THIS WEEK
•Southwest Minnesota State University (2-7, 0-5 NSIC South) concludes its 2017 home season on Saturday, Nov. 4, facing No.18-ranked Winona State University (8-1, 4-1 NSIC South) starting at 1 p.m. at Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center.
•WSU, ranked No. 4 in this week's NCAA Super Region 4 rankings, has the 10th ranked scoring defense in the country.
•SMSU's last victory came in week three at home versus Minot State on Sept. 16.
•SMSU's six-game losing streak is its longest since the 2003 season.
•The last time SMSU went seven games without a victory came in 1983 when SMSU had five losses and two ties during a winless streak.
•SMSU has lost seven straight NSIC South Division games dating back to the final two games last season.
•Following Saturday's game, SMSU will play its final game of the 2017 season on Nov. 11 at Concordia-St. Paul.  

    SMSU VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS
•SMSU is 1-19 versus Division II Top 25 teams since the 2008 season including 1-1 this season.
•SMSU lost 24-10 to No. 7 Sioux Falls on Sept. 30 and 54-7 to No. 4 Minnesota State on Oct. 19.
•SMSU's lone victory came in the 2016 season opener versus No. 19 Minnesota Duluth (42-38) in Marshall.

    "BATTLE FOR THE SLEDGE" TROPHY GAME
•Saturday's game will be the third annual "Battle for the Sledge", presented by BIG Athletics and adidas.
•Here is the history behind the naming of the trophy game, "Battle for the Sledge": During the 2008 season, Winona State would name a defensive player of the game from the previous week's contest and award that player with a sledgehammer for the next week. During warm-ups of the WSU/SMSU game on Oct. 4 2008, a WSU player brought the sledgehammer to mid-field prior to the game while SMSU players looked on.
•SMSU went on to earn a 35-28 victory over WSU, snapping the Warriors' seven-game winning streak in the series. Following the game, SMSU players ran over to the WSU sideline and grabbed the sledgehammer, celebrating the victory at midfield. With emotions running high for both teams, a WSU player went over to the SMSU sideline to get their sledgehammer back. SMSU eventually gave the sledgehammer back and a rivalry was born.
•The trophy is a seven-foot tall Sledge Hammer with the team logos of both WSU and SMSU on each side of the trophy. In addition to the sledge trophy, BIG Athletics will also be providing two MVP trophies to be awarded to the most valuable player on each team.
•Last season, running back Max Simmons was named SMSU's MVP while running back Paul Preston earned MVP honors for WSU.
•In 2015, running back Davontay Stevens was named SMSU's MVP while wide receiver Cameron Johnson earned the honor for WSU.

SMSU vs. WSU Series Notes
Southwest Minnesota State and Winona State meet for the 48th time on Saturday with WSU leading 27-20 in a series that started on Oct. 10, 1970 ... WSU won last season snapping a three-game SMSU winning streak in the series ... SMSU leads 12-10 in games played in Marshall including winning the last two games in 2013 and 2015 ... WSU has won 18 of the last 23 meetings since 1994 ... WSU has scored 30 or more points in 14 of the last 16 games including 40 or more 11 times ... each team has won on its home field since the "Battle for the Sledge" traveling trophy was established in 2015 ... SMSU won seven straight in the series from 1987-93 ... WSU won 13 of 14 games from 1994 to 2007.

The Last Time - SMSU vs. WSU
Winona State took advantage of three Southwest Minnesota State turnovers and used 152 rushing yards and two touchdowns by Paul Preston to earn a 42-27 victory on Nov. 5, 2016, in Winona. Max Simmons rushed for a career-high 162 yards and four touchdowns on 25 carries to lead SMSU. It was his second four touchdown game of the season. SMSU's Blake Gimbel completed 19 of 31 pass attempts for 170 yards. It was the first time in 21 starts that Gimbel failed to throw a touchdowns pass. Nate Huot was Gimbel's top target with seven receptions for 61 yards. Raphael Lawson-Gayle finished with four catches for 67 yards. SMSU closed the game with 408 yards on offense with 170 coming on the ground. WSU's Jack Nelson finished the game passing for 270 yards and in the process became the NSIC's all-time leader in passing yards.

