THE 2015 SEASON: The Southwest Minnesota State University football team finished the 2015 season with a record of 8-3 overall and 4-3 in the NSIC South Division. SMSU tied for fourth overall in the 16-team NSIC and placed fourth in the NSIC South Division.

    EIGHT VICTORIES THE HIGHEST AT DIVISION II LEVEL: Southwest Minnesota State finished the season with eight victories setting a school record for wins at the Division II level (since 1995). It's just the third time ever an SMSU team has won eight or more games in a season. The 1991 team finished 9-1, while the 1990 squad was 8-3.

    2015 LETTERWINNERS: The SMSU football program had a total of 62 letterwinners during the 2015 season with each player appearing in at least one game.
    Seniors (13): Davontay Stevens, Andrew McReynolds, AJ Page, Donovan Woods, Kevin Parks, Jonathan Cross, Jared Twedt, Alex Burton, Randolph Givens, Joe Grant, Alan McCaulley, Quinn Bullard and Nathan Tiede.
    Juniors (20): Divonte Beale, Mo Faqhi, Dallin Finley, Tyler Flud, Gene Germain, Grant Greenfield, Daniel Halverson, Casey Hertz, Trevor Hess, Raphael Lawson-Gayle, Caleb Leichtnam, Donne Lobendahn, Ashanti Payne, Kevin Rubin, Davion Shelton, Zach Specht, Ty Steffensen, Johnny Ware, Esten Weber, Vernel Wingate
    Sophomores (13): Wes Bednar, Jordan Clark, Austin Fisher, Blake Gimbel, Austin Hilgert, Nate Huot, Bilal Louzati, Chase Onken, Matt Overgaard, Cameron Parus, Michael Rivera, Tommy Steidler, Alex Werner
    Redshirt Freshmen (10): Hayden Acker, Hunter Cushman, Michael Marchese, Elijah McGeehan, Albert Rogalski, Chance Steward, Austin Wells, Jon Weyker, Connor Wilkie, Drake Zabloudil
    Freshmen (6): Dalton Jones, Aley Ney, Jon Dicke, Webb Bolstad, Peyton Sanders, Trenton McCloud

    2015 TEAM AWARDS: SMSU announced its 2015 team award winners at its annual banquet held on Dec. 5. The awards were voted upon by the players and coaching staff.
    Team MVP: Davontay Stevens
    Offense MVP: Blake Gimbel
    Defense MVP: AJ Page
    Special Teams MVP: Andrew McReynolds
    Scout Offense MVP: Boyer Bouman
    Scout Defense MVP: Corey Castell
    Scout Special Teams MVP: Josh Bauer
    True Mustang Award: Davontay Stevens
    Ben Bundy Award: Austin Hilgert

    2015 ACADEMIC ALL-NSIC: SMSU had nine players earn Academic All-NSIC honors in 2015: Alex Burton, Jordan Clark, Grant Greenfield, Casey Hertz, Austin Hilgert, Zach Specht, Davontay Stevens, Alex Werner, Donovan Woods

    2015 ALL-NSIC: SMSU had 10 players earn All-NSIC South Division honors as voted upon by the eight head coaches in the NSIC South Division.
    First Team: Grant Greenfield, OL ; Tyler Flud, LB
    Second Team: Davontay Stevens, RB ; AJ Page, DE ; Caleb Leichtnam, S
    Honorable Mention: Alan McCaulley, OL : Andrew McReynolds, CB ; Blake Gimbel, QB ; Austin Hilgert, OL ; Nate Huot, WR

    CAA ALL-REGION: Junior offensive lineman Grant Greenfield was named to the Conference Commissioners Association All-Super Region 3 second team. The region's Sports Information Directors voted on the all-region teams. Super Region 3 consists of schools from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA), the Great American Conference (GAC) and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC).

    CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS: Seniors Davontay Stevens and Donovan Woods were named to the 2015 Academic All-America Division II football first team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Stevens and Woods are two of just 24 NCAA Division II football student-athletes to earn first team Academic All-America honors. Stevens is one of two running backs, while Woods is one of four defensive backs to earn first team accolades. Stevens and Woods are just the sixth and seventh SMSU student-athletes in school history to earn first team CoSIDA Academic All-America honors. Football player Bruce Saugstad was the first SMSU student-athlete to earn the honor in 1988. SMSU now has 17 student-athletes who have earned CoSIDA first, second or third team Academic All-America honors in school history, including 10 since 2009.

    SMSU IN THE NCAA REGION RANKINGS: For the first time in program history, SMSU was ranked in the NCAA Super Region 3 rankings during the season. SMSU was ranked No. 8 in the first region poll released on Oct. 26. After falling out of the Nov. 2 ranking, SMSU moved back into the region poll at No. 9 on Nov. 9.

