--- title: "The Bye Week: Catch Our Breath, Then Hunt the Bulldogs" description: The Marauders take a well-deserved bye week to regroup after a tough stretch. With a pivotal game against No. 23 Minnesota Duluth ahead, the season is still alive. image: https://page.marauderfootballalumni.com/hubfs/Screenshot%202026-10-14%20at%2010.46.29%20AM.png --- [Skip to content](https://page.marauderfootballalumni.com/marauder-football-alumni-association-blog/the-bye-week-catch-our-breath-then-hunt-the-bulldogs#main-content) ![2x10 Marauder Football Alumni Association (2)](https://page.marauderfootballalumni.com/hubfs/2x10%20Marauder%20Football%20Alumni%20Association%20(2).png "2x10 Marauder Football Alumni Association (2)") [Website](https://marauderfootballalumni.com/)[Membership Levels](https://page.marauderfootballalumni.com/-levels) --- [Business Opportunities](https://page.marauderfootballalumni.com/marketing-branding-experience)[Events](https://marauderfootballalumni.com/group-events) ![](https://page.marauderfootballalumni.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202026-10-14%20at%2010.46.29%20AM.png?width=1689&height=790&name=Screenshot%202026-10-14%20at%2010.46.29%20AM.png) Staff Current Marauders # The Bye Week: Catch Our Breath, Then Hunt the Bulldogs ![Marauder Football Alumni Association](https://page.marauderfootballalumni.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Untitled%20design%20(51)%20copy-1.png?width=48&height=48&name=Untitled%20design%20(51)%20copy-1.png) Marauder Football Alumni Association October 14, 2026 No game this Saturday, Marauders Nation. After seven straight weeks of football, our guys get a well-earned bye — and honestly, the timing couldn't be better. Let's be straight about where we stand: 3-4 overall, 2-4 in the Northern Sun. That's not where any of us wanted to be at the midpoint, but this team has shown real fight, and the season is far from over. Two weeks ago, homecoming was everything we hoped for. The I-94 rivalry with Jamestown delivered — 21-13 Marauders in front of 2,797 fans at the Bowl. Ryan Blair was dealing: 280 yards through the air, two touchdowns, and both of them went to Karsyn Jablonski, including a 71-yard strike that brought the house down. Xavier Brackenridge iced it with a 46-yard touchdown run. Clean, confident, fun football. Then came Saturday in Moorhead, and the 20th Battle for the Paddle went sideways. The Dragons took it 42-22 on their homecoming, and their sophomore quarterback Drew Huebner put on a show — 332 yards and six touchdowns. You tip your cap to a performance like that, even when it stings. The Paddle stays in Moorhead for an 11th straight year, and that one hurts. Last year's 38-35 heartbreaker in Bismarck felt like the turning point was coming. It wasn't — not yet. Here's what I'll say about this team, though: the fight is there. Blair is a fifth-year senior slinging it — he'd thrown for 1,470 yards and nine scores through six games before Moorhead. Jablonski is a genuine playmaker. Chris Federico leads a defense that plays with an edge — 53 tackles and counting. Shann Schillinger's group doesn't quit; they just ran into a quarterback having the game of his life. So we take the bye. Rest the legs. Fix the leaks in the secondary that Huebner exposed. Get healthy. Because what's waiting on the other side is the biggest test of the season. Saturday, October 24. 1:00 p.m. MDU Resources Community Bowl. The No. 23 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs come to Bismarck. UMD is 5-2 and sitting near the top of the NSIC North. This is the kind of game that defines a season — a ranked opponent, at home, with the whole second half of the schedule still to play. Win this one, and 3-4 becomes the story of a team that found itself in October. After Duluth, it's Minot State on the road (Oct. 31), Winona State on the road (Nov. 7), and Bemidji State at home to close it out (Nov. 14). Every one of those is winnable. The goal hasn't changed: finish strong, protect the Bowl, and give this senior class — Blair, Federico and the rest — the ending they've earned. Enjoy the Saturday off, Marauder fans. Rest up. October 24, we pack the Bowl and make some noise. ## Share this post [mailto:https%3A%2F%2Fpage.marauderfootballalumni.com%2Fmarauder-football-alumni-association-blog%2Fthe-bye-week-catch-our-breath-then-hunt-the-bulldogs](mailto:https%3A%2F%2Fpage.marauderfootballalumni.com%2Fmarauder-football-alumni-association-blog%2Fthe-bye-week-catch-our-breath-then-hunt-the-bulldogs) ## Keep reading ### [![](https://page.marauderfootballalumni.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Gemini_Generated_Image_uzwok9uzwok9uzwo%20(1)-1.jpeg?width=1376&height=768&name=Gemini_Generated_Image_uzwok9uzwok9uzwo%20(1)-1.jpeg) Current Marauders Team Air Raid in Bismarck: Analyzing the 2026 UMary Offensive Attack](https://page.marauderfootballalumni.com/marauder-football-alumni-association-blog/air-raid-in-bismarck-analyzing-the-2026-umary-offensive-attack) ### [![](https://page.marauderfootballalumni.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Gemini_Generated_Image_uzwok9uzwok9uzwo%20(1).jpeg?width=1376&height=768&name=Gemini_Generated_Image_uzwok9uzwok9uzwo%20(1).jpeg) Current Marauders Team Iron at the Front, Pressure at the Edge: Analyzing the 2026 UMary Defense](https://page.marauderfootballalumni.com/marauder-football-alumni-association-blog/iron-at-the-front-pressure-at-the-edge-analyzing-the-2026-umary-defense) [![Marauder Football Alumni Association](https://page.marauderfootballalumni.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Untitled%20design%20(51)%20copy.png?width=200&height=200&name=Untitled%20design%20(51)%20copy.png "Marauder Football Alumni Association")](https://marauderfootballalumni.com/) ###### \*Not an Official Organization of the University of Mary. --- Privacy Policy · Legal · © 2026. 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