The No. 14 (AFCA) and No. 15 (D2Football.com) ranked University of Minnesota Duluth football team are playing against the Winona State Warriors in Week 3 of the 2026 Season for Military Appreciation Day. The game will be at James S. Malosky Stadium on Saturday with kickoff set for 4:00 p.m.

BULLDOG NOTES:

ABOUT THE MILITARY APPRECIATION GAME: The 2026 iteration of the Military Appreciation Day Game will be the 13th in UMD history. Pre-game events include a Military Tailgate and a pre-game Flag Ceremony for military members will take place at 4:00 pm on the field of Malosky Stadium. All Military Members have free admission to the game with a Military ID presented at the UMD Ticket Office. 

Military Appreciation Day helps support Operation One Voice. Operation One Voice is a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds and awareness for the financial needs of the children and families of wounded and fallen Special Operations Forces.

The Bulldogs are 10-2 in Military Appreciation Day games, with the last matchup ending with UMD upsetting No. 7 Minnesota State, Mankato on a last-second field goal from Jadon Apgar as time expired for a 17-14 win.

WINONA STATE: UMD takes on Winona State for the 50th matchup in program history between the two sides. In their last contest, UMD took a commanding 35-7 victory in a non-conference matchup with the Warriors at TCO Stadium in Eagan, Minnesota in the 2025 season opener.

In Winona State's Week 2 game, the Warriors won their home opener in a shutout against the Jamestown Jimmies, 28-0. Warriors Quarterback Jackson Flottmeyer had 155 yards passing with three touchdowns on 15-23 completions, Running Back Jahmani Muhammad has 98 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and Linebacker Brent Jeske recorded eight tackles for Winona State. Winona State has now won six straight home games dating back to last season.

Winona State looks to build on their 6-5 campaign from 2025, their first winning season since 2022 when they won the NSIC South Division Title. Winona State's last NSIC Championship was in 2007.

Brian Curtin enters his second season as Head Coach of the Warriors. Since joining Winona State's coaching staff in 1997, the Warriors have won eight NSIC titles and coached four NSIC Players of the Year. The Warriors have made all seven NCAA Tournament Appearances during his time on the coaching staff.

BULLDOGS SHUTDOWN THE WILDCATS: The No. 15 University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs Football team won their first game against the RV Wayne State College Wildcats since 2019 in a defensive battle in Wayne, Nebraska 20-13. The Bulldogs improve to 2-1 and remain undefeated in NSIC play while Wayne State receives their first loss of the season and is now 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the NSIC.

The Bulldogs struck first with an Alex Riley 25-yard Touchdown run to give UMD an early 7-0 lead. However, It didn't take long after that for the Wildcats to tie, with a 46-yard pass to Keaton Bonderson making the game even at seven apiece. The next three drives featured a defensive masterclass from UMD and Wayne State, with three straight three and outs to end the first quarter.

Wayne State had a chance to take the lead early in the second quarter, but a missed field goal kept the game even. The Bulldogs would not miss theirs, as a seven-play drive featuring big receptions from Sam Wetzel and Peyton Menzel gave the Bulldogs a 14-7 lead off of a Catcher Langeness 21-yard touchdown reception. Before the end of the half, UMD expanded their lead to 10 points off of a 36-yard field goal from Drew Henson, making it 17-7.

The Bulldogs defense continued to frustrate the Wildcats, forcing a third consecutive three and out from Wayne State to start the third quarter. UMD made quick work down the field with receptions from Adam Poncelet and Joey Flaherty, but the Bulldogs had to settle for a field goal, making it 20-7.

The game would remain stuck at 20-7 until Wayne State marched down the field late with big passes to Malaki Sik and Keaton Bonderson, and were able to make it a one-score game with a touchdown pass to Dane Petersen. However, a blocked extra point from Tyrone McCoy kept the lead at seven for UMD, where it would stay after the Bulldogs recovered the onside attempt.

NOTES FROM WEEK 2 vs. WAYNE STATE: UMD now sits at 15-3 all-time against the Wildcats, breaking UMD's two-game losing streak and earning their first win against Wayne State since 2019, with their first road win since 2017.

The Wildcats and Bulldogs were even offensively, with Wayne State slightly edging UMD 321-287 on yards.

The Bulldogs defense shined, with five three-and-outs forced on the Wildcats.

UMD got help from a variety of Bulldogs, with five different rushers and eight different receivers.

The Bulldogs got three sacks, with Max Speratos, Michael Bruggers, Ross Rivord, and Allen Pearson Jr. getting to the Quarterback.

DEFENSE PLAYS KEY: The Bulldogs got major contributions on the defensive side of the ball, with Ross Rivord leading the way with ten tackles and a half-sack. Jayce Walrath got nine, Matt Marusich got six, and Joey Krouse got five. Wayne State was only able to convert 3-of-15 on third down, and 1-of-5 on fourth down.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES FROM WEEK 2: Derrick Johnson and Joey Flaherty were the top rusher and receiver for the Bulldogs, gaining 57 and 58 yards respectively. Jacob Eggert went 14-24 with 173 yards and a touchdown. Alex Riley and Catcher Langeness both reached the endzone for the Bulldogs.

LAST TIME VS. WINONA STATE: The Bulldogs won their 2025 season opener 35-7 against the Winona State Warriors at TCO Stadium in Eagan, Minnesota. 

In TCO Stadium's first collegiate game, redshirt senior quarterback Kyle Walljasper threw for 283 yards on a 71.4% completion rate, tossing three touchdowns and rushing for one. The UMD offense combined for 388 yards with the defense locking down the Warriors with four sacks, holding them to 58 rushing yards, and locking them to 144 passing yards.

The Bulldogs got two touchdowns in quick succession, scoring on their opening drive and got a second after a muffed kickoff by the Warriors. Winona got their lone score of the game early in the second off of a Josh Buri rush, but the Bulldogs responded late in the second off of a Luke Dehnicke 64-yard touchdown. UMD got their fourth touchdown in the third  quarter off of a 49-yard pass to Chuck Gilbert III, making it 28-7. Gilbert III would get his second TD of the game in the fourth, this time from a 29-yard pass from Kyle Walljasper, earning the final score of the game and making it 35-7 UMD.

IN THE RANKINGS: The Bulldogs were recognized as the No. 14 team in the Week 2 AFCA Poll, and No. 15 in D2Football.com's Week 2 poll. The Bulldogs were 15th in the AFCA Week 1 Poll and 16th in the D2Football.com Week 1 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:

Northern State 30, Southwest Minnesota State 3

MSU Moorhead 28, Sioux Falls 29

Bemidji State 13, Minnesota State 30

Winona State 28, Jamestown 0

Minnesota Duluth 20, Wayne State 13

Minot State 33, Augustana 38

Concordia-St. Paul 10, UMary 13