5 things you might've missed in UND's 45-31 win over Murray State
Nov. 4—MURRAY, Ky. — UND earned its first road of the season in a 45-31 win over Murray State on Saturday in front of 6,217 at Roy Stewart Stadium.
Here are five things you might've missed during the game.
UND running back Gaven Ziebarth, wide receiver Red Wilson and defensive end Ben McNaboe didn't make the trip to Murray State.
Ziebarth, who ran for more than 150 yards in a win over North Dakota State on Oct. 14, was injured Oct. 21 in the first half at Northern Iowa and hasn't played since.
McNaboe, who's second on UND's defense with 3.5 sacks this year, suffered a lower-body injury late in last week's overtime win over Indiana State.
Wilson, UND's No. 2 wide receiver this year with 201 yards, was in street clothes last week against Indiana State.
Also, UND wide receiver Nate DeMontagnac was injured at UNI and has been sidelined since.
After the game, UND coach Bubba Schweigert said Wilson didn't travel per "coach's decision."
With injuries mounting, UND traveled seven true freshmen to Murray.
UND brought outside linebacker Lance Rucker, running back Sawyer Seidl, wide receiver Korey Tai, safety Tyler Erkman, offensive lineman Ben Buxa, punter Sam Klestinski and defensive lineman Braden Mohr.
They made an impact, too.
Seidl had seven carries for 49 yards including a long of 22 yards.
Tai had a 33-yard catch and run in which he spun out of two would-be tackles.
Rucker had four tackles and a quarterback sack.
UND cornerback C.J. Siegel and running back Luke Skokna suffered injuries against Murray State and missed time against the Racers.
Siegel and Skokna both suffered lower-body injuries.
When Skokna was injured, UND used Siegel on kickoff return, where he was injured.
"We decided at this time of year you have to use your roster," Schweigert said. "I think both of them are going to be okay, but we'll know more tomorrow. Would love to come out of here a little bit healthier."
Murray State scored a key touchdown late in the first half to provide a glimmer of hope for the Racers heading to halftime.
As Murray State was driving late in the second quarter trailing 24-3, the Racers were put in a tight spot after UND cornerback Antonio Bluiett sacked MSU quarterback D.J. Williams.
The Racers completed a short pass to set up third-and-10 from the UND 20.
Before third down, UND called a timeout with 9 seconds to go.
"We wanted to regroup a little bit once we saw what they were going to be in," Schweigert said. "We tried to take our time to make a good call and talk to our guys about what we expected they were going to run."
On fourth down, Murray State was able to pick up a first down and use its final timeout with 4 seconds left.
Taylor Shields then caught a 6-yard slant pass with 2 seconds left to cut the UND lead to 24-10.
Nick Kupfer had a career game against Murray State.
The Bismarck Legacy product had his first two touchdown catches of his career.
Kupfer, a 6-foot-3 sophomore, had a 22-yard touchdown catch in the first half and a 24-yard scoring grab in the second half.
Kupfer also snagged Murray State's late onside kick attempt.
"It's no surprise," UND quarterback Tommy Schuster said. "He's been making plays for a long time here, but it was good to see him do it in a game. We knew we had it in him."
