Complete Release (PDF)

Setting the Stage: The Southwest Minnesota State University football team (1-0, 1-0 NSIC) plays its lone non-conference game of the season this Saturday, Sept. 6 when it hosts NAIA opponent Black Hills State University (0-0, 0-0 DAC) in the second annual Ag Bowl.  Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. at the new Regional Event Center on the campus of SMSU.  BHSU, the defending Dakota Athletic Conference tri-champions, is ranked No. 18 in the NAIA preseason poll. 
     SMSU's 54-14 victory last week over Minnesota, Crookston was the first game played a the new stadium but this Saturday's game will be the official Grand Opening of the Regional Event Center.  There will be a ceremony prior to the kickoff to dedicate the stadium.

2008 Ag Bowl: This Saturday's game is the second annual Ag Bowl, which was started to honor agricultural in southwestern Minnesota.  Festivities include a pre-game barbecue with proceeds going toward scholarships for SMSU students as well as supporting the SMSU athletics department, agribusiness management, culinology, agronomy and environmental science programs.
     The pre-game barbecue bonanza runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. while other events include an antique tractor show, farmers market, youth football clinic, live music and ag olympics.  SMSU defeated Concordia 24-19 in last season's first ever Ag Bowl.

Internet Radio, Video & Stats: All SMSU football games during the 2008 season can be seen and heard on the Internet.  A video Webcast is available free of charge at www.northernsun.tv while the radio broadcast is available at www.SMSUmustangs.com.  Fans can also follow the game on the Internet with live in-game statistics at www.SMSUmustangs.com and clicking on the football link on the left side of the page.

Radio Broadcasts: SMSU football will once again be heard all season long on KARL 105.1 FM, Marshall.  Sports director Aaron Ziemer will handle the play-by-play for a sixth straight season.

SMSU on National Television: SMSU football will make history on Thursday, Sept. 11 as the team's game at Minnesota Duluth will air on CBS College Sports Television, marking the first time ever SMSU has appeared on national television.  The game is one of six NCAA Division II games that will be shown on the channel during the season.  The game will also be shown regionally on Fox Sports North.

Last Week's Result: Southwest Minnesota State opened the 2008 season in convincing fashion by blowing past NSIC foe Minnesota, Crookston 54-14.  SMSU scored 17 points before the UMC offense was on the field and never looked back in building a 44-0 halftime lead.  Josh Shudlick passed tied a career-high with four touchdown passes and also ran for a score to lead the offense.  SMSU also blocked two punts and returned one for a touchdown in the contest.

Lamarre Earns Weekly Honor: SMSU junior cornerback Lionel Lamarre was selected the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Special Teams Player of the Week.  Lamarre recovered a fumble on an UMC kickoff return and also scooped up a blocked punt, one of two blocked by SMSU on the day, and ran it back 20 yards for a touchdown.  He also had two tackles, including one for loss and a pass break-up in the victory.

A New Home for SMSU Football:  The Aug. 30 game marked a new era for SMSU football as the program opened a new stadium to call “home”.  Construction of the 2,800-seat Regional Event Center began in May of 2007 and is the new home for SMSU football and soccer.  It will also serve as the home for Marshall High School football and soccer.
     During the 2006 Minnesota State legislative session, Southwest Minnesota State University secured $11 million in state funding for the Regional Event Center that will be matched with at least $5 million in private funding.  The Schwan Food Company has generously committed to helping raise the private contributions.
     The Regional Event Center is a bowl-shaped venue that seats approximately 2,800 people on a mixture of chairback, bench and terraced seating.  There are eight suites that can be used for viewing events and hosting meetings.  The suites are available for SMSU and public use. 

