5 things you might've missed in UND's 55-28 win over Murray State

Oct. 3—GRAND FORKS — After trailing 21-0 early against Murray State, the No. 5 UND football team responded with 55 unanswered points in a 55-28 win over the Racers on Saturday during homecoming at the Alerus Center.

Here are five things you might've missed during the game.

Early in the third quarter, with UND holding a 31-21 lead, the Hawks picked up a key stop on third-and-7 against Murray State when Jonnie Wiltshire upended Racer wide receiver Trey Firestone short of the first down.

After the play, Wiltshire needed medical attention and was slow off the field.

"Jonnie is fine," UND head coach Eric Schmidt said. "He had maybe a contusion on his leg. I thought it was going to shoulder the way it looked initially, but it was lower body."

UND escaped the game relatively injury-free. UND edge Brody Thornton continued to battle a shoulder injury but isn't expected to miss any time long term.

UND shuffled the offensive line against Murray State due to an injury to Liam Becher at guard. Former starter Caleb Olson plugged into the spot.

The Hawks had a hard time, especially early in the game, protecting Kaminski.

Schmidt said UND's offensive line struggled with a little of everything early.

"It was communication things, and we got beat one-on-one," Schmidt said. "No. 15, and I hope he's okay, is a good edge player. We felt coming into the game he would be a handful."

No. 15, Jayden Walker, was injured late in the game but walked off after receiving medical attention.

"They were doing a good job denting the pocket," Schmidt said. "The edge players played with power on our tackles. They did a good job taking away our down-the-field. We had to be patient, which can be difficult when you're down early. It's easier to do that when you're up or the game is close."

UND's turnovers didn't help the defense early, but the Hawks still struggled to get Murray State off the field on drives.

The Racers' first score came after a 12-play drive. The third scoring drive was 16 plays.

"I think we tried to change up what we've been doing (schematically)," Schmidt said. "It was a little bit of the chess game, we probably were losing that early on just as far as not staying ahead of them with what they were doing."

Changing a defensive look became difficult early in the game with the quick turnovers.

"It was defensively just as much on me, but it gets hard when we're trying to sit down and talk ... then, hey, we have to talk the next time," Schmidt said of the turnovers impacting defensive changes. "It kind of snowballed. We're a team that's continuing to grind through some things here yet. By no means are we a finished product but there are some good signs of growth."

UND's Cameron Weir, a first-year transfer from Washington State, started the year with eight catches through the first four games.

He's had nine catches the last two weeks, including a career-high five grabs for 35 yards and a touchdown against Murray State. He added three punt returns for 71 yards, including a 57-yard touchdown in the first half to tie the game at 21-21.

"He's explosive," Schmidt said. "That's his superpower."

Weir's punt return touchdown was the first for the program since John Santiago had a 64-yard touchdown return against Portland State in 2017.

The Fighting Hawks' injury list has been growing recently but UND appears to be lined up to return to health next weekend at Northern Iowa.

All-American edge Lance Rucker practiced in pads this week but didnt' dress against the Racers. UND was also missing a number of starters or regulars including Becher, offensive lineman Ayden Teeter, tight end Hunter Kallstrom and safety Avery Dixon. Tight end Hadyn Stay warmed up but didn't see the field much.

"Stay was out there in a limited role today, but at least it was good to be able to get him back," Schmidt said. "I think Hunter Kallstrom coming back is going to be a shot in the arm, too. There's a couple of offensive lineman who progressed well this week who have a legitimate shot this week. You have to have a deep enough of a roster to weather those storms."

Schmidt said UND will evaluate Rucker this week to see if he can meet the next benchmark in his recovery from a preseason foot injury.