UMD Football Uses ‘One Play’ Mindset for 2025 Season

The Bulldogs first game is against Winona State at TCO Stadium.

DULUTH, Minn.- The UMD football team kicked off its 2025 training camp on Monday.

The Bulldogs enter the season with 43 new faces on the team.

But a key player returning this year is Senior Quarterback Kyle Walljasper.

Last season, the Bulldogs finished the year with a 7-4 record.

All four losses from last season were one-score contests.

As the Bulldogs begin a new season, the team is using last year’s lessons to reach their end goal.

“We are going to use that as a learning experience this fall. Our goal here is not to be 7-4; we want to be a playoff-caliber football team every year. We’ve fallen short of that here the last couple of seasons. It’s going to be one play at a time, one game at a time for us here this fall,” said UMD head coach Curt Wiese.

The 2025 Bulldogs will attack this season one play at a time.

“Our shirts that we were all given before fall camp say ‘one play’ on them. When I look back on those games, it comes down to a lot of times, one play. Whether that’s a lack of focus at times, or that type of thing. We are going to keep hammering that through practice and remembering to take it one play at a time, focus, and give your maximum effort every play,” said UMD defensive back Alex Sylvester.

The Bulldogs have a special start to the season.

Their first game is against Winona State at TCO Stadium, where the Minnesota Vikings practice in Eagan, Minnesota.

“I think it’s going to be a great experience for us. I know our football team, are alumni, and our fans. We’ve heard a lot already about the opportunity to go play down there, the first collegiate game in the Vikings practice facility,” said Wiese

“I’ve driven past it a couple of times this summer. Just daydreaming, I’m so pumped I know it’s going to be a good game. Winona’s always fun to play against,” said Sylvester.

The Bulldogs and the Warriors open up the 2025 season on August 28th.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m.