THIS WEEK: Southwest Minnesota State University (6-3, 2-3 NSIC South) looks to bounce back following a home loss to No. 7 Minnesota State with a road battle this Saturday, Nov. 7, at Concordia-St. Paul (1-8, 0-5 NSIC South). Kickoff is slated for 12 p.m. at Sea Foam Stadium in St. Paul, Minn. This will be SMSU's first-ever game at Sea Foam Stadium, which opened on the campus of CSP in 2009.
    SMSU will enter the game ranked 18th in Division II in total offense, including 13th in passing offense and 71st in rushing offense. CSP ranks 160th nationally in total offense and has been held to 17 or less points in six game this season. A preview of Concordia-St. Paul is located on page 4.

    A VICTORY FOR SMSU ON SATURDAY WOULD...:
    •Be its first over CSP in St. Paul since 2008.
    •Be its fifth road win of the season, setting a school record.
    •Give SMSU its best record after 10 games since the 1991 team finished 9-1.
    •Be its seventh of the season, marking just the fifth time in program history a team has reached seven victories and second time at the Division II level.
    •Lift SMSU's all-time record to 186-303-5, including 124-209-5 in conference play.

    SEVEN WINS IN 10 WEEKS: A victory on Saturday would push SMSU's record to 7-3, marking the fourth best record in team history after 10 weeks. The 1991 team was 9-1, the 1990 squad was 8-2, while the 1987 team was 7-2-1.
    
    SMSU WITH ONE OF THE TOUGHEST SCHEDULES: Southwest Minnesota State begins the week tied for ninth in Division II for toughest schedule. SMSU opponents are a combined 45-27 (not counting results vs. SMSU) through 10 weeks. Both SMSU and Augustana are tied for the toughest schedule in the NSIC and ninth in Division II. Only one other team (Seton Hill, Pa.) has faced more opponents with more combined victories (46) than SMSU or Augustana.

    SMSU AND THE NCAA RANKINGS: Southwest Minnesota State dropped out of the top 10 in the second NCAA Super Region 3 rankings released on Monday. In the first poll released on Oct. 26, for the first time in program history, SMSU was ranked among the top 10 in the NCAA Super Region 3 rankings. SMSU was ranked eighth in the poll and was one of five Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference teams in the top nine. The NSIC, the Great American Conference (GAC), the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) make up the 47-team NCAA Super Region Three. For the first time in NCAA history, seven teams from the four regions will earn a spot in the NCAA DII Football Playoffs with the number one seed in each region receiving a first round bye.

    MUSTANG AND THE AFCA TOP 25: For the first time in four weeks, Southwest Minnesota State failed to receive votes in Monday's American Football Coaches Association Top 25 poll. SMSU received two votes for each of the polls on Oct. 12, 19 and 26. Prior to this season, the only other time SMSU has received votes in the AFCA Top 25 poll came in the first regular season poll in 2008.

    THE HEAD COACH: Southwest Minnesota State head coach Cory Sauter is in his sixth season and has an overall record of 27-38, including 26-36 in conference games. The 27 victories ranks him second all-time among 10 head coaches in program history. Gary Buer (1979-92) is the program leader with 70 victories. Sauter was named head coach on March 29, 2010, after serving two seasons as an assistant coach at SMSU. In 2009, Sauter served as the team's offensive coordinator, while in 2008 he served as quarterbacks coach. A complete bio on coach Sauter can be found on page 24.

    SMSU HIGH IN THE NSIC STATISTICS: Southwest Minnesota State ranks among the top 5 in several team NSIC statistical categories through nine weeks. SMSU ranks first in first downs (254), second in total offense (479.6), third in passing offense (305.1), third in third-down conversions (50.0), sixth in net punting (35.5), seventh in rushing (174.4) and seventh in scoring (31.7).

    NSIC AND NCAA STATISTICS: A complete listing of where SMSU ranks in this week's NCAA and NSIC statistics are located on pages 20-23.

    RECORD ON THE ROAD: Southwest Minnesota State is 4-1 this season in road games, tying the 1991 and 2013 teams for most road wins in a single-season. SMSU, which finished 1-4 in road contests in 2014, is a combined 28-50 in road games since 2000.

