(photo credit, Greg Devereaux)
 
   THIS WEEK: Southwest Minnesota State University (4-2 NSIC, 1-1 NSIC South) continues NSIC South Division play this Saturday, Oct. 15, hosting Wayne State College (2-4 NSIC, 1-1 NSIC South) for the 10th annual Ag Bowl at Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. SMSU had its three-game winning streak snapped last week with a 48-28 road loss to No. 7/9 Sioux Falls. WSC had its two-game winning streak snapped with a 44-31 home loss to Augustana.

    AG BOWL: Saturday's game concludes a day of celebration of agriculture in Minnesota and features numerous events for both kids and adults. Proceeds generated by the Ag Bowl will fund scholarships and programming for worthy SMSU student-athletes and young people who will dedicate their careers to business success in agriculture, environmental science and the food industries.

    SMSU ALL-TIME ON AG BOWL: SMSU is 4-5 all-time in Ag Bowl games after snapping a three-game losing streak last season with a 34-30 win over Bemidji State.  

    SENIORS HONORED PRIOR TO GAME: Despite a pair of afternoon home games remaining on the schedule, the SMSU football program will host "Senior Day" on Saturday night and will recognize its 21 seniors in a ceremony prior to kick off.

    A VICTORY FOR SMSU ON SATURDAY WOULD...:
    •Be its second straight over Wayne State.
    •Give SMSU a 5-2 overall record for the second straight season.  
    •Give SMSU a 4-0 home record. The last time SMSU was unbeaten at home after four games was in 1991.
    •Give SMSU a 22-33 all-time record in NSIC South Division games.
    •Lift SMSU's all-time record to 192-305-5, including 130-211-5 in conference play.

    THE HEAD COACH: Cory Sauter is in his seventh season as head coach at Southwest Minnesota State and has an overall record of 33-40, including 32-38 in conference games. The 33 victories ranks second all-time among 10 head coaches in program history. Gary Buer (1979-92), the program leader with 70 victories, recorded 27 victories during his first seven seasons as head coach. 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.

    MUSTANGS IN THE NCAA STATS: Southwest Minnesota State enters Saturday's game ranked third in Division II in third-down conversion pct., fifth in scoring, eighth in total offense, and ninth in passing offense. Blake Gimbel ranks second in the nation in completions, third in the nation in completion percentage, eighth in passing touchdowns and ninth in passing yards. Max Simmons ranks 18th in rushing touchdowns, while Nate Huot ranks 20th nationally in all purpose yards and 25th in receiving yards. Gene Germain is ranked 20th in solo tackles and 48th in total tackles. A complete look of the NCAA stats are located on pages 22-23.

    MUSTANGS IN THE NSIC STATS: In the NSIC stats, SMSU's Blake Gimbel ranks first in passing yards and fifth in total offense, Max Simmons ranks fifth in scoring, while Nate Huot ranks second in all purpose yards, fifth in receiving yards per game and sixth in receptions per game. Gene Germain begins the week ranked seventh in tackles per game. SMSU ranks first in the NSIC in passing yards, first in scoring offense, third in total offense, seventh in rushing offense, seventh in pass defense, 14th in rush defense and 14th in total defense. A complete look of the NSIC stats are located on pages 20-21.

    USF PULL AWAY LATE TO SNAP SMSU'S WINNING STREAK: No. 7/9 University of Sioux Falls remained undefeated and showed why it ranks first in Division II in total offense and third in rushing in earning a 48-28 victory over Southwest Minnesota State last Saturday night in Sioux Falls. USF finished the game with 670 yards of offense on 90 plays, including 428 yards rushing. SMSU, which entered the game ranked third in Division II in offense, was held to a season-low 331 yards on 66 plays with 18 first downs. Blake Gimbel completed 27 of 40 pass attempts for 248 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Gabe Galamue led the SMSU receiving corps with seven receptions for 52 yards, while Ty Steffensen had six catches for 44 yards and two touchdowns. SMSU was limited to 83 yards rushing with Max Simmons leading the way with 58 yards on eight carries with one touchdown.

    MUSTANG DEFENSE FORCING TURNOVERS: The Southwest Minnesota State defense has been opportunistic this season, forcing at least one turnover in all six games, including three or more in three games. SMSU has forced a combined nine turnovers the past three weeks, including five two week's ago in a win versus Upper Iowa. SMSU had four interceptions in the win, which is its highest total since racking up four versus Black Hills State in 2009.