SMSU vs. WSU Series Information
Overall:    WSU leads 27-20
In Marshall:    SMSU leads 12-10
In Winona:    WSU leads 17-8
Last SMSU win:    Nov. 14, 2015 (33-28)
Last WSU win:    Nov. 5, 2016 (42-27)
Largest win for SMSU:    33 (47-14, 1991)
Largest win for WSU:    56 (56-0, 1975)
Longest win streak for SMSU:    7 (1987-93)
Longest win streak for WSU:    7 (2001-07)
Current win streak:    WSU, 1
Sauter vs. WSU:    3-4
Sawyer vs. SMSU:    16-5

    FINAL GAME FOR 16 MUSTANG SENIORS
•Saturday's game is the final home game for 16 SMSU senior players. One senior, Blake Gimbel, will apply for a medical redshirt and hope to return in 2018.
•The seniors include: Ashanti Payne, Nate Huot, Blake Gimbel, Bilal Louzati, Vernel Wingate, Michael Rivera, Daniel Halverson, Jordan Clark, Matt Overgaard, Austin Hilgert, Drake Zabloudil, Ty Bird, Chase Onken, Elias Mensah, Aaron Van Dyk and Alex Werner.

    OPENING DRIVE TIDBITS
•SMSU has not committed a turnover in four of nine games this season and has not committed more than two in any game.
•Alex Ney has 106 total tackles this season and is the first SMSU player to reach 100 tackles in a season since AJ Page in 2013.
•Ney is just is the second player to reach 100 since 2007.
•Ney needs eight more tackles to record the most by an SMSU player since Mike Roggenbuck had 173 in 1983.
•Ney ranks sixth in Division II in tackles per game (11.8) and 16th in solo tackles per game (6.0). He ranks second in the NSIC in tackles.
•Senior defensive tackle Alex Werner has a team high eight tackles for loss and is tied for the team lead with 2.5 sacks.
•Junior defensive tackle Webb Bolstad continues to have a strong season as he is tied for the team lead in sacks (2.5) and is second in tackles for loss (6.5). He has three or more tackles in five of the last seven games.
•Senior Ashanti Payne leads the team in rushing with 463 yards and five touchdowns on 113 carries.
•Senior Nate Huot leads the team with 61 receptions for 760 yards and five touchdowns.
•Junior Connor Wilkie, who has missed the past two games with an injury, has completed 110 of 189 passes for 981 yards and two touchdowns with four interceptions.
•SMSU's blocked punt last week at Upper Iowa was its first since the 2015 season at Wayne State.
•SMSU ranks ninth in the country in turnover margin (+1.33) and is 34th in turnovers gained (19).
•SMSU ranks tied for first in Division II in fewest fumbles lost (1). SMSU is one of just two teams in the country to loss just one fumble all season. SMSU suffered its only lost fumble of the season on Sept. 23 at Bemidji State, on a dropped kickoff return.  
•Huot recently became just the second Mustang in team history to reach 3,000 career receiving yards two weeks ago versus Minnesota State.  
•Huot moved into a tie for third in team history on Oct. 28 with his 29th career touchdown reception.  
•Huot ranks first in the NSIC in receptions per game (6.7) and first in receiving yards per game (84.4).
•Huot ranks 18th in Division II in receptions per game (6.8) and 29th in receiving yards (760).  
•Junior punter Austin Wells ranks fifth in the NSIC in punt average at 39.0.  
•SMSU ranks eighth in Division II in kickoff return defense, allowing 15.3 yards per return.
•Senior quarterback Blake Gimbel had his 26-game consecutive start streak snapped on Sept. 30. He has not played since week four.
•Gimbel was injured late in the game on Sept. 7 at MSU Moorhead. He played the first two series against both Minot State and Bemidji State, but has not played the last four games.  
•Junior cornerback Je'Darien Jackson-Hanchett's four interceptions on Sept. 7 at MSU Moorhead is the highest single-game total in Division II this season and the second highest single-game total in all levels of NCAA football. Two players in Division III have recorded five interceptions in a single-game this season.
•Senior running back Ashanti Payne ranks 10th in team history with 1,694 rushing yards.
•SMSU was held without a touchdown versus Wayne State on Oct. 7. It was  the first time SMSU was held without a touchdown since Nov. 15, 2014, versus Augustana.

