THIS WEEK
•Southwest Minnesota State University (2-3, 1-3 NSIC South) continues play versus NSIC North Division foes this Saturday, Oct. 6, hosting the University of Minnesota Crookston (1-4, 1-3 NSIC North) starting at 5 p.m. at Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center.
•Saturday's game is Homecoming for SMSU.
•SMSU will be looking for its first three-game winning streak since the 2016 season.
•A preview on UMC is located on page 4.

Game Facts
University of Minnesota Crookston (1-4, 1-3 NSIC North) at
Southwest Minnesota State University (2-3, 1-3 NSIC South)  
Saturday, Oct. 6, 2018 • 5 p.m. • Marshall, Minn.
Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center (turf)

Broadcasts
Radio Broadcast: 105.1 FM KARL
Internet Radio: marshallradio.net
Internet Video Broadcast: SMSUmustangs.com/watchnow
Live Statistics: SMSUmustangs.com

SMSU vs. UMC Series Notes
(all-time results listed on page 5)
Southwest Minnesota State and Minnesota Crookston meet for the 13th time on Saturday night with SMSU holding  10-2 advantage in a series that started on Sept. 17, 2001 ... SMSU leads 5-0 in games played in Marshall ... SMSU won the last meeting played in Marshall, 56-31, on Sept. 13, 2014 ... SMSU defeated UMC, 54-14, in the first ever game played at the Schwan REC on Aug. 30, 2008 ... SMSU won 47-13 in the last meeting on Sept. 24, 2016, in Crookston.

The Last Time - SMSU vs. UMC
Max Simmons rushed for a 112 yards and tied a school record with four rushing touchdowns to help lead SMSU to a 47-13 victory over Minnesota Crookston on Sept. 24, 2016, in Crookston. SMSU piled up 594 yards of offense and also racked up 31 first downs. UMC was limited to 307 yards and 15 first downs. The Mustang defense recorded three interceptions, including returning one for a touchdown. SMSU's Blake Gimbel completed 20 of 28 passes for 283 yards and one touchdown, while Nate Huot finished with a team-high five receptions for 79 yards. Tyler Flud paced the SMSU defense with six tackles, including returning an interception 48 yards for a third quarter touchdown. Caleb Leichtnam and Gene Germain also added six tackles for the Mustangs. UMC's Nathan Cole passed for 119 yards and one touchdown on 13 of 19 attempts, but was intercepted three times and was pulled in the third quarter. Andre Person rushed for a team-high 82 yards on 22 carries for the Golden Eagles.

SMSU vs. UMC Series Information
Overall:    SMSU leads 10-2
In Marshall:    SMSU leads 5-0
In Crookston:    SMSU leads 5-2
Neutral Record:    0-0
Last SMSU win:    Sept. 24, 2016 (47-13)
Last UMC win:    Sept. 22, 2012 (33-28)
Largest win for SMSU:    40 (54-14, 2008)
Largest win for UMC:    35 (49-14, 2003)
Longest win streak for SMSU:    6 (2004-09)
Longest win streak for UMC:    1 (2003 & 2012)
Current win streak:    SMSU, 2
Sauter vs. UMC:    2-1
Dufner vs. SMSU:    0-0

    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.

