THIS WEEK
•Southwest Minnesota State University opens its 50th season of football hosting St. Cloud State University on Thursday, Aug. 31. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center in Marshall.

    FOR OPENERS
•Southwest Minnesota State is 22-27 all-time in season openers and has won its last two season opening games.
•SMSU is 3-4 in season openers under head coach Cory Sauter.

    MUSTANG HISTORY
•The 2017 season marks the 50th year of college football at Southwest Minnesota State dating back to 1968. •SMSU owns an all-time record of 192-309-5, including 130-215-5 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 OPENING DRIVE TIDBITS
•SMSU opens the season at home for the second straight season.
•This is the third time SMSU has faced SCSU to open a season (1984 and 2013).
•Senior Nate Huot ranks seventh in NSIC history with 184 career receptions. He begins the season 26 receptions shy of tying the conference record of 210 (NSIC games only) set by Brian Jark of Northern State (2006-09).
•Huot ranks fifth in team history in receptions.
•SMSU is 7-1 versus NSIC North Division teams the past two seasons.
•SMSU has recorded back-to-back winning seasons at home for the first time since having four straight winning seasons from 1989-92.  
•SMSU recorded a team record 29 rushing touchdowns in 2016.
•SMSU rushed for 1,848 yards last season, ranking as the fifth highest in team history.
•SMSU passed for 3,245 yards last season, ranking as the fifth highest in program history.

    HEAD COACH
•Cory Sauter is in his eighth season as head coach at SMSU and has an overall record of 34-44, including 33-42 in conference games.
•The 34 victories ranks 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 24.

    ABOUT SMSU IN 2017
•SMSU's top returning offense starters include senior and two-year starting quarterback Blake Gimbel, who has earned All-NSIC South honorable mention accolades in each of the last two seasons.
•Gimbel completed a school record 69.2 percent of his passes last season for 3,030 yards and 24 touchdowns. •Gimbel begins his senior season ranking first in school history in completing percentage (67.0), fourth in completions (596), fifth in passing yards (6,415) and sixth in passing touchdowns (51).
•Sophomore running back Max Simmons is the team's top returning rusher after amassing 913 yards and 18 touchdowns on 178 carries to earn NSIC Offensive Newcomer of the Year honors in 2016.
•SMSU returns two of its top three receivers from last season, including senior wide receiver Nate Huot, who earned All-NSIC South honorable mention accolades for the third time in his career in 2016. Huot led the Mustangs in receptions (69) and yards (876) for the third straight season and finished second with six touchdowns. •Junior linebacker Alex Ney is the squad's leading returning tackler, making 45 stops last season with 4.5 for loss, after starting the last five games of the season.

    THE 2017 ROSTER
•The 2017 SMSU roster features 110 players with 18 seniors, 28 juniors, 25 sophomores, 15 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 (3), Arizona (2), Nebraska (2), Louisiana (2), California (1), Ohio (1), Texas (1), Washington (1), Georgia (1), Maryland (1) and Ontario (1).

    2017 TEAM CAPTAINS
•Four players--two on offense and two on defense--serve as team captains for the 2017 season.
•The team captains were selected by a vote of the Mustang players.
•The offensive team captains selected were 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.

    SMSU / SCSU IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
•The following is where SMSU and SCSU ranked in the final 2016 NCAA statistics.
•A full listing of SMSU and SMSU individuals can be found on pages 22-23.
    (170 teams ranked)    SMSU    SCSU
    Scoring Offense    34th    106th    
    Rushing Offense    62nd    127th    
    Passing Offense    19th    53rd
    Passing Efficiency    34th    77th
    Total Offense    23rd    92nd
    Scoring Defense    34th    94th
    Rushing Defense    132nd    93rd
    Pass Defense    119th    149th
    Pass Eff. Defense    125th    150th
    Total Defense    142nd    128th
    Net Punting    155th    104th
    Punt Returns    143rd    89th
    Kickoff Returns    5th    126th
    Turnover Margin    62nd    52nd
    Fewest Penalty Yards/Gm.    26th    9th
    Time of Poss.    158th    57th
    3rd Down Conv.    6th    115th    
    3rd Down Conv. Defense    160th    148th    

    THE 2016 SEASON
•Southwest Minnesota State University finished the 2016 season with a record of 5-6 overall and 2-5 in the NSIC South Division.
•SMSU tied for ninth overall in the 16-team NSIC and placed tied for fifth in the NSIC South Division.



