The No. 13 (AFCA) and No. 9 (D2Football.com) ranked University of Minnesota Duluth football team enters its second straight week of home competition, hosting the Southwest Minnesota State University Mustangs inside James S. Malosky Stadium for its fifth Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) matchup of the 2025 season.

NATIONAL RANK AND FILE: This past Monday, the Bulldogs moved to No. 13 in the American Football Coaches Association's national rankings, which is their highest ranking since the 2021 season. UMD also moved up in the D2Football.com rankings to No. 9.

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.

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.

LEAGUE LEADERS: With five games under each NSIC team's belt, UMD currently leads the conference in overall team scoring offense (averaging 35 points per game) and scoring defense (only allowing an average of 11.8 points per game), opponent first down defense (16 avg/g), and fourth down conversions (80%). They are also currently the least penalized team with an average of 27.3 yards lost per game.

The team holds multiple NSIC bests in game highs including:

–Points scored (61 against CSP)
–Touchdowns (9 against CSP)
–Third best in offensive yards (7.9 avg against CSP)
–The top two games in passing yards (12.9 avg at Winona, 12.7 avg at CSP)
–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 fifth in passing yards (184.2 avg/g), tied for second in scoring (42 points), and fourth in total offense (242.2 avg/g).
Luke Dehnicke holds fourth in receiving yards (88.4 avg/g). Jonathan Shrum is second in kick returns (34.0 avg)

On the defensive side Mojo Weerts is second in sacks (4)and Brock Unger leads the NSIC in total interception yardage (166) with the only intercepted touchdown in the conference.

NCAA LEADERS: Kyle Walljasper currently ranks eleventh in completion percentage with an average of 70%. He also ranks ninth in points responsible for (84), eighth in rushing touchdowns (7), and eleventh in total touchdowns (7).

Dehnicke ranks eighth in all purpose (89.80) and tenth in receiving yards (442). Jonathan Shrum ranks ninth in kickoff returns (34.0).

The team ranks first in the NCAA in fewest penalty yards per game (27.20), fourth in penalty yards (136), fourth in passes intercepted (9), tenth in red zone defense (0.556), tenth in rushing defense (72.4), and fifth in scoring defense (11.8).

THE MATCHUP: This matchup marks the 39th historic meeting between the two programs. The Bulldogs are dominant in the all-time record with a 30-7-1 which includes a forfeited season by SMSU in 1986. 


MORE ON THE MUSTANGS: SMSU has started the season 1-3 overall, losing to Minnesota State Moorhead, University of Mary, and Wayne State. All three games were lost by over 30 points. Their lone victory came against Jamestown in week two in an embattled 12-7 final score.

The two sides last tangled last season in James S. Malosky Stadium in a 62-0 rout by the Wiese' Bulldogs. This win marked head coach Curt Wiese' 100th career UMD victory. The Bulldogs are 9-1 in the last 10 games against SMSU, which includes an undefeated home record over that span. While those 10 games cover a two decade time-span dating back to 2003, UMD has managed to average 40.27 points (total 443) against the Mustangs in those 10 contests.

LAST MATCHUP: The game was led by a pair of first half touchdowns from redshirt junior wide receiver DaShaun Ames and a smothering defense that held the Mustangs to just 77 total yards of offense all day, which included just 36 rushing yards.

That defense affected the game immediately when senior defensive back Jacob Mogensen intercepted SMSU quarterback Kendon Krogman a mere 1:25 into the first quarter. Mogen's first Bulldog touchdown and a Curtis Cox kick made it a 7-0 game. But UMD – who allowed just 3-of-19 third down conversions all day by the Mustangs, ended up on offense 3:07 later, and cashed in with a 66 yard passing touchdown from redshirt junior quarterback Walljasper to Ames for the 14-0 lead.
 
Cox hit back-to-back 37 yard and 28 yard field goals to close out the first quarter and build the Bulldogs lead to 20-0.
 
UMD tacked on another seven points 44 seconds into the second frame when Walljasper hit sixth-year offensive lineman AIden Williams, and Williams rushed in from 11 yards – the first touchdown of his career – for the 27-0 edge. 2:24 later, Walljasper and Ames connected again – this time for a 64-yard touchdown and 34-0 score in favor of UMD. Ames, who ranks 13th in the country with an average 22.75 yards per reception, scored his sixth touchdown of the season – the second most in the NSIC.
 
Enter Drew Hennessey, who needed just .5 of a sack to crack UMD's all-time career top-10 sack club entering Saturday's contest. The graduate defensive end did just that and more, dropping SMSU's QB with 10:07 left in the quarter to run his career sack haul to 17.5 – good enough for the ninth-most career sacks in program history.
 