    OPENING DRIVE TIDBITS
•SMSU rushed for a season-high 173 yards in the win over UMary last week.
•SMSU was a combined 7 for 33 on third down conversions the first two games of the season, but in the last three weeks SMSU is a combined 21 for 47 and 3 for 4 on fourth down conversions.
•Senior Blake Gimbel recorded his 10th career 300-yard passing game last week at UMary, which ranks fourth in team history.
•Junior running back Max Simmons rushed for a 119 yards on just 12 carries in the victory at UMary. It was his ninth career 100-yard rushing game which ranks tied for fourth in team history. It was also his first back-to-back 100-yard rushing games since 2016 when he reached the century mark four straight games.
•The 75-yard touchdown run last week by Simmons was the longest play from scrimmage for SMSU this season.
•Junior wide receiver Daniel Davis finished with a career-high 148 yards receiving and two touchdowns last week.
•Davis ranks 31st in Division II with 448 receiving yards and ranks third in the NSIC in receptions per game (6.0).
•Junior linebacker Brad Bahlmann recorded his first career interception last week.
•Senior Blake Gimbel ranks first in team history with 785 completions surpassing Josh Shudlick's (2005-08) school record of 769. Gimbel set the record in SMSU's road win over UMary on Sept. 29.
•Gimbel ranks seventh in Division II in completions per game (25) and is 21st in passing yards (1,325).
•Senior linebacker Shane Ratkovich has led the team in tackles for four straight games. He has a team-high 55 tackles this season and ranks first in the NSIC and 16th in Division II with 11 tackles per game.
•Junior cornerback Cory Hollowell ranks 12th in Division II in passes defended with 1.8 per game.

    SMSU VERSUS THE NORTH
•Since 2012, when the NSIC schedule had each team playing four inter-divisional games, SMSU has a record of 14-11 versus NSIC North Division teams.
•SMSU is 10-3 versus North Division teams since 2015.
•SMSU went a perfect 4-0 versus North Division squads in 2015, finished 3-1 in 2016 and 2-2 in 2017.  

    SMSU / UMC IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
•The following is where SMSU and UMC rank in the current NCAA statistics.
•A full listing of SMSU in the weekly NCAA statistics can be found on pages 22-23.
    (167 teams ranked)    SMSU    UMC    
    Scoring Offense    88th     160th    
    Rushing Offense    153rd     138th    
    Passing Offense    34th    148th
    Total Offense    99th    155th
    Scoring Defense    111th    154th
    Rushing Defense    117th    142nd
    Pass Defense    119th    107th
    Pass Efficiency Defense    126th    157th
    Total Defense    122nd    136th
    Net Punting    124th    110th
    Punt Returns    86th    83rd
    Kickoff Returns    133rd    158th
    Turnover Margin    37th    153rd
    Fewest Penalty Yards/Gm.    44th    58th
    Time of Possession    94th    85th
    3rd Down Conversions    95th    104th        
    3rd Down Conv. Defense    47th    155th

    SMSU CRUISES PAST UMARY FOR SECOND WIN
•Blake Gimbel passed for 356 yards and five touchdowns and also rushed for a touchdown to pace SMSU to an impressive 54-24 road victory over the University of Mary last Saturday.
•SMSU, which has won two straight games, closed the game with a season-high 537 yards of offense and reached the 30-point mark for the first time since week two of last season.
•Max Simmons rushed for 119 yards on 12 carries which included a 75-yard touchdown run to open the second half.
•SMSU closed the game with a season-high 173 yards rushing.
•Daniel Davis caught three passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns, while Connor Wilkie caught a team-high four passes for 41 yards and one touchdowns.
•UMary was limited to just 11 first downs and 293 yards of offense, while being forced to punt nine times.
•Shane Ratkovich racked up a team-high 11 tackles for SMSU, while Alex Ney, Tahjee Smith and Hayden Acker all added six tackles each.

    GIMBEL NAMED NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
•Senior quarterback Blake Gimbel was named the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.
•Gimbel completed 21 of 31 passes for 356 yards and tied a career-high with five touchdown passes, while also rushing for a one-yard touchdown. He completed touchdown passes of 38, 64, 10, 18 and 16 yards—all in the first half—in helping SMSU earn its second straight victory.
•It is the fifth time in his career he has earned the weekly award.