    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.

    MUSTANGS IN THE 2016 NCAA STATS
•SMSU finished high in numerous categories in the final  2016 Division II statistics.
•SMSU finished second in completion percentage, sixth in third-down conversion pct., fifth in kickoff returns, 19th in passing offense, 23rd in total offense, 25th in first downs, 26th in fewest penalty yards per game and 34th in scoring.
•Blake Gimbel ranked third in the nation in completion percentage, fourth in completions per game, 21st in passing yards and 32nd in passing touchdowns.
•Max Simmons finished 10th in rushing touchdowns, 10th in scoring and 20th in touchdowns.
•Nate Huot ranked 34th in receptions per game and 59th all purpose yards and 60th in receiving yards.
•A complete look of the NCAA stats is located on pages 21-22.

    GIMBEL IN THE RECORD BOOK
•Senior quarterback Blake 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).
•Gimbel begins his senior season ranking first in school history in completing percentage (67.0), fourth in completions (596), fifth in passing yards (6,415) and sixth in passing touchdowns (51).
•A complete look at where Gimbel ranks 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, 33-38    

    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    University of 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

    GIMBEL TIES OWN RECORD
•Quarterback Blake Gimbel twice tied his own school record for completions in a single game 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 rank 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 two games versus UIU, Gimbel has completed 84 passes on 109 attempts for 890 yards and seven touchdowns.  

    HUOT LEADS THE WAY IN RECEPTIONS...AGAIN
•Senior wide receiver Nate Huot has led the team in receptions the last three seasons.
•Huot is just the third player in team history and first since Ray Denson (2003-05) to lead the team 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 is sixth on the school's all-time touchdown receptions list with 24 and needs one touchdown reception to move into a tie for fifth place.
•He also ranks fifth in team history in receptions (184) and eighth in receiving yards (2,355).
•A complete look at where Huot ranks is listed on page 5.

    HUOT IN THE NSIC RECORD BOOK
•Senior wide receiver Nate Huot is closing in on the all-time receptions record in NSIC history (NSIC games only).
•He begins the season ranked seventh all-time with 184 receptions in 33 career games.
•Brian Jark from Northern State (2006-09, 36 games) holds the record with 210 career receptions in conference games.
•A complete look at where Huot ranks in the NSIC is listed on page 5.

    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.
•His 18 touchdowns was an SMSU single-season history for rushing touchdowns by a freshman and was one shy of tying the SMSU single-season record of 19 set by Tyler Tonderum in 2013.

    SIMMONS IN THE SINGLE-SEASON BOOK
•Max Simmons ranked high in a pair of SMSU single-season statistical categories following the 2016 season.
•His 18 rushing touchdowns ranked second in team history, while he also ranked  fifth in touchdowns scored (18) and fifth in scoring (108).
•Simmons' 913 rushing yards ranks 11th best in team single-season history.  

    MUSTANGS/SMSU IN THE NSIC STATS
•In the final 2016 NSIC stats, SMSU's Blake Gimbel ranked fourth in passing yards and ninth in total offense.
•Max Simmons finished second in scoring and third in rushing.
•Nate Huot ranked sixth in all purpose yards, eighth in receptions per game and ninth in receiving yards per game.
•As a team, SMSU finished ranked third in the NSIC in passing yards, sixth in scoring offense, sixth in total offense, eighth in rushing offense, seventh in pass defense, 12th in rush defense, 12th in scoring defense and 13th in total defense.
•A complete look of the NSIC stats are located on pages 20-21.

    MUSTANG DEFENSE FORCING TURNOVERS
•The Southwest Minnesota State 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.
•SMSU forced a combined 23 turnovers during the season, including five in a win versus Upper Iowa.
•SMSU had four interceptions in the win versus UIU, which was its highest total since racking up four versus Black Hills State in 2009.

    SIMMONS TIES SCHOOL RECORD...TWICE
•Running back Max Simmons twice tied the school single-game record for rushing touchdowns last season.
•He had four touchdowns in the win at Minnesota Crookston on Sept. 24 and also had four at Winona State on Nov. 5.
•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 32 of its last 57 games dating back to the final game of the 2011 season.
•Since Nov. 12, 2011, SMSU has scored 40 points 18 times, 50 points eight times and 60 points once.

