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UNBEATEN AND SIXTH-RANKED UMD TO HOST WINONA STATE SATURDAY IN REGULAR SEASON FINALE

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Luke Schalekamp and 11 other Bulldog seniors will be recognized prior to the start of Saturday's game with Winona State

The University of Minnesota Duluth will put the finishing touches on the 2008 regular season Saturday (Nov. 8) when the Bulldogs host Winona State University in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference clash. Opening kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Malosky Stadium (4,500) on the UMD campus.

THE RECORDS: The Bulldogs are 10-0 in all games this fall and have captured at least a share of the NSIC ttle with a 9-0 mark. The defending NSIC champion Warriors own a 6-4 overall record and are 6-3 in NSIC play (tied for fifth place with Augustana College).

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HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and Winona State stack up in this week's American Football Coaches Association Division II and d2football.com polls as well as the NCAA Division II Super Regional 3 Rankings:

AFCA d2football Regional 3
UMD 6th 7th 2nd
WSU NR NR NR

THE BROADCAST: Saturday's Bulldog-Warrior showdown will be carried locally on 102.5 The Hog (KHQG-FM) with Mark Fleischer handling the play-by-play duties. That broadcast can also be heard via the internet at: umdbulldogs.com.

In addition, all of UMD's home outings and NSIC contests in 2008, including the one Saturday at Malosky Stadium, will be videostreamed live and can be accessed for free at: www.northernsun.tv.

THE COACHES: After a four-year hiatus, Bob Nielson is back on the UMD football sidelines this fall. Nielson, whose first tour of duty with the Bulldogs ran from 1999-2003, was officially appointed to his old post on Jan. 3, 2008. (He continues to also serve as UMD’s athletic director, a position he’s held since 2003-04). His overall record at UMD now stands at 48-19, which translates into a .716 winning percentage -- the best mark in school history. During his five previous years with the Bulldogs, Nielson helped marshal the UMD football program to unprecedented heights. In 2002, for example, his Bulldogs posted their only 11-0 regular season record to date, advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs for the first time ever and captured the NSIC championship. Nielson, who also coached UMD to its inaugural post-season appearance (the 2001 Mineral Water Bowl in Excelsior Springs, Mo.) and the school's greatest one-year turnaround in team history (the Bulldogs went 7-4 in 2000 after managing a 3-8 mark the previous fall). The 2002 NSIC Coach of the Year and a runnerup for the American Football Monthly magazine NCAA II Coach of the Year award, Nielson joined the UMD staff in the spring of 1999 after he had guided the Blugolds to a share of the 1998 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title (their first since 1983) and an initial berth in NCAA III playoffs five months earlier. He amassed a record of 22-11 in three years with the Blugolds, including a 10-3 mark in his farewell season when Wisconsin-Eau Claire claimed a share of its first Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title while setting a team standard for victories. Nielson, the Football Gazette’s 1998 Division III Coach of the Year, also was employed for five years as the head football coach at his alma mater, Wartburg College, where he strung together five successive non-losing seasons and landed a pair of back-to-back NCAA III playoff berths (1993 and 1994) and two years at Ripon College (1989-90) in Wisconsin. He is 118-52-1 (.693) in 16 years of collegiate coaching activity, which includes a 4-3 lifetime record against Winona State.

Tom Sawyer (Winona State, 1983) is winding down his 13th season at his alma mater, where has compiled a 110-40 career record (5-4 vs. UMD). Sawyer's Warriors have laid claim to eight of the last 11 NSIC championships (1997-98, 2000-2001, 2003-05 and 2007) and have earned a trip to the NCAA II playoffs five times since 2001.

THE SERIES: UMD and Winona State will meet for the 38th time ever -- and first time since 2003 -- Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs hold a sizeable 27-10 lead in the rivalry, which began way back in 1931, the second season of intercollegiate football at UMD.

