September 20th, 2024 7:00pm
The No. 16 University of Minnesota Duluth football team downed its second-ranked opponent of the season, the No. 25 University of Sioux Falls Cougars, 34 to 17 Saturday afternoon at Bob Young Field.
This was their first victory in Sioux Falls (previously 0-4) to help cut the overall USF record over UMD to 5-3. This marks their unbeaten Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) record at 3-0 with a perfect 4-0 start to the season.
Kyle Walljasper had a colossal day, earning a team high 121 rushing yards (longest 35 yards) and four rushing touchdowns. He also threw for 93 yards while averaging 7.6 yards per carry. Walljasper enters the program's top ten in career rushing yards (one of three quarterbacks) with 2,784 rushing yards to breakthrough Amory Bodin's tenth-place 2,782 yards.
Starting the game, the Bulldog defense set the pace on the first offensive drive of the Cougars, holding them to a negative one-yard gain in three plays on the first drive. With the first UMD offensive drive, Walljasper found an open Luke Dehnicke for a 42-yard gain on the first pass to get to the Cougars' 10-yard line. Walljasper, two plays later, rushed it three yards for the game's first score. With Jadon Apgar's extra point, the Bulldogs eased ahead 7-0 with 12 minutes to go in the first quarter.
Again, the UMD defense shut down the USF drive this time with a first-time career interception from Joey Krouse with a gain of 46 yards. Krouse handed the ball off to Walljasper at the Cougar 27-yard line, where again Walljasper, with help from the offensive line, pushed in a one-yard touchdown for a two-touchdown lead with under three minutes left.