    SMSU & GAME STORYLINES:
    •SMSU ranks first in Division II in first downs with 254.  
    •SMSU ranks ninth in Division II in third-down conversions at 50 percent (79 of 158), 13th in passing offense (305.1) and 18th in total offense (479.6).
    •SMSU's four road victories this season ties the 1991 and 2013 squads for highest in team history.
    •Junior defensive tackle Kevin Rubin recorded a career-high six tackles last week vs. Minnesota State.
    •Senior safety Jared Twedt returned to the starting line-up last week after missing three games with an injury.
    •Junior wide receiver Vernal Wingate set career-highs in receptions (5) and yards (51) last week vs. Minnesota State.
    •SMSU has had three different running backs rush for more than 100 yards in a game this season.
    •Sophomore Nate Huot had his fifth career 100-yard receiving game in last week's loss to Concordia-St. Paul. Huot also ranks eighth in the NSIC in receptions per game (5.4) and eighth in yards per game (73.6).
    •Sophomore Blake Gimbel set career-highs in completions (42), attempts (56) and yards (454) two weeks ago versus Upper Iowa. He ranks second in the NSIC in passing yards (291.7) and sixth in total offense (281.6).
    •Senior AJ Page ranks third in the NSIC and 20th in Division II in tackles for loss per game (1.7) and is sixth in the NSIC and 59th in the country in sacks (0.6).
    •Senior Davontay Stevens ranks fourth in the NSIC and 66th in Division II in rushing with 88 yards per game and ranks second in the league with 183 attempts. Stevens also ranks eighth in the league in all purpose yards (108.8).  
    •Junior safety Caleb Leichtnam is tied for third in the NSIC with four interceptions.
    •Junior linebacker Tyler Flud ranks 10th in the NSIC in tackles with 8.1 per game.
    •SMSU is "even" in turnover margin this season and has been even or plus in seven of nine games. A season ago SMSU was a "plus" in turnover margin just twice and was "even" in two other games. SMSU finished 3-1 in the four games.
    •SMSU has scored 30 or more points in 24 of its last 44 games dating back to the final game of the 2011 season.
    •SMSU is 4-2 all-time when playing on Nov. 7, winning in 1981, 1987, 1992 and 2009, while losing in 1970 and 1998.

    LAST WEEK RECAP VS. MINNESOTA STATE: No. 7 ranked Minnesota State scored 35 unanswered points in the second and third quarters to build a 35-3 lead and went on to earn a 55-17 victory over SMSU last Saturday. MSU, ranked No. 6 in this week's NCAA region rankings, is now 14-0 all-time versus SMSU. SMSU entered the game ranked No. 8 in the NCAA region rankings. SMSU quarterback Blake Gimbel, who entered the game completing 68 percent of his passes this season with just two interceptions, completed 24 of 40 pass attempts today for 253 yards and three interceptions with one touchdown pass. SMSU's Nate Huot led all receivers with eight receptions for 104 yards and one touchdown. It was his third 100-yard receiving game this season. SMSU—which was held to 51 yards rushing through three quarters—finished the game with 133 yards on the ground. Divonte Beale led the team with a game-high 82 yards and one touchdown on 16 carries, all coming in the final quarter. MSU finished the game with 460 yards of offense and 23 first downs. SMSU was limited to 389 yards of offense, marking just the second time this season it was held to less than 400 yards. The Mustangs entered the game ranking first in Division II in first downs, but was held to just 22 on Saturday.

    GIMBEL "PASSES" WITH FLYING COLORS: Quarterback Blake Gimbel has a 66.9 completion percentage this season which currently ranks first in the school single-season record book. Ryan Ratekin holds the season record of 63.9 percent set during the 2009 season.

    GIMBEL CLOSING IN ON SOPHOMORE RECORD: Quarterback Blake Gimbel has broken one and is close to breaking two other school sophomore class passing records this season. Jeff Loots completed 215 passes for 2,967 yards and 25 touchdowns in 1990, all records for an SMSU sophomore signal-caller. Gimbel has set a new record with 232 completions this season and has passed for 2,625 yards and 22 touchdown passes.  

    GIMBEL REACHES 300 AND BEYOND: Sophomore quarterback Blake Gimbel has passed for more than 300 yards in three games this season. His first career 300-yard passing game came Oct. 3 at Augustana with 332 yards. He reached the mark again versus Sioux Falls with 384 yards on Oct. 17, before recording his first career 400-yard game on Oct. 24 at Upper Iowa with 454 yards, completing a career-high 42 passes. He also passed for 299 yards in a win over MSU Moorhead on Sept. 27. A complete list is on page 4.

    TWO REACH 100-YARDS IN ONE GAME: Senior Davontay Stevens (131) and junior Divonte Beale (127) both reached 100 yards rushing in the win at Wayne State on Oct. 10. It's the first time two SMSU players have reached the century mark in a game since Gannon Moore and Warren Matthews versus Wayne State on Oct. 6, 2012.