    UPPER IOWA RUSHES PAST SMSU
•Upper Iowa racked up 365 yards rushing including 250 yards and two touchdowns by Ryan Parmely to earn a 31-20 victory over SMSU last Saturday in Fayette, Iowa.
•UIU finished the game with 446 yards of offense and 27 first downs while holding a 41:27 to 18:33 time of possession.
•SMSU closed the game with 298 yards of total offense, but amassed just 20 yards rushing on 15 attempts.
•Boyer Bouman completed 21 of 42 pass attempts for the Mustangs for a career-high 278 yards and three touchdowns.
•Nate Huot caught a game-high nine passes for 114 yards and one touchdown. It was his 11th career 100-yard receiving game.
•Shane Ratkovich had another monster game for the Mustangs, racking up a career-high 21 tackles while also forcing and recovering a fumble.
•Alex Ney finished with 17 tackles including a forced fumble.
•Michael Griffin chipped in with a career-high 15 tackles.
 
    HEAD COACH
•Cory Sauter is in his eighth season as head coach and has an overall record of 36-51, including 35-49 in conference games.
•Sauter's 36 victories rank second all-time in program history among 10 head coaches.
•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 Sauter can be found on page 25.

    SMSU / WSU IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
•A full listing of SMSU in the national statistics can be found on pages 23-24.
    (168 teams ranked)    SMSU    WSU
    Scoring Offense    129th    46th    
    Rushing Offense    144th    62nd    
    Passing Offense    48th    103rd
    Passing Efficiency    109th    89th
    Total Offense    106th    82nd
    Scoring Defense    129th    10th
    Rushing Defense    151st    26th
    Pass Defense    76th    52nd
    Pass Efficiency Defense    70th    14th
    Total Defense    145th    35th
    Net Punting    137th    106th
    Punt Returns    102nd    28th
    Kickoff Returns    92nd    30th
    Turnover Margin    9th    24th
    Fewest Penalty Yards/Gm.    23rd    92nd
    Time of Poss.    132nd    33rd
    3rd Down Conv.    86th    152nd    
    3rd Down Conv. Defense    155th    41st

    SMSU IN SOUTH DIVISION PLAY
•Since the NSIC adapted divisional play prior to the 2008 season, SMSU is 22-42 all-time in South Division games and has finished in the top half of the division three times in nine seasons.
•SMSU had its highest finish in 2013 at second place and has finished fourth three times, fifth twice and sixth three times.  

    MUSTANG DEFENSE FORCING TURNOVERS/SCORING
•The SMSU defense has forced 19 turnovers in nine games ranking 33rd in Division II.
•SMSU recorded a season-high six turnovers with five interceptions in a week two road victory over MSU Moorhead.
•SMSU has forced a turnover in all nine games and has recorded two or more turnovers in six games.
•The SMSU defense has scored one touchdown this season with Hunter Cushman returning an interception 68 yards versus St. Cloud State. Cushman also had a 31-yard fumble return at MSU Moorhead but was tackled at the MSUM 1-yard line.
•The SMSU defense was opportunistic last season, forcing at least one turnover in the first 10 games, including three or more in five games and two or more in six games.

    HUOT IN THE NSIC RECORD BOOK
•Senior wide receiver Nate Huot became the all-time receptions leader in NSIC history (conference games only) with a third quarter reception versus Sioux Falls on Sept. 30.
•Huot has now amassed 245 receptions in 42 games.
•Brian Jark from Northern State held the previous record entering the season with 210 receptions in 36 games from 2006-09.

