The 2014 college football season has gone about as well as Minnesota Duluth could have hoped.
A No. 1 regional ranking, a No. 2 national ranking and an undefeated record.
Now the goal is to not mess it up.
Minnesota Duluth (8-0) goes into today’s 1 p.m. NSIC North Division contest at Minnesota-
Crookston (0-8) looking to stay sharp with only three weeks remaining in the regular season. One-loss teams have been denied the playoffs before, so the Bulldogs aren’t taking anything, or anyone, lightly, and at the same time realize they can play better.
“Crookston is a young football team that is struggling to find wins, but they’ve had a couple top teams in our conference down this year at Crookston,” UMD coach Curt Wiese said. “You still have to show up and play your best football game. It’s on natural grass and is a long road trip, so there are couple added challenges there. Our guys need to be focused on getting better and let the outcome be the outcome.”
With a lofty ranking, two national championships in the last seven years and the best winning percentage in the nation during that span, UMD is used to teams trying to play the spoiler. In fact, the Bulldogs expect it.
“We know we’re going to get everybody’s best game, week in and week out,” Wiese said. “Moorhead and Northern State challenged us earlier this year, even at our own place, so we can’t look past anybody.”
While UMD is likely taking care of business in Crookston, Bulldogs fans watching online probably will toggle between that game and one that is decidedly more interesting: the pivotal NSIC South Division matchup featuring No. 10 Sioux Falls (8-0) at No. 1 Minnesota State-Mankato (8-0).
Two unbeaten teams with something to give.
“Everyone knows there is going to be a winner and a loser in that game, and whoever wins will certainly put themselves in a great position,” Wiese said.
Mankato comes in outscoring opponents by an average of 46-13; Sioux Falls, 44-16; UMD 37-19. The Bulldogs haven’t been quite as dominant in large part because of a couple scores that probably gave some fans pause, accustomed, perhaps even spoiled, by the team’s unprecedented run since 2008, when they’ve averaged just over one loss per season. UMD opened with two games decided by a combined eight points, including one in overtime, but yet they won.
A team’s record and strength of schedule, not point differential, are the factors used in determining the regional rankings. The first rankings came out earlier this week and found the Bulldogs on top. That may have surprised some people who felt Mankato or Sioux Falls, ranked Nos. 2 and 3 in the region, would get the top nod, but a closer look at the teams’ schedules finds that up to this point, they are almost identical.
That will change this week. Beating an 8-0 team will certainly carry a lot of weight, and Wiese has dealt with regional rankings long enough to know that the Bulldogs could drop next week even if they win by 80 points today.
“It’s been a competitive league, particularly in the South Division, it’s been strong,” Wiese said. “All we can do is try to win each week and see how things play out. Everybody has some tough games left on their schedules.”
The final regional rankings determine the NCAA Division II playoff field.
After Crookston, UMD is home against Mary (5-3) and then on the road at Minot State (1-7) to close out the regular season.
Mankato is at Wayne State (5-3) and then home against Upper Iowa (5-3), while Sioux Falls is home against both those teams.
You don’t have to remind Wiese - an offensive guru - what can happen at Wayne State. UMD was fresh of its second national championship in 2011 when the unranked Wildcats blocked a punt for the only score of the game in a 7-0 victory, snapping the Bulldogs’ nation-leading 17-game winning streak. The Bulldogs hadn’t lost an NSIC game since 2003, a span of 31 straight, and had won 41 overall against NSIC competition during that span.
“Both Mankato and Sioux Falls have a tough way to go out, but in the same sense, that’s the beauty of playing an 11-game conference schedule,” Wiese said. “It’s an exciting thing for our program and our conference with the way our schools are being recognized, but at the same time, our guys understand it’s the last regional ranking that matters, and not necessarily the first one.”
MINNESOTA DULUTH BULLDOGS AT MINNESOTA-CROOKSTON GOLDEN EAGLES
National rankings: UMD is No. 2 in both the American Football Coaches Association NCAA Division II and D2Football.com polls; Crookston isn’t ranked.
Series: UMD leads 10-1; the Bulldogs have won eight straight, including a 57-3 victory last fall in Duluth.
Coaches: Curt Wiese is 19-2 in his second season as UMD’s head coach; Mike Fritze guided Crookston to a 2-9 record last year as interim head coach, with the wins coming over NSIC rivals Bemidji State and Minnesota State-Moorhead. The interim tag was removed in December, but Fritze has yet to see a win this season, going 0-8.
Outlook: UMD is coming off a 38-10 home victory over Bemidji State as sophomore Drew Bauer had a hand in five Bulldogs’ touchdowns. Bauer completed 20 of 25 passes for 228 yards and three scores, and he ran for 49 yards and two more scores. Bauer is making a strong case for NSIC North Division offensive player of the year. He is averaging 170 yards passing and 74 yards rushing per game. He has 13 TD passes to just three interceptions, while adding a team-leading nine scores on the ground. UMD’s defense, meanwhile, held Bemidji State to just 95 passing yards to snap the Beavers’ three-game winning streak. Junior linebacker Brent Stiglich led the Bulldogs with a forced fumble and 11 tackles, including a bone-crushing hit on a kick return. “Brent has been a staple of our special teams, but as he continues to get better and better, he has become a bigger part of our defensive game plan as well,” Wiese said. … Crookston is coming off a 50-20 loss at Minot State in a game pitting previously winless teams. Golden Eagles quarterback Travon Hearns accounted for two of Crookston’s scores with a 41-yard pass and 8-yard run. Hearns is one of 31 freshmen (redshirt and true) listed on the Crookston roster. The Golden Eagles rank at or near the bottom in the NSIC in most statistical categories except for pass defense, where they are sixth at 229 yards per game, with five interceptions.
