5 things you might've missed in UND's 28-19 win over South Dakota
Nov. 12—GRAND FORKS — The UND football team collected an important seventh win of the season Saturday with a 28-19 victory over South Dakota at the Alerus Center.
Here's five things you might've missed during the game.
After Tommy Schuster's interception in the end zone with 2:21 left in the second quarter, South Dakota momentarily looked to add insult to injury by busting the first play from scrimmage on a Shomari Lawrence 27-yard run to midfield.
However, USD offensive lineman Alex Jensen was called for holding. That call set the wheels in motion for the game-turning sequence.
After the penalty, USD's play-calling turned safe and allowed just enough time for a blocked punt and a Tommy Schuster-to-Bo Belquist touchdown pass before halftime.
UND entered the day in a tie four fourth place in the FCS in blocked punts this year with three.
UND blocked two punts against South Dakota State and a blocked punt against Youngstown State — a block, scoop and score by Cole Davis — keyed that road victory.
After the game, UND coach Bubba Schweigert credited special teams coach Shawn Kostich, safeties coach Joel Schwenzfeier (punt block coach), graduate assistant coach Joe Seymour (punt block coach) and inside linebackers coach Carl Reinholz (extra point coach).
Schweigert also pointed to courage of his unit, specifically referencing a photo of a Jayson Coley block against South Dakota State in which the UND safety appears to block the play with his midsection.
"You've got to have courage," Schweigert said. "I don't know if you saw a few weeks ago that photo, but that's courage to lay your body out there. The real credit goes to the players who have to have a belief they can go do it."
UND had a surprise change in the starting lineup against South Dakota.
Starting center Peyton Lotysz, a Grand Forks Red River product, was injured in practice earlier this week and was in a protective boot on the sidelines.
In his place, UND started Danny Carroll at center. Carroll had started games early in 2022 before a handful of bad snaps led to Lotysz taking over.
Against USD, UND didn't fumble and quarterback-center exchanges, although quarterback Tommy Schuster appeared to leave his feet a few times when taking snaps.
The extent of the Lotysz injury is unclear.
South Dakota running back Travis Theis was a handful for the UND defense.
Theis ran 14 times for 95 yards (6.8 yards per carry average) and also had three catches for 37 yards.
The first UND tackler to Theis rarely made the stop.
"I grabbed him after the game and told him I respect the way he plays the game," Schweigert said. "If you don't get to him early, he's hard to bring down. He's a tough, hard-nosed football player."
UND quarterback Tommy Schuster, who broke the school's career passing yardage mark last weekend at Indiana State, turned in another clean performance.
Schuster finished 24-for-28 passing for 243 yards and three touchdowns. He wasn't sacked.
Schuster's favorite target was Bo Belquist, who caught seven passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns.
Red Wilson added five catches for 55 yards in a key role in the short-passing game.
Garett Maag had two catches for 44 yards.