    HUOT LEADS THE WAY IN RECEPTIONS...AGAIN
•Senior wide receiver Nate Huot has led the team in receptions the last three seasons and leads again this season with 61 for a team-high 760 yards.
•Huot was the third player in team history and first since Ray Denson (2003-05) to lead the team in receptions three straight seasons.
•No player in team history has led the team in receptions for four straight seasons.

    HUOT MOVING UP SMSU RECORD BOOK
•Senior wide receiver Nate Huot ranks third in team history in receptions (245).
•He ranks second on the school's all-time receiving yards (3,115) list and is tied for third all-time in touchdown receptions (29).
•Huot also ranks eighth in all purpose yards (3,738).
•A complete look at where Huot ranks is listed on page 5.

    THE KICK IS UP...AND GOOD
•Freshman kicker Skyler Crew booted three field goals in SMSU's week two win at MSU Moorhead. He is the first Mustang to make three in a game since Mike Wenk on Sept. 13, 2014.
•He is also 16 of 19 on PATs and has also ran for a two-point conversion.
•He is 6 of 7 field goals with a long of 37 yards.

    NEY KEEPS LEADING THE WAY
•Junior linebacker Alex Ney leads the team with 106 tackles and ranks first with 54 solo stops.
•Ney is the first SMSU player to record more than 100 tackles in a season since AJ Page in 2013 and is just the second since 2007.  
•He ranks sixth in Division II in tackles per game (11.1) and 16th in solo tackles per game (6.0).
•Ney racked up 17 tackles with one forced fumble versus Upper Iowa.
•Ney had 16 tackles and forced a fumble in a loss to Sioux Falls in week five.
•He recorded 15 tackles, forced a fumble and also recovered a fumble versus Minnesota State in week eight.
•Ney racked up 20 tackles including 11 solo stops during SMSU's loss to St. Cloud State in week one.
•Ney and Shane Ratkovich have both recorded 20 or more tackles in a game this season. Prior to this season, no SMSU player has reached 20 tackles in a game since the 1997 season. The single-game record is 27 set by Pat Litwicki versus Dakota State in 1978.

    RATKOVICH KEEPS PILING UP TACKLES
•Junior linebacker Shane Ratkovich ranks third on the team with 59 tackles including 5.5 for loss with two sacks.
•After recording just three tackles in the first three games this season, Ratkovich has amassed 56 tackles in the last six games.
•He racked up a career-high 21 tackles at Upper Iowa on Oct. 28.   
•Ratkovich and Alex Ney have both recorded 20 or more tackles in a game this season. Prior to this season, no SMSU player has reached 20 tackles in a game since the 1997 season. The single-game record is 27 set by Pat Litwicki versus Dakota State in 1978.

    GIMBEL IN THE RECORD BOOK
•Senior quarterback Blake Gimbel ranks first in school history in completing percentage (67.3), third in completions (660), fourth in passing yards (7,149) and fourth in passing touchdowns (58).
•Gimbel holds the school single-game record for completions in a game (42, vs. Upper Iowa, 2015 and 2016 and vs. Augustana, 2016) and twice has set the school single-season record for completion percentage (69.2).
•A complete look at where Gimbel ranks in school history is listed on page 5.
GIMBEL CAREER STARTS GAME-BY-GAME
    2015    Opponent    Comp.    Att.    Int    TD    Yards    Result
    S3    at Minot State    23    42    0    2    210    W, 21-10
    S12    Bemidji State    31    42    1    2    264    W, 34-30
    S19    at St. Cloud State    16    24    0    1    182    W, 21-20
    S26    MSU Moorhead    18    28    0    5    299    W, 48-9
    O3    at Augustana    24    37    1    1    332    L, 23-48
    O10    at Wayne State    16    26    0    3    247    W, 61-3
    O17    Sioux Falls    38    52    0    3    384    L, 26-34
    O24    at Upper Iowa    42    56    0    4    454    W, 34-19
    O31    Minnesota State    24    40    3    1    253    L, 17-55
    N7    at Concordia    25    35    1    3    243    W, 48-24
    N14    Winona State    16    29    1    1    185    W, 33-28    







