DULUTH, Minn. – The No. 16/12 Bemidji State University Football team is set for their second top 25 matchup of the season when they play at No. 25 Minnesota Duluth this Saturday with kickoff set for 12 p.m. at James S. Malosky Stadium. It will be a matchup of the top two teams in the conference in points allowed and the teams that are in the top three in the NSIC in scoring offenses.

Bemidji State (6-1, 6-1 NSIC) rolled to the 38-3 conference win over Concordia-St. Paul this past weekend at the Chet. The BSU defense forced three interceptions and added three sacks, while the special teams blocked three consecutive punt attempts by the Golden Bears. Brandon Alt threw a pair of touchdowns to Joey Baron and Jake Hill. Ali Mohamed rushed for two touchdowns and added 77 rushing yards. Marcus Hansen, Stephen Hoffman and Jacob Drietz all tallied blocked punts. Max Buduris had a team-high seven tackles, along with a sack and an interception returned for a touchdown.

The top four teams remain tight in the NSIC standings. Augustana, following their 28-10 win over Minnesota State, are the lone undefeated team in the standings at 8-0 overall and 7-0 in NSIC play. Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State and Bemidji State are all 6-1 in NSIC play. Then a trio of teams are 4-3 in MSU Moorhead, Wayne State and Winona State.

BSU leads the NSIC in third down conversion percentage on defense (0.286), which ranks 17^th nationally, in defensive touchdowns scored (2), which is 26^th nationally, in passes intercepted (13), which is 10^th nationally, punt return defensive yards allowed per game (1.0), good for sixth nationally, red zone offense percentage (0.857), 38^th nationally, team passing efficiency on defense (96.64), 12^th nationally, team sacks per game (3.29), ninth nationally, turnover margin (1.14), 15^th nationally and in turnovers gained (18), 18^th nationally. Bemidji State is in the top 30 nationally in fourth down conversion percentage (0.611), 27^th nationally, fewest penalties (35), 12^th nationally, first downs allowed on defense (118), 29^th nationally, kickoff return yards allowed (14.96), 14^th nationally, kickoff return yards gained (23.22), 24^th nationally, passes that have been intercepted (4), 18^th nationally, passing offensive yards per game (257), 23^rd nationally, red zone defensive percentage (0.609), 12^th nationally, sacks allowed per game (0.86), 15th nationally, scoring offense per game (36.4), 22^nd nationally, tackles for loss allowed per game (4.86), 25th nationally, team tackles for loss (8.6), 10th nationally, total offensive yards per game (417), 28^th nationally and in win-loss percentage (0.857), 24th nationally.

Individually, Alt ranks 21^st nationally in passing touchdowns (17), 32^nd in total offense per game (249.3), 35^th in completions per game (17.29),  37^th in passing yards per completion (13.74), 39^th in passing efficiency (146.3), 40^th in points responsible for per game (14.9) and 42^nd in passing yards (1,662). Duncan-Busby is seventh nationally in receiving touchdowns (9), 36^th in total touchdowns and 50^th in scoring per game (7.7). Marko Jovisic is 31^st nationally in both field goal percentage (0.750) and field goals per game (1.0). De'vonta Roberts is 12^th nationally and leads the NSIC in kickoff return yards per game (28.2). Princeten Harris is 32^nd nationally and leads the NSIC in passes defended per game (1.2). Jake Hill is 49^th nationally in punt return yards per game (5.4). Mohamed is 40^th nationally in rushing touchdowns (7). Hansen is eighth nationally in tackles for loss per game (1.9) and 29^th nationally in sacks per game (0.79).

Alt eclipsed 10,000 career passing yards at Wayne State. He enters the game this week with 10,311 career passing yards. Over the past 33 games, Alt has thrown for 101 touchdowns and has 111 for his career.

The defense has 23 sacks and 13 interceptions on the season. The defense recorded three sacks against CSP to snap a streak of two games without one. On the season, the Beavers have at least four sacks in four games. The defense did tally three interceptions to record multiple INT for the fifth game this year. After Caleb Young returned an interception for a touchdown against Wayne State, Buduris added one against Concordia-St. Paul. BSU has returned 13 interceptions for 262 yards this season.

Alt has completed 121-211 for 1,662 yards and 17 touchdowns to just four interceptions. Sam McGath has completed 11-20 for 137 yards and three touchdowns.  

On the ground, Ali Mohamed had a big game against CSP and has now rushed 80 times for 396 yards and seven touchdowns. Sage Booker adds 47 attempts for 250 yards and three scores. Gronski is at 169 yards on 45 carries and a touchdown. Jayden Washington adds 34 carries for 138 yards and a score, while McGath has the other rushing touchdown on 15 carries and 104 yards.

