THIS WEEK: The Southwest Minnesota State University (1-1 NSIC, 0-0 NSIC South) football team returns home this week to battle Minot State University (1-1 NSIC, 0-0 NSIC North) on Friday, Sept. 20, with kickoff set for 6 p.m. at Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center. The game was moved to Friday night because SMSU hosts an annual large regional band competition on Saturday night. SMSU soccer also plays at home on Saturday afternoon versus Minot State. A preview on Minot State can be found on page 4.
THIS WEEK'S GAME QUICK FACTS:
•SMSU will be playing its first Friday game since losing to Wisconsin-Oshkosh 31-7 on Sept. 1, 2000.
•SMSU's last mid-week game - that was not a season opener - was on a Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008, at Minnesota Duluth.
•SMSU and Minot State last played on Sept. 6, 1997.
•SMSU has scored 30 or more points in eight of its last 14 games overall dating back to the final game of the 2011 season.
A VICTORY FOR SMSU WOULD...:
•Be its second straight win, which would be the program's first two-game winning streak since Sept. 2 and 11, 2010 (week 1 and 2).
•Be its second straight overall versus Minot State and fourth in five games overall.
•Give
Cory Sauter an 8-11 record in home games.
•Lift SMSU's all-time record to 171-288-5, including 109-195-5 in conference play.Â
ON THIS DATE: SMSU is 2-4-1 all-time when playing on Sept.20. Below are the results from previous games played on this date.
•1969 - at Sioux Falls, W 36-12
•1975 - Winona State, L 56-0
•1980 - at Northern State, T 13-13
•1986 - Wayne State, L 10-3
•1997 - Wisconsin-River Falls, L 38-21
•2003 - at Minnesota Duluth, L 39-0
•2008 - at Upper Iowa, W 38-31
TONDERUM BREAKS SCHOOL RECORD: Junior running back
Tyler Tonderum set the school single-game rushing record in the week two victory at MSU Moorhead on Sept. 14. Tonderum rushed for 343 yards on 42 carries with three touchdowns, breaking the previous record of 243 yards set by David Whitten on Oct. 25, 2003. Tonderum is just the 11th player in program history to rush for more than 200 yards in a single-game and the first since Zach Wysong in 2008.
MORE TONDERUM IN THE NCAA: Tyler Tonderum's big game at MSU Moorhead not only set an SMSU school record, but it is also the top rushing game among all NCAA schools in the country this season. Tonderum's 343 yards rushing last Saturday ranks as the highest single-game total in all of NCAA football this season for any of the four levels, including FBS, FCS, Division II or Division III. In the national statistics he currently ranks first in NCAA II in rushing with 213.0 yards per game, third in all-purpose yards (258.5), eighth in scoring (15.0) and 100th in total offense (213.0).
TONDERUM NAMED NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Tyler Tonderum was named the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 16 following his record-breaking performance at MSU Moorhead. He is the first SMSU player to earn the weekly award since
Gannon Moore on Oct. 20, 2010.
TEAM RUSHING RECORD ALSO SET: Southwest Minnesota State set a team record in the victory at MSU Moorhead in week two with 416 yards rushing, breaking the previous record of 397 yards set on Oct. 8, 2011. SMSU racked up 67 rushing attempts on Saturday, just missing the program single-game record of 69 attempts set on Oct. 13, 1973. Â
SMSU IN THE NCAA STATS: The Southwest Minnesota State offense ranks ninth in the country in rushing (293.0), 32nd in total offense (485.0), 71st in scoring offense (31.0) and 113th in passing offense (192.0). The SMSU defense ranks 92nd in total defense (392.5), 93rd in passing efficiency defense (132.9), 107th in scoring defense (34.5) and 129th in rushing defense (214.5).