    DICKE RECOGNIZED FOR TWO MAJOR AWARDS
•Senior defensive tackle Jon Dicke was recognized for two major awards last month for his work in the classroom and community.
•On Sept. 13, Dicke was named one of 22 college football players in the country named to the AFCA Allstate Good Works Team.
•The prestigious award, which has played a prominent role in collegiate sports for more than 25 years, celebrates student-athletes for their extraordinary commitment to making a lasting impact off the field.
•For his selection to the Good Works Team®, Dicke will be honored at halftime of the 2019 Allstate® Sugar Bowl® in New Orleans on Jan. 1, 2019.
•Dicke is the third Mustang football student-athlete to be selected to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team in program history, joining Russ Barclay (1999) and Tyler Fischer (2007).
•On Sept. 26, he was named one of 179 semifinalist for the 2018 National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) William V. Campbell Trophy presented by Fidelity Investments.
•The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists on Oct. 31, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 60th NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class.

    SMSU HEAD COACH
•Cory Sauter is in his ninth season as head coach and has an overall record of 38-56, including 37-54 in conference games.
•Sauter's 38 victories rank second all-time in program history among 10 head coaches.
•Gary Buer (1979-92) is the program leader with 70 victories.
•Sauter was named head coach on March 29, 2010, after serving two seasons as an assistant coach at SMSU.
•In 2009, Sauter served as the team's offensive coordinator, while in 2008 he served as quarterbacks coach.
•A complete bio on Sauter can be found on page 24.

    TRANSFERS MAKE IMPACTS
•Several transfer players have made big impacts during their first season in Mustang uniforms.
•Junior wide receiver Daniel Davis has caught a team-high 30 passes for 448 yards and four touchdowns.
•Junior cornerback Cory Hollowell has 35 tackles and a team-high eight pass break-ups with one interceptions.

    FROM THE HARDWOOD TO THE GRIDIRON
•Senior tight end Carter Kirk, a four-year standout for the SMSU men's basketball, is the team's starting tight end.
•He caught his first career touchdown in the win at UMary and has 13 receptions for 164 yards on the season.  

    POSITION SWITCH IS NO PROBLEM FOR WILKIE
•Senior wide receiver Connor Wilkie spent the first four seasons at SMSU as a quarterback, including making four starts a season ago.
•He ranks second on the team with 16 receptions for 169 yards with a pair of touchdowns.

    THREE TRUE FRESHMEN PLAY
•Three true freshmen have played for SMSU this season.
•Linebacker Onte Burns has started all five games and has 25 tackles, including two fumble recoveries.
•Running back Arthur Cox has played on both offense and special teams and has 17 rush attempts and has caught five passes.
•Running back Codie Meinen appeared in his first career game at UMary and finished with three carries.

    SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS
•Ben Specht leads the team with 10 special teams tackles with five on punt returns and five on kick returns.
•Tahjee Smith ranks second with six tackles.   

    GET IN THE "ZONE"
•SMSU is 12 for 16 inside the "red zone" with 12 touchdowns.
•SMSU opponents are 15 of 16 (93.8) inside "red zone" with 14 touchdowns and one field goal.
•The following is SMSU in the "red zone" since head coach Cory Sauter took over in 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    24 of 37 (64.9)    18    6
    2018    12 of 16 (75.0)    12    0

    BIG PLAY MUSTANGS
•SMSU has recorded 24 offensive/defensive plays or kick/punt returns of 20 or more yards in 2018, with 18 coming from the offense (3 run, 15 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    68    10    12    28    25    1    1    1
    2018    24    6    3    15    3    2    1    0    

    MUSTANG DEFENSE FORCING TURNOVERS
•SMSU has forced three or more turnovers in three of five games this season, including five in a week two loss to Wayne State.
•SMSU has forced 11 total turnovers which ranks 31st in Division II.
•SMSU forced 22 turnovers last season ranking 52nd in Division II.
•SMSU forced a turnover in 10 of 11 games last season and recorded two or more turnovers in seven games.