    POUNDIN' THE ROCK: Southwest Minnesota State has been able to establish its running game most of the season through nine games, averaging 174 yards per game ranking seventh in the NSIC. SMSU has had 45 or more rush attempts in six of nine games this season, including 50 or more rush attempts in four games. SMSU rushed 45 or more times just three times all of 2014 and had 45 or more rush attempts six times in 12 games during the 2013 season in which the team played in the Mineral Water Bowl.

    MONEY RUSHERS: Senior Davontay Stevens and junior Ashanti Payne have both put up solid numbers rushing the ball through seven games. Stevens is averaging 4.3 yards per carry on 183 attempts for 795 yards, while Payne is averaging 4.5 yards per carry on 119 attempts for 540 yards. Both have also been solid in their ability to "keep the chains moving" when they carry the ball. Of Stevens' 183 carries this season, a team-leading 46 have resulted in either a first down or a touchdown. Payne has rushed for a first down or a touchdown on 34 of his carries, with 12 of his 16 carries on third down having resulted in a first down or touchdown. A complete list of "money" plays is found on page 16.

    A SEASON BLOCK PARTY: SMSU has recorded five blocked kicks this season. SMSU blocked a punt versus St. Cloud State, MSU Moorhead and Wayne State and also blocked a PAT versus MSU Moorhead and Sioux Falls. SMSU returned a blocked punt for a touchdown at Wayne State in week six, the first blocked kick returned for a touchdown since 2008.

    MUSTANG DEFENSE WITH BIG TIME PERFORMANCES: The SMSU defense has been solid all season, including a pair of outstanding performances in two victories. SMSU held Wayne State to just three points and 309 yards offense on Oct. 10, while in the victory over MSU Moorhead on Sept. 26, the Dragons were held to just 275 yards and 14 first downs. The MSUM offense entered the game averaging 494 yards per game.

    LIMITING TO SINGLE DIGITS: Southwest Minnesota State has held two opponents this season to less than 10 points in a game. The Mustangs limited MSU Moorhead to nine points in week four and Wayne State to just three points in week six. The three points allowed versus Wayne State was the fewest since shutting out Waldorf College on Sept. 4, 2004. This year marks the first time since 2006 that SMSU has held an opponent to single digits twice in one season. In 2004, SMSU had three games limiting where opponents scored seven or less points.

    MOST POINTS SCORED IN A HALF: In SMSU's 61-3 road victory versus Wayne State on Oct. 10, SMSU scored 47 points in the opening half, setting a school record for points in a half. The new mark surpassed the previous record of 46 set on Oct. 19, 1991, in the second half versus Bemidji State.



    SMSU IN DIVISION PLAY: Since the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference adopted two divisions in 2011, SMSU has an all-time record of 10-10 versus NSIC North Division teams. For the first time ever, SMSU went a perfect 4-0 versus North Division squads. This season, South Division teams finished with a record of 24-8 versus North Division teams.
    SMSU is a combined 13-19 all-time in NSIC South Division games following last week's loss to Minnesota State.

    GIMBEL NAMED NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR SECOND TIME: Sophomore quarterback Blake Gimbel was named Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season on Oct. 26. Gimbel completed a career-high 42 passes on a career-high 56 attempts for a career-high 454 yards and four touchdowns. The 454 passing yards is the ninth highest total in school single-game history. He was also named NSIC Player of the Week on Sept. 28 for his efforts versus MSU Moorhead.

    PAGE NAMED NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Senior defensive end AJ Page was named Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 14 for his efforts versus Bemidji State. He recorded eight tackles, including two sacks, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble in SMSU's 34-30 win over BSU.

    TY RANKED HIGH: Junior wide receiver Ty Steffensen led the team with 44 receptions for 426 yards and two touchdowns through eight weeks before suffering a season-ending injury at Upper Iowa on Oct. 24. He led the team in receptions in five of the first eight games this season. He set a career-high with 85 yards receiving in the win over MSU Moorhead on Sept. 26.  

    SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS: Southwest Minnesota State redshirt freshman Elijah McGeehan and junior Casey Hertz rank first on the team with seven special teams tackles each. McGeehan has all seven tackles on kickoff returns, while Hertz has six on kickoffs and one on punts. Hertz led SMSU with 14 special teams tackles last season with 11 coming on kickoff returns and two on punt return.