    SIMMONS TIES SCHOOL RECORD: Southwest Minnesota State freshman running back Max Simmons tied a school single-game record in the win at Minnesota Crookston on Sept. 24 recording four rushing touchdowns. He is the fourth player in team history to reach the mark, joining Rich Froemling (1974), Robert Lipsey (1990) and Thomas Durham (2004).



    SMSU HIGH-OCTANE OFFENSE: Since being shutout on Nov. 5, 2011, Southwest Minnesota State has scored 30 or more points in 31 of its last 52 games dating back to the final game of the 2011 season. Since Nov. 12, 2011, SMSU has reached 40 points 18 times, 50 points eight times and 60 points once.

    NO TIME OF POSSESSION? NO PROBLEM: Southwest Minnesota State begins the week ranked 169th out of 170 teams in Division II in time of possession. Despite averaging the ball just 25 minutes and 2 seconds through six games, SMSU ranks fifth nationally in scoring, eighth in total offense and ninth in first downs.

    FRESHMEN REACHING CENTURY MARK AGAIN: Freshman Max Simmons and Isley Carrington--two of four true freshman to play this season for SMSU--have rushed for more than 100 yards in three of the last four games with a combined 11 touchdowns. Simmons made his first career start versus U-Mary in week three and rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns, while he gained 112 yards and four touchdowns at Minnesota Crookston in week four. Carrington rushed for 181 yards and three touchdowns versus Upper Iowa.

    DUO REACH 100-YARDS RUSHING: Senior Divonte Beale and freshman Max Simmons both reached 100 yards rushing in the victory over U-Mary in week three. Beale amassed 164 yards on 27 carries, while Simmons finished with 101 on 13 attempts. It's the first time SMSU had a pair of players reach 100 yards in a single-game since last season's finale versus Winona State.

    SCORING ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL: The Southwest Minnesota State defense has recorded a pair of touchdowns through six weeks. Sophomore Chance Steward returned a fumble 50 yards for a touchdown at Northern State in week two, while senior Tyler Flud had a 48-yard interception return for a score in week four at Minnesota Crookston. Flud's interception return for a touchdown was SMSU's first since Daryl Thomas had a 27-yard touchdown return at Minnesota State in 2014.

    GERMAIN ALL GAME AGAIN: Senior linebacker Gene Germain has led the team in tackles in four of six games this season and has amassed a team-high 56 for the season. He begins the week ranked 20th in Division II in solo tackles and 48th in total tackles. He set a career-high with 12 tackles, including five solo stops in SMSU's win over Minnesota Duluth in week one. He ranks 41st nationally in total tackles.

    GIMBEL IN THE RECORD BOOK: Junior quarterback Blake Gimbel holds the school single-game record for completions in a game (42, vs. Upper Iowa, 2015 and 2016) and also holds the school single-season record for completion percentage (66.4) set last season. He begins this week ranked first in the school career record book in completion pct. (67.0), ninth in touchdown passes (45), 10th in total offense (5,099), 10th in completions (472) and 11th in yards (5,260).

    GIMBEL CAREER STARTS GAME-BY-GAME:
    2015    Opponent    Comp.    Att.    Int    TD    Yards    Long    Result
    S3    at Minot State    23    42    0    2    210    26    W, 21-10
    S12    Bemidji State    31    42    1    2    264    22    W,34-30
    S19    at St. Cloud State    16    24    0    1    182    33    W, 21-20
    S26    MSU Moorhead    18    28    0    5    299    44    W, 48-9
    O3    at Augustana    24    37    1    1    332    70    L, 23-48
    O10    at Wayne State    16    26    0    3    247    46    W, 61-3
    O17    Sioux Falls    38    52    0    3    384    24    L, 26-34
    O24    at Upper Iowa    42    56    0    4    454    82    W, 34-19
    O31    Minnesota State    24    40    3    1    253    39    L, 17-55
    N7    at Concordia-St. Paul    25    35    1    3    243    24    W, 48-24
    N14    Winona State    16    29    1    1    185    33    W, 33-38            
    2016    Opponent    Comp.    Att.    Int    TD    Yards    Long    Result
    S1    Minnesota Duluth    25    42    1    5    397    50    W, 42-38
    S10    at Northern State    34    49    2    2    336    41    L, 35-51
    S17    University of Mary    15    19    1    4    175    25    W, 47-23
    S24    at Minnesota Crookston    20    28    0    1    283    45    W, 47-13
    O1    Upper Iowa    42    53    2    3    436    39    W, 59-41
    O8    at Sioux Falls    27    40    1    3    248    42    L, 28-48

