WAYNE NELSON: UND team shows some resiliency

UND linebacker Dayo Idowu was asked if he thought the game would ever end. “I knew there was a point in which it would end,” he said.

For many, including Idowu, the end just never seemed in sight.

In perhaps the zaniest final 68 seconds in Alerus Center history, UND’s defense managed to make play after play after play in the closing seconds of North Dakota’s 24-16 win over Portland State on Saturday - a victory that won’t define Bubba Schweigert’s first season as the program’s coach but one that certainly suggests the fiery redhead’s team won’t give in under any circumstance.

So, in Week 6 of the season, UND took another step forward - this time by any means possible.

“Bite, scratch and claw,” said Bubba. “That’s how you play defense.”

And that’s pretty much what UND’s defense did in those final 68 seconds, which began with a Portland State first-and-10 at the North Dakota 18.

Portland State did everything in the final minute - except score. The Vikings advanced to the UND 4 but Idowu tackled Portland State’s Nate Tago at the North Dakota 2 as time expired.

“You get to see what your team is made of in close games,” said Idowu.

And we’re seeing a UND team that has some resiliency.

After last week’s punch-to-the-gut 18-15 last-second home loss against Montana, the deck again seemed stacked against UND. The Vikings were driving toward the north end zone, where Montana drilled a 35-yard field goal as time expired. A sense of Déjà vu existed.

The Montana game was a game UND should have won. Not much doubt about it.

A week later, UND won a game it probably should have lost. Not much doubt about that, either.

Why?

There are a handful of reasons:

First, UND is one beat up football team right now. North Dakota lost starting quarterback Joe Mollberg to a concussion in the first quarter. Its top receiver, R.J. McGill, went down with an injury returning a kickoff in the first half. The team’s all-purpose special teams standout, Maverick Edmunds, also was carted off the Alerus turf.

Second, a portion of UND’s fan base apparently thought last week’s loss to Montana ended any reason to watch more North Dakota football. A disappointing homecoming crowd of 7,894 fans turned out for a game that had just about every twist and turn featured in football - including zany finish.

Three, UND - for all practical purposes - looked like a team that was doomed after trailing 13-3 at halftime. Through two quarters, UND managed only 73 yards of offense. Backup quarterback Ryan Bartels wasn’t sharp early.

Somehow, things changed in UND’s halftime locker room.

“I just saw that Ryan had confidence after halftime,” said Idowu. “And that picked everybody up.”

Bartels shook off the rust and led UND to back-to-back scoring drives on North Dakota’s first two possessions of the third quarter.

UND’s defense continued its solid play, which helped lead to Alex Tillman’s school-record 95-yard punt return midway through the fourth quarter.

But UND still had to survive Portland State’s 10-play zany march from the North Dakota 18 to the in the final 68 seconds.

“Coach told us we had to bite, scratch and claw and that’s what we did,” said Tillman.

Tillman and his defensive teammates listened.

Hopefully, a portion of UND’s fan base heard that message as well.