    TRUE FRESHMAN PLAY: Southwest Minnesota State has had five true freshman play this season in various roles. Fullback Dalton Jones, linebacker Aley Ney, defensive lineman Jon Dicke, defensive lineman Webb Bolstad and defensive back Peyton Sanders have all played for the Mustangs in their rookie seasons.

    MCREYNOLDS MOVES INTO TOP 10: Senior cornerback and return man Andrew McReynolds ranks ninth in school history with nine interceptions following his INT in week eight at Upper Iowa. He also ranks second in program history with 89 kickoff returns, third in kick return yards with 1,719 and sixth with 43 punt returns. Warren Matthews (2009-12) holds the school record with 104 kick returns, while Adrian Hebig (1985-88) ranks first with 89 punt returns.

    PAGE IN THE RECORD BOOK: Southwest Minnesota State senior defensive end AJ Page ranks among the top six in a pair of defensive categories in the school record book. He ranks third all-time in tackles for loss with 50 and tied for sixth in sacks with 18.5. Page's 17 tackles for loss in 2013, rank fourth on the SMSU single-season list.
    SMSU Career Tackles for Loss
    58.0    Jason Jacobs    1996-99
    54.0    Dan Lee    1978-81
    50.0    AJ Page    2012-15

    GET IN THE "ZONE": Southwest Minnesota State has scored on 32 of its 41 (78.0) possessions inside the "red zone" in 2015 with 29 touchdowns and three field goals. SMSU opponents are 29 of 39 (74.4) inside "red zone" with 23 touchdowns and six field goals. The following is SMSU in the red zone since 2004.
    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    38 of 51 (74.5)    33    5
    2009    41 of 45 (91.1)    36    5
    2010    22 of 30 (73.3)    22    0
    2011    35 of 41 (85.4)    29    6
    2012    30 of 37 (81.1)    25    5
    2013    49 of 57 (86.0)    40    9
    2014    35 of 43 (81.4)    26    8
    2015    32 of 41 (78.0)    29    3

    BIG PLAY MUSTANGS: SMSU has recorded 63 offensive/defensive plays or kick/punt returns of 20 or more yards in 2015, including 41 by the Mustang offense (7 run, 34 pass). For a complete look at the "long" plays and SMSU's "money" plays for the 2015 season, go to pages 15-16.
"Long" plays (20 yards or more) since 2001
    Year    No.    TD    Run    Pass    KR    PR    IR    FR
    2001    59    6    6    18    32    1    2    0
    2002    70    16    10    32    22    1    4    1
    2003    65    16    15    24    21    3    1    1            
    2004    67    10    17    27    18    1    4    0
    2005    61    12    10    28    18    2    3    0
    2006    43    4    3    25    11    2    2    0
    2007    69    11    7    32    24    1    4    1
    2008    61    10    6    32    18    2    3    0
    2009    98    22    14    49    30    1    4    0
    2010    61    14    10    32    18    0    0    1
    2011    60    8    13    22    23    1    1    0
    2012    66    20    18    28    19    1    0    0
    2013    125    30    28    51    41    1    2    2
    2014    71    12    15    27    21    3    5    0
    2015    63    13    7    34    14    5    3    0    

    THE 2015 ROSTER: The 2014 SMSU roster features 111 players (as of Nov. 3) with 13 seniors, 24 juniors, 15 sophomores, 13 redshirt freshmen and 46 freshmen. The roster includes players from 18 different states and Canada. Minnesota leads the way with 56 players, followed by Iowa (9), Wisconsin (8), California (6), Illinois (6), South Dakota (6), Florida (4), Michigan (3), Colorado (2), Arizona (2), Nevada (1), Nebraska (1), Kansas (1), Georgia (1), Oklahoma (1), Arkansas (1), Oregon (1), Pennsylvania (1) and Ontario (1).

    RETURNING OFFENSIVE LINE IN 2015: Southwest Minnesota State returned six players that made five or more starts on the offensive line in 2014. SMSU had five new starters on the offensive line in 2014, following the graduation of all five starters from 2013.

    TEAM CAPTAINS: Four players, two on offense and two on defense, have been named team captains for the 2015 season. The team captains were selected by a vote of the Mustang players. The offensive team captains selected were senior running back Davontay Stevens and sophomore quarterback Blake Gimbel. The defensive team captains named were senior defensive end AJ Page and junior linebacker Tyler Flud. It's the second straight season Page has been selected captain.

