THIS WEEK
•Southwest Minnesota State University (1-1, 0-0 NSIC South) returns home to face Minot State University (0-2, 0-0 NSIC North) on Saturday, Sept. 16, starting at 6 p.m. at Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center.
•Saturday's game is the 11th annual Ag Bowl, presented by Ralco.
•SMSU opened the 2017 season with a 41-26 home loss to St. Cloud State on Aug. 31.
•MSUM opened the season with an impressive 38-7 road victory over Augustana on Sept. 2.

    11TH ANNUAL AG BOWL - PRESENTED BY RALCO
•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 4-6 all-time in Ag Bowl games following last season's 41-39 loss to Wayne State.  

    SENIORS HONORED PRIOR TO GAME
•Despite three more home games remaining on the schedule, the SMSU football program will have "Senior Recognition Night" on Saturday and will recognize its 17 seniors in a ceremony prior to kick off.

    SMSU OPENING DRIVE TIDBITS
•SMSU has lost its last two home games (dating to last season). The last time SMSU lost three straight home games occurred during the 2014 season.
•SMSU limited MSUM to just 51 yards rushing last Thursday night. It was the first time SMSU has held an opponent to less than 100 yards rushing since Concordia-St. Paul had 90 yards on Nov. 7, 2015.
•Minot State head coach Mike Aldrich was an assistant coach the previous two seasons at SMSU (2015-16).
•SMSU is 8-2 versus NSIC North Division teams the past three seasons.  
•SMSU's five interceptions in last week's win at MSU Moorhead was its highest total since recording five at Upper Iowa on Sept. 17, 2005.
•Senior Blake Gimbel needs one more touchdown pass to tie Josh Shudlick (2005-08) for third all-time in team history with 59.  
•Gimble is 234 passing yards shy of moving into third place in team history with 7,323 yards.
•Senior Nate Huot ranks fourth in NSIC history with 199 career receptions. He is 11 receptions shy of tying the conference record of 210 (NSIC games only) set by Brian Jark of Northern State (2006-09).
•Huot ranks fourth in team history in receptions and fifth in touchdowns.
•Huot has 10 career 100-yard receiving games which ranks tied for fourth in team history.
•Freshman kicker Skyler Crew booted three field goals in last week's win at MSU Moorhead. He is the first Mustang to make three in a game since Mike Wenk on Sept. 13, 2014.

    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.
•The previous record

    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 respectively on Monday.
•It's the fourth time Gimbel has earned the award in his career.

    TEAM EFFORT LEADS SMSU PAST MSU MOORHEAD
•SMSU picked up its first victory of the season last Thursday with a 51-35 road win over MSU Moorhead.
•The SMSU defense recorded six turnovers including five interceptions.
•The SMSU offense rolled up 550 yards on 99 plays with 27 first downs.
•SMSU ran 99 plays in the victory and held a 42:16 to 17:44 time of possession advantage.
•SMSU converted 11 of 25 on third-down while MSUM converted just 2 of 10 on third down.
•Nate Huot caught a game-high nine passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns.
•Max Simmons rushed for a game-high 78 yards on 27 carries.
•Blake Gimbel completed 32 of 44 passes for 389 yards and tied a career-high with five touchdown passes.
•Michael Griffin racked up a team-high seven tackles to pace the SMSU defense.

    SMSU VERSUS THE NORTH
•Since 2012, when the NSIC schedule required each team to play four inter-divisional games, SMSU has a record of 12-10 versus NSIC North Division teams.
•SMSU is 8-2 versus North Division teams since 2015.
•SMSU went a perfect 4-0 versus North Division squads in 2015 and last season finished 3-1.

    HEAD COACH
•Cory Sauter is in his eighth season as head coach at SMSU and has an overall record of 35-45, including 34-43 in conference games.
•The 35 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 24.

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




    SMSU / MISU IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
•A full listing of SMSU in the national statistics can be found on pages 22-23.
    (170 teams ranked)    SMSU    MISU
    Scoring Offense    25th    154th    
    Rushing Offense    125th    152nd    
    Passing Offense    14th    73rd
    Passing Efficiency    25th    141st
    Total Offense    42nd    130th
    Scoring Defense    134th    78th
    Rushing Defense    68th    139th
    Pass Defense    156th    58th
    Pass Eff. Defense    76th    86th
    Total Defense    134th    105th
    Net Punting    104th    117th
    Punt Returns    146th    23rd
    Kickoff Returns    102nd    102nd
    Turnover Margin    2nd    66th
    Fewest Penalty Yards/Gm.    27th    59th
    Time of Poss.    66th    102nd
    3rd Down Conv.    20th    130th    
    3rd Down Conv. Defense    140th    105th    

    MUSTANG DEFENSE FORCING TURNOVERS/SCORING
•The SMSU defense has forced a total of eight turnovers in two games ranking fourth in Division II.
•SMSU recorded six turnovers versus MSU Moorhead with five interceptions.  
•SMSU forced a pair of turnovers in its loss to St. Cloud State to open the season.
•The SMSU defense scored its first touchdown of the season with Hunter Cushman returning an interception 68 yards.
•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.