With a Win on Saturday, SMSU Would...
1...    open a season 2-0 for the first time since 2005
2...    open a season 2-0 for just the eighth time in history
3...    give head coach Eric Eidsness his 17th career victory
4...    lift SMSU to 14-10 all-time vs. DAC members
5...    snap a four-game non-conference losing streak

Mustang Quick Hitters: Southwest Minnesota State limited Minnesota, Crookston to just one first half first down and 59 total yards ... UMC finished the game 1 for 9 on third-down conversions ... SMSU finished the season opener 9 for 18 on third-down conversions ... SMSU blocked two punts versus Minnesota, Crookston (Curt Gosser and Derek Townsend) and returned one of the blocked kicks for a touchdown (Lionel Lamarre) ... 23 players saw their first collegiate action in an SMSU uniform in the win over Minnesota, Crookston ... SMSU senior wide receiver Ryan Wudtke caught a career-high seven passes in the win over Minnesota, Crookston ... senior quarterback Tony Rislov's touchdown pass in the season opener was his first since 2005 ... SMSU's 54 points scored in the opener was its highest total since scoring 63 in the 2006 season opener ... SMSU held a whopping 40:11 to 19:49 time of possession advantage in the opener versus UMC ... senior punter Korey Roethler finished the opener with two punts for an average of 43.0 ... Roethler had a 54-yard punt and another one downed at the UMC 2-yard line ...

Block Party: SMSU blocked two punts in the season opener versus Minnesota, Crookston with junior Lionel Lamarre returning one of them 20 yards for a touchdown.  It was SMSU's first blocked punt for a touchdown since Sept. 29, 2007 versus the University of Mary when Tyler Reed blocked a punt and Derek Townsend returned it for a touchdown.

Special Team Tackles: The following is a look at the top tacklers for SMSU on special teams this season: Derek Klinkner (3), Tyler Reed (1), Aaron Diggs (1), Michael Liggins (1), Shaye Thomas (1), Levi Reiff (1).

The Head Coaches: Southwest Minnesota State University head coach Eric Eidsness is in his fifth season at SMSU and has compiled an overall record of 16-29, including 10-22 in conference games. 
     Before being named head coach at SMSU, Eidsness was offensive coordinator at South Dakota State University for five seasons (1999-2003).  He also served as assistant head coach during his last season in 2003.  Prior to SDSU, Eidsness was offensive coordinator at Ferris State (Mich.) (1998), and was an offensive assistant at both South Dakota State (1996-97) and Morningside (Iowa) (1994-95).
     John Scott is in his sixth season at Black Hills State with a record of 31-20.  In the last three seasons he has led the Yellow Jackets to a 22-10 record, two conference championships and two NAIA playoff appearances.  Scott was named the 2007 DAC Coach of the Year.  

Eidsness Second on Coaching List: SMSU head coach Eric Eidsness is in sole possession of second place on the SMSU career wins list with 16 victories.  Gary Buer is the program's all-time leader with 70 wins in 14 years (1979-92).
   
Coaching Staff Additions: There are several new faces on the SMSU full-time coaching staff this year, on both sides of the ball.  Cory Sauter is the new quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator while Andy Carr is the team's offensive line coach and run game coordinator.  Bret Atkins will coach the team's defensive secondary and special teams. 

Reed Earns Preseason Honors: Senior safety Tyler Reed was named to the 2008 D2Football.com second team preseason All-America football team on Aug. 26.  He is one of just two players from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference that was named to either the 50-member first or second team squad. 
     Reed was also named the 2008 NSIC South Division Preseason Player of the Year as voted upon by the league's 14 head coaches.

2008 Team Captains: SMSU head coach Eric Eidsness announced this week that four players have been named team captains for the 2008 season as selected by the players.  Senior quarterback Josh Shudlick and senior center Tom Kolb have been named offensive team captains while senior Tyler Reed and senior Brad Wolf were named defensive captains.  It's the second straight year Shudlick and Kolb have served as team captains.

Wolf Man is Back: Senior defensive tackle Brad Wolf, the 2006 NSIC Defensive Newcomer of the Year, returned to the field last week after missing all of last season with an injury suffered in preseason camp.  He started in the victory over UMC and recorded three tackles

Close Calls the Past Two-Plus Years: Southwest Minnesota State's 7-16 overall record since the start of 2006 is nothing to write home about, however, a look inside the numbers reveals that the Mustangs suffered a handful of “what if” games during the past two-plus years.  In the last 23 games, 14 of SMSU's games have been decided by a total of 63 points, an average of 4.5 per game.  During that time span, 10 of SMSU's 16 losses have been by a total of 48 points (4.8 per game).