    TURNOVER MARGIN: Southwest Minnesota State is even in turnover margin this season after nine weeks. In 2014, SMSU finished minus-13 in turnover margin.
    Since the start of the 2004 season (131 games), SMSU has been a "plus" in turnover margin in just 37 games (three in 2004, two in 2005, one in 2006, two in 2007, three in 2008, three in 2009, two in 2010, three in 2011, seven in 2012, six in 2013, twice in 2014 and three times this season). In SMSU's last 108 conference games, which spans from late in the 2004 season through 2015, SMSU is minus-48 in turnover margin. The Mustangs have been "even" or "minus" in turnover margin in 75 of their last 108 conference games.

    BEST START SINCE 1991: This season's 4-0 start was just the second in team history and the program's best since the 1991 team won its first eight games in route to a 9-1 season. It was also just the third time in program history (1990 & 1991) that an SMSU team had started conference play with a 4-0 record.

    MUSTANGS AT HOME: The 2015 season marks the eighth year for SMSU football at Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center. SMSU is 19-25 all-time at the stadium, including 2-2 this season. The $16 million facility opened in the fall of 2008 with the first college football game played on Aug. 30, versus Minnesota Crookston. SMSU has never recorded a winning season at the stadium, but has finished .500 three different seasons.

    WORKING OVERTIME: SMSU has played in 11 overtime games since the NCAA added the extra session in 1998. SMSU is 4-7 all-time, including 0-1 last season. SMSU is 1-3 in multi-overtime games. SMSU's last overtime game was a home loss to Wayne State (48-45) on Oct. 25, 2014. The program's last multi-overtime game was a 34-31 double overtime loss at Minnesota State on Oct. 13, 2012.

    NSIC PRESEASON POLL: SMSU was picked to finish 11th overall and sixth in the South Division in the annual 16-team Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. Sophomore wide receiver Nate Huot and senior cornerback Andrew McReynolds were named "Players to Watch" in the NSIC this season.

    MUSTANG HISTORY: The 2015 campaign marks the 48th season of college football at Southwest Minnesota State dating back to 1968. SMSU owns an all-time record of 185-303-5, including 123-209-5 in conference play. SMSU has recorded nine winning seasons, made two NAIA playoff appearances (1987 and 1991) and one Mineral Water Bowl appearance (2013). The program earned its lone conference championship in 1990.

    FOR OPENERS: Southwest Minnesota State is now 21-27 all-time in season openers following this season's victory at Minot State. The victory snapped a four-game losing streak in season opening games. SMSU is now 2-4 in season openers under head coach Cory Sauter.

    HOME OPENERS ALL-TIME: SMSU is now 27-22 all-time in home openers, including 4-2 during head coach Cory Sauter's tenure on the sideline since 2010. SMSU has won its last two home openers, including this season over Bemidji State.

    ALL-NSIC RETURNERS: SMSU returns two players who earned All-NSIC South Division honors in 2014. Senior cornerback Andrew McReynolds was named second team All-NSIC South, while sophomore wide receiver Nate Huot was named honorable mention All-NSIC South.

    MUSTANGS ON RADIO: All SMSU football games during the 2015 season will be broadcast on Marshall Radio, 105.1 FM KARL. Ryan Rohlik is in his third season as the play-by-play voice of SMSU football, while Anthony Rohlik provides analysis.

    ABOUT CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL: Ryan Williams is in his fifth season as head coach at Concordia-St. Paul with an overall record of 19-34. He was the team's offensive coordinator for six seasons prior to being named head coach in 2011.
    The Golden Bears are coming off a 49-0 home loss to No. 19 Sioux Falls this past Saturday. CSP was limited to 141 yards of offense and eight first downs, while converting just 2 of 16 third down conversions. For the season, sophomore quarterback Ben Schramski has completed 80 of 171 passes for 899 yards with six touchdowns and five interceptions. Redshirt freshman quarterback Trevor Tillett has completed 36 of 74 passes for 365 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. CSP's leading rusher, junior running back Alex Carr, has rushed for 303 yards on 68 attempts, while junior running back Darius Chapes has 278 yards and two touchdowns on 77 carries. Redshirt freshman receiver Alquawn Vickers has caught 34 passes for 423 yards and three touchdowns, while sophomore wide receiver Jason Oney has 33 receptions for 447 yards and one touchdown. The defensive is paced by senior linebacker Jordan Halverson with a team-high 75 tackles, while senior linebacker Josh Trifunov has recorded a team-high seven sacks.

    UP NEXT: Southwest Minnesota State concludes the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 14, hosting Winona State at 1 p.m.