    GIMBEL IN THE RECORD BOOK
•Senior quarterback Blake Gimbel ranks first in school history in completing percentage (67.2), third in completions (653), fourth in passing yards (7,089) 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, 33-38    

    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

2017    Opponent    Comp.    Att.    Int    TD    Yards    Result
    A31    St. Cloud State    25    39    2    2    285    L, 26-41
    S9    at MSU Moorhead    32    44    0    5    389    W, 51-35

    GIMBEL TIES OWN COMPLETION 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 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 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 ranks fifth on the school's all-time touchdown receptions list with 27.
•He also ranks fourth in team history in receptions (199) and seventh in receiving yards (2,629).
•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 now has 199 receptions in 35 games ranking fourth in conference history.
•Brian Jark from Northern State (2006-09, 36 games) holds the record with 210 career receptions in conference games.
•He opened the season ranked seventh all-time with 184 receptions in 33 career games.
•A complete look at where Huot ranks in the NSIC is listed on page 5.

    CUSHMAN MAKING BIG TIME PLAYS
•Junior cornerback Hunter Cushman has made a big impact during both games this season.
•He returned an interception 68 yards for a touchdown in week one versus St. Cloud State.
•He also had a 25-yard fumble return versus MSU Moorhead in week two setting up a 1-yard SMSU touchdown drive.

    NEY RACKS UP 20 TACKLES IN OPENER
•Junior linebacker Alex Ney racked up 20 tackles including 11 solo stops during SMSU's loss to St. Cloud State in week one.
•The 20 tackles by Ney is the most by an SMSU player since the 1997 season. The single-game record is 27 set by Pat Litwicki versus Dakota State in 1978.

    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 59 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 LEADER
•Sophomores Josh Bauer and Brad Bahlmann lead the Mustang special teams with a three tackles each this season.
•Bauer has all three tackles on kickoffs while Bahlmann has two on kickoff and one on punts.   

    GET IN THE "ZONE"
•Southwest Minnesota State has scored on seven of its eight (87.5) possessions inside the "red zone" this season with four touchdowns and three field goals.
•SMSU opponents are seven of eight (87.5) inside "red zone" this season with six touchdowns and one field goal.
•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    7 of 8 (87.5)    4    3

    BIG PLAY MUSTANGS
•SMSU has recorded 19 offensive/defensive plays or kick/punt returns of 20 or more yards in 2017, including 12 by the Mustang offense (2 run, 10 pass).
•For a complete look at the "long" plays and SMSU's "money" plays for this season, go to pages 17-18.
•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
    2017    12    6    2    10    6    0    1    0

    THE 2017 ROSTER
•The 2017 SMSU roster features 109 players with 17 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), Texas (1), Washington (1), Georgia (1), Maryland (1) and Ontario (1).

    FOUR TRUE FRESHMEN SEE ACTION
•A total of four true freshmen have seen game action in the first two weeks of the season.
•Brenton Shaw and Chris Bain have both played on kickoff return with Shaw recording five returns for 95 yards including a long of 22 yards versus St. Cloud State.
•Lucas Fisher has appeared on special teams in both games.  
•Skyler Crew handles place kicking duties and made three field goals in the win at MSU Moorhead.  

    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 prior to the 2008 season.
•SMSU is 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.  

    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 24-28 all-time at the stadium including 0-1 this season.
•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 is 1-0 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 31-54 in road games since 2000.

    TURNOVER MARGIN BY THE NUMBERS
•SMSU is "plus-6" in turnover margin in 2017.
•SMSU finished "plus-2" in turnover margin in 2016.
•Since the start of the 2004 season (146 games), SMSU has been a "plus" in turnover margin in just 45 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 once in 2017).
•In SMSU's last 123 conference games, which spans from late in the 2004 season through this season, SMSU is minus-35 in turnover margin.
•The Mustangs have been "even" or "minus" in turnover margin in 82 of their last 123 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.

    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 IN THE RECORD 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).
•The 18 rushing touchdowns was an SMSU single-season history for rushing touchdowns by a freshman.
•Simmons' 913 rushing yards ranks 11th best in team single-season history.  
•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.

    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.

    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 MINOT STATE
•Minot State is 0-2 on the season, following a road loss to Concordia-St. Paul in the season opener and a 28-20 home loss to Augustana last Saturday.
•Mike Aldrich is his first season as head coach at MISU.
•He was an assistant coach for two seasons at SMSU prior to being named head coach in January of 2017.
•He was head coach at Augustana (2010-12) for three seasons recording a record of 22-13.
•MISU assistant coaches Shane LaDage (2011-12) and Derek Edholm (2015) were both assistant coaches at SMSU. LaDage was a four-year letter winner at tight end for SMSU from 2007-10.
•Lavante Bushnell caught two touchdown passes for the Beavers in the loss to Augustana. He finished with five receptions for 86 yards.
•Trailing 28-20 in the fourth quarter, the Beavers had a pair of drives down inside the Augustana 30-yard line including at the 5-yard line, but failed to score.
•Zac Cunha has completed 32 of 72 passes for 450 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
•Hayden Van Winkle has rushed for a team-high 71 yards on 22 carries.
•Bushnell has caught nine passes for 120 yards on two touchdowns.
•The MISU defense is paced by Bryce Broome, who has amassed 20 tackles.
•Kiante Goudeau has recorded 17 tackles with two for loss.

    FOR OPENERS
•Southwest Minnesota State is now 22-28 all-time in season openers following this season's loss to St. Cloud State.
•SMSU is 3-5 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 to 1968.
•SMSU owns an all-time record of 193-310-5, including 131-216-5 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.

    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.