WEEKEND PLANS
The University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux will close out the home football season with a Heroes Day, non-conference gridiron game against first time opponent Southern Oregon at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7 at the Alerus Center.
A HEROES WELCOME
University of North Dakota athletics and the Fighting Sioux football team invite all heroes of the Greater Grand Forks region to UND's football game versus Southern Oregon on Saturday, Nov. 7.
The first 750 police officers, firefighters, EMTs and military members and up to three dependents can receive free tickets to the game. Once the 750 free tickets have been claimed, tickets will be available to our heroes to purchase for only $5 each.
HISTORIC DAY FOR COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), the National Association of Collegiate Football Officials (NACFO), the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), the Athletic Equipment Managers Association (AEMA) and the College Sports Information Directors Association of America (CoSIDA) have teamed up with the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic and The V Foundation for Cancer Research as official partners of the Sixth Annual National College Football Day.
National College Football Day, observed on the first Saturday of November, was created by the AT&T Cotton Bowl six years ago as a way to pay tribute to a significant moment in our nation's history. On Nov. 6, 1869, Rutgers defeated Princeton, 6-4. More importantly, those college athletes left a lasting legacy that would evolve into the great spectacle of football. In 2006, the holiday took on added significance when the Classic teamed up with The V Foundation for Cancer Research.
The V Foundation, based in Cary, N.C., was founded in 1993 by ESPN and legendary coach and commentator Jim Valvano. The Foundation has raised more than $90 million to fund essential cancer research nationwide. The Foundation proudly assures donors that 100% of all donations and net proceeds of events are directly used to fund research and related programs, and has earned a prestigious four-star rating from Charity Navigator (charity rating service) for seven consecutive ranking periods.
To honor college football's 140th birthday, the AT&T Cotton Bowl has produced limited edition lapel pins.
Over 4,000 pins will be distributed to coaches, athletic directors, university presidents, sports publicists, game officials, equipment managers and media throughout the United States in hopes that everyone will wear their pin on National College Football Day.
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's game will mark the first meeting between the Fighting Sioux and the Raiders. SOU will also serve as the second NAIA opponent for the Sioux this season.
Against non-conference foes, UND holds a 7-5 record since the transition to NCAA Division I.
ON THIS DAY IN FIGHTING SIOUX HISTORY
When playing on Nov. 3, the University of North Dakota holds an overall 9-5 record and is 5-2 at home and 4-3 on the road.
North Dakota opened the Nov. 3 series in 1903 with a 6-0 shutout win over South Dakota at home. UND has since gone on to blank its opponents four more times on the third of November.
The first Nov. 3 loss came in 1914 when UND dropped a close 7-6 battle to North Dakota State.
The last time the Fighting Sioux played on Nov. 3 was in 1998. On that day, the Sioux defeated Augustana 35-18.
All-time UND has out-scored its Nov. 3 opponents 328-161 with an average score of 23-12.
RECORD REWIND
With the 31-17 win over No. 16 Cal Poly, head coach Chris Mussman's career record moved to 10-8, his conference record is now 3-3, and his record against non-conference remains at 7-5.
All-time, the Fighting Sioux are 599-357-30 on the gridiron ... Just ONE win away from 600.
NOTING THE FIGHTING SIOUX
North Dakota heads into Saturday's game with a 4-4 record overall and a 2-1 mark in the Great West Conference after defeating nationally ranked Cal Poly at home on Oct. 31. The Fighting Sioux used a second half comeback to take a 31-17 Hall of Fame victory ... The win snapped a two-game losing streak and pulled UND into a tie with Southern Utah for first place in the Great West Conference ... The win over the Mustangs also pulled CP out of the Top 25 national rankings ... UND is one of four teams in the conference (Southern Utah, UC Davis, Cal Poly) with an overall 4-4 record on the year.
OFFENSIVE NOTES
After a bit of a struggle over the two previous games against Sioux Falls (Oct. 17) and Southern Utah (Oct. 24), the North Dakota offensive unit pulled together and produced the second-best offensive showing of the season. In the 31-17 win over No. 16 Cal Poly, the Fighting Sioux recorded a season-high 238 yards rushing and totaled 189 yards receiving for 427 yards of total offense ... Junior QB Jake Landry (Grand Forks, N.D.) finished 14-for-22 for 181 yards. He also registered a career-high 92 yards rushing, including a 28-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter ... Landry's longest pass of the game was a 32-yard toss to sophomore wide receiver Ismael Bamba (Montreal, Quebec). Bamba finished with 104 yards receiving and 14 yards rushing. He is eight yards away from reaching 1,000 for the season ... UND's ground game was led by redshirt freshman Mitch Sutton (Plover, Wis.) who finished with 188 yards total offence 0 143 yards rushing and 45 yards receiving ... Also to note was backup quarterback sophomore Brent Goska (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) who came on the field briefly and registered a two-yard run and an eight-yard TD pass to senior Ryan Konrath (White Bear Lake, Minn.).
