The University of Jamestown football team entered the 2026 season with a new head coach and high expectations for its second season in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
Six games later, the Jimmies are still searching for their first win.
Jamestown opened the season with a 30-13 loss to Upper Iowa on Aug. 29 before dropping its first five NSIC games. The Jimmies were shut out in back-to-back games against Sioux Falls and Winona State and later suffered a 44-7 loss to Wayne State.
Despite the difficult start, Jamestown has shown signs of improvement in its last two games. The Jimmies came back in the fourth quarter against Concordia-St. Paul on Sept. 26 before falling 31-23, then attempted another fourth-quarter comeback against the University of Mary on Oct. 3 before losing 21-13.
For first-year head coach Tom Dosch, the slow start has provided plenty for the team to evaluate.
Coach Tom Dosch said “We’re 0-6, but our season isn’t defined by how we start. We get out of this slump by trusting each other, fixing the little things, and showing up every day ready to work. We don’t need to turn the season around in one game we just need to win the next rep, the next practice, and eventually the next game.”
The Jimmies’ early struggles have come on both sides of the ball. Against Sioux Falls, Jamestown managed just 176 total yards and committed four turnovers in a 31-0 loss. The following week at Winona State, the Jimmies were held to 49 passing yards and went just 1-for-13 on third down in a 28-0 loss.
The offense began to find more success against Concordia-St. Paul. Jamestown rushed for 189 yards and passed for 145 yards, its highest rushing total of the season at that point. The Jimmies scored 13 fourth-quarter points but could not complete the comeback.
I got the chance to talk to defensive captain Zach Mueller and he said “from the defensive side of the ball, the main improvement from the first few games to now is a number of things. Early on we let explosive plays dictate our attitude on defense. We saw that for the first 4 games of the year. What made the difference for our last game, we created a turn over and got to the quarterback often. We still let up 3 explosives that ended up deciding the game”.
The defense has also produced individual bright spots during the difficult start. Josh Bosacker recorded 11 tackles in the season opener against Upper Iowa and had 2.5 tackles for loss against Sioux Falls. Jack Young recorded two sacks against Winona State.
Against Mary, Jamestown again found itself within striking distance late in the game. The Jimmies entered the fourth quarter trailing 14-7 and cut the deficit to one score, but Mary held on for a 21-13 victory. The loss dropped Jamestown to 0-6 overall and 0-5 in conference play.
Mueller also said “we don’t let the record dictate how our team stays together. Every week we watch the film and make corrections then we wipe it and it’s on the the next week. We talk about going 1-0 in everything we do and that is what we focus on. The more little wins we can rack up in the work week will directly correlate to our performance on Saturday’s”.
The season has also marked a new era for Jimmie football. Dosch returned to Jamestown as head coach after previously leading the program from 2004-07. This season is Jamestown’s first as a full NCAA Division II member after completing the NCAA’s expedited provisional membership process.
With six games remaining on the schedule, the Jimmies still have an opportunity to change the direction of the season. Their next game is scheduled for Oct. 10 against Minot State at Charlotte and Gordon Hansen Stadium.
Mueller ended the interview strongly saying “I believe we will turn this season around because of the belief we have in each other and our coaches”.
For a team that has yet to celebrate a win, the recent fourth-quarter comebacks provide at least one reason to keep pushing.
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