The anticipated 2025 season is set to begin for the University of Minnesota Duluth football team Thursday night. Winona State University hosts UMD at TCO Stadium which marks the first collegiate game ever played at the venue. The non-conference match is the lone non-conference battle for UMD this season with kick-off set for 7:00 p.m. CST.

HALL OF FAMER APPEARANCES: UMD welcomes back two-time NCAA Champion (2008, 2010) football head coach and former athletic director Bob Nielson and the winningest coach in UMD women's basketball history, Karen Stromme.

Nielson led the Bulldogs to both of the program's NCAA Championship victories, six NSIC conference titles (including a league record five in a row), six NCAA Division II playoff appearances, a 2001 Mineral Water Bowl game, coached 30 All-Americans, and ended with a commanding 100-26 record through 10 seasons. He will be recognized between the first and second quarter.

Stromme earned a 440-184 record with 21 consecutive winning seasons, 12 NSIC titles, won four of five possible NSIC Tournament Championships, eight NCAA Division II regional playoff appearances, seven NAIA National Tournament berths, and coached three All-Americans during her time as head coach of the UMD women's basketball program. Stromme will participate in the honorary coin toss prior to kick off.

FIRST COLLEGIATE GAME AT TCO STADIUM: TCO Stadium until now has only hosted high school games and community events. UMD's season opener will be the first collegiate level game played at the venue since its opening in 2018.

NSIC NORTH DIVISION RETURNS: Over the last two football seasons the NSIC played under a combined division structure with an uneven number of teams. The NSIC has now reestablished the North and South Divisions, where historically the Bulldogs have claimed 12 of the last 15 North Division titles with only three being shared in ties. UMD is selected third overall while chosen as a dual favorite for the North Division with Bemidji State University.

EARLY HONORS FOR WALLJASPER AND AMES: The dynamic duo, Kyle Walljasper and DaShaun Ames were selected as Squad Players for Offense in the annual D2Football.com Elite 100 Watch list earlier this month. With Walljasper's and Ames' selections, it marks the second season in a row UMD sent two offensive players to the Elite 100 list. They join the ranks of former All-American tight end Sam Pitz and All-American offensive lineman Aiden Williams.

Walljasper was listed as one of five quarterbacks on the D2Football Squad group for offense. Last week, he was named an NSIC Offensive Player to Watch for the second season in a row. Walljasper is a two-time NSIC All-Conference team member with a first-team selection last season and second team selection in 2023. Last season he earned his career best in total passing yards with 2,009, averaging 200.9 yards per game, which netted him two weekly nominations, including a D2 Football Player of the Week and an NSIC Offensive Player of the Week selection. A native of Fond du Lac, Wis., he earned his way onto the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team, NSIC All-Academic team, and Harlon Hill nominations for the last two seasons.
 
Ames was also named to the Squad group for offense as one of four wide receivers. Last season, he earned his way onto the NSIC All-Conference First Team while leading the conference in receiving yards with 756 through 38 catches for an average of 19.9 yards. Ames earned back-to-back seasonal academic team selections from the CSC and NSIC while claiming dual NSIC Team of Excellence honors and a CSC Academic All-American Second Team spot.

AIMING FOR CONTINUED OPENING SUCCESS: The Bulldogs have a history of strong season openers. As a program, the Bulldogs are now an impressive 65-22-4 all-time in season opening games, and head coach Curt Wiese is 8-3 over his tenure in openers, including five-straight wins.

Two seasons ago in 2023, UMD scored 47 points against NMU as its ninth-most points in a season-opener ever, and marked the most points by a Bulldog squad in an opener since UMD put up 52 in 2019.

THE MATCHUP: UMD holds a dominant 38-10 all-time record against Winona State and has wone 11-straight games since the 2008 season (when UMD rejoined the NSIC). In fact, since 2002 – which covers 13 games between the league foes – UMD has lost once (Nov. 15, 2003).

Last season, the Bulldogs downed the Warriors 42-38 on the road at Federal Credit Union Stadium in Winona, Minn. (Nov. 2, 2024).
In a familiar fashion, Walljasper led the performances with season bests in rushing TDs (five), individual rushing yards (236 yards), and longest rush (70 yards).

LAST HEAD-TO-HEAD: 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. His effort now brings his career sack total to 19 – catapulting Hennessey into a tie for the sixth most UMD career sacks in program history.

UMD out gained WSU on offense 535-393, including a 322-170 advantage on the ground.

QUICK LOOK AT THE WARRIORS: WSU is led by first year head coach Brian Curtin who was promoted from within the Winona staff. He has spent the last 20 years with the Warriors in varying coordinator positions with most seasons as a defensive coordinator.

On the defensive side of the ball, senior defensive lineman Conner Haggerty led the defense in tackles with 52 total (21 solo and 31 assisted). The team was able to rank sixth in defensive sacks in the conference by the end of the season.

Returning for the offense, sophomore Jackson Flottmeyer who takes over as starting quarterback with 38 competitions on 67 attempts for 469 yards last season through eight games.

BULLDOG SEASON PREVIEW: The University of Minnesota Duluth football program enters its 92nd season picked to finish third overall in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The NSIC has reestablished the North and South Divisions and selected UMD as dual favorites, where they were selected alongside division rival Bemidji State University. The Bulldogs look to continue their North Division historical dominance, where UMD has claimed 12 of the last 15 North Division titles, with only three being shared with rival opponents.

