5 things you may have missed in UND’s 72-35 win over Murray State – Grand Forks Herald

GRAND FORKS – The UND football team got off to a great start in the Missouri Valley Football Conference on Saturday, defeating Murray State 72-35 in front of 10,828 fans at the Alerus Center.

Here are five things you may have missed during the game.

UND’s 2024 breakout player on offense, freshman running back Sawyer Seidl, did not play against Murray State.

Seidl dressed to warm up but didn’t play.

Seidl has 39 carries for 260 yards and two touchdowns this season and had 123 rushing yards last weekend against San Diego.

“We didn’t know until the game if we were going to stop Sawyer, and we decided to do it today and thought it was best,” UND coach Bubba Schweigert said.

Seidl also took on the majority of kickoff duties. He has five attempts for 142 yards with a length of 31. Donovan Hunt handled kicking duties against Murray State and was able to return three for 76 yards with a length of 27.

UND running back Donovan Hunt, who handled kick return duties in Sawyer Seidl’s absence, was injured in the second half and did not return.

“I think our guys are going to have a lot to do tonight and tomorrow,” Schweigert said of his players and medical staff. “Some guys left the game. Our guys are doing a great job in sports medicine and we’ll know a lot more tomorrow.”

Hunt scored his first run of the game for 41 yards. When he was stopped unsuccessfully on his second run, Hunt left the game in obvious pain.

The junior transfer from Jackson State has made the most of his limited opportunities. He has 14 career carries for 196 yards and three touchdowns. He averaged 28.0 yards per carry in his two-year UND career.

With Seidl and Hunt taking over the kick return duties this year, UND may be looking for new options in the return game.

The game was the expected debut of redshirt quarterback Jerry Kaminski.

The Wisconsin native entered the game with 4:24 left in the third quarter.

In his first series he passed the ball three times in a row. Isaiah Smith passed for 69 yards, then Grant Romfo followed with a 2-yard run and a 3-yard touchdown run for a 65-28 lead.

And let Kaminski do a little more than just the handoff the rest of the way. He went 3-for-4 for 16 yards. He also ran for 3 yards once, executing a stiff-arm tackle on a would-be tackler near the line of scrimmage.

UND’s stunning win provided the first opportunity for a number of UND players to earn playing time.

Wide receiver Deng Deng of Tokyo, N.D., played for the first time in his career. At that point, he wasn’t targeted in the limited passing game, but was called upon by Grant Romfo to save a fourth down run.

Grand Forks Central defensive player Erick Paye also made his debut in the second half.

Wide receiver Noah Schaffner, a junior at Bismarck Century, caught his first pass of his career – a 3-yard catch.

Grand Forks Red River’s Hudson Flom made his first career tackle.

A week ago, UND freshman safety Tyler Erkman made his first career interception against San Diego.

UND added two more in the secondary with first-career picks.

Safety Jett Sutton had his first career interception on the second play of the second half and returned the ball 25 yards.

Cornerback Avery Scott, a freshman transfer from NCAA Division II West Virginia State, skipped a route over Murray State backup quarterback Jameson Holcomb in the fourth quarter and returned it untouched 40 yards to the end zone.