Northland Sports Online

Bulldogs win in Overtime

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NSO – NEWS RELEASE

 

Because it has rarely trailed at any point in a football game — particularly the second half — over the past seven seasons, the University of Minnesota Duluth hasn’t posted a whole lot of come-from-behind victories.

Saturday afternoon in Sioux Falls, S.D., the No. 3 Bulldogs found themselves in one of those uncommon predicaments (down 16-6 with just over five minutes to go in the fourth quarter) and they came through big time with a thrilling 23-22 overtime win over Augustana College. UMD cashed in on its first possession of the extra session, getting a six-yard touchdown run from sophomore quarterback Drew Bauer and the Vikings then responded with a score of their own, only to have the point after kick attempt hit the left cross bar. With the victory, the Bulldogs extended their regular season winning streak 10 games and hiked their 2014 record to 2-0. The Vikings, who were making their 2014 home debut, fell to 1-1 on the year.

A pair of Andrew Brees field goals (from 23 and 29 yards) were all the scoring the Bulldogs could generate in the first two quarters, but UMD did hold the ball for 19:10 (compared to just 10:50 for the Vikings) while taking a 6-0 lead into halftime. The Bulldog defense also did their part, holding the hosts to just 102 yards of total offense. Whatever adjustments the Vikings made at break certainly paid dividends over the better part of the second half. Augustana used a third-quarter field goal by Lucas Wainman and and two fourth quarter touchdown strikes from Trey Heid to go up 16-6 before UMD found its offensive groove. Shortly after picking up its initial first down of the second half (which came with 7:44 left in regulation), Bauer and sophomore wide out Beau Bofferding hooked up for a ten-yard scoring pass to cut the deficit to 16-13. On its next series, Brees connected from 27 yards with 1:10 left to draw UMD even. Augustana proceeded to go three-and-out, giving UMD the ball with with 47 seconds remaining and the Bulldogs marched 36 yards down to the Viking 15. With a chance to seal the victory, Brees (who was a perfect three-for-three at that point), saw his 32-yard field goal attempt sail wide as time expired, forcing overtime.

Bauer finished the afternoon with 246 yards passing yards while equaling a personal high for completions (20) and setting a career best for attempts (40). His favorite target was Bofferding, who caught 10 passes — the eighth-highest single-game total in program history — for 105 yards. Bauer also paced the Bulldogs in rushing, with 60 yards on 14 carries. The Bulldogs held a subtantial 415-292 advantage in total offense and limited the Vikings to a mere 40 yards on the ground.

UMD will return to James S. Malosky Stadium next Saturday night to host NSIC rival Southwest Minnesota State University.

Worth Noting: UMD is now 6-2 lifetime in overtime games … Prior to today, the last time the Bulldogs played beyond four quarters during the regular season was on Oct. 16, 2006 (16-14 win at Minnesota State University-Mankato) … Beau Bofferding became the first Bulldog to reach double figures for pass receptions since D.J. Winfield also hauled in 10 balls against the University of Mary back on Sept. 25, 2008 … UMD has won seven straight over Augustana … UMD’s longest run from scrimmage Saturday came from true freshman Shawn Magee — a 45-yard jaunt off a fake punt in the first quarter … Gavin Grady was in on 12 total tackles — tops among Bulldogs and a personal high for the senior inside linebacker.

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The Bulldogs whoop it up following Saturday’s overtime victory

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