    MUSTANG AND THE AFCA TOP 25: For the first time since 2008, Southwest Minnesota State received votes in the American Football Coaches Association Top 25 poll during the season. SMSU received two votes in each of the polls on Oct. 12, 19 and 26. 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 completed his sixth season and has an overall record of 29-38, including 28-36 in conference games. The 29 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 STORYLINES:
    •SMSU scored 366 points (53 TD, 39 PAT, 3 FG), ranking as the fifth highest in team history.
    •SMSU opponents rushed for 155.9 yards per game, the 12th lowest total in team history.
    •SMSU ranked first in the final regular season Division II national stats with 312 first downs. Following the playoffs, SMSU officially ranked sixth.
    •In the final Division II stats, SMSU ranked sixth in third-down conversions (51.3), eighth in completion percentage (65.7),  12th in total offense (485.5), 22nd in passing offense (288.6) and 30th in winning percentage (.727).
    •SMSU has had three different running backs rush for more than 100 yards in a game this season.
    •Sophomore Nate Huot ranked fifth in the NSIC in receptions per game (5.7) and ninth in yards per game (75.5).
    •Sophomore Blake Gimbel third in the NSIC in passing yards (277.5) and fifth in total offense (271.5).
    •Gimbel set a school single-game record with 42 pass completions in the win over Upper Iowa. The previous record was 40 set by Josh Shudlick on Oct. 11, 2008.
    •Senior AJ Page ranked third in the NSIC and 32nd in Division II in tackles for loss per game (1.59) and third in the NSIC and 47th in the country in sacks (0.68).
    •Senior Davontay Stevens ranked first in the NSIC and 54th in Division II in rushing with 96.9 yards per game and ranked first in the league with 237 attempts. He also ranked sixth in the league in all purpose yards (113.5). He finished 47th in Division II with 1,066 yards rushing.
    •Junior safety Caleb Leichtnam tied for fourth in the NSIC with four interceptions.
    •Junior linebacker Tyler Flud ranked 14th in the NSIC in tackles with 7.7 per game.
    •Redshirt freshman kicker Austin Wells booted 39 PATs ranking third in single-season team history.
    •Three of SMSU's top four receivers, Ty Steffensen, Cameron Parus and Raphael Lawson-Gayle suffered season-ending injuries in the last four weeks of the season. The trio combined for 96 receptions for 1,099 yards and seven touchdowns this season.
    •SMSU finished "plus-4" in turnover margin this season and was even or plus in nine of 11 games. In 2014, SMSU was a "plus" in turnover margin just twice and was "even" in two other games.   
    •SMSU has scored 30 or more points in 26 of its last 46 games dating back to the final game of the 2011 season.

    1,000 YARD RUSHER: Senior Davontay Stevens became just the sixth player in team history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a single-season. Stevens finished the 11-game schedule with 1,066 yards--ranking as the third highest total in school history. Stevens' 237 rushing attempts and 11 rushing touchdowns both rank fourth in single-season school history.

    THE 2015 MUSTANGS AND RECORD BOOK: The 2015 team ranks high in several categories in program single-season record book. SMSU rushed for 2,165 yards on 520 attempts and 23 touchdowns, with all three ranking second in team history. SMSU's 196.8 rushing yards per game also ranks second in school history. SMSU finished with 3,175 yards passing, ranking sixth highest in team history, while the 28 touchdown passes ranks eighth. The SMSU offense closed the season with 5,340 total yards, ranking second all-time.  

    BATTLE FOR THE SLEDGE: BIG Athletics and adidas announced the inaugural "Battle for the Sledge" trophy game between SMSU and Winona State on Nov. 14. The trophy is a 7-foot tall Sledge Hammer with the team logos of both WSU and SMSU on each side of the trophy. It's the first trophy game in SMSU history. SMSU earned the trophy with a 33-28 victory in the season finale.  

    PAGE IN THE SINGLE-SEASON AND CAREER RECORD BOOK: Southwest Minnesota State senior defensive end AJ Page concluded his career among the tops in several single-season and career school records. His 17.5 tackles for loss this season, ranked fourth in the single-season record book. Page's 7.5 sacks this season ranked ninth in the single-season record book. In the career record book, Page ranks third in tackles for loss with 52, fourth in sacks with 20.5 and ninth in tackles with 276.  
    SMSU Single-Season Tackles for Loss
    19.0 - Jason Jacobs    1999
    19.0 - Paul Petan    1985
    18.0 - Jason Jacobs    1997
    17.5 - AJ Page    2015

    SMSU Career Tackles for Loss
    58.0    Jason Jacobs    1996-99
    54.0    Dan Lee    1978-81
    52.0    AJ Page    2012-15

    SMSU HIGH IN THE NSIC STATISTICS: Southwest Minnesota State finished ranked among the top 10 in several team NSIC statistical categories in 2015. SMSU ranked first in first downs (312), first in total offense (485.5), second in third-down conversions (51.3), fourth in passing offense (288.6), fourth in rushing (196.8), fourth in net punting (36.3), fifth in kickoff returns (22.6), sixth in scoring (33.3), seventh in total defense (397.6) and eighth in scoring defense (26.4).

    NSIC AND NCAA STATISTICS: A complete listing of where SMSU ranks in the final NCAA and NSIC statistics are located on pages 20-23.

