The No. 20 (AFCA) and No. 16 (D2Football.com) ranked University of Minnesota Duluth football team are taking on the University of Jamestown Jimmies in Week 9 of the 2026 Season. The game will be at James S. Malosky stadium on October 31st, with kickoff time set for 1:00 p.m..

Jamestown: UMD takes on Jamestown for just the second matchup between the two sides. In their last contest, the Bulldogs won a high-scoring contest in Jamestown, besting the Jimmies 45-29.

In Jamestown's Week 8 game, the Jimmies were shutout by Bemidji State, 33-0 in Bemidji.

Jamestown has had some struggles in their second year at the NCAA Division-II level, as the Jimmies are still searching for their first win this season. Jamestown has had a fair number of close games, with three games coming within one score.

Jamestown head coach Tom Dosch returns to the role of head coach with the Jamestown Jimmies after having previously coached Jamestown from 2004-2007, winning a conference championship in his last season at the helm during his prior tenure. Dosch has previously coached at Northern State from 2010-2019, and has served as a linebackers coach at North Dakota before his return to Jamestown.

No. 17 UMD Football Overcomes Slow Start, Beats UMary 27-12: The No. 17 University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs Football team overcame a slow first half which saw them score zero points, beating the University of Mary Marauders 27-12. The Bulldogs are now 6-2 on the year and 6-1 in the NSIC, while the Marauders are now 3-5 and 2-5 in the NSIC.

The Marauders threatened to take an early lead on the Bulldogs, moving to UMD's 23-yard line before Joey Krouse recovered a fumble to stop UMary's momentum. The Bulldogs couldn't respond despite a 22-yard run from Alex Riley, and the game remained at zeros.

UMary attempted to fake out the Bulldogs with a fake punt, but a key tackle by Matt Marusich stopped the fake and gave UMD great field position, starting the drive on the Marauders' 33-yard line. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs couldn't take advantage of the good field position, and were stopped on downs.

UMD returned to the redzone in the second quarter, but an interception by Travis Biery kept the Bulldogs at zero points. The Marauders nearly got the first points of the game right at the end of the first half, but the Bulldogs defense stayed strong, with Mark Rendl intercepting the last chance the Marauders had to score. The first half ended with the Bulldogs and Marauders being tied at zero points.

The Bulldogs tried a fake punt of their own in their starting second half drive, but the Marauders were able to stop UMD. UMary was unable to take advantage of the good field position, with an Allen Pearson Jr. sack forcing the Marauders into a three and out.

After the stop, the Bulldogs offense found their footing. Three big gains in four plays from Derrick Johnson (25 yards), Francis O'Malley (14 yards), and Derrick Johnson's touchdown (22 yards) got the Bulldogs on the board. Ryder Patterson ran into the endzone for a two-point conversion to put UMD up 8-0.

The scoring didn't end there, as the Bulldogs were able to recover the kickoff caught in the heavy North Dakota wind to set the Bulldogs up for another score, which was a Drew Henson short-range field goal to give UMD an 11-0 edge. The defense got another three and out, and the Bulldogs ended quarter three with an eleven point lead.

The Marauders weren't going to go away easy. The Bulldogs attempted a 59-yard field goal, which would've been the longest in UMD history had the kick not been blocked by the Marauders. UMary followed that up with their first touchdown of the game on a Xavier Brackenridge touchdown, bringing the Marauders within five. The game would stay at 11-6 with Jarrett Bennett's sack of Ryan Blair.

UMary continued to put pressure on the Bulldogs, recovering an onside kick and completing a 28-yard touchdown pass to Seb Harris to take the lead over the Bulldogs, 12-11. However, the defending NSIC Defensive Player of the Week Jayce Walrath got a big interception on the two-point try, bringing it back for two to retake the lead for UMD, 13-12. It was the first two-point attempt return for the Bulldogs since Jim Johnson's return against Central Washington in 2006.

Riley Grossman helped stretch the lead out further for the Bulldogs, finding Parker Schuh on a 50-yard touchdown pass to stretch the UMD lead back to eight. UMary got stopped again on a three and out, and the Bulldogs put it away on the following drive, this time with the help of a Francis O'Malley 62-yard run, followed three plays after with a Ryder Patterson 15-yard touchdown run to bring the UMD lead to 27-12. UMary's last attempt to score fell short, and the Bulldogs took the win in Bismarck.

NOTES FROM WEEK 8 vs. UMARY:

- The Bulldogs outgained the Marauders by 145 yards, 385-240.

- Riley Grossman went 10-18 for 132 yards and a touchdown.

- Derrick Johnson led the Bulldogs in yards with 82-yards and brought in a touchdown.

- Ross Rivord and Jayce Walrath led the Bulldogs with nine tackles each.

Jayce Walrath Earns Back-to-Back NSIC Defensive Player of the Week Nods: Fifth year linebacker Jayce Walrath has earned back-to-back NSIC Defensive Player of the Week selections after having another strong outing, this time against the UMary Marauders.

The Rice, Minnesota native had nine tackles, including a sack, a forced fumble that led to a UMD recovery, and ran back an interception on a Marauders two-point try, retaking the Bulldogs lead at a crucial moment in the fourth quarter.

LAST TIME VS. JAMESTOWN: football team downed the University of Jamestown on their home turf in the program's first-ever matchup since joining the conference in 2025.

The Bulldogs got out to a quick start, taking a 24-8 lead at halftime with the help of two Luke Dehnicke touchdowns, and DaShaun Ames scoring the other.

Jamestown made it closer in the third quarter, cutting the lead down to ten. But the Bulldogs didn't fold, scoring two touchdowns back-to-back from Kyle Walljasper and Francis O'Malley, and the Bulldogs went on to win 45-29.

IN THE RANKINGS: The Bulldogs are No. 20 in the Week 8 AFCA Poll, and are No. 16 in D2Football.com's Week 8 poll. The Bulldogs were 21st in the AFCA Week 7 Poll and were 17th in the D2Football.com Week 7 poll.

BULLDOG CAPTAINS: UMD has six captains this season, Carter Geerts, Preston McQueen, Nick Ojile, Ryder Patterson, Ross Rivord, and Jonathan Shrum.

NPI WATCH: UMD sits seventh in the Super Region 3 NPI Rankings, currently holding an NPI of 58.237. The Bulldogs will look to hold their position with a berth in the NCAA tournament on the line.

NSIC LAST WEEK RESULTS:

Winona State 34, Concordia-St. Paul 27

Northern State 14, MSU Moorhead 13

Southwest Minnesota State 0, Augustana 45

Sioux Falls 49, Minot State 29

Jamestown 0, Bemidji State 33

Minnesota State 35, Wayne State College 0

Minnesota Duluth 27, UMary 12