LAST WEEK: UMD scored on nine of their first 10 drives and went on to crush the University of Minnesota Crookston 63-7 Saturday on the Golden Eagles' home turf. Sophomore running back Isaac Odim ran for 131 yards and a career-high four touchdowns on just 10 carries while fellow sophomore running back Brad Foss also rushed 10 times and finished with 95 yards and two scores. The Bulldogs, who took a 49-0 lead into halftime rolled up a season-best 565 yards of total offense while holding Minnesota Crookston to just 175 yards, including a mere 47 through the air. Senior quarterback Ted Schlafke capped off his final regular season road appearance as a collegian by connecting on 13 of 19 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns. He and his second-half replacement, true freshman Jon Lynch (2-of-2 for 31 yards), hooked up with 10 different receivers on the afternoon, including senior Tony Doherty, who had a game-high five receptions.

Winona State upended Augustana College 41-24 in the Warriors' 2008 home finale as Randy Springs generated 122 rushing yards and one touchdown on 25 attempts.

THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN SPEAKING: The Bulldogs' team captaincy responsibilities in 2008 rest in the hands of a quartet of seniors -- offensive guard Nate Baier, strong safety Jim Johnson, quarterback Ted Schlafke, and free safety Tyler Yelk.

BETTER BY THE DOZEN: A total of 12 Bulldog seniors will make their final regular season home appearances this Saturday. That group, who all began their collegiate careers at UMD and has helped lead the Bulldogs to a 28-14 overall record, two conference championships (the North Central Conference crown and the NSIC title this fall) and at least one NCAA II playoff berth (2005), includes offensive guards Nate Baier and Matt Horvath, outside linebackers Jake Comnick and Ben Loth, wide receiver Tony Doherty and Luke Schalekamp, defensive tackles Drew Fautsch and Dustin Timmersman, offensive tackle Mitch Cady, strong safety Jim Johnson, quarterback Ted Schlafke, and free safety Tyler Yelk.

A FAVORABLE NSIC FORECAST: In their annual preseason poll, the NSIC coaches picked the Bulldogs to finish first in both the North Division and in the overall league standings. The NSIC has expanded to a 14-team league in 2008-09 and, for football, will be broken down into two, seven-school divisions. UMD, which had competed in the North Central Conference the past four seasons, picked up 151 total points and garnered seven first-place votes to edge out defending conference titleholder Winona State University (148 points and four first-place votes), a member of the South Division. Rounding out the top five were Minnesota State University-Mankato (143 points and three first-place votes) Augustana College (141) and St. Cloud State University (120). Those three clubs, like UMD, are all NCC refugees.The Bulldogs, incidentally, were also chosen as the preseason favorite in the NSIC preseason poll back in 2003 (the last time they were aligned with the conference).

A BANNER YEAR: The Bulldogs, who are one of just five remaining unbeaten NCAA II clubs in the country, have secured at least a share of the 2008 NSIC title -- the 16th in school history and their first since 2002 -- and can win the championship outright with a victory Saturday over Winona State.

SEEMS LIKE ONLY YESTERDAY: The last time the Bulldogs and Warriors squared off in Duluth (Nov. 16, 2002), a crowd of 5,328 -- the second largest in school history -- jammed Malosky Stadium to watch UMD close out its first 11-0 season ever by derailing then-unbeaten Winona State 42-25. That triumph snapped the Warriors' 20-game winning streak and sent the Bulldogs to the NCAA II playoffs for the first time.

FOOLS RUSH IN: The Bulldogs rank second among all NCAA II schools in rushing defense, allowing only 56.0 yards a game (and 1.9 yards per rush). The most yards an opponent has accumulated on the ground this season is 130, which St. Cloud State University did three weeks ago.

SACK IT TO ME: Opposing running backs aren't the only ones who have found the going tough so far this season. UMD is also chalking up quarterback sacks at a record-breaking pace. To date, the Bulldogs have been credited with 36 sacks which is just five shy of the school record set in 1987 and matched in 2002. The 3.87 sacks per game average this fall has been bettered by only seven other NCAA II schools at the moment. And, talk about spreading the wealth. Thus far in 2008, some 17 different Bulldogs have been in on at least one sacks with junior backup defensive tackle Kevin Pexa leading the way with a team-high 4.5 sacks followed by senior defensive tackle Drew Fautsch (4.0).