SMSU “D” Against the Run: The Mustang defense has held opponents to under 100 yards rushing 15 times since 2004, a span of 45 games and have held opponents to 108 yards or less in 17 games during that same time period. 
     Last season SMSU held opponents to under 100 yards rushing in just two games but in the season opener versus Minnesota, Crookston the rush defense held UMC to just 86 yards.

Shudlick Moves up the Record Book: Senior quarterback Josh Shudlick has moved into sixth place on the school's all-time passing list with 5,807 yards.  Shudlick is just 30 yards shy of moving into fifth place.  He passed Rob Fagnan in the win over Minnesota, Crookston in week one for sixth place.  Shudlick also ranks fifth all-time in pass completions (495), seventh in pass attempts (866) and seventh in touchdown passes (33).
SMSU career passing yards
    10,116    Jeff Loots      1990-92
    7,322    Steve Yakesh      1995-98
    7,045    Steve Elzenga      1983-87
    6,184    Dan Koster      1982-84
    5,837    Curt Strasheim     1978-81
    5,807    Josh Shudlick    2005-08
    5,725    Rob Fagnan    2000-03

Shudlick Passing Over 300 Again & Again: Senior quarterback Josh Shudlick finished the 2007 season passing for over 300 yards in the final five games becoming the first SMSU quarterback to pass for over 300 yards in five straight games since Jeff Loots in 1992.

Passing Yards One of the Best: Senior Josh Shudlick passed for 2,942 yards in 2007, the highest total by a Mustang quarterback since Shawn Dupris passed for 3,153 yards in 1993.

Wysong Moving Up List: Junior running back Zach Wysong has moved into eighth on the school's all-time rushing list.  He is 124 yards shy of moving into sole possession of seventh place.
SMSU career rushing yards
    2,552    Rich Froemling    1971-74
    2,410    Robert Lipsey    1987-90
    2,246    Ken Sather    1999-02
    1,946    Lionel Bolden    1971-74
    1,896    Shad Peckenpaugh    1982-85
    1,506    Curt Weber    1975-78
    1,429    Josh Schleusner    1999-2002
1,305    Zach Wysong    2006-08
    1,291    Brent Miller    1996-97

Talcott Ties Single-Game Record: Senior kicker Scott Talcott tied a school record last season in the week six victory over Concordia by connecting on four field goals.  He tied Nate Krull who made four versus Augustana in 1998.

Talcott in the Career Record Book: Talcott, who set a single-season record in 2006 with 11 field goals made, booted two field goals in week one, giving him 23 in his career ranking second in school history. 
SMSU Field Goals Made Record Book
    33    Nate Krull    1997-2000
    23    Scott Talcott    2005-08

Time is NOT on Our Side: SMSU is hoping the week one victory over Minnesota, Crookston is a sign of good things to come.  Last season SMSU opponents held a sizeable time of possession advantage recording a higher time of possession in nine of 11 games.  Last week SMSU held a commanding 40:11 to 19:49 time of possession advantage over UMD.

Mustang Big Plays in '08: The SMSU offense, defense and special teams have already provided long and exciting plays in 2008.  The SMSU offense has two plays of 25 yards or more while the kick return team has two returns of 30 yards or more.  SMSU special teams have also blocked two punts and recovered one on-side kick.
Mustang Offensive Plays of 25 or More Yards &
Kickoff Returns of 30 or More Yards
    Yds    Player    Opponent
    46    O'Leary kickoff    Minn., Crookston
    44-td    Wysong catch    Minn., Crookston
    36    Brannen kickoff    Minn., Crookston
    26    Fischer catch    Minn., Crookston
       
Holding onto the Ball: Winning the turnover margin each week is a major key to winning games.  SMSU hopes the week one victory over Minnesota, Crookston is a sign of good things to come as SMSU finished a plus-5 in that category. 
     Turnover margin has been a major issue for SMSU in recent years.  Since the start of the 2005 season through this season (34 games), SMSU has been a “plus” in turnover margin in just six games and since head coach Eric Eidsness took over in 2004, SMSU has forced more turnovers than its opponent in just nine games (three in 2004, two in 2005, one in 2006, two in 2007 and once in 2008). 
     In SMSU's last 27 conference games, which spans from late in the 2004 season through 2008, SMSU is minus-27 in turnover margin.  The Mustangs have been “even” or “minus” in turnover margin in 22 of its last 27 conference games.  