    GIMBEL NAMED NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Junior quarterback Blake Gimbel was named the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 6, earning the award for the third time in his career. Gimbel helped SMSU rally from a 10-point deficit to defeat Minnesota Duluth and earn the program's first-ever win over a Division II Top 25 team. He finished the game completing 25 of 42 pass attempts for 397 yards and tying a career-high with five touchdown passes, including the game-winner with 23 seconds remaining.

    GIMBEL TIES OWN RECORD: Junior quarterback Blake Gimbel tied his own school record for completions in a single game in the win over Upper Iowa on Oct. 1, completing 42 on 53 pass attempts. The 42 completions ranks tied for the fourth highest total in Division II this season. He also completed 42 passes versus Upper Iowa last season in a victory in Fayette. In two games versus UIU, Gimbel has completed 84 passes on 109 attempts for 890 yards and seven touchdowns.  

    CARRINGTON EARNS NSIC HONOR: True freshman running back Isley Carrington was named the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 3. Carrington, who was appearing in his first career game, rushed for 181 yards and three touchdowns on just 11 carries and also caught three passes for 24 yards. His 16.5 yards per rushing attempt set a new SMSU single-game record. He is the second SMSU player (Blake Gimbel) to earn the award this season.

    CARRINGTON SETS SINGLE-GAME MARK: True freshman running back Isley Carrington made a big first impression in his first career game in week five versus Upper Iowa. His 181 yards rushing on 11 carries set a school single-game record for highest average per carry at 16.5, breaking the previous mark of 11.8 set by Barry Meyer in 1998.

    HUOT CONTINUES TREND: Junior wide receiver Nate Huot, who led the team in receptions, yards and touchdowns in 2015, has continued his fine play into the 2016 season. He recorded 11 catches for a career-high 182 yards and two touchdowns two weeks ago versus Upper Iowa and also caught a career-high 12 passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns in the loss at Northern State in week two. He currently leads the team in receptions (38) and yards (580) and has eight career 100-yard receiving games ranking eighth in team history.
    HUOT TOUCHDOWN RECEPTIONS: Junior wide receiver Nate Huot has moved to sixth place on the school's all-time touchdown receptions list with 23. He needs two touchdown reception to move into a tie for fifth place and five to move into fourth place. He also has 150 career receptions which ranks 11th in team history and is two shy of moving in to 10th place.
        SMSU career pass reception TDs
    59    Alvin Ashley    1990-93
    35    James Ashley    1986-88
    29    Anthony Dean    2010-13
    28    Wayne Hawkins    1989-91
    25    Ray Denson    2002-05
    23    Nate Huot    2014-16
    23    Blake Wilson    2006-09

    SMSU IN THE SOUTH: The NSIC adapted divisional play during the 2008 season. SMSU is a combined 21-33 all-time in South Division games and finishing in the top half of the division just once in eight seasons. SMSU had its highest finish in 2013 at second place, but has finished fourth three times, fifth once and sixth three times.

    U-MARY PASSING HELD IN CHECK: The SMSU defense limited U-Mary to just 85 passing yards on 19 attempts in a week three victory. It was the first time since Oct. 4, 2014, (vs. Minnesota State, 66 yards) that SMSU held a team to less than 100 yards passing in a game.

    SMSU EARNS FIRST-EVER WIN OVER TOP 25 TEAM: Southwest Minnesota State earned its first-ever victory over a Division II Top 25 team on Sept. 1, defeating No. 19 Minnesota Duluth, 42-38, in Marshall.  

    MUSTANG AND THE AFCA TOP 25: Southwest Minnesota State received 20 points in the Sept. 5 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top 25 poll, the most points the program has ever received in the weekly poll. SMSU's 20 points ranked 33rd overall. Last season, for the first time since 2008, SMSU received votes in the AFCA poll, receiving two votes in each of the polls on Oct. 12, 19 and 26.

