UND’s football team opened its season last Thursday in high fashion, rolling to a 69-10 victory over Valparaiso in front of an announced crowd of 9,269.

North Dakota was firing on all cylinders as the Green and White picked up major contributions from both veterans and newcomers alike.

“For our first game, I would have never imagined it would have been that score,” UND coach Chris Mussman said.

The 69 points UND scored are the most in its Division I history, and the last time North Dakota scored that much was in 1972 in a 69-0 shutout of Morningside. UND’s offense exploded for 541 yards while its defense held the Crusader’s offense to a meager 174 yards during Thursday’s game.

All-American receiver Greg Hardin set off UND’s season with a bang, as he pulled in a 75-yard pass from rookie quarterback Ryan Bartels on North Dakota’s opening drive in the game. For Bartels, the snap was the first in his collegiate career, and it was just the beginning of his highlight performance.

Bartels slid into his role as the Green and White’s lead quarterback with ease as he completed 10 of 12 passes for 212 yards, along with his touchdown pass to Hardin.

“The quarterbacks did a good job with managing the offense,” Mussman said.

Bartels shared snaps with fellow rookie Joe Mollberg who also looked confident in his first collegiate outing, completing six of seven passes for 74 yards.

North Dakota’s air assault was led by receiver Greg Hardin, who hauled in five passes for 163 yards. Kenny Golladay brought down five receptions of his own for 58 receiving yards, while Romon Bridges caught three receptions while picking up 31 yards.

The Green and White picked up huge gains on the ground game off the legs of running back Jake Miller, who powered through the Crusader’s defense for 108 yards from 17 carries while finding the endzone for three rushing touchdowns. PJ Sparks picked up 64 yards of his own from seven carries, including a 38-yard rush, while Jer Garman had 42 rushing yards off of nine carries.

Dayo Idowu led North Dakota’s defense with eight tackles, while Derrick Goard, Brian Otto and Ben Peters had five tackles each. The Green and White suffocated Valparaiso’s ground game, holding the Crusaders to just 81 yards on the game while pulling down Valpo’s backs for 48 lost yards. The Crusader’s passing game didn’t fare much better as the North Dakota secondary was able to snuff out Valpo’s passing, holding them to just nine of 23 completed passes for 93 yards.

With the big win, North Dakota will look to bring that momentum into Saturday’s game against South Dakota State in the annual Potato Bowl. UND has won the past 10 Potato Bowl games but that record will be challenged by a Jackrabbits team that is coming off of an FCS playoff appearance last year. Opening kickoff is set for tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. at the Alerus Center.

David Butz is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at david.butz@my.und.edu