Duncan-Busby has caught 28 passes for 443 yards and nine touchdowns. Jake Hill and Brice Peters are both over 200 receiving yards with Hill bringing in 18 catches for 271 yards and a touchdown, while Peters has 16 receptions for 216 yards and a score. Baron is now up to three receiving touchdowns to go along with 189 yards and 23 catches. Booker has 14 catches for 188 yards and two scores. Mike Wandmaker has two receiving touchdowns to go along with five catches for 62 yards.

On defense, Buduris leads the team with 40 tackles, 31 solo, along with six tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, an interception and six passes broken up. Jarrett Klein is second on the team with 34 tackles, 20 solo, along with an interception and a forced fumble. Spencer Wehr has 30 tackles, along with four tackles for loss, an interception and three passes defended. Hoffman has 28 tackles, along with six tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Hansen adds 26 tackles with 13 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. Jamel Stone and Harris are tied for the team lead in interceptions at two apiece.

Minnesota Duluth leads the series at 48-12-1 since the first meeting in 1931. UMD is 25-3 against BSU in Duluth. The Beavers have won the last two meetings, including the last meeting in Duluth in 2021, coming away with the 42-35 victory. That was the first win on the road in 70 years in the series.

Minnesota Duluth is 7-1 overall and 6-1 in NSIC play following their 42-7 win over Minot State last week. The Bulldogs have won two straight since the 28-18 road loss at Wayne State. Following that game, UMD claimed the 46-0 home win over UMary. The Bulldogs are 4-0 at home this season.

Kyle Walljasper does it all at quarterback for the Bulldogs. He has 28 combined touchdowns with 15 through the air and another 13 on the ground. He has rushed for 805 yards and thrown for 1,029. Jaylen McKnight has rushed for 376 yards and four touchdowns. Jimmy Durocher leads the receivers with 19 catches for 316 yards and four scores. Sam Pitz has a team-high seven touchdowns, to go along with 20 catches for 305 yards.

Andrew Klopp leads the defense with 33 tackles (23 solo), along with 4.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, an interception and two forced fumbles. Marcus Glodowski has 29 tackles (21 solo), along with two tackles for loss and a pair of interceptions. Drew Hennessey has 11.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks, while Ethan Beffert has 11 tackles for loss and three sacks. Tim Pokornowski leads the team with three interceptions. Just like the Beavers, the Bulldogs have a lot of sacks and interceptions this season. UMD has 26 sacks and 10 interceptions.

The game will be broadcasted on the NSIC Network and on Beaver Radio Network.

Game Notes        NSIC Network        Live Stats         Beaver Radio Network

Bemidji State Notes

-        Brent Bolte stands alone in second in program history for wins by a head coach with 58. His .744 winning percentage is the best all-time and he is second in program history for conference wins at 55

-        Bemidji State had just their second home loss over the past two seasons, both against Minnesota State. Bolte is 29-9 during his time as head coach at home

-        Bemidji State enters this week ranked No. 16 in the AFCA Poll and No. 12 in the D2Football.com Poll. The Beavers opened the season ranked eighth in the Lindy's College Football Preseason Poll

-        BSU leads or is tied for the NSIC lead in 9 categories following week eight

-        In 78 games under Bolte, BSU has scored less than 20 points just seven times, which occurred once last year

-        Forty-six of Bolte's wins have come when scoring at least 30 points, which has happened in six games this season

-        Bemidji State is 13-3 on the road over the past two-plus seasons and Bolte is 29-11 away from Bemidji

-              BSU has allowed 14 or less points in five of seven games this season and has won by at least 20 points in five of the six victories. Three times the Beavers have won by over 30 points

-       Minnesota Duluth leads the series at 48-12-1 since the first meeting in 1931. UMD is 25-3 against BSU in Duluth. The Beavers have won the last two meetings, including the last meeting in Duluth in 2021, coming away with the 42-35 victory. That was the first win on the road in 70 years in the series.

-              BSU leads the NSIC in third down conversion percentage on defense (0.286), which ranks 17^th nationally, in defensive touchdowns scored (2), which is 26^th nationally, in passes intercepted (13), which is 10^th nationally, punt return defensive yards allowed per game (1.0), good for sixth nationally, red zone offense percentage (0.857), 38^th nationally, team passing efficiency on defense (96.64), 12^th nationally, team sacks per game (3.29), ninth nationally, turnover margin (1.14), 15^th nationally and in turnovers gained (18), 18^th nationally. Bemidji State is in the top 30 nationally in fourth down conversion percentage (0.611), 27^th nationally, fewest penalties (35), 12^th nationally, first downs allowed on defense (118), 29^th nationally, kickoff return yards allowed (14.96), 14^th nationally, kickoff return yards gained (23.22), 24^th nationally, passes that have been intercepted (4), 18^th nationally, passing offensive yards per game (257), 23^rd nationally, red zone defensive percentage (0.609), 12^th nationally, sacks allowed per game (0.86), 15th nationally, scoring offense per game (36.4), 22^nd nationally, tackles for loss allowed per game (4.86), 25th nationally, team tackles for loss (8.6), 10th nationally, total offensive yards per game (417), 28^th nationally and in win-loss percentage (0.857), 24th nationally.

