No. 23-ranked Minnesota Duluth used two fourth-quarter touchdowns while holding Wayne State to minus-5 yards in the second half as the host Bulldogs wore down the Wildcats 21-7 Saturday in Duluth, Minn.
Duluth was looking to score early before the Wildcat defense forced a fumble and Jalen Burgess recovered at the Wildcats’ 9-yard line.
Wayne State was able to move the ball on their first drive, covering 52 yards on six plays before the drive stalled at the UMD 39 to force a punt on their lone drive of the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, the Bulldogs intercepted a Wildcat pass at the Wayne State 18-yard line and turned that miscue into points as Wade Sullivan scored on a four-yard run to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead with 10:06 remaining in the first half.
With time running out in the first half, the Wildcats drove from their own 28 and took advantage of two big plays — a Devin Merkuris 25-yard run followed by a Tavian Willis-to-Mason Lee pass for 37 yards to set up the Wildcats at the Bulldogs’ 8-yard line. After a pass interference call in the end zone moved the ball to the 2-yard line, Willis ran a bootleg to the right side of the field for the tying score with :03 left in the first half to knot things up at 7-7.
Wayne State had the first scoring opportunity of the second half as the Wildcats forced a Bulldog turnover on Duluth’s first series of the half. MJ Blankenfeld recovered a Wade Sullivan fumble that gave Wayne State the ball at the Duluth 29, but a a penalty and sack took Wayne State out of field goal range.
Duluth took control of the game from there, putting together a ball-control drive that spanned 12 plays and 83 yards. The drive finished when reserve quarterback Garrett Olson found Byron Bynum on a nine-yard scoring pass to give the Bulldogs a 14-7 lead with 13:23 to go.
Duluth got another break later in the fourth when a long punt return set up the game-clinching score, with Sullivan going in from five yards out with 4:54 to give Duluth the victory.
Minnesota Duluth outgained Wayne State in the contest 291-106 as the Bulldogs held the Wildcats to minus-5 yards in the second half, thanks to seven sacks for 44 yards. Wayne State had 30 yards rushing and 76 passing while Duluth gained 175 rushing and 116 passing.
Merkuris led Wayne State in rushing with 40 yards on nine carries. Willis completed 4-of-11 passes for 71 yards with one interception while Alex Thramer was 1-of-2 for five yards. Lee was the top Wildcat receiver with two grabs for 48 yards.
Defensively, sophomore linebacker Nicholas Joynt recorded a game-high 11 tackles followed by Ian Ailts and Zaiden Hernandez with six stops each. Blankenfeld and Jalen Burgess each had fumble recoveries.
Wayne State (2-4, 1-3 NSIC South) will be at home Saturday, hosting Northern State in a 1 p.m. contest at Bob Cunningham Field in Wayne.