    2016    Opponent    Comp.    Att.    Int    TD    Yards    Result
    S1    Minnesota Duluth    25    42    1    5    397    W, 42-38
    S10    at Northern State    34    49    2    2    336    L, 35-51
    S17    U-Mary    15    19    1    4    175    W, 47-23
    S24    at Minn.Crookston    20    28    0    1    283    W, 47-13
    O1    Upper Iowa    42    53    2    3    436    W, 59-41
    O8    at Sioux Falls    27    40    1    3    248    L, 28-48
    O15    Wayne State    24    35    1    2    256    L, 39-41
    O20    at Minnesota State    30    45    1    1    245    L, 20-35
    O29    Concordia-St. Paul    9    17    0    1    122    W, 28-14
    N5    at Winona State    19    31    0    0    170    L, 27-42
    N12    Augustana    42    56    2    2    362    L, 20-35

2017    Opponent    Comp.    Att.    Int    TD    Yards    Result
    A31    St. Cloud State    25    39    2    2    285    L, 26-41
    S7    at MSU Moorhead    32    44    0    5    389    W, 51-35
    S16    Minot State    6    7    0    0    54    W, 28-20
    S23    at Bemidji State    1    2    0    0    6    L, 22-40
    S30    Sioux Falls            DNP - injured
    O7    at Wayne State            DNP - injured
    O14    at Augustana            DNP - injured
    O19    Minnesota State            DNP - injured
    O28    at Upper Iowa            DNP - injured

    GIMBEL TIES OWN COMPLETION RECORD
•Quarterback Blake Gimbel tied his own school record for completions in a single game twice last season.
•In the win over Upper Iowa on Oct. 1, he completed 42 on 53 pass attempts while he also completed 42 of 56 passes in a loss to Augustana on Nov. 12.
•The 42 completions ranked tied for the fourth highest total in Division II last season.
•He also completed 42 passes versus Upper Iowa in 2015 in a victory in Fayette.
•In the last two games versus UIU, Gimbel has completed 84 passes on 109 attempts for 890 yards and seven touchdowns.  

    SIMMONS IN THE RECORD BOOK
•Max Simmons ranks tied for fifth in team history with 21 rushing touchdowns and ranks 15th in rushing yards (1,250).
•His 18 rushing touchdowns last season ranked second in team single-season history while he also ranked fifth in touchdowns scored (18) and fifth in scoring (108).
•The 18 rushing touchdowns was a school single-season history for rushing touchdowns by a freshman.  
•Simmons also twice tied the school single-game record for rushing touchdowns (4) last season (at Minnesota Crookston and at Winona State).

    MR. PRESIDENT WITH CAREER-HIGHS VS. MSUM
•Senior Ashanti Payne had a career night in the victory over Minot State on Sept. 16.
•He set career-highs in rushing attempts (30), yards (154) and touchdowns (3) including scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
•Payne served as SMSU student body president from 2015-17.

    JACKSON-HANCHETT SETS SINGLE-GAME RECORD
•Junior cornerback Je'Darien Jackson-Hanchett set a school single-game record with four interceptions in SMSU's week two win at MSU Moorhead.

    GIMBEL AND JACKSON-HANCHETT EARN AWARD
•Senior Blake Gimbel and junior Je'Darien Jackson-Hanchett were named the NSIC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week on Sept. 11.
•It's the fourth time Gimbel has earned the award in his career.

    CUSHMAN MAKING BIG TIME PLAYS
•Junior cornerback/safety Hunter Cushman has made several big plays this season.
•He returned an interception 68 yards for a touchdown in week one versus St. Cloud State.
•He also had a 31-yard fumble return versus MSU Moorhead in week two setting up a 1-yard SMSU touchdown drive.
•He ranks second on the team with two interceptions.