The Bulldogs return with nine starters after ending the 2024 campaign as the top-ranked and No. 3 defense in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) with a 7-4 overall and a 6-4 conference record. The season ultimately earned the team 10 All-Conference selections with UMD All-American tight end Sam Pitz and All-American offensive lineman Aiden Williams signing free agent contracts with the National Football League.

With 22 Bulldogs graduating last season, the coaching staff recruited a 36-man strong freshman class. UMD returns with many high-impact players, including NSIC All-Conference members Kyle Walljasper (First Team), DaShaun Ames (First Team), Mojo Weerts (Second Team), and Preston McQueen (Second Team).

Looking ahead, UMD faces Winona State at TCO Stadium Thursday, August 28, with kick off set for 7 p.m. The Bulldogs won't host their first home game at James S. Malosky Stadium until week three (September 13th), where they face Minnesota State University Mankato.

The two-time captain Walljasper, enters his fourth season under center with back-to-back Harlon Hill Award nominations over the last two years. He is a two-time NSIC All-Conference team member with a first-team selection last season and a second-team selection in 2023.  The accolades continued to roll in last week with his ascension into the D2Football.com's Elite 100 Watch list to accompany his selection by the NSIC as an Offensive Player to Watch for a second season in a row earlier this month. Last season, he threw for a career high 2,009 passing yards to average 200.9 yards per game with 22 touchdowns in the air. Walljasper personally took eight touchdowns in to tally 806 rushing yards to end the year.

Ames returns as last season's NSIC leader in average yards per catch (19.9 yards) returns for his fourth season as a first-time captain, already receiving a selection to the D2Football.com Elite 100 Watch list last week. The NSIC All-Conference First Teamer (2024) and NSIC Team of Excellence Honoree (2023) scored 11 touchdowns in as many games. Throughout the year, he received 756 yards in 38 receptions with an average of 68.7 yards per game.

Entering his third season with the Bulldogs, redshirt sophomore Ryder Patterson (WR) had a breakout season as a redshirt freshman playing in all 11 games. He snagged an impressive 31 receptions out of the air for a gain of 351 yards throughout the year. With three touchdowns to boot, he ran for 93 yards as a kick returner in six attempts (15.5 yards per attempt). In his longest return, he broke through for 33 yards to give the Bulldog offense dominant positioning.

The dynamic running back, redshirt junior Derrick Johnson, returns for his second season as a Bulldog after carrying the ball 76 times in 11 games for 370 yards (averaging 33.6 yards per game). His longest breakthrough came in at 29 yards last season with two rushing touchdowns and one caught touchdown. Johnson snagged five receptions throughout the season for a total of 46 yards, with his longest catch at 28 yards.

Carteer Geerts enters his third season with UMD after anchoring the offensive line in 11 games last season. His dominant protection of Walljasper enabled the team to become the top-scoring offense in the NSIC throughout the year.

Mojo Weerts returns as a second-year Bulldog (senior with two seasons between University of Arizona and North Dakota State University) returns as a captain DL after making big impacts throughout the season. In Weerts' first season at UMD, he downed a 14th NSIC best in sacks with 4.5 for a loss of 29 yards while forcing back nine tackles for another 14th NSIC best in loss of yards (43). In total, he earned 26 tackles with 15 solo through 11 starts, earning him an NSIC All-Conference Second Team selection. He now enters the season as an NSIC Defensive Player to Watch.

The redshirt sophomore DB, Preston McQueen earned an NSIC All-Conference Second Team selection last season, and anchored the defense in all 11 games. He downed an impressive team best in solo tackles with 33 while earning 12 assisted tackles. Six tackles measured in for a loss of 24 yards, with McQueen breaking away to sack the quarterback twice last year to pushing the line back 15 yards. Alongside impressive tackles and sacks, he broke up seven passes and forced a fumble to keep the offense off balance.

Allen Pearson Jr. a redshirt sophomore DL continues as a Bulldog defensive lineman in his third season at UMD. Last year, he battled in 11 games to earn 13 solo tackles while assisting on nine. Three of his tackles resulted in backing up the offense 11 total yards, with two breakthroughs to the quarterback for a loss of seven yards.

With 11 games in his second season at UMD, redshirt sophomore DB Jonathan Shrum clobbered 27 solo tackles with 16 assisted. In 3.5 tackles, he pushed the line back a total of nine yards. Shrum also jumped out ahead for two interceptions to give the offense a free gain of five yards. Additionally, he defended seven passes, forced one fumble, and recovered a fumble to keep opposing offenses stumbling. On the other side of the ball, he returned two kickoff returns for a total of 30 yards with a breakout run of 23 yards.

Alex Sylvester enters his fifth year with the Bulldogs and first as a captain DB. Appearing in all 11 games last season, he marked a career high six passes broken up (a team second best) while leveling 21 solo and 10 assisted tackles.

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 104-27 record with an impressive two perfect 11-0 seasons, seven NSIC North Division titles, two NSIC championship victories, and two 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.

BULLDOG NOTES:
WALLJASPER EYEING TOP-10: Walljasper currently ranks sixth in career passing yards (4,361 yards with just 947 yards behind John Larson) and fifth in career total offense (6,943 yards, 2,983 yards behind Ricky Fritz). Last season he earned the 10th spot in single season total offense (2,685 yards).

Currently Walljasper has 2,582 career rushing yards and only needs 200 yards to break Amory Bodin's No. 10 spot (2,782 yards). This would make him one of three Bulldog quarterbacks in the category.

AMES INCHING CLOSE TO TOP-10: Ames currently falls just shy of the career 10th spot for pass receptions with him earning 1,410 yards in three years. This places him 15 yards behind Terry Egerdahl with 1,425 yards in 111 receptions.