WEEKEND PLANS
On Saturday, Oct. 17, the Fighting Sioux will look to extended their two-game, home win-streak to three as they host the defending NAIA national champion Sioux Falls. Kickoff between UND and the undefeated Cougars is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Alerus Center.
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's game will mark the first meeting between North Dakota and Sioux Falls. The Cougars will be the 136th different opponent for the Fighting Sioux.
UND has faced seven different teams for the first time with Chris Mussman as head coach and are 3-4 in those games. The team is also 7-4 against non-conference foes.
ON THIS DAY IN FIGHTING SIOUX HISTORY
All-time on Oct. 17, North Dakota holds a 10-4 record. UND is 5-2 at home and 5-2 on the road. The last time the Fighting Sioux played on 10/17 was in 1998 when they look a 39-25 victory over North Dakota State. The last loss and last home game was in 1997 when the Sioux fell 31-10 to NDSU.
On Oct. 17, North Dakota is outscoring its opponents 356-216.
RECORD REWIND
With the 31-24 Potato Bowl USA win over the Seawolves, Chris Mussman's career record moved to 9-6 and his record against non-conference stands at 7-4.
All-time, the Fighting Sioux are 598-355-30 on the gridiron ... just two wins away from 600.
NOTING THE FIGHTING SIOUX
North Dakota is on a two-game win streak after taking a 31-24 victory over Stony Brook (Oct. 10) in the 44th Annual Potato Bowl USA. The Fighting Sioux have nabbed over 300 all-purpose yards in the past two games and are just one yard away from surpassing the 1,000-yard mark in passing/receiving this season.
OFFENSIVE NOTES
Junior QB Jake Landry (Grand Forks, N.D.) is just 18 yards away from a season-best 1,000 yards. He has gone 87-for-138 (63.0 percent) with six TD passes. He has a pass efficiency rating of 134.27 and is averaging 196.4 yards per game ... Landry's top receiver is sophomore Ismael Bamba (Montreal, Quebec) who has recorded over 100 receiving yards in three-consecutive games. Bamba leads the team with 775 all-purpose yards (504 receiving and 271 kick return). He is averaging 100.8 yards per game and has scored three touchdowns ... On the ground, redshirt freshman Mitch Sutton (Plover, Wis.) tops the team with 319 yards on 66 attempts. He is averaging 63.8 yards per game and has reached the endzone four times as a running back, one time as a wide receiver and once as a quarterback ... As a team, the Sioux are averaging 307.6 yards total offense per game and have scored 16 touchdowns.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
Junior safety Joel Schwenzfeier (Hallock, Minn.) leads the Sioux defensive with 32 tackles (25 solo) with six of those stops accounting for 12 yards of loss. With another interception against Stony Brook (Oct. 10) he moved his season total to four and his career total to five. He is one of three players (Dominique Hawkins, Ryan Pollow) to intercept a pass this season ... Second on the team in total tackles in junior defensive back Kris Ankenbauer (Murphy, Texas) who has racked up 26 stops (20 solo). He leads the team with two recovered fumbles and had tallied two pass breakups ... Hawkins, a sophomore cornerback from Plymouth, Minn., is tied with Ankenbauer with 26 tackles. He has made 18 solo stops and has recorded three pass breakups and two interceptions. Both pick-offs have been returned for touchdowns. UND's lone sack belongs to sophomore defensive back Delano Saporu (Blain, Minn.) ... As a team, the defense has held its opponents to 38 percent (3-for-8) in fourth-down conversions and 52 percent (34-for-65) in third-down conversions. The "D" has recorded 344 tackles (232 solo) with 27 tackles for loss. They have also registered 15 quarterback hurries, 13 passes defended, and six forced fumbles.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
The special teams unit has been responsible for four blocked kicks this season with three blocked extra-points and one blocked punt ... Senior punter/kicker Brandon Hellevang (Fargo, N.D.) is 5-for-7 on field goals and is 2-for-3 when those kicks are over 50 yards. In extra-points, he is 14-for-16. Hellevang has registered 1,008 yards punting (42.0 ypp) and 1,534 yards on kickoffs (59.0 ypk).
NOTING THE COUGARS
The University of Sioux Falls comes into Grand Forks and the Alerus Center with an unblemished 6-0 mark. The Cougars have out-scored their 2009 opponents 347-33, including two shutouts.
The offense is captained by QB Lorenzo Brown who has completed 104-of-146 passes (71.2 percent) for 1,438 yards and 18 touchdowns. Brown has five receivers, Jon Ryan, Alex Anderson, Brad Theilen, Austin VanHove, and Ryan Lowmiller, with over 100 yards. Those five players are responsible for 1,385 yards and 16 touchdowns.
On the ground, Brown has five players, Lowmiller, Kristian Porter, Jake Crowl, Ismael Small, Dunbar and himself with over 100 yards. Lowmiller leads the pack with 398 of the team's total 1,448 rushing yards.
Ten Cougar defenders have recorded an interception and three of those have been returned for touchdowns.
Trevor Holleman, Cody Cavender, Nate Everett, Michael Hill, and Joe Moen lead the Cougar defense with a combined 92 tackles (58 solo). Holleman leads with three interceptions, a forced fumble and a blocked kick. Hill has made three tackles for a loss of 12 yards with two quarterback sacks.
UNIVERSITY OF SIOUX FALLS HEAD COACH KALEN DEBOER
University of Sioux Falls head football coach Kalen DeBoer is entering his fifth season at the helm of the USF football program. In four seasons DeBoer has compiled a 52-3 overall record and a 13-2 postseason mark, including winning the GPAC Championship three times in a row (2006, 2007, 2008) and national championship in 2006 and 2008.
At age 32 in 2006, DeBoer became one of the youngest head coaches ever win a national title guiding the Cougars to a perfect 14-0 record and a NAIA Football National Championship. USF won their second football national title with a 23-19 victory over Saint Francis (Ind.) at Jim Carroll Stadium in Savannah, Tennessee.
From 2006-07, the Cougars had a school-record 27-game winning streak that ended in a 17-9 loss to Carroll College (Mont.) in the 2007 national title game.
With "unfinished business" as the motto for the 2008 season, DeBoer guided the Cougars to another 14-0 season, capturing USF's third national title with a 23-7 victory over Carroll College (Montana) at Barron Stadium in Rome, Georgia. USF led the Great Plains Athletic Conference in several statistical categories. For his efforts, DeBoer was named GPAC Coach of The Year for the third consecutive season.
The Cougars currently have a 42 game home win streak and have won 77 of their last 78 conference contests.
MEDIA INFORMATION
All UND football games can be heard on 96.1 FM ("TheFox") in Grand Forks and on stations across the Fighting Sioux Radio Network. Dan Hammer calls the play-by-play with former Grand Forks Central High School football coach Mike Berg as his color analyst. Former UND defensive back Kelly Howe provides sideline reports. You can also listen online at www.FightingSioux.com.
Live stats and live audio/video will be available on both FightingSioux.com.
Fans can watch Saturday's game on FightingSioux.com, DirecTV channel 617, or on Midcontinent channel 23 (North Dakota only). Rebroadcasts will be available during the week.
- Go Sioux -