    NO TIME OF POSSESSION? NO PROBLEM
•Southwest Minnesota State finished last season ranked 158th out of 170 teams in Division II in time of possession.
•Despite averaging the ball just 27 minutes and 12 seconds, SMSU ranked 34th nationally in scoring, 23rd in total offense and 25th in first downs.

    TWO 100-YARD RUSHERS AGAIN
•Twice last season, SMSU had two players rush for more than 100 yards in a game.
•In SMSU's win over Concordia-St. Paul on Oct. 29, Hudson Walton (145) and Max Simmons (138) each reached the century mark.
•Divonte Beale and Simmons both reached 100 yards rushing in the victory over U-Mary in week three.  

    GET IN THE "ZONE"
•Southwest Minnesota State finished the 2016 season scoring on 38 of its 45 (84.4) possessions inside the "red zone" this season with 37 touchdowns and one field goal. SMSU opponents finished 37 of 42 (88.1) inside "red zone" this season with 29 touchdowns and eight 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

    BIG PLAY MUSTANGS
•SMSU recorded 93 offensive/defensive plays or kick/punt returns of 20 or more yards in 2016, including 55 by the Mustang offense (15 run, 40 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    93    21    15    40    33    1    3    1

    SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS
•SMSU senior Michael Rivera led the Mustang special teams with a eight tackles last season with all eight coming on kickoffs.

    SCORING ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL
•The SMSU defense recorded a pair of touchdowns in 2016.
•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.   

    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).

    SMSU IN THE SOUTH
•The NSIC adapted divisional play during the 2008 season.
•SMSU is a combined 22-37 all-time in South Division games and has finished in the top half of the division three 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.

    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.
•SMSU is 7-1 versus North Division teams the past two seasons.
•SMSU went a perfect 4-0 versus North Division squads in 2015 and last season finished 3-1.
•Since divisional play was started in 2009, SMSU is a combined 20-32 all-time in South Division 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 finished 4-2 at home last season and is 24-27 all-time at the stadium.
•SMSU has recorded back-to-back winning seasons at home 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 finished 1-4 on the road in 2016.
•SMSU finished 5-1 in road games in 2015 setting a school record for road wins in a season.
•SMSU is a combined 30-54 in road games since 2000.

    TURNOVER MARGIN
•SMSU finished "plus-2" in turnover margin in 2016.
•Since the start of the 2004 season (144 games), SMSU has been a "plus" in turnover margin in just 44 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 five times in 2016).
•In SMSU's last 121 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 81 of their last 121 conference games.

    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.








    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 EARNS FIRST-EVER WIN OVER TOP 25 TEAM
•Southwest Minnesota State earned its first-ever victory over a Division II Top 25 team in week one last season, defeating No. 19 Minnesota Duluth, 42-38, in Marshall.

    MUSTANGS ON HOMECOMING
•SMSU is 22-25 all-time on homecoming.
•SMSU has won three straight and four of the last five homecoming games.
•SMSU is 6-11 on homecoming since 2000.

    SMSU TO APPEAR ON NSIC GAME OF THE WEEK
•SMSU will appear twice on the "NSIC Thursday Night Game of the Week" aired Midco Sports Network.
•SMSU's game at MSU Moorhead on Sept. 7 and SMSU's home game versus Minnesota State on Oct. 19, will air live on Midco Sports Network.

    ABOUT ST. CLOUD STATE
•Scott Underwood is entering his 10th season as head coach at SCSU and has a career record of 69-36. He has led the Huskies to three NCAA playoff appearances.
•SCSU finished 5-6 a season ago and tied for fourth in the NSIC North with a record of 4-3.
•SCSU must replace its starting quarterback, top two rushers and top receiver from a season ago.
•Joe Blando is the team's top returning rusher from last season with 262 yards and four touchdowns on 67 carries.
•Dwayne Lawhorn takes over at quarterback after completing 4 of 17 passes for 64 yards last season.
•SCSU returns John Pass, who caught 37 passes for 656 yards and five touchdowns last season as the program's second leading receiver.
•The strength of the team's 3-4 defense will be the three returning starters at the linebacker position in Brady Westart, Gary Koehring and Craig Szymanski. All three have captured All-NSIC North honors during their careers.
•Safety Carvel Graham was a first team All-NSIC North last season after picking off four passes with 50 tackles.

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