-              Individually, Alt ranks 21^st nationally in passing touchdowns (17), 32^nd in total offense per game (249.3), 35^th in completions per game (17.29),  37^th in passing yards per completion (13.74), 39^th in passing efficiency (146.3), 40^th in points responsible for per game (14.9) and 42^nd in passing yards (1,662). Duncan-Busby is seventh nationally in receiving touchdowns (9), 36^th in total touchdowns and 50^th in scoring per game (7.7). Marko Jovisic is 31^st nationally in both field goal percentage (0.750) and field goals per game (1.0). De'vonta Roberts is 12^th nationally and leads the NSIC in kickoff return yards per game (28.2). Princeten Harris is 32^nd nationally and leads the NSIC in passes defended per game (1.2). Jake Hill is 49^th nationally in punt return yards per game (5.4). Mohamed is 40^th nationally in rushing touchdowns (7). Hansen is eighth nationally in tackles for loss per game (1.9) and 29^th nationally in sacks per game (0.79).

-        Bolte is 2-4 against Minnesota Duluth having won the last two meetings. BSU outscored UMD 83-51 in those two wins and two of the four losses were decided by a possession in 2018 (26-19, 2 OT) and in 2016 (54-47). Both of those games were played in Duluth.

-        Bemidji State picked up their 400^th program victory at Wayne State and are now at 401

-        Including his time as an assistant, Bolte is 166-88 with the Beavers

-        The defense didn't allow any team to rush for over 200 yards last year and seven times held teams under 100 rushing yards. So far in 2023, the Beavers have limited four teams to under 100 rushing yards and only one team to rush for over 200 yards. The game against CSP, the Beavers held the Golden Bears to just 64 passing yards

-        When BSU leads at the half, they hold a 23-0 record in the last two-plus seasons. The only loss this season against Minnesota State was the only time trailing at the break

-        BSU has continued to dominate in the red zone to start the 2023 season. The Beavers have scored on 30 of 34 chances so far this season for 179 points. The drives have ended with 24 touchdowns and six field goals

-        On the flip side of that, the defense has allowed just 23 trips inside the 20 and 14 scores for 66 total points. CSP was only inside the red zone twice last week and resulted in one field goal and a turnover on downs.

-        The defense forced four interceptions in week one, which is the most in a game since tallying four against Minnesota Crookston during the 2019 season. BSU added two more in week three, five and seven, before a three interception game in week eight for 13 on the season to rank first in the NSIC and 10^th nationally

-        Six times last year Bemidji State tallied at least four sacks in a game. The high was nine against MSU Moorhead on Oct. 15, 2022. This season the defense continues to post high sack numbers. Five times this season the Beavers have at least a sack and have 23 on the season to rank first in the NSIC and ninth nationally

-        For the first time in the last 33 games, Bemidji State had more rushing than passing yards. Against CSP, the Beavers rushed for 223 and passed for 127. Five times during the 2019 season the Beavers had more rushing than passing yards.

-        Bemidji State ranked in the top-25 nationally last year in passing offense (4th), red zone defense (13th), rushing defense (22nd), sacks allowed (5th), scoring defense (25th), scoring offense (11th), team passing efficiency (10th), team passing efficiency defense (22nd), team sacks (9th) and total offense (10th)

Minnesota Duluth Notes

-              The Bulldogs are led by Curt Wiese who is 95-22 currently in his 10th season at UMD. He's gone 7-2 in his career against Bemidji State.

-              UMD was picked to finish 5th in the NSIC Preseason Poll.

-              UMD returns NSIC Players to Watch in OL Treyvon Cahalan and DB Marcus Glodowski. Cahalan has started all eight games for UMD this season. Glodowski has also started all eight games and is second on the team in tackles (29), along with two interceptions.

-              Last time out, UMD cruised to the 42-7 win at Minot State. The Bulldogs tallied 398 yards of offense and held Minot State to 93 total yards. The ground game rushed for 291 yards and five touchdowns.

-              The Bulldogs are averaging 38.38 points per game and allowing 14.25. They average 420.4 yards per game and allow 244.9. QB Kyle Walljasper has rushed for 8-5 yards and 13 touchdowns, while passing for 1,029 yards and 15 touchdowns.

-              Last year's meeting saw BSU score 27 unanswered on their way to the 41-16 home victory. Brandon Alt threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns. Jarrett Gronski rushed for 90 yards and two scores. Dhel Duncan-Busby had 140 receiving yards and a touchdown. Kyle Walljasper threw three interceptions that resulted in two touchdowns.

-              UMD re-entered the AFCA top 25 this week at No. 25.