Unquestionably, UMD had so much success in the opening 25 minutes of the game that Walljasper was subbed off around the 10 minutes mark of the second, only to have redshirt sophomore QB Jacob Eggert pick up exactly where Walljasper left off. Eggert ran his own touchdown in from five yards out with 9:25 left before halftime, and then capped that off with a 53-yard touchdown to redshirt freshman WR Chuck Gilbert III, who ran into the end zone with 2:39 remaining until halftime to increase UMD's point total to 48-0. 
 
The Bulldogs halftime lead was its biggest of the season, and its biggest advantage after two quarters of play since it put up 48 first half points against Northern State University at the end of the 2019 season – Nov. 26, 2019 to be exact.
 
But the maroon clad team was far from done, and at the 12:48 mark of the third quarter, redshirt freshman running back Ben Vallafskey had a 61 yard touchdown run – both his first collegiate TD and the longest run of his UMD career all at once. 
 
Less than 50 seconds later, and after redshirt sophomore OLB Blake Gode's second sack of the game, the Bulldogs again scored off their run game, this time courtesy of freshman Ben Lindley, who cut away from a pile to run 44 yards and extend UMD's whipping of the Mustangs to 62-0.
 
UMD's 62 points was the most put up on an opponent since it rang the University of Mary up for 59 last November. In all, the Bulldogs put up 484 total yards of offense, including 266 yards on the ground and 218 in the air. The Mustangs were held to just four rushing yards – despite having the most attempts of any team against UMD this season with 36 – and 73 in the air for the entire game.

NOTES ON THE MSUM GAME: First 5-0 start since the 2023 season… perfect 4-0 start to NSIC competition… Walljasper is 21 yards away from the ninth slot in the program's career rushing yards and 26 yards away from the fifth slot in career passing yards.

LAST TIME OUT: The Bulldogs now mark an impressive 43-18-4 record over the Dragons and a 23-5-1 record in Duluth since 1970. UMD is now 4-0 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
Kyle Walljasper led the offense with a 70.4% completion rate with 188 passing yards, one passing touchdown, 99 yards on the ground, and one rushing touchdown.

The Dragons were the first on the board in their first possession after halting the Bulldogs' opening drive in three plays with no gain. Trailing 7-0, the maroon and gold would march down the field, including a big 34-yard pass to DeShaun Ames, but were halted at the Moorhead 16-yard line, where Drew Henson narrowly missed a field goal.

The Bulldogs would stop the Dragons on the next drive that ended the first quarter. After the next UMD drive, MSUM's Jack Strand got picked off by Brock Unger, who took it 82 yards to tie the game at 7-7. After a few failed drives on each side, the Bulldogs would get stopped at the Dragons' 35-yard line, where Henson made a 52-yard field goal in the final seconds before halftime to push a 10-7 lead.

Entering the third quarter, both offenses struggled up and down the field until seven minutes remained when Henson drilled another long field goal, this time for 40 yards to push a 13-7 lead for the Bulldogs. The Dragons retaliated on the following drive with a 20-yard completion to Gage Florence that broke through the final line of UMD defense to jump out ahead 14-13.

The Bulldogs did not sit idle, going on a six-play drive for 62 yards, culminating in a 31-yard reception by Ryder Patterson. The reception saw him break outside to dodge tackles to bring the lead back in UMD's favor, 20-14, to end the third quarter.

It took ten minutes into the fourth quarter before UMD broke through on a 7-play 42-yard drive with Walljasper barreling through the defense for a two-yard rushing touchdown. The offense wasn't done with Luke Dehnicke scoring a two-point conversion off a fake extra point attempt to force a 28-14 lead.

With the clock ticking down, the Bulldog defense locked down the MSUM offense to 11 yards in eight plays, including a clutch sack of Strand by Mojo Weerts and Ross Rivord to force a fourth down 46-yard touchdown attempt. With the incompletion and a turnover on downs, UMD ran down the clock for its fifth straight win of the season.

In total, the Bulldog offense put together 188 yards receiving and 130 yards rushing.

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, 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.

WALLJASPER EYEING TOP-10: Walljasper currently ranks sixth in career passing yards (5,282 yards, just behind John Larson with 5,308) and fifth in career total offense (8,188 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 2,872 breaking Amory Bodin's No. 10 spot of 2,782 yards. This makes him one of three Bulldog quarterbacks in the category. He now trails Cory Veech with 2,904 yards.

FAMILIAR PERFORMANCES: DaShaun Ames, Chuck Gilbert III, and Kyle Walljasper all had great outings last season against the Dragons. Ames earned a team-leading 138 yards receiving on three receptions (longest 66 yards) with two touchdowns. Gilbert netted 53 yards in one touchdown pass. Walljasper had tallied 147 passing yards and two thrown touchdowns but was relieved by Jacob Eggert in the second quarter with a dominant lead.

Holding the Mustangs scoreless were stellar performances from Blake Gode, David Gauderman, Allen Pearson Jr., and Drew Hennesey who each tallied four total tackles. They combined for five sacks with Gode gettting to the quarterback 2.5 times.

THREE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Four 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).

Three 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.

And now this week, 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.