The No. 13 (AFCA) and No. 12 (D2Football.com) ranked University of Minnesota Duluth football team are taking to the road to face the Minnesota State-Moorhead Dragons in Week 4 of the 2026 Season. The game will be at Alex Nemzek Stadium on Saturday with kickoff set for 12:00 p.m.

BULLDOG NOTES:

MINNESOTA STATE-MOORHEAD: UMD takes on MSU-Moorhead for the 66th matchup between the two sides. In their last contest, the Bulldogs took a home win against the Dragons, 28-14.

In MSU-Moorhead's Week 3 game, the Dragons lost to the No. 20 Augustana Vikings on the road, 21-45. Drew Huebner led the way for the Dragons with 134 rushing yards and 116 passing yards. Gannon Bolgrean was the defensive leader, with eight tackles with two TFL, and a sack.

MSU-Moorhead looks to build off of their 8-3 season in 2025, their most wins since 2018, capping off their season with a win against No. 14 Minnesota State. The Dragons were led by D-II All-American Jack Strand, who would go on to sign with the NFL's Atlanta Falcons and made his NFL debut in Week 2 of the 2026 NFL Season.

Steve Laqua leads the Dragons in his 16th season as head coach at MSU-Moorhead. During his tenure as head coach, the Dragons had their most successful season ever at the D-II level. He was named NSIC Coach of the Year in 2018, and is the second-winningest coach in the history of MSU-Moorhead Football.

BULLDOGS TAKE MILITARY APPRECIATION DAY WIN: The No. 14 University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs relied on their Special Teams to pull through for them, and they delivered in a close 9-6 battle against the Winona State Warriors for Military Appreciation Day. The Bulldogs extended their win streak to 12 games against the Warriors with the win and improve to 3-1, while Winona State falls to 1-3.

Both teams struggled to get their offense going in the first quarter, with both opening drives being stopped at midfield. UMD put themselves on the board first with a 26-yard field goal from Drew Henson. Both teams were stopped on the following drives.

Winona State scored the only touchdown of the game in the second quarter, with a Nolan Ginskey touchdown putting the Warriors on the board, however, Winona State would only go up three as the extra point was kicked too low and blocked.

UMD's offense continued to struggle, with a promising drive being cut short due to a high snap. Drew Henson showed off his punting skills when it mattered most, putting Winona State at the 1-yard line twice in the second quarter. The second half ended with Winona holding to a three-point lead, 6-3.

UMD's defense started out hot in the second half, holding Winona State to a three and out, aided by a sack from Caden Healy. The Bulldogs defensive momentum carried to the offense, with four consecutive 10+ yard gains from Joey Flaherty, Derrick Johnson, Ryder Patterson, and Jacob Eggert. However, the drive stalled in the redzone, and UMD settled for a 6-6 tie.

Continuing the momentum, the Bulldogs would force a second three and out on the Warriors, this time with a sack from Ean Ackley. On the following drive, the Bulldogs almost had their first touchdown of the game, but Alex Riley's touchdown run would be taken away by a penalty. A field goal attempt to take the lead missed, and the game remained tied.

Another stop from the defense brought the offense back out for another big drive. Big runs from Eggert and Johnson got the drive going, but the Bulldogs faced some turbulence in Winona State territory, but they kept going. Using some trickery, the Bulldogs faked a field goal, giving Ryder Patterson plenty of room to rush for the first down. However, the Warriors hunkered down, and the Bulldogs would take a real field goal this time. This one would also miss wide, and the game stayed at 6-6.

Another Warriors drive found no success, but Derrick Johnson looked to find some for UMD. An 81-yard touchdown drive almost gave the Bulldogs a crucial lead late, but another penalty took it away, and the Bulldogs got stopped again.

Winona State rushed down the field late, looking for their first win against UMD since 2003. The Warriors looked to take the lead on a 37-yard field goal, but this one too got blocked, keeping the game knotted up at six apiece.

UMD wasted no time moving down the field, searching for a score of any kind to win the game. Jacob Eggert and Ryder Patterson helped the Bulldogs move into field goal position again, and as the time on the clock expired, Drew Henson would make his third field goal of the night to give the Bulldogs a 9-6 victory.

NOTES FROM WEEK 3 vs. WINONA STATE: The Bulldogs are now 40-10 all-time against Winona State, and now hold a 12-game winning streak against the Warriors.

This is the lowest scoring win for UMD since 1992 (9-0 vs. Northern State).

The Bulldogs vastly outgained the Warriors (400-189)

UMD dominated in possession time (38:24-21:36)

The Bulldogs running game came from a variety of players, with three Bulldogs eclipsing 50 rushing yards.

Allen Pearson Jr. led the way on defense, with seven tackles, and 3.5 tackles for loss.

DREW HENSON EARNS NSIC SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: The Owatonna, Minnesota native scored all nine points for the Bulldogs in the 9-6 win with three field goals. He also placed two punts on the 1-yard line, putting the Warriors on their heels, and placed three total punts inside the 20-yard line, including two punts over 50 yards, with his game high going for 64 yards. This marks the second NSIC Special Teams Player of the Week selection for Drew Henson, having earned one last season for the Bulldogs as well.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES FROM WEEK 3: Jacob Eggert passed for 149 years on 13-22 passing and ran for 63 yards. Derrick Johnson had 85 yards rushing. Jacob Haughton was the leading receiver with 49 yards. Caden Healy and Ean Ackley each had a sack, and Preston McQueen and Jarrett Bennett each had a pass breakup.

LAST TIME VS. MSU-MOORHEAD: The No. 16 University of Minnesota Duluth football team overcame an early lead by the Minnesota State University Moorhead, in a 28-14 win to mark their first 5-0 start since the 2023 season and remain undefeated in James S. Malosky Stadium.

After leaving the first quarter down 7-0, the Bulldogs got their first touchdown off of a Brock Unger pick-six to help knot the game at 7-7. A Drew Henson 52-yard field goal as time expired gave the Bulldogs a 10-7 lead entering the second half.

The Bulldogs extended their lead to six midway through the third quarter with another Drew Henson field goal, but the Dragons struck back quickly with a 20-yard pass to Gage Florence from Jack Strand to give the Dragons a one-point lead. That lead didn't last long. With a touchdown pass to Ryder Patterson, the Bulldogs took a 20-14 lead after three.

UMD got the last score of the game, with a Kyle Walljasper rushing touchdown and Luke Dehnicke two-point conversion giving the Bulldogs a 28-14 lead and the last score in the win.

IN THE RANKINGS: The Bulldogs were recognized as the No. 13 team in the Week 3 AFCA Poll, and No. 12 in D2Football.com's Week 3 poll. The Bulldogs were 14th in the AFCA Week 2 Poll and 15th in the D2Football.com Week 2 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 6, Minnesota Duluth 9

Northern State 17, Minnesota State 35

Southwest Minnesota State 0, Minot State 59

MSU Moorhead 21, Augustana 45

Concordia-St. Paul 34, Bemidji State 31

Sioux Falls 40, UMary 34

Jamestown 7, Wayne State College 44