    GET IN THE "ZONE": Southwest Minnesota State has scored on 24 of its 26 (92.3) possessions inside the "red zone" this season with 23 touchdowns and one field goal. SMSU opponents are 22 of 25 (88.0) inside "red zone" this season with 17 touchdowns and five field goals. The following is SMSU in the "red zone" since 2010.
    Year    Red-Zone    TD    FG
    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
    2016    24 of 26 (92.3)    23    1

    BIG PLAY MUSTANGS: SMSU has recorded 59 offensive/defensive plays or kick/punt returns of 20 or more yards in 2016, including 37 by the Mustang offense (10 run, 27 pass). For a complete look at the "long" plays and SMSU's "money" plays for this season, go to pages 16-17. The following is SMSU's "long plays" since 2010.
"Long" plays (20 yards or more) since 2010
    Year    No.    TD    Run    Pass    KR    PR    IR    FR
    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
    2016    59    14    10    27    19    0    2    1

    SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS: Southwest Minnesota State junior Michael Rivera leads the Mustang special teams with a five tackles this season with all five coming on kickoffs. Redshirt freshman Tyshonn Woodard and sophomore Austin Wells each rank second with four tackles apiece.  

    2016 TEAM CAPTAINS: Four players, two on offense and two on defense, have been named team captains for the 2016 season. The team captains were selected by a vote of the Mustang players. The offensive team captains selected were senior tackle Grant Greenfield and junior quarterback Blake Gimbel. The defensive team captains named were senior linebacker Tyler Flud and senior cornerback Dallin Finley. It's the second straight season Gimbel and Flud have been selected a team captain.

    MUSTANGS AT HOME: The 2016 season marks the ninth year that Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center serves as the home for SMSU football. SMSU, which is 3-0 this season, is 23-25 all-time at the stadium, including finishing 3-2 in 2015. Last season was the first winning season in team history at the stadium. The $16 million facility opened in the fall of 2008 with the first college football game played on Aug. 30 versus Minnesota Crookston.  

    RECORD ON THE ROAD: SMSU is 1-2 on the road in 2016 following a 48-28 loss to Sioux Falls on Oct. 8. SMSU finished 5-1 in road games last season setting a school record for road wins in a season. Prior to last season, the 1991 and 2013 teams held the record of four wins. SMSU is a combined 30-52 in road games since 2000.

    GREENFIELD NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN: Senior offensive tackle Grant Greenfield was named a second team NCAA Division II preseason All-American by Lindy's magazine, a noted college football preview publication. Greenfield helped the SMSU offense last season lead the NSIC in total offense with 486 yards per game, including ranking fourth in rushing (196.8) and fourth in passing (288.6). Greenfield is one of just five players from the NSIC to earn either first or second team preseason honors by Lindy's.



    CAA ALL-REGION: Senior offensive tackle Grant Greenfield was named to the 2015 Conference Commissioners Association All-Super Region 3 second team. 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).

    ALL-NSIC RETURNERS: SMSU returns six players this season who earned All-NSIC South Division honors in 2015. Senior offensive tackle Grant Greenfield and senior linebacker Tyler Flud were named both named first team All-NSIC South, senior safety Caleb Leichtnam was named second team, while junior wide receiver Nate Huot, junior quarterback Blake Gimbel and junior center Austin Hilgert were named honorable mention.

    EIGHT VICTORIES THE HIGHEST AT DIVISION II LEVEL: Southwest Minnesota State finished the 2015 season with eight victories setting a school record for wins at the Division II level (since 1995). SMSU finished 8-3 overall and 4-3 in the NSIC South Division, tying for fourth overall in the NSIC and placing fourth in the South Division. 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.

    THREE-YEAR RUN: Southwest Minnesota State put together one of the best three-year runs in school history entering this season (2013-15). SMSU recorded a combined 18 victories from 2013 to 2015, marking its highest three-year victory total since winning 19 games from 1991-93.

    SMSU IN THE 2015 NCAA REGION RANKINGS: For the first time in program history, SMSU was ranked in the NCAA Super Region 3 rankings during the 2015 season. SMSU was ranked No. 8 in the first region poll released on Oct. 26 and after falling out of the Nov. 2 ranking, SMSU moved back into the poll at No. 9 on Nov. 9.

