Isaac Odim and Minnesota-Duluth showed the crowd at Alex Nemzek Stadium why they're the top-ranked team in NCAA Division II football on Saturday.
The Bulldogs piled up more than 600 yards of offense during their 56-7 win over Minnesota State Moorhead in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play.
Odim finished with 239 total yards and five touchdowns for the Bulldogs.
"He's a great football player," said UMD head coach Bob Neilson, whose team is ranked No. 1 in the media poll and second in the coaches' poll. "He's the kind of guy that anytime he has the ball he's capable of making a big play."
The loss halted MSUM's two-game winning streak.
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"We showed up and we were ready to play ... but we just did not execute," Dragons head coach Joel Beard said. "When you play the No. 1 team in the country you gotta execute at a high level, and we just did not today."
The Dragons fell behind early as UMD's offense fired on all cylinders.
After a 49-yard kickoff return by Justin Claiborne, the Bulldogs started their first drive on MSUM's
37-yard line. Two plays later, quarterback Chase Vogler hit Odim down the right sideline for a 22-yard scoring strike.
Vogler capped the Bulldogs' second drive with a
2-yard scamper into the end zone and UMD found itself with a 14-0 lead just over five minutes into the game.
UMD has outscored its opponents 70-6 in the first quarter this season.
"We came out and made some things happen at the very beginning of the game and that's what you have to do in a game like this," Neilson said.
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UMD (5-0, 4-0 NSIC) scored touchdowns on seven of its first eight drives.
Odim finished with 171 yards on the ground on 11 carries. He added three catches for 68 yards. Fellow senior Brad Foss rounded out UMD's two-pronged rushing attack with 130 yards on 17 carries.
The win was the 24th consecutive win in NSIC play for the Bulldogs and their 18th straight on the road.
"We knew that we had to play pretty much a perfect game to play with these guys," Dragons wide receiver Nick Scharpf said. "We showed a lot of heart, we didn't quit. They're a great team and we give them all the credit."
Scharpf finished with a game-high 174 receiving yards on six catches.
UMD 21 21 14 0-56
MSUM 0 7 0 0- 7
UMD-Odim 22 pass from Vogler (Nadeau kick)
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UMD-Vogler 2 run (Nadeau kick)
UMD-Odim 5 run (Nadeau kick)
UMD-Odim 15 run (Nadeau kick)
MSUM-Scharpf 69 pass from Koch (Kramer kick)
UMD-Foss 4 run (Nadeau kick)
UMD-Odim 14 run (Nadeau kick)
UMD-Odim 75 run (Nadeau kick)
Pauley 19 pass from Lynch (Nadeau kick)
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TEAM STATISTICS
UMD MSUM
First downs 28 13
Rushes-yards 47-389 28-109
Passing 217 235
Comp-Att-Int 14-20-0 16-35-1
Punts-Avg. 4-32.2 4-40.2
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0
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Penalties-Yards 3-28 1-5
Time of Possession 34:38 25:22
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: UMD, Odim 11-169, Foss 17-123, Bauer 11-52, Vogler 3-43. MSUM, McWilliams 13-84, Haynes 1-24, Lucious-West 7-13, Bedgood 2-4.
PASSING: UMD, Vogler 6-9-0 95, Lynch 8-9-0 122. MSUM, Koch 16-32-0 235, Pluta 0-2-1 0.
RECEIVING: UMD, Odim 3-68, Sherill 3-33, Winfield 2-32, Stinogel 2-28. MSUM, Scharpf 6-174, Hendon 3-23, Marlowe 2-16, Thompson 2-13.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Andrew Gottenborg at (701) 241-5549