    2018 TEAM CAPTAINS
•Four players--two on offense and two on defense--serve as team captains for the 2018 season.
•The offensive team captains selected were senior wide receiver Connor Wilkie and senior quarterback Blake Gimbel.
•The defensive team captains are senior linebacker Alex Ney and senior defensive lineman Jon Dicke.
•It's the fourth straight season Gimbel has been selected a team captain.
•The team captains were selected by a vote of the Mustang players.







    THE 2018 ROSTER
•The 2018 SMSU roster features 102 players with 17 seniors, 25 juniors, 21 sophomores, 11 redshirt freshmen 28 freshmen.
•The roster includes players from 12 different states and Canada. Minnesota leads the way with 45 players, followed by Iowa (11) and Wisconsin (12), Illinois (11), California (7), South Dakota (5), Florida (3), Arizona (3), Louisiana (2), Washington (1), Nebraska (1) and Texas (1).

    DICKE NAMED 2017 ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN
•Senior defensive lineman Jon Dicke was named a 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-American.
•Dicke is the 20th SMSU student-athlete in school history to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America® honors and just the seventh to earn first team accolades.
•He is the fifth SMSU football player to earn CoSIDA Academic All-American honors.
•Dicke carries a 4.0 cumulative GPA in exercise science.

    NEY RETURNING ALL-NSIC PLAYER
•Senior linebacker Alex Ney is the only returning player that earned All-NSIC South Division honors following the 2017 season. He was named All-NSIC South honorable mention.
•Ney led the team last season with 120 tackles and also ranked first with 60 solo stops.
•Ney became just the second Mustang to reach 100 tackles in season since 2007 and the first since 2013. The 120 tackles is the seventh highest total in team single-season history and also ranked 13th in Division II in tackles per game.

    GIMBEL RETURNS AT QUARTERBACK
•The 2018 SMSU offense returns sixth-year senior quarterback Blake Gimbel, who missed nearly all of last season with injury. An All-NSIC South honorable mention honoree in 2015 and 2016, Gimbel started the first four games last season, but was injured late in week two and played just a few series in the third and fourth games of the season.
•Gimbel finished the 2016 season ranked fourth in the conference in passing and ninth in total offense, while ranking third in Division II in completion percentage, fourth in completions per game, 21st in passing yards and 32nd in passing touchdowns.
    
    GIMBEL IN THE RECORD BOOK
•Senior quarterback Blake Gimbel ranks first in school history in completing percentage (66.1), first in completions (785), second in passing touchdowns (70) and third in passing yards (8,474).
•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 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
    N3    Augustana            DNP - injured
    N10    at Concordia-St. Paul        DNP - injured

    2018    Opponent    Comp    Att    Int    TD    Yards    Result
    A30    at Minnesota State    34    49    0    1    279    L 13-49
    S8    Wayne State    19    35    0    1    137    L 14-23
    S15    at Sioux Falls    24    42    1    2    301    L 21-39
    S22    Upper Iowa    27    50    3    3    252    W 21-20
    S29    at UMary    21    31    0    5    356    W 54-24

    SIMMONS IN THE RECORD BOOK
•Junior Max Simmons ranks tied for third in team history with 25 rushing touchdowns, is tied for eighth in total touchdowns (29) and ranks 11th in rushing yards (1,705).
•His 18 rushing touchdowns in 2016 rank second in team single-season history, while also ranking fifth in single-season touchdowns scored (18) and fifth in single-season scoring (108).
•The 18 rushing touchdowns was a school single-season record for rushing touchdowns by a freshman.  
•Simmons also twice tied the school single-game record for rushing touchdowns (4) during the  2016 season at Minnesota Crookston and at Winona State.

    SMSU HIGH-OCTANE OFFENSE
•Since being shutout on Nov. 5, 2011, Southwest Minnesota State has scored 30 or more points in 34 of its last 73 games dating back to the final game of the 2011 season.
•SMSU hasn't been as prolific scoring in the last two-plus seasons, having reached the 30-point plateau just twice in its last 20 games since Oct. 20, 2016.
•SMSU scored 51 points in a win over MSU Moorhead in week two last season and scored 54 in last week's win at UMary.
•Since Nov. 12, 2011, SMSU has scored 40 or more points 20 times, 50 or more points 10 times and 60 or more points once.