    SMSU HIGH-OCTANE OFFENSE
•Since being shutout on Nov. 5, 2011, Southwest Minnesota State has scored 30 or more points in 33 of its last 66 games dating back to the final game of the 2011 season.
•Since Nov. 12, 2011, SMSU has scored 40 or more points 18 times, 50 or more points nine times and 60 or more points once.

    SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS
•Brad Bahlmann, Ben Specht, Shayler Burnell and Josh Bauer lead the Mustang special teams this season with five tackles each.
•Michael Rivera and Michael Griffin are rank tied for fifth on the team with four special team tackles each.   

    GET IN THE "ZONE"
•Southwest Minnesota State has scored on 21 of its 31 (67.7) possessions inside the "red zone" this season with 15 touchdowns and six field goals.
•SMSU opponents are 31 of 36 (86.1) inside "red zone" this season with 22 touchdowns and nine 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    38 of 45 (84.4)    37    1
    2017    21 of 31 (67.7)    15    6

    BIG PLAY MUSTANGS
•SMSU has recorded 57 offensive/defensive plays or kick/punt returns of 20 or more yards in 2017, including 33 by the Mustang offense (7 run, 25 pass).
•For a complete look at the "long" plays and SMSU's "money" plays for this season, go to pages 18-19.
•The following are 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    93    21    15    40    33    1    3    1
    2017    57    9    7    25    22    1    1    1

    2017 TEAM CAPTAINS
•Four players--two on offense and two on defense--serve as team captains for the 2017 season.
•The offensive team captains are senior center Austin Hilgert and senior quarterback Blake Gimbel.
•The defensive team captains are junior linebacker Alex Ney and junior defensive lineman Chance Steward.
•It's the third straight season Gimbel has been selected a team captain.
•The team captains were selected by a vote of the Mustang players.

    FOUR TRUE FRESHMEN SEE ACTION
•A total of four true freshmen have seen game action in six games this season.
•Brenton Shaw and Chris Bain have both played on kickoff return while both have seen time at running back.
•Lucas Fisher has appeared on special teams and defense and has one interception.  
•Skyler Crew handles place kicking duties and has made six fields this season including three in a win at MSU Moorhead.  

    THE 2017 ROSTER
•The 2017 SMSU roster features 107 players with 16 seniors, 28 juniors, 25 sophomores, 14 redshirt freshmen and 24 freshmen.
•The roster includes players from 15 different states and Canada. Minnesota leads the way with 53 players, followed by Iowa (15), Wisconsin (9), South Dakota (7), Illinois (7), Florida (3), Oregon (2), Arizona (2), Louisiana (2), California (1), Nebraska (1), Texas (1), Washington (1), Georgia (1), Maryland (1) and Ontario (1).





    TURNOVER MARGIN BY THE NUMBERS
•SMSU is "plus-12" in turnover margin in 2017.
•Since the start of the 2004 season (153 games), SMSU has been a "plus" in turnover margin in just 50 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, five times in 2016 and six times in 2017).
•In SMSU's last 130 conference games, which spans from late in the 2004 season through this season, SMSU is minus-29 in turnover margin.
•The Mustangs have been "even" or "minus" in turnover margin in 84 of their last 130 conference games.

    MUSTANGS AT HOME
•The 2017 season marks the 10th year that Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center serves as the home for SMSU football.
•SMSU, which finished 4-2 at home last season, is 25-30 all-time at the stadium including 1-3 this season.
•SMSU has recorded back-to-back winning seasons at home the past two seasons for the first time since having four straight winning seasons from 1989-92.
•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 1-4 on the road this season.
•SMSU finished 1-4 on the road in 2016.
•SMSU went 5-1 in road games in 2015 setting a school record for road wins in a season.
•SMSU is a combined 31-58 in road games since 2000.