ONE FINAL FLING: Senior quarterback 2008 Harlon Hill Award hopeful Ted Schlafke has certainly saved some of his best football for last. The 2008 NSIC North Division Preseason Offensive Player of the Year currently owns the second best passing efficiency mark (191.36) in the NCAA II and, despite staying in for the entire game only once all season (at St. Cloud State University on Oct. 18), still ranks first among NSIC quarterbacks in pass completion percentage (71.1), is third in total offense (260.3 yards per game) and fourth in passing yards (226.8 ypg). A starter in all 42 games over the past four seasons, Schlafke has established UMD career records for pass completions (992 and counting), pass attempts (1,575) and touchdown passes (98) while his .630 lifetime completion percentage is well above the current team mark (.548 by Darrell McKibbon between 1970-73). Last fall, the three-time NCC All-Academic Team selection became just the second quarterback ever to lead the Bulldogs in rushing (500 yards on 176 carries) and compiled the sixth best total offense average (319.8 yards per outing) of any NCAA II player in the country. Schlafke, the first three-time team captain in the 76 years UMD has been playing football, also is the owner of Bulldog single-game and single-season records for pass completions, pass attempts, passing yards, total offense and total plays. Nationally, the three-time North Central Conference All-Academic Team selection ranks sixth on the NCAA II career total offense charts (12,111 yards) and is 12th all-time in passing yards (10,829). He also needs just two touchdown passes to become just the 12th NCAA II player to reach 100 scoring strikes for a career.

IT'S BEEN QUITE A RUN: Sophomore running back Isaac Odim's 19 rushing touchdowns this fall are the most by a Bulldog since 2003 when Dave Rufledt hit pay dirt 21 times (one score shy of the school record). Odim, the reigning NSIC Offensive Player of the Week who currently leads the Bulldogs in both rushing and all-purpose yardage, has amassed 100 or more yards on the gournd in each of the past three games and five times overall in 2008. The Rochester Community College transfer now needs just 16 more yards to become just the fifth Bulldog to the reach the 1,000-yard plateau for a single season.Odim and his backfield mates have racked up UMD's largest ground yardage total (2,400 yards) since 2003 this fall

POINTS APLENTY: The Bulldogs are averaging a whopping 47.0 points per game thus far -- a figure surpassed by only one other NCAA II club (Abilene Christian University at 50.2). The 470 total points UMD has amassed in 10 outings this fall are second most in team history, trailing only the 2002 Bulldogs (539 points), who were also under the direction of head coach Bob Nielson.

ONE FOR THE BOOKS: UMD's No. 6 AFCA II ranking this week (and two weeks ago) is the school's highest ever in a national poll.

CATCHING ON FAST: Freshman wide receiver D.J. Winfield, whose debut year with the Bulldogs lasted less than two quarters (he suffered a season-ending ankle sprain in the 2007 opener with Bemidji State), has parlayed 13 of his team-leading 51 pass receptions into touchdowns this season. Those 13 scoring strikes rank third on the UMD single-season charts, trailing only Tim Battaglia (19 in 2002) and Greg Aker (15 in 2005). Winfield's one other TD this fall came on 48-yard run off a lateral in Game 1 at Concordia University-St. Paul.

SCORE EARLY, SCORE OFTEN: UMD, which has found the end zone in eight of its 10 opening possessions this season, has outscored the opposition 315-37 in the first half.