    TURNOVER MARGIN BY THE NUMBERS
•SMSU is "plus-3" in turnover margin this season following five weeks of play.
•SMSU finished "plus-9" in turnover margin in 2017.
•Since the start of the 2004 season (160 games), SMSU has been a "plus" in turnover margin in just 51 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, six times in 2017 and once in 2018).
•In SMSU's last 137 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 90 of their last 137 conference games.

    SMSU IN SOUTH DIVISION PLAY
•Since the NSIC adapted divisional play prior to the 2008 season, SMSU is 23-47 all-time in South Division games and has finished in the top half of the division three times in 10 seasons.
•SMSU had its highest finish in 2013 at second place and has finished fourth three times, fifth twice, sixth three times and seventh once.  

    MUSTANGS AT HOME
•The 2018 season is the 11th year that Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center has served as the home for SMSU football.
•SMSU, which is 26-32 all-time at the stadium, is 1-1 this season after finishing 1-4 a season ago.
•SMSU recorded a 4-2 record at home in 2016.
•SMSU recorded back-to-back winning seasons at home the in 2015 and 2016 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 1-2 in road games this season and is 3-11 in road games since the 2016 season.
•SMSU went 5-1 in road games in 2015 setting a school record for road wins in a season.
•SMSU is a combined 32-61 in road games since 2000.

    NSIC PRESEASON POLL
•SMSU was picked to finish 12th overall and seventh in the South Division in the annual 16-team NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
•Senior quarterback Blake Gimbel and senior linebacker Alex Ney were named "Players to Watch" in the NSIC this season.

    SUPER REGION 4 FOR THE NSIC
•SMSU and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference was placed in a new region prior to 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).

    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 VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS
•SMSU is 1-22 versus Division II Top 25 teams since the 2008 season including 0-2 this season.
•SMSU's lone victory versus a Division II Top 25 team came in the 2016 season opener versus No. 19 Minnesota Duluth (42-38) in Marshall.

    FOR OPENERS
•Southwest Minnesota State is now 22-29 all-time in season openers following last week's loss at Minnesota State.  
•SMSU is 3-6 in season openers under head coach Cory Sauter.

    MUSTANG HISTORY
•The 2018 season marks the 51st year of college football at Southwest Minnesota State dating to 1968.
•SMSU owns an all-time record of 196-321-5, including 134-227-5 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 MINNESOTA CROOKSTON
•UMC is 1-4 overall, 1-3 NSIC North, and is coming off a 48-3 home loss to Augustana last Saturday afternoon.
•UMC's win two weeks ago at Minot State on Sept. 22 was the program's first victory since Nov. 7, 2015, snapping a 26-game losing streak.  
•Junior quarterback Jalin Scott has completed 42 of 82 pass attempts for 595 yards with two touchdowns and five interceptions. He has also rushed for 141 yards with four touchdowns.   
•Junior running back Elijah Todd has rushed for a team-high 321 yards on 70 carries.
•Freshman wide receiver Andy Groebner has caught a team-high 14 passes for 299 yards and one touchdown.
•Senior linebacker Ali Alkhatib has racked up a team-high 38 tackles, including five for loss.
•Senior free safety Will Cole has 33 tackles with three for loss.
•Mark Dufner is in his second season as head coach with a record of 1-15. He has coached in various roles at UMC for 15 seasons, including serving as defensive coordinator prior to becoming head coach.  

    MUSTANGS ON RADIO
•All SMSU football games during the 2018 season will be broadcast on 105.1 FM KARL.
•Ryan Rohlik is in his sixth season as the play-by-play voice of SMSU football.