    TURNOVER MARGIN: Southwest Minnesota State is "plus-2" in turnover margin this season following six games. Since the start of the 2004 season (139 games), SMSU has been a "plus" in turnover margin in just 42 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, five times in 2015 and three times in 2016). In SMSU's last 116 conference games, which spans from late in the 2004 season through this season, SMSU is minus-41 in turnover margin. The Mustangs have been "even" or "minus" in turnover margin in 78 of their last 116 conference games.

    THE 2016 ROSTER: The 2016 SMSU roster features 114 players (as of Oct. 10) with 21 seniors, 19 juniors, 18 sophomores, 26 redshirt freshmen and 30 freshmen. The roster includes players from 15 different states and Canada. Minnesota leads the way with 51 players, followed by Iowa (12), Illinois (11), Wisconsin (8), South Dakota (6), California (4), Florida (4), Michigan (3), Oregon (3), Colorado (3), Arizona (3), Nebraska (2), Nevada (1), Georgia (1), Virginia (1) and Ontario (1).

    NSIC PRESEASON POLL: SMSU was picked to finish seventh overall and fourth in the South Division in the annual 16-team Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. SMSU received one first place vote in both the overall and South Division poll. Junior quarterback Blake Gimbel and senior linebacker Tyler Flud were named "Players to Watch" in the NSIC this season.

    WORKING OVERTIME: SMSU has played in 11 overtime games since the NCAA added the extra session in 1998. SMSU is 4-7 all-time in overtime games, including 1-3 in multi-overtime contests. SMSU's last overtime game was a home loss to Wayne State (48-45) on Oct. 25, 2014, while its last overtime win came on Nov. 2, 2013, (51-44) over Winona State. The program's last multi-overtime game was a 34-31 double overtime loss at Minnesota State on Oct. 13, 2012.

    FOR OPENERS: Southwest Minnesota State is now 22-27 all-time in season openers following this year's 42-38 win versus Minnesota Duluth on Sept. 1. SMSU is 3-4 in season openers under head coach Cory Sauter.

    MUSTANGS ON HOMECOMING: Southwest Minnesota State is now 22-25 all-time on homecoming following this season's win over Upper Iowa. SMSU has won three straight and four of the last five homecoming games. SMSU is 6-11 on homecoming since 2000.

    MUSTANG HISTORY: The 2016 season marks the 49th year of college football at Southwest Minnesota State dating back to 1968. SMSU owns an all-time record of 191-305-5, including 129-211-5 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.

    SMSU VERSUS THE NORTH: Since 2012, when the NSIC schedule required each team to play four inter-divisional games, SMSU has a record of 11-9 versus NSIC North Division teams. For the first time in program history, SMSU went a perfect 4-0 versus North Division squads in 2015 and this season finished with a 3-1 record. Since divisional play was started in 2009, SMSU is a combined 20-32 all-time in South Division games.

    ABOUT WAYNE STATE: Dan McLaughlin is in his 12th season as head coach at Wayne State with a record of 65-64. He is the program's all-time leader in coaching victories. He led WSC to six straight winning seasons from 2007-12, including an NCAA playoff spot in 2008 and a Mineral Water Bowl appearance in 2007. The Wildcats are led by quarterback Zach Osborn, who has passed for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns, completing 118 of 219 passes with seven interceptions. Wide receiver Nate Rogers has caught a team-high 37 passes for 467 yards and eight touchdowns. The running game is paced by Rashad Trimble, who has amassed 434 yards on 109 carries, while Arelious Burns has 257 yards and two touchdowns on 56 attempts. The Wildcat defense is led cornerback Cam Montgomery who has a team-high four interceptions and is also the team leader with 38 tackles. Defensive end Randy Bryan has four tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.

    UP NEXT: Southwest Minnesota State has a short week as its travels to Mankato to battle Minnesota State on Thursday, Oct. 20, starting at 6 p.m.

    MUSTANGS ON RADIO: All SMSU football games during the 2016 season are broadcast on Marshall Radio, 105.1 FM KARL. Ryan Rohlik is in his fourth season as the play-by-play voice of SMSU football, while Anthony Rohlik will provide analysis.