    RECORD ON THE ROAD: Southwest Minnesota State finished 5-1 in road games setting a school record for road wins in a season. Prior to this season, the 1991 and 2013 teams held the record of four wins. SMSU, which finished 1-4 in road contests in 2014, is a combined 29-50 in road games since 2000.

    HUOT FINISHES SEASON STRONG: Sophomore wide receiver Nate Huot has had an outstanding close to the season to lead the SMSU offense. In the last five games, Huot caught 40 passes for 457 yards and four touchdowns. He caught at least eight passes in four of the last five games. Huot finished the season with 63 receptions, ranking 13th in the team single-season record book, while his 830 yards receiving ranks tied for 15th.

    MCREYNOLDS MOVES UP THE CHARTS: Senior cornerback and return man Andrew McReynolds finished his career ranked tied for sixth in school history with 10 interceptions. He also ranks second in program history with 97 kickoff returns, second in kick return yards with 1,996 and sixth with 44 punt returns. His 25.4-yard kickoff return average this season ranks fourth in team history. Warren Matthews (2009-12) holds the school record with 104 kick returns, while Adrian Hebig (1985-88) ranks first with 89 punt returns.

    GIMBEL SETS RECORDS: Quarterback Blake Gimbel finished the season with a 66.4 completion percentage setting a team single-season record. He also set a school single-game record with 42 completions versus Upper Iowa on Oct. 24. The 66.4 percentage ranked eighth in Division II, while he also ranked fifth nationally in completions per game (24.8). He also ranks among the top 10 in the single-season record book in several categories, including third in completions (273), fourth in pass efficiency (146.3), sixth in passing yards (3,053) and eighth in touchdown passes (26).  

    GIMBEL MOVING PAST SOPHOMORE RECORDS: Quarterback Blake Gimbel set three school sophomore class passing record this season. He set the new record in completions (273), touchdown passes (26) and passing yards (3,053). Jeff Loots held the previous record, completing 215 passes for 2,967 yards and 25 touchdowns in 1990.

    GIMBEL REACHES 300 AND BEYOND: Sophomore quarterback Blake Gimbel passed for more than 300 yards in three games in 2015. 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 off the 300-yard passing list in team history 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 was the first time two SMSU players 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 was able to establish its running game most of the season averaging 196.8 yards per game ranking fourth in the NSIC. SMSU had 45 or more rush attempts in seven of 11 games this season, including 50 or more rush attempts in five 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.

    A SEASON BLOCK PARTY: SMSU 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 was 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 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 15-19 all-time in NSIC South Division games.

    GIMBEL NAMED NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR SECOND TIME: Sophomore quarterback Blake Gimbel was named NSIC 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 NSIC 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 sophomore Wes Bednar and redshirt freshman Elijah McGeehan finished the season leading the team with nine special teams tackles with all nine coming on kickoffs. Junior Casey Hertz ranked second with eight tackles on special teams.

    TRUE FRESHMAN PLAY: Southwest Minnesota State had six true freshman play during the 2015 season in various roles. Fullback Dalton Jones, linebacker Aley Ney, defensive lineman Jon Dicke, defensive lineman Webb Bolstad, defensive back Peyton Sanders and long-snapper Trenton McCloud all played for the Mustangs in their rookie seasons.

    GET IN THE "ZONE": Southwest Minnesota State scored on 39 of its 50 (78.0) possessions inside the "red zone" in 2015 with 36 touchdowns and three field goals. SMSU opponents finished 37 of 49 (75.5) inside "red zone" with 29 touchdowns and eight 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    39 of 50 (78.0)    36    3

    




    BIG PLAY MUSTANGS: SMSU has recorded 78 offensive/defensive plays or kick/punt returns of 20 or more yards in 2015, including 52 by the Mustang offense (13 run, 39 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    78    18    13    39    18    5    3    0    

    THE 2015 ROSTER: The 2014 SMSU roster featured 111 players (as of Nov. 17) 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).

    TEAM CAPTAINS: Four players, two on offense and two on defense, served as team captains for the 2015 season. The 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 finished the season "plus four" in turnover margin. It was a major improvement from 2014, when SMSU finished minus-13 in turnover margin.
    Since the start of the 2004 season (133 games), SMSU has been a "plus" in turnover margin in just 39 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 five times in 2015). In SMSU's last 110 conference games, which spans from late in the 2004 season through 2015, SMSU is minus-44 in turnover margin. The Mustangs have been "even" or "minus" in turnover margin in 75 of their last 110 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 marked the eighth year for SMSU football at Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center. SMSU is 20-25 all-time at the stadium, including 3-2 in 2015, marking the first winning season in team history. The $16 million facility opened in the fall of 2008 with the first college football game played on Aug. 30, versus Minnesota Crookston.  

    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 concluded the 48th season of college football at Southwest Minnesota State dating back to 1968. SMSU owns an all-time record of 187-303-5, including 125-209-5 in conference play. SMSU has recorded 10 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.

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