In the Red Zone Under Eidsness: Southwest Minnesota State has scored on seven of nine trips inside the “red zone” this season.  The following is a look at SMSU's “red zone” statistics under coach Eidsness.
    Year    Red-Zone    TD    FG
    2004    30 of 47 (63.8)    25    5
    2005    21 of 29 (72.4)    14    7
    2006    27 of 38 (71.1)    20    7
    2007    28 of 42 (66.7)    20    8
    2008    7 of 9 (77.7)    5    2

400-Yard Games for SMSU Offense: Four times during the 2007 season the Mustang offense recorded 400 or more yards of total offense in one game. 
     Since head coach Eric Eidsness took over in 2004, SMSU has recorded 11 games of 400 yards or more of total offense.
 
Ready to Run: SMSU rushed for over 200 yards in a game twice during the 2007 season and has reached the 200-yard mark eight times under coach Eidsness.

On the Road Again: SMSU finished 1-4 in road games in 2007 giving them a 2-7 record in road games since 2006 and 7-12 under head coach Eric Eidsness.
     Since the program started in 1968, SMSU has had just three road winning seasons.  In 1991, SMSU finished 4-1, the 1997 team finished 3-2, while in 2004, the squad also finished at 3-2.

The New Look NSIC: The 2008 season marks a new era of football in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference with four new schools entering the conference to form a 14-team league.  The NSIC schedule will be broken into two seven-team divisions (north/south). Each team will play ten conference games that will count towards the NSIC overall champion as well as six divisional games that will count towards the NSIC North/South championships. In all, three league championships will be awarded (Overall Champion, North Division Champion, South Division Champion). Ties will not be broken for overall or division champions.

Preseason NSIC Poll: Southwest Minnesota State was picked to finish sixth in the NSIC South Division and 11th overall in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll released in August.
South Division Coaches' Poll
    1.    Winona State (5)    35
    2.    Minnesota State (2)    29
    3.    Wayne State    25
    4.    Augustana    23
    5.    Concordia-St. Paul    17
    6.    Southwest Minnesota State    10
    7.    Upper Iowa    8
Overall Coaches' Poll
    1.     Minnesota Duluth (7)      151
    2.     Winona State (4)     148
    3.     Minnesota State (3)     141
    4.     Augustana     127
    5.     St. Cloud State     120
    6.     University of Mary     116
    7.     Wayne State     109
    8.     Bemidji State     96
    9.     Concordia-St. Paul     76
    10.     Northern State     60
    11.     Southwest Minnesota State     46
    12.     MSU Moorhead     37
    13.     Upper Iowa     32
    14.     Minnesota, Crookston     15
    first place votes in ( )

A New Look Region as Well: The NCAA has also made changes for the 2008 season as another conference will be joining the Northwest Region.  The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (10 teams) will join with the NSIC (14 teams) and the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (12 teams) to form a 36-team region.  Six teams will qualify for the NCAA playoffs starting Nov. 15.   

A Little SMSU History: This is the 41st season of college football at Southwest Minnesota State, dating back to 1968.  SMSU owns an all-time record of 148-254-5 including 88-163-5 in conference play.  SMSU has recorded seven winning seasons with the last one coming in 1999 (6-5).  The program appeared in two NAIA playoffs (1987 and 1991) and earned its lone conference championship in 1990.

Wysong Sets Record: Junior running back Zach Wysong set a school single-game record in the Oct. 6, 2007, victory over Concordia becoming the first Mustang to record two 70-plus yard touchdowns in one game.  Wysong had a 75-yard run and 75-yard reception for touchdowns in the homecoming victory.

Reed Sets School Record: Senior safety Tyler Reed set a new school record for longest interception return in the one-point loss to Mary last season.  His 100-yard interception return for a touchdown broke the previous record held by Carlton Lance, who returned an interception 96 yards versus Minot State (N.D.) in 1990.

