DULUTH, Minn. – Northern State was state was held to less than 200 yards of offense and kept off the scoreboard until the closing minutes in a 34-7 setback to Minnesota Duluth in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football on Saturday afternoon.
“Credit to UMD for a great game plan and having their team ready to play a great game,” said Northern coach Mike Schmidt. “They beat us in every facet. I am disappointed for our team, program, and our fans. Today wasn’t good enough.
Duluth scored a pair of first-quarter touchdowns for the only points it would need. The Bulldogs added a pair of field goals in the second period for a 20-0 halftime advantage.
The hosts tacked on two more touchdowns, one in each of the third and fourth quarters before the Wolves scored with 1:17 left in the game when Joey Dube-Garrett tossed a 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Brodey Sauerwein for his first career score.
Northern struggled on offense, converting just 1 of 18 third and fourth-down conversions in the contest.
“Today was a really tough day for us offensively. We sustained a bunch of injuries and didn’t execute at all,” Schmidt said. “We have to regroup and figure out where we go from here.”
Standout running back Hank Kraft as well as receivers Jesse Campbell and Cooper Eisenbeisz, and left guard Connor Wallman all left the game with injuries. Schmidt believes that all will be able to play in the near future.
All-American linebacker Jake Adams had 13 tackles and recovered a pair of fumbles to lead the Northern defense.
“Defensively, I am proud of the valiant effort our guys gave. Duluth had a great game plan schematically and executed at a high level,” Schmidt said. “I need to make better adjustments and get our players in better positions.”
The Wolves, 5-2 on the season, have a bye week coming up before returning to action at Minnesota State, Moorhead on Saturday, Oct. 24.
“Today wasn’t good enough and I own that,” Schmidt said. “We need to have a very productive bye week. We need to use it to get healthy and get back to playing high level football. This game doesn’t define our season, and we still have everything in front of us.”
To see a complete box score, click on the following link:
https://nsuwolves.com/sports/football/stats/2026/minnesota-duluth/boxscore/14645
