Duluth, Minn. – The No. 25 University of Sioux Falls football team (3-1, 2-1 NSIC) dropped its first game of the season on today, falling 34-17 to No. 16/11 Minnesota Duluth (4-0, 3-0 NSIC) at Bob Young Field.
First Half Struggles
The Bulldogs built a 28-0 halftime lead behind a balanced offensive attack with four rushing touchdowns, three by quarterback Kyle Walljasper. After falling to 34-0, JT Frieders split the uprights for a 37-yard field goal in the fourth.
Cougar Highlights
Despite the setback, the Cougars found bright spots in the second half as USF quarterbacks, Bennett Brueck and Tate Schafer landed their first career touchdown passes. Midway through the fourth, Brueck found Christian Janis in the back of the end zone for a 28 yard score to cut the deficit, 34-10. Later in the fourth, Schafer connected with Isaiah Emanuel for a 30 yard touchdown pass for a final score of 34-17.
Dean finished the day 16-of-29 passing for 193 yards while surpassing 5,000 career passing yards to sit 8th in the USF recordbooks. Brueck added 22 rushing yards and 28 passing for 50 yards of offense and a score on the day while Schafer closed out the game with 70 passing yards and a score to shine some light on the future of Cougar Football's Quarterback Room.
By the Numbers
The Cougars beat the Bulldogs in total offense and yards through the air, but the Duluth run game proved to be too much for the the USF defense today.
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Total Offense: UMD 379 – USF 405
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Passing Yards: UMD 128 – USF 291
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Rushing Yards: UMD 251 – USF 114
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Time of Possession: UMD 31:19 – USF 28:41
Defensively, Jordan Medrano & Preston Yohnke led the Cougars with 6 tackles a piece, while Isaac Rudningen added an interception and tackle for loss.
Up Next
The Cougars hit the road next Saturday, looking to bounce back in NSIC play when they take on #14 Minnesota State at 2pm.