A REAL ONE-TWO PUNCH: The 2008 Bulldogs sport what is arguably the most gifted safety tandem in the NSIC (and perhaps in the storied history of UMD football) in seniors Tyler Yelk and Jim Johnson. Yelk, a 2007 All-NCC first team selection, has paced the Bulldogs in tackles three straight seasons -- a UMD first -- and two weeks ago took over as the school's career leader for stops (he currently has 288 tackles). Johnson, who like Ted Schlafke was a member of both the All-NCC (honorable mention) and NCC All-Academic Teams last fall, has been a fixture in the UMD defensive secondary the last four seasons. He placed second among Bulldogs in total tackles for the second successive year in 2007 with a career-high 77 stops and had a team-leading four interceptions as well. In UMD's 40-10 victory at Concordia University-St. Paul earlier this season, Johnson became the 15th member of UMD's 200-tackle club (he now has 233 stops as Bulldog, which is good for the No. 7 on the team's career list.)

YOU CAN HAVE IT BOTH WAYS: The Bulldogs currently sport both the NSIC's top offense (447.4 yards per game) and defense (224.3 ypg). In addition, UMD has scored more points (47.0 ppg) and given up less (12.2 ppg) than any NSIC club to date. On the NCAA II national scene, the Bulldogs rank second overall in total defense, scoring offense, rushing defense and passing efficiency (191.36), are third in scoring defense and sixth in total offense.

RUNNING THE TABLE: The only two times a UMD team has completed a regular season unbeaten and untied was in 2002 (11-0) and 1980 (10-0) while the 1938 Bulldogs (7-0-1) also never tasted defeat.

LONELIER THAN THE MAYTAG REPAIRMAN: All of the ball-moving successes UMD has enjoyed in 2008 has meant an extreme lack of punting activity for freshman Alex Miller. Miller has been called on only 22 times in 10 games and his heaviest action came against Bemidji State on Oct. 25 and at Missouri Western State in Week 2 when he had four punts. The last time the Bulldogs even came close to having that few punting opportunities was in 1961 when UMD punted 28 times in nine games.

LEAD 'DOGS: The Bulldogs are 51-1 in the last 52 games they have been ahead after three quarters and 44-1 when they've led at halftime going back to November 2001. UMD has also gotten on the scoreboard first in 29 of its last 30 victories. On the flip side, since defeating the University of South Dakota 23-21 on the road on Sept. 22, 2002, UMD has lost 22 straight times when trailing at the half and is 0-24 when it's been behind heading into the final quarter (The Bulldogs last posted a win in that situation on Sept. 8, 2001 by rallying from a 10-7 deficit to shade South Dakota 14-10).

INJURY UPDATE: Senior wide out Bernie Cevis (foot), who transferred to UMD last spring from the now-defunct La Salle University (Pa.) football program, freshman nose tackle Qortney McLeod (foot), junior wide receiver D'Andre Sherill (foot), a transfer from Rainy River Community College Community College in International Falls, Minn. and freshman linebacker Mitch Ramsussen (hip flexor/hernia) are all expected to be sidelined for Saturday's matchup against Winona State with injuries. Cevis and McLeod have both been out of action since the start of the season.

BULLDOG BITES: UMD has won six road games in 2008 which ties the school record set 28 years ago ... Jon Lynch has relieved Ted Schlafke in nine of the Bulldogs' 10 contests to date and, in the process, has become just the second true freshman quarterback in 24 years to see varsity time for UMD (Ricky Fritz was the other in 1998) ... The last time UMD found itself trailing an opponent was 11 games ago (vs. the University of North Dakota on Oct. 27, 2007) ... The Bulldogs have come away with 18 interceptions in 2008, including two -- one each by junior cornerback Cole Strilzuk and junior nose tackle Tyler Johnson -- which have been brought back for touchdowns ... Senior wide receiver and third-year starter Tony Doherty currently has 138 catches to his collegiate credit, which places him in the No. 3 spot on the Bulldogs' career pass receptions charts.

UP NEXT: The 24-team field for the 2008 NCAA II playoffs, which begins next Saturday, will be announced Sunday afternoon on ESPN News between 2 and 2:30 p.m. The brackets will also be available on the NCAA Web site (www.ncaa.com).

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