UND's 31-24 Potato Bowl win against Stony Brook on Saturday in the Alerus Center likely won't make many highlight reels.
"It wasn't pretty; it wasn't a beauty contest," UND defensive back Joel Schwenzfeier said. "In that style of game, you have to scrap and crawl for everything you get. But a win is a win."
The game, in some ways, was a throwback to old-school, physical football -- the kind decided at the line of scrimmage.
"We didn't make mistakes and that was the biggest difference in the game," UND coach Chris Mussman said. "We created points off their turnovers.
"I'll give them credit. They pretty much shut down our running game and they continually moved the ball down the field."
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The tide-turners
It was three Stony Brook turnovers that was the game-changing difference. The Sioux scored 21 points off the turnovers -- two interceptions and a fumble.
Those were about the only plays that produced much energy from the crowd of 8,494 fans. For the first two quarters, the Sioux didn't give their fans a lot of reason to make much noise.
"The only thing I didn't like was our lack of emotion," Mussman said. "When I came into the locker room at halftime, I let them have it a little bit. We were walking around out there without much of a spark. The second half was much better."
UND led 14-7 at halftime, thanks to interceptions by Schwenzfeier and Dominique Hawkins.
Schwenzfeier's interception and 20-yard return led to Jarrel Davis' 1-yard scoring run. Hawkins put the Sioux up 14-7 when he scored on a 35-yard interception with 37 seconds left in the half.
"I pretty much watched the quarterback," Hawkins said. "I had a good break out on the ball, got in front of the receiver, caught the ball and ran for the touchdown."
At halftime, UND's offense generated only 67 yards production. The two Sioux defensive backs almost matched that total by their 55 return yards on the interceptions.
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Quick strike
UND's offense had a better second half. The Sioux scored on their first possession, capped by Ismael Bamba's 21-yard pass from Jake Landry with 11:29 left in the third quarter.
That gave the Sioux a 21-7 lead, but Stony Brook matched the Sioux on its ensuing possession. Edwin Gowins scored on a 32-yard run with 7:54 left in the third to cut UND's lead to 21-14.
The teams traded touchdowns before Brandon Hellevang's 38-yard field goal with 7:57 left gave UND a 31-21 lead and the gap it needed.
UND's offense finished with 309 yards. But the Sioux did not commit any turnovers, the second straight week the offense has played error-free.
"We played well enough to win; that sums it up," said Landry, who completed 21 of 34 passes for 225 yards and one touchdown. "We came out right away and didn't play as well as we should have played. But we made the plays when he had to make plays."
UND's ground game was limited by Mitch Sutton's hamstring injury. But backup Jarrel Davis snapped off a 46-yard run late in the game to seal the win.
Stony Brook outgained UND 438 yards to 309. The Seawolves were led by quarterback Michael Coulter, who completed 16 of 24 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns.
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But the Seawolves (2-4) were hurt by penalties. Stony Brook was flagged nine times for 90 yards. A couple penalties helped UND sustain drives.
The final Stony Brook penalty, coming with UND nursing its 31-24 lead with less than three minutes to play, was the most costly.
On third-and-9 from its 18, Landry completed a 3-yard pass to Ryan Dressler, short of the first down. But Stony Brook's Tyler Santucci was called for roughing the passer, which gave UND a first down.
"They came in late and put their hands to the face of the quarterback," Landry said. "They'll call that every time."
Two plays later, Davis ran for 46 yards -- UND's biggest rush of the day.
"We're 3-2 now," Bamba said. "Everything is good. We just have to keep winning. That's what we're here for."
