LUBBOCK, Texas - It was arguably the most talked about game of the summer - the University of North Dakota opening the 2009 football season against Texas Tech, their first BCS conference opponent since 1976. It was an action-packed, hard-fought game on both ends, but when the final whistle sounded Texas Tech defeated UND 38-13.
In front of a crowd of 47,824, the Fighting Sioux (0-1, 0-0 GWC) held their own against the defending Big 12 South Division champion Texas Tech (1-0, 0-0 Big 12) - despite what the numbers might say.
"Well, the thing I told our team throughout the game was to compete," head coach Chris Mussman said. "They were not intimidated by the atmosphere. They weren't intimidated by the quality opponent they were facing. They just went out there and worked hard every snap. That is really all a coach can ask for no matter who they are playing."
Junior Jake Landry (Grand Forks, N.D.) finished his first start at quarterback with 134 yards on 20-for-28 completions. He used seven different receivers and went the full 60 minutes without an interception.
Redshirt freshman runningback Mitch Sutton led the Sioux in both rushing and receiving. The Plover, Wis., native finished with 32 yards on the ground and another 25 in the air. He scored UND's lone touchdown at 11:51 in the fourth quarter with a nine-yard run into the left side corner of the endzone.
UND's other seven points were scored off of the foot of senior kicker Brandon Hellevang. The Fargo, N.D., put the Sioux on the board at 00:06 in the first quarter with a 39-yard field goal. Late in the second quarter, he snuck in a 52-yard kick to put the score at 21-6. The final point followed Sutton's TD.
Another Sioux making great plays on the field was junior safety Joel Schwenzfeier (Hallock, Minn.) who finished with a career-high seven solo tackles and three interceptions. His three pickoffs tied a 15-year-old UND single-game record.
Murphy, Texas native Kris Ankenbauer also had a solid defensive game finishing with seven solo tackles of his own, including one tackle for loss. Sophomore defensive back Delano Saporu (Blaine, Minn.) notched UND's first sack of the season when he brought down TTU's Taylor Potts. The hit knocked the ball loose, but the Red Raiders were able to recover.
Potts totaled an impressive 405 passing yards on 34-for-48 completions and two touchdowns, but he also threw three interceptions and was sacked once in the backfield.
"We knew our secondary was going to be tested, but this is his [Tech quarterback Taylor Potts] first start," Mussman said. "Joel [Schwenzfeier] made three great plays on the ball. I don't know if he saw the safety over the top, but the one on their sideline was unbelievable. I was pretty proud today of our secondary. We've only got one senior in the bunch, and we rotate a lot of guys in and out there. Like everyone else, they played pretty awesome."
His number one target, a preseason Biletnikoff trophy candidate, Detron Lewis recorded 146 receiving yards, including a 49-yard touchdown reception. TTU's top rusher was Baron Batch who finished with 32 yards on nine carries and one touchdown run.
Defensively, Marlon Williams led the Red Raiders with 8.5 tackles (seven solo), including two sacks. Rajon Heley and Daniel Howard recorded one sack apiece.
The Fighting Sioux will have next weekend off. They will return to action on Sept. 19 with another southern road game. This time the Sioux road show will take place in Natchitoches, La., against Northwestern State. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. central.
- Go Sioux -
GAME NOTES: This is the 115th season of football at UND ... Hellevang's 52-yard field goal was the second-longest of his career. The longest ever at UND was a 59-yard field goal by Cameron Peterka. Peterka did so twice. First, at St. Cloud State (Nov. 4, 2000) and then again on Nov. 24, 2001 against Pittsburgh State ... Today's attendance of 47,824 is just 3,013 less than UND's total Alerus attendance last season ... With three interceptions, Schwenzfeier tied a 15-year-old UND single-game record.