UMD football statistics
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Date Opponent W/L Score
Sept. 6 vs. Concordia-St. Paul W 20-13
Sept. 13 at Augustana W 23-22 OT
Sept. 20 vs. SW Minnesota State W 38-7
Sept. 27 at Winona State W 28-21
Oct. 4 vs. MN State-Moorhead W 63-28
Oct. 11 at St. Cloud State W 44-21
Oct. 18 vs. Northern State W 43-30
Oct. 25 vs. Bemidji State W 38-10
TEAM STATISTICS UMD Opp.
Scoring 297 152
Points Per Game 37.1 19.0
First Downs 193 145
Rushing Yards 2,365 758
Average Per Rush 6.0 3.1
Average Per Game 295.6 94.8
Passing Yards 1,429 1,876
Com-Att-Int 114-202-3 149-275-8
Average Per Pass 7.1 6.8
Average Per Catch 12.5 12.6
Average Per Game 178.6 234.5
Total Offense 3,794 2,634
Average Per Game 474.2 329.2
Fumbles-lost 10-3 13-9
Third Down Conv 51-115 50-120
Percentage 44% 42%
Fourth Down Conv 10-13 5-14
Percentage 77% 36%
Sacks by-yards 16-116 13-62
Penalties-yards 48-491 39-342
Time of Possession 33:59 26:01
RUSHING Att. Yards Avg. TDs
L. Lauters 115 954 8.3 5
D. Bauer 114 589 5.2 9
A. Sikorski 98 480 4.9 7
C. Belknap 17 151 8.9 0
A. Roth 9 56 6.2 0
B. Bofferding 11 53 4.8 1
S. Magee 3 49 16.3 0
J. Laureys 3 14 4.7 0
N. Larson 3 13 4.3 0
J. Conner 1 9 9.0 0
N. Beaulieu 4 8 2.0 0
E. Kline 1 2 2.0 0
L. Rice 1 1 1.0 0
N. Ricci 1 -2 -2.0 0
Team 10 -12 -1.2 0
Total 391 2,365 6.0 22
Opponents 243 758 3.1 3
PASSING Comp. Att. Yards TDs Int.
D. Bauer 91 170 1,176 10 2
E. Kline 1 3 7 1 0
N. Ricci 1 1 11 1 0
J. Laureys 1 1 7 0 0
Team 0 1 0 0 0
Total 794 176 1,201 12 2
Opponents 136 248 1,781 16 6
RECEIVING Rec. Yards Avg. TDs
Z. Zweifel 33 552 16.7 3
B. Bofferding 27 288 10.7 2
A. Roth 16 210 13.1 2
T. Grant 12 90 7.5 1
N. Ricci 8 90 11.2 3
J. Fowlkes 6 110 18.3 1
A. Sikorski 5 38 7.6 0
L. Lauters 2 12 6.0 1
D. Bauer 1 11 11.0 1
T. Bowers 1 10 10.0 0
A. Knutson 1 7 7.0 0
J. Conner 1 7 7.0 1
K. Phillips 1 4 4.0 0
Total 114 1,429 12.5 15
Opponents 149 1,876 12.6 17
FIELD GOALS FGM FGA Pct. Long
A. Brees 10 14 71.4 49
T. McLaughlin 3 3 100.0 45
TACKLE LEADERS Solo Ast. Total
G. Grady 22 30 52
D. Boegel 32 19 51
D. Fletcher 19 18 37
B. Bates 15 18 33
B. Stiglich 16 16 32
N. Zibolski 8 23 31
G. Brown 10 19 29
H. Malberg 15 13 28
J. Harden 8 18 26
D. Brown 17 7 24
J. Lambrecht 6 18 24
T. Smrcina 14 6 20
Sacks: G. Brown 3, J. Lambrecht 2, N. Zibolski 2, B. Stiglich 1½, D. Brown 1, J. Harden 1, B. McDonald 1, A. Roth 1, N. Thorpe 1½, G. Grady ½, M. Nahorniak ½, C. Nievinski ½, H. Yusef ½.
INTERCEPTIONS No. Yards Avg. TD
H. Malberg 3 15 5.0 0
D. Fletcher 2 26 13.0 0
D. Martinez 1 57 57.0 0
D. Brown 1 14 14.0 0
T. Sommer 1 0 0.0 0
Total 8 112 14.0 0
Opponents 3 0 0.0 0
FUMBLE RETURNS No. Yards Avg. TD
Total 0 0 0.0 0
Opponents 0 0 0.0 0
PUNTING No. Yards Avg. Long
S. Magee 31 1,096 35.4 58
Team 1 0 0.0 0
Total 32 1,096 34.2 58
Opponents 44 1,553 35.3 56
PUNT RETURNS No. Yards Avg. TD
A. Roth 4 23 5.8 0
Z. Zweifel 3 11 3.7 0
M. Nahorniak 1 14 14.0 0
Total 8 48 6.0 0
Opponents 6 39 6.5 0
KICKOFF RETURNS No. Yards Avg. TD
A. Roth 11 277 25.2 0
B. Bofferding 4 98 24.5 0
D. Brown 4 72 18.0 0
J. Fowlkes 1 13 13.0 0
D. Boegel 1 0 0.0 0
Total 21 460 21.9 0
Opponents 38 655 17.2 0
