THIS WEEK
•Southwest Minnesota State University opens its 51st season of football on Thursday night playing at nationally ranked Minnesota State University with kickoff slated for 6:05 p.m. at Blakeslee Stadium in Mankato.
•MSU is ranked No. 1 in the preseason D2Football.com poll and is No. 3 in the preseason American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) poll.
•The game will be televised live regionally on Midco Sports Network as part of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference's "Game of the Week".
•A preview on MSU is located on page 4.

Game Facts
Southwest Minnesota State University (0-0, 0-0 NSIC South) at
Minnesota State University (0-0, 0-0 NSIC South)  
Thursday, Aug. 30, 2018 • 6:05 p.m. • Mankato, Minn.
Blakesee Stadium (grass)

Broadcasts
Radio Broadcast: 94.7 FM KARZ
TV: Midco Sports Network                     
Internet Radio: marshallradio.net
Internet Video Broadcast: SMSUmustangs.com/watchnow
Live Statistics: SMSUmustangs.com

SMSU vs. MSU Series Notes
(all-time results listed on page 5)
Southwest Minnesota State and Minnesota State meet for the 17th time on Thursday with MSU leading 16-0 in a series that started on Sept. 4, 1971 ... MSU has been ranked in the Top 10 in six of the last nine meetings (including this season) ... MSU is 9-0 all-time in games played in Mankato, including earning a 35-20 win the last game played in Mankato on Oct. 20, 2016 ... Thursday's game will be the 14th time the two schools have met as members of the same conference ... SMSU has been held to 17 or less points in 10 of the 16 games ... MSU has scored 34 or more points in the last 11 meetings ... MSU won last season 54-7 in Marshall, a game also played on a Thursday night. It was the largest margin of victory for MSU in the series.

The Last Time - SMSU vs. MSU
No. 4 ranked Minnesota State used several big plays on offense, defense and special teams in the third quarter, leading to 21 points and an eventual 54-7 victory over Southwest Minnesota State on Oct. 19, 2017, at the Schwan Regional Event Center. MSU finished with 541 yards of offense, including 347 on the ground. The Mavericks entered the game with the second ranked rush offense in Division II while also ranking fifth in total offense and sixth in scoring offense. SMSU quarterback Boyer Bouman made his first career start and completed 22 of 38 pass attempts for 133 yards. Max Simmons gained 73 yards rushing and one touchdown on five attempts for the Mustangs while Nate Huot caught a game-high eight passes for 53 yards. SMSU closed the game with 240 yards of offense with 12 first downs. Justin Taormina rushed for a game-high 154 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries to pace the Mavericks offensive attack. Ryan Schlichte completed 9 of 18 passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns.

SMSU vs. MSU Series Information
Overall:    MSU leads 16-0
In Marshall:    MSU leads 7-0
In Mankato:    MSU leads 9-0
Last SMSU win:    -
Last MSU win:    Oct. 19, 2017 (54-7)
Largest win for SMSU:    -
Largest win for MSU:    47 (54-7, 2017)
Longest win streak for SMSU:    -
Longest win streak for MSU:    15 (1971-present)
Current win streak:    MSU, 16
Sauter vs. MSU:    0-8
Hoffner vs. SMSU:    8-0

    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 194-318-5, including 132-224-5 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.

    FOR OPENERS
•Southwest Minnesota State is 22-28 all-time in season openers.
•SMSU lost last season, 41-26, at home to St. Cloud State.
•The only other time SMSU opened its season versus MSU came in 1971 at Mankato.  
•SMSU is 3-5 in season openers under head coach Cory Sauter.

    NSIC SOUTH ACTION TO OPEN THE SEASON
•For the first time since the NSIC adopted an 11-game conference schedule in 2012, all NSIC teams will play their first four games versus divisional opponents.
•Prior to this season, SMSU opened the season with four games versus NSIC North opponents.
•SMSU opens this season with four games versus NSIC South foes, then will play four NSIC North opponents, before closing the season with three games versus NSIC South teams.

    SMSU IN SOUTH DIVISION PLAY
•Since the NSIC adapted divisional play prior to the 2008 season, SMSU is 22-44 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.  

    HEAD COACH
•Cory Sauter is in his ninth season as head coach and has an overall record of 36-53, including 35-51 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 24.

    THE 2017 SEASON
•SMSU finished the 2017 season with an overall record of 2-9, including 0-7 in NSIC South Division games.  
•SMSU ended the season on an eight-game losing streak which is the longest since the 1983-84 teams combined for an eight-game winless streak which included six losses and two ties during the eight-game winless streak.
•SMSU has lost nine straight NSIC South Division games dating back to the final two games of the 2016 season.