Reed Earns All-Region Accolades: Senior safety Tyler Reed was named first team All-Northwest Region by both Daktronics and Football Gazette following the 2007 season.  Reed was just the third Mustang player to earn first team Daktronics all-region honors at the Division II level.  Defensive tackle Jason Jacobs (1999) and punter Andy Schlichting (2005) were the only two previous SMSU players to earn first team honors.

Mustangs Going Overtime: Last season SMSU dropped a double overtime decision to NSIC champion Winona State marking the program's seventh overtime game and third multi-overtime game in school history since the NCAA added overtime in 1998.  SMSU is 2-5 in overtime games including 1-2 in multi-overtime contests. 

Looking for Wins Against the Top: The Mustangs have done a solid job over the past 10 years winning games against teams that finish in the middle or the bottom half of the NSIC standings in each year, but facing the top teams in the league has been a different story. 
     From 1998 through 2007, SMSU has compiled a record of 3-38 against teams that finished in the top four of the NSIC standings that particular season.  SMSU defeated MSU Moorhead (who finished tied for fourth) in 1999, Winona State (who finished first) in 2000 and Concordia (who tied for third) in 2006.
     Based off of the above numbers, SMSU has obviously struggled against the traditional top teams in the conference.  Since 1998, SMSU is a combined 4-38 in 42 games against Bemidji State, Concordia, Northern State and Winona State.  Three of SMSU's victories have came against Concordia (1999, 2006 & 2007), while the other was against Winona State (2000).  SMSU last beat Bemidji State in 1997, while SMSU hasn't defeated Northern State since 1991.

Season Opening Games: Southwest Minnesota State is now 17-24 all-time in season openers after the Aug. 30 win over Minnesota, Crookston and has won six of its last seven season lid-lifters.  SMSU's only loss in a season opener in the last seven seasons was last year's 42-13 setback to Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

Early Risers: For the sixth consecutive year, SMSU started the regular season with a game in the month of August.  Here is a look at the previous August games:
    Aug. 30, 2003    Peru State (Neb.)    W 37-21
    Aug. 28, 2004    at Peru State (Neb.)    W 38-0
    Aug. 27, 2005    Jamestown (N.D.)    W 16-10
    Aug. 31, 2006    South Dakota Tech    W 63-6
    Aug. 30, 2007    Wisconsin-Eau Claire    L 13-42
    Aug. 30, 2008    Minnesota, Crookston    W 54-14

All-Conference Returners: Southwest Minnesota State returns nine players in 2008 who earned all-conference honors following last season.  Senior safety Tyler Reed was SMSU's only first team honoree last season while junior offensive lineman Bill Noethlich and senior kicker Scott Talcott were both named second team All-NSIC.  Senior tight end Matt Fischer, senior center Tom Kolb, senior guard Jim Nelson, senior punter Korey Roethler, senior quarterback Josh Shudlick and junior running back Zach Wysong were all named honorable mention All-NSIC.

Academic All-NSIC: Not only did several players earn honors for their on-field play in 2007, a number of Mustangs were honored for their classroom work.  Southwest Minnesota State placed 12 players on the Academic All-NSIC team, the second highest among the 10 NSIC schools.  A total of eight of those players return in 2008 including Tim Cariveau, Matt Carmody, Tom Kolb, Tyler Mickelson, Tyler Reed, Tony Rislov, Josh Shudlick and Jordan Wager.

Scouting Black Hills State: Black Hills State returns 12 starters from last season's team that finished 7-4 overall and tied for the conference championshi with a 6-1 league mark.  BHSU made its second straight NAIA playoff appearance before losing to eventual national champion Carroll College the first round. 
     BHSU is led on offense by sophomore running back Tanner Ehrlich who rushed for 973 yards and six touchdowns in 2007 earning first team All-DAC honors.  Sophomore quarterback, Drew Hodgs completed 147 of 253 passes for 1,910 yards and 15 touchdowns in his rookie season.  The team's top two returning receivers are senior wide outs Joe Beehler and junior Corey Wheeler who both caught 23 passes for a combined 698 yards and five touchdowns.  Beehler played at SMSU during the 2004 season.
     The defense is paced by junior defensive end Wacey Coleman who earned first team all-conference honors in 2007 recording 48 tackles including a team-high 13 for loss and 9.5 sacks.
     BHSU was picked to finish second in the 2008 DAC preseason coaches' poll.