojo Weerts.

SECOND WINNINGEST UMD FOOTBALL COACH: Curt Wiese enters his 13th season at the helm of UMD (15th career season). Wiese commands a dominant 106-27 record with an impressive two perfect 11-0 seasons, seven NSIC North Division titles, three time NSIC champions, and five National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II playoff appearances. Last season, he earned his way to becoming the second-winningest coach in UMD football history behind Hall of Fame coach Jim Malosky.

WALLJASPER EYEING TOP-10: Walljasper currently ranks fifth in career passing yards (6,042 yards) and fifth in career total offense (9,127 yards ranking behind Ricky Fritz with 9,926). Last season, he earned the 10th spot in single-season total offense (2,685 yards).

Currently, Walljasper broke into the top 10 career rushing yards with 3,051, breaking Amory Bodin's No. 10 spot of 2,782 yards and Cory Veech's No. 9 slot of 2,904 yards. This makes him one of three Bulldog quarterbacks in the category. He now trails Chase Vogler with 3,405 yards.

FOUR PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Seven weeks ago, Jonathan Shrum earned UMD's first 2025 NSIC Player of the Week selection off of his Special Teams performance against CSP, with his 90-yard kick return touchdown (Totaled 111 kick return yards).

Six weeks ago, Jadon Apgar earned his first-ever weekly award for special teams as a freshman kicker after helping lift a 17-14 victory over the then-ranked No. 7 Minnesota State. He went three for three in field goals in a match that was decided by his kick in the final second of the game.

Three weeks ago, Drew Henson earned his first career special teams weekly award after sending two long field goals in to help the team lift a 28-14 win over the Minnesota State University Moorhead. He nearly met the UMD program record (57 yards) for the longest field goal with his kick of 52 yards. On top of that, he nailed a 40-yard field goal and two extra points for a total of eight points of the Bulldogs' 28-point day. He also kept the Dragons' offense pinned with four punts that averaged 39.5 yards each and set them behind the 20-yard line twice. In total, he punted 158 yards in his best performance in his career.

And this week, redshirt freshman Luke Dehnicke earned his first career offensive weekly award after tallying multiple career bests against the University of Mary Marauders.In the 54-32 victory, Dehnicke received four touchdown passes and ran in one two-point conversion to account for a staggering 26 points scored. In eight receptions, he received 230 yards, which fell 19 yards shy of the program record (249 yds, Tim Battaglia) but marks him as the second most receiving yards in a single game across Division II football.