    SMSU VERSUS THE NORTH
•Since 2012, when the NSIC schedule required each team to play four inter-divisional games, SMSU has a record of 13-11 versus NSIC North Division teams.
•SMSU is 9-3 versus North Division teams since 2015.
•SMSU went a perfect 4-0 versus North Division squads in 2015, finished 3-1 and ended 2-2 this season.

    NSIC PRESEASON POLL
•SMSU was picked to finish eighth overall and fifth in the South Division in the annual 16-team NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
•Senior quarterback Blake Gimbel and junior linebacker Alex Ney were named "Players to Watch" in the NSIC this season.

    NEW LOOK REGION FOR THE NSIC
•SMSU and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference has been placed in a new region for the 2017 season.
•The NSIC is now a part of Super Region 4, which consists of schools from the NSIC, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), the Lone Star Conference (LSC) and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC).

    ALL-NSIC RETURNING PLAYERS
•SMSU has three players on this season's team that earned All-NSIC South Division honors following the 2016 season.
•Running back Max Simmons was named the NSIC Offensive Newcomer of the Year and second team All-NSIC South.
•Senior quarterback Blake Gimbel and senior wide receiver Nate Huot were both named honorable mention All-NSIC South.

    2016 ALL-REGION HONORS
•Running back Max Simmons was named the 2016 Don Hansen Football Super Region Three Freshman of the Year and was named third team all-region.

    SIMMONS RANKS FIRST IN ALL OF NCAA
•Running back Max Simmons not only led Division II, but he ranked first among all freshman players in all four divisions of NCAA football with 18 rushing touchdowns in 2016.

    WORKING OVERTIME
•SMSU has played in 11 overtime games since the NCAA added overtime in 1998, recording a 4-7 record.
•SMSU is 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.

    SMSU TO APPEAR ON NSIC GAME OF THE WEEK
•SMSU appeared three times on regional television this season including twice on the "NSIC Thursday Night Game of the Week" aired by Midco Sports Network.
•SMSU's game at MSU Moorhead on Sept. 7 and SMSU's home game versus Minnesota State on Oct. 19, aired live on Midco Sports Network as part of the "Game of the Week" package.
•SMSU's Saturday game at Bemidji State on Sept. 23 also aired on Midco Sports Network.

    MUSTANG HISTORY
•The 2017 season marks the 50th year of college football at Southwest Minnesota State dating to 1968.
•SMSU owns an all-time record of 194-316-5, including 132-222-5 in conference play.
•SMSU has recorded 10 winning seasons, two NAIA playoff appearances (1987 and 1991) and one Mineral Water Bowl appearance (2013).
•The program earned its lone conference championship in 1990.

    ABOUT WINONA STATE
•Winona State is 8-1 overall, 4-1 NSIC South, after suffering its first loss of the season last Saturday at Minnesota State, 27-6.
•WSU was held to a season-low 233 yards of offense in the loss and committed six turnovers.
•The WSU defense has been outstanding all season long having allowed more than 400 yards of offense in a game just once this season.
•WSU quarterback Darren Beenken has completed 114 of 204 passes for 1,615 yards with 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
•Running back Javian Roebuck has a team-high 594 yards rushing and five touchdowns on 92 carries.
•Running back Eric Birth has 519 yards rushing and seven touchdowns on 102 attempts.  
•Isaiah Frandsen has caught a team-high 28 passes for 486 yards and six touchdowns.
•Andrew Spencer leads the Warriors defense with 71 tackles and five interceptions.
•Luke Teague has 52 tackles with 5.5 for loss.
•Tom Sawyer is his 22nd season as head coach at WSU with a record of 172-77. He has led the Warriors to the NCAA playoffs five times and is the program's all-time leader in victories.

    MUSTANGS ON RADIO
•All SMSU football games during the 2017 season will be broadcast on 105.1 FM KARL.
•Ryan Rohlik is in his fifth season as the play-by-play voice of SMSU football, while Anthony Rohlik provides analysis.