Game Statistics

MARSHALL, Minn. - Isaac Odim snapped a 27-27 contest with a 13-yard touchdown run with 8:13 left in the game to lift No. 9 and defending NCAA champion Minnesota Duluth to a thrilling 34-27 victory over Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday night in Marshall.

 

UMD with the victory improves to 2-1 overall, 2-0 NSIC, while SMSU drops to 2-1 overall, 1-1 NSIC.

 

Odim finished the night with 140 yards rushing on 25 carries and one touchdown.  Odim rushed for 76 yards and 10 carries in the final quarter.

 

The 27 points allowed are the most allowed by UMD since week nine of the 2007 season.

 

Ryan Ratekin led the SMSU offense completing 19 of 26 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns, while Blake Wilson finished with a game-high six receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns.

 

SMSU scored the game's first touchdown on a 29-yard touchdown run by Zach Wysong with 9:04 left in the first quarter to take an early 6-0 lead.  

Following a UMD touchdown and extra point, SMSU answered back with a score early the second quarter on a Ryan Ratekin to Blake Wilson 22-yard touchdown pass with 13:38 remaining the half.  The drive was highlighted by a Derek Townsend to Warren Matthews 43-yard pass connection on a fake punt on fourth and three from the SMSU 35-yard line.  Just one play later Ratekin connected with Wilson to give SMSU the two-point lead after a failed two-point conversion attempt.

 

UMD came right back with two touchdowns and a field goal to build a 24-12 halftime lead.

The Bulldogs took a 14-12 lead with 9:51 left in the opening half as Chase Vogler, making his first career start for UMD, drilled a 17-yard touchdown pass to D'Andre Sherill.

SMSU was forced to punt facing fourth down and nine from their own 45-yard line when UMD took advantage of SMSU's only turnover of the night.  The Mustangs attempted a fake punt again, but Townsend's pass was intercepted by Cody Eich and he returned it 45 yards for a touchdown to make it 21-12 with 8:03 left in the quarter.

The Bulldogs opened the second half with a field goal with 3:05 remaining in the third quarter to build a 27-12 lead, but the Mustang offense came right back on consecutive possessions to tie the score early in the fourth quarter.

 

Ratekin connected on a 66-yard touchdown pass to Wade McDonough late in the third quarter to pull SMSU to within 27-20.  The Mustang defense then stepped up big time forcing UMD to punt after three plays and on the Mustangs' next possession the game was tied as Blake Wilson scored on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Ratekin to make the score 27-27 with 13:38 remaining in the game.  Ratekin was a perfect 4 of 4 passing for 53 yards on the drive.

 

UMD had the game's final answer driving 77 yards on 11 plays as Odim scored the game-winning touchdown with 8:13 left on Odim's 13-yard run.  The biggest play of the drive came early in the possession as the Bulldog offense faced third down and seven from the UMD 37-yard line and with the home SMSU crowd energized, Vogler scrambled from a near sack for 13 yards and a first down to keep the drive alive.

UMD finished the game 8 of 13 on third-down conversions, while SMSU was just 2 of 8.

 

UMD then forced the SMSU offense to go three-and-out on its next drive forcing a punt with 5:50 remaining in the game and was then able to run out the clock to earn the victory.

The Bulldog offense amassed 435 yards in the game including 249 on the ground on 53 attempts.  UMD entered the game ranked third in the nation in rushing offense at 337 yards per game.  Vogler completed 15 of 20 passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns.  D.J. Winfield led UMD receivers with five receptions for 72 yards and one touchdown.

SMSU racked up 333 yards of offense but was held to just 34 yards rushing on 17 attempts.  Ratekin was sacked four times in the game for a loss of minus-16 yards.  Wysong led SMSU with 49 yards and one touchdown on nine attempts.

McDonough added five receptions for a career-high 97 yards and one touchdown while Bret Ballantine recorded three receptions for 15 yards.

The Mustang defense was paced by a career-high 10 tackles by safety Levi Reiff, while Joe Stupka also added a career-high with nine tackles and recovered a UMD fumble.

SMSU concludes its three-game homestand next Saturday afternoon with a 1 p.m. kickoff versus Upper Iowa University in an NSIC showdown.