    GIMBEL RETURNS AT QUARTERBACK
•The SMSU offense returns 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 2017 season completing 64 of 92 passes for 734 yards and seven touchdowns. He completed a school record 69.2 percent of his passes in 2016 (287 of 415) for 3,030 yards and 24 touchdowns.
•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 begins his final season ranking 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).   
•Junior quarterback Boyer Bouman started the final four games last season and completed 106 of 179 passes for 831 yards and four touchdowns.

    DEPTH AT RUNNING BACK
•Junior running back Max Simmons is the team's top returning rusher after recording  436 yards and five touchdowns on 108 carries a season ago. Simmons, the 2016 NSIC Offensive Newcomer of the Year, led the team his freshman season with 913 yards rushing with 18 touchdowns.
•Simmons' 1,349 career rushing yards ranks 14th in team history.
•Redshirt freshman Trey Sachs is expected to see action in the season opener.
•Sophomore Shawn Griffin rushed for 212 yards and two touchdowns in 2017.

    TOP RECEIVING TARGETS GONE
•SMSU will look to replace its two top receivers from last season, which includes Nate Huot, who led the team with 85 receptions for 949 yards and six touchdowns. Huot closed his career setting the school and NSIC record for career receptions with 269.
•Simmons is the team's top returner in receptions after ranking third last season with 38 for 311 yards and two touchdowns.  
•Junior wide receiver Quadri Busari played in all 11 games last season with three starts and finished fifth on the squad with 22 receptions for 213 yards and two touchdowns.
•Sophomore wide receiver Gabe Galamue returns after missing last season with an injury. He was tied for second on the team with 39 receptions in 2016, while racking up 449 yards and three touchdowns.

    OFFENSIVE LINE RETURNS FOUR WITH TIME
•SMSU returns four players who started at least one game on the offensive line last season.
•Junior Zach Stratmoen started seven games at left tackle, before making four starts at left guard. Senior Nate Van Asperen made five starts at left guard, junior Zach Thissen started a pair at left guard, while junior Nick Guzman made one start at right guard.

    NEY LEADS THE DEFENSE    
•SMSU returns its leading tackler in senior linebacker Alex Ney, who earned All-NSIC South honorable mention honors in 2017.
•Ney racked up 120 tackles last season, becoming 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. He had five double-digit tackles games, including 20 versus St. Cloud State.
•Another returning linebacker is senior Shane Ratkovich, who started the final seven games of the season and finished third on the squad with 71 tackles, including 21 stops at Upper Iowa.
•Ratkovich recorded just three total tackles in the first three games of the season, but racked up a career-high 21 tackles at Upper Iowa on Oct. 28.   
•Ratkovich and Alex Ney both recorded 20 or more tackles in a game last season. Prior to 2017, no SMSU player has reached 20 tackles in a game since prior to the 1997 season.

    TWO VETERANS BACK ON D-LINE
•SMSU returns a pair of starters on the defensive line with senior Jon Dicke and junior Tyshonn Woodard.
•Dicke, a CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2017, started every game last season and finished with 44 tackles. •Woodard made 10 starts and recorded 30 tackles.
•Also returning is senior Hayden Acker, who missed all of last season with an injury. He started all 11 games in 2016 and finished with 24 tackles.

    DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD RETURNS WITH VETERANS
•SMSU will return four players who started multiple games last season in the defensive backfield.
•Senior cornerback Je'Darien Jackson-Hanchett had a team-high four interceptions and also had eight pass break-ups,
•Senior safety Hunter Cushman, who played cornerback last season, finished sixth on the team with 45 tackles and had a pair of interceptions.
•Sophomores Lucas Fisher and Shaylar Burnell both made multiple starts last season in the defensive backfield with both registering 24 tackles and one interception.

    KICKING GAME WELCOMES BACK TOP TWO
•Senior Austin Wells returns after handling the team's punting for a third straight season. He finished with a career-best 38.9-yard punt average with 10 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line.
•Sophomore kicker Skyler Crew finished the season with 41 points, connecting on six of 11 field goal attempts, while making 21 of 24 PATs.

    THE 2018 ROSTER
•The 2018 SMSU roster features 104 players with 17 seniors, 26 juniors, 21 sophomores, 12 redshirt freshmen 28 freshmen.
•The roster includes players from 12 different states and Canada. Minnesota leads the way with 45 players, followed by Iowa (12) and Wisconsin (12), Illinois (11), California (8), South Dakota (5), Florida (3), Arizona (3), Louisiana (2), Washington (1), Nebraska (1) and