#7 UMD Football Preps for Tough Ashland Defense in First Round of NCAA Tournament
On Saturday, the 10-1 Bulldogs will travel to Ohio to take on the 9-2 Ashland Eagles in the first round of the NCAA playoff tournament.
DULUTH, Minn.- After ending the regular season by claiming the NSIC Conference title, the UMD football team now shifts their attention to the NCAA tournament.
On Saturday, the 10-1 Bulldogs will travel to Ohio to take on the 9-2 Ashland Eagles in the first round of the NCAA playoff tournament.
Saturday’s matchup against the Eagles will mark the Bulldogs 13th NCAA tournament appearance in program history.
It’ll be a test right from the start as the Eagles defense is ranked 2nd in the country.
When facing a top defense, head coach Curt Wiese and the team will need to play as one to secure a victory.
“I think we have a tight knit group. It’s part of the reason we are in the position that we are. I think our team has played hungry all season long, we’ve prepared hard,” said Wiese. “We take a little bit of an underdog approach. We’re a 10-1 team that just won a conference championship and what I believe is one of the better conferences in the country and to be on the road I think is a little bit of an underdog approach as we head to Ohio.”
The last time that the Bulldogs were in the national tournament, star quarterback Kyle Walljasper was a freshman on the team and didn’t see the field.
Now, the senior quarterback is focused on one thing in his playoff debut.
“Just win, one game at a time. Really the only focus that we have now is on Ashland. So, just try to win that game and see what happens from there,” said Walljasper. “The same as every other week. I mean in the NSIC we played a ton of tough games week in and week out you just got to prepare and just do your best for every week. It’s just going to be same type of week, execute our game plan and just play it one play at a time.”
Kickoff between the Bulldogs and the Eagles is Saturday, November 22nd, at noon.
