The RV (AFCA) and No. 18 (D2Football.com) ranked University of Minnesota Duluth football team are taking on the No. 25 (AFCA) and No. 22 (D2Football.com) ranked Northern State Wolves in Week 6 of the 2026 Season for homecoming. The game will be at James S. Malosky Stadium on Saturday with kickoff set for 12:00 p.m.

BULLDOG NOTES:

NORTHERN STATE: UMD takes on Northern State for the 20th matchup between the two sides. In their last contest, the Bulldogs lost a close battle on the road in Aberdeen for their only NSIC loss of the 2025 Season, 31-34.

In Northern State's Week 4 game, the Wolves fought off a fourth quarter comeback from the Bemidji State Beavers, winning 16-9 for their fifth win of the season. Hank Kraft led the way for Northern State's offense, rushing for 191 yards and a touchdown.

Northern State is looking for a breakout season this year, headed by Harlon Hill candidate Hank Kraft. The fifth year from Timber Lake, South Dakota, is the first rusher in Division II to reach over 1,000 yards on the season, and leads Division II with 1,053 rushing yards on the year.

Northern State head coach Mike Schmidt has been the coach of the Wolves since 2020 after coming from UW-La Crosse. Since taking over as head coach, the Wolves have had a winning season in four of his first five seasons,  and has guided Northern State into the AFCA Top-25 for the first time in program history. The Wolves are looking for their first season of 8 or more wins since 2014 and their first NSIC North Division Title since 2015.

No. 19 UMD Football Holds Strong Against Mustangs, 28-6: The No. 19 University of Minnesota Duluth Football team took a solid win against the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs in Marshall, Minnesota, 28-6. The Bulldogs improve to 4-2 on the year and 4-1 in the NSIC, while the Mustangs fall to 1-5 and are still seeking their first NSIC win of the season.

The Bulldogs first drive started out promising, with a 43-yard rush from Ryder Patterson helping UMD approach the SMSU endzone, but an untimely interception in the endzone by the Mustangs Connor Shelton stopped the Bulldogs in their tracks. However, hope was kept alive moments later with a Tyrone McCoy interception bringing UMD to the six yard line, where they would punch in the first touchdown of the game on an Austin Randall run.

SMSU threatened to respond quickly after a big kickoff return, but a big sack by Allen Pearson Jr. kept the Mustangs out of field goal range, forcing them into an ill-fated fourth down try.

Both defenses continued to battle hard until a tipped punt set UMD up with great field position. Starting at the Mustangs' 40-yard line, the Bulldogs moved down to the red zone with a 22-yard pass to Catcher Langeness before Derrick Johnson got his first touchdown of the day. Ryder Patterson added a two-point conversion to push the Bulldogs lead up to 15.

SMSU responded by rushing down the field to try to cut the lead before halftime. Two big runs from Emmanuel Diers got the Mustangs within short field goal range, but a bigtime block from Jayce Walrath held SMSU scoreless through the first half.

The Bulldogs started the third quarter strong, forcing a quick out from SMSU before Drew Henson hit a 41-yard field goal to extend the lead to three scores.

SMSU again threatened to score following UMD's field goal. After a methodical drive to UMD's 23-yard line Michael Bruggers appeared to get a massive 16-yard sack on the Mustangs on fourth down, before an unfortunate holding call kept SMSU alive. The Mustangs scored two plays later with a David Olakazeem touchdown, but a failed two-point try kept the lead at 12 with a Brock Unger breakup.

Ryder Patterson shined on the following drive, setting UMD up strong with a big 57-yard return, followed by an 18-yard reception. The Bulldogs had to settle for a field goal on the drive, sending the lead back to 15 just before the end of the third.

The defense continued to frustrate the Mustangs in the fourth quarter, with Brysen McLeod coming up with two big sacks, including one forcing a turnover on downs.

UMD extended their lead again on the following drive, with two first downs from Austin Randall and Nick Ojile in three plays before Derrick Johnson got his second touchdown of the game on a 40-yard run, bringing the lead to 28-6.

SMSU came close to scoring their second touchdown of the game, getting to UMD's six-yard line before Michael Bruggers delivered a crushing 19-yard sack loss, setting SMSU's offense back. The Mustangs again fell on a failed fourth-down conversion. UMD ran out the rest of the clock after, and the Bulldogs came away with a 28-6 victory.

NOTES FROM WEEK 5 vs. SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE:

- SMSU slightly outgained the Bulldogs 312-296.

- Ryder Patterson had 170 all-purpose yards.

- The Bulldogs had six sacks, with Allen Pearson Jr. getting two.

- The Offensive Line held strong today, allowing zero sacks.

- UMD's defense stopped SMSU on all four fourth-down tries.

- This is the first game of the 2026 Season for the Bulldogs where the game wasn't decided by one score.

OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES FROM WEEK 5: There were several strong performances from the defense against SMSU, with Matt Marusich and Brysen McLeod leading in tackles with eight each. Jarrett Bennett had three pass breakups, and Tyrone McCoy had a big interception that set up the first touchdown of the game.

On the offensive side of the ball, Ryder Patterson had 82 yards from rushing and receiving, and Derrick Johnson led the way rushing with 59 yards.

LAST TIME VS. NORTHERN STATE: The University of Minnesota Duluth football team fell short during a fourth-quarter comeback dashed via interception in Aberdeen, South Dakota, against Northern State University in a 34-31 loss.

Kyle Walljasper improved in the program's career rushing yards, moving to the No. 9 slot, overcoming Cory Veech's 2,904 yards with 2,961 yards. During the game, he totaled 105 net rushing yards (4.6 average yards per carry) with two rushing touchdowns. In the air, he threw for 226 yards but tallied his lowest completion percentage at 68.2% (15 completed of 22 attempts).
After falling behind 20-10 at half, the Bulldogs made a furious comeback, however, on the potential game-tying drive late in the fourth, Walljasper's pass was intercepted, handing UMD their first loss of the 2025 Season.

IN THE RANKINGS: The Bulldogs received votes in the Week 5 AFCA Poll, and are No. 18 in D2Football.com's Week 5 poll. The Bulldogs received votes in the AFCA Week 4 Poll and were 19th in the D2Football.com Week 4 poll.

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

NSIC LAST WEEK RESULTS:

Winona State 14, Wayne State College 17

Northern State 16, Bemidji State 9

Southwest Minnesota State 6, UMD 28

MSU Moorhead 31, Minot State 24

Concordia-St. Paul 7, Minnesota State 49

Sioux Falls 20, Augustana 37

Jamestown 13, UMary 21