DEFENSIVE NOTES
Also stepping back into their role was the UND defense which held Cal Poly to just 72 yards rushing. In games prior, the Mustangs were averaging 206.9 yards on the ground per game ... Junior Ryan Kasowski (Grand Forks, N.D.) landed a team-high seven tackles (four solo) and added a forced fumble. He was one of two players (Curtis Dublanko) to register 1.5 QB sacks for a loss of eight yards and was one of three players (Steven Battle, Dan Hendrickson) to force a fumble ... Dublanko and junior Joel Schwenzfeier (Hallock, Minn.) both came away with big interceptions and junior Ty Boyle (International Falls, Minn.) was credited with a forced fumble and a blocked field goal attempt.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
Junior running back Steven Battle (Amesbury, Mass.) made a big impact on special teams on Saturday with some critical tackles. On three occasions, he found Cal Poly returner Jono Grayson and brought him down behind the Cal Poly 25-yard line. All three tackles were solo tackles ... Senior kicker Brandon Hellevang (Fargo, N.D.) registered seven points against Cal Poly, including three on a 47-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to extend the UND lead to 24-17 ... Redshirt freshman Brett Cameron (Winnipeg, Manitoba) came in for one play on Saturday and booted a high, 55-punt. The kick tied a season-record long set by Hellevang against Sioux Falls (Oct. 17).
NOTING THE RAIDERS
Southern Oregon comes to Grand Forks with on a two-game losing streak after falling to Humboldt State (34-3) and No. 8 Mary Hardin-Baylor (21-0). Overall, the Raiders are 2-6 on the season ... Quarterback Paul Sweeney has gone 85-for-193 for 942 yards this season with 11 interceptions and five touchdown passes ... His main targets this season are Vance Beach and Cole McKenzie who have recorded 341 and 217 yards, respectively ... On the ground, Brandon Baldwin has racked up 1,049 yards on 240 attempts and has scored all five of SOU's rushing TDs ... Kicker Tyler Crowley leads the team in scoring with 33 points thanks to an 8-for-13 field goal showing and a near-perfect 9-for-10 performance on extra-points ... On defense, Thomas Sandoval leads the team with 50 tackles (28 solo) with four pass breakups, a sack and a forced fumble. Will Watson has registered 10 tackles for a loss of 49 yards, including 3.5 quarterback sacks, and Damilyn Tanner leads the team with a pair of interceptions.
This will be the final game of the season for Southern Oregon.
SOUTHERN OREGON HEAD COACH STEVE HELMINIAK
Steve Helminiak is in his fourth season as a head football coach at Southern Oregon University.
Helminiak became SOU's 14th head football coach in 2006 and with an entirely new staff led the Raiders to a 2-7 finish. A year later, the Raiders made huge strides and finished 5-4 to claim the program's first winning season since 2003.
In his first three years in charge of the Raiders, Helminiak registered a 10-18 record.
Helminiak came to Ashland from Rockford (Ill.) College, where he served as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for two seasons. He helped the NCAA DIII Regents compile a 14-6 record with a pair of Upper Midwest Athletic Conference runner-up finishes.
His multiple-formation zone attack produced the country's 15th-best rushing offense in 2004, and the suburban Chicago native guided national leaders in both rushing and passing, as well as, 22 all-conference selections.
Helminiak spent 11 years on the coaching staff at his alma mater, Loras College, in Dubuque, Iowa, including three seasons as offensive coordinator (1998-2000) and seven as offensive line coach (1991-97).
During his tenure, the Duhawks posted a 70-55 record while competing in a top NCAA DIII league, and Loras featured nine 1,000-yard rushers, including the top two ball carriers in school history.
As a player, Helminiak played offensive and defensive line positions during his four-year career at Loras between 1986-89, and he was a two-year varsity lineman at Immaculate Conception High in Elmhurst, Ill.
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 FightingSioux.com.
No television broadcast will be available for Saturday's game.
For complete game notes, click on the link at the top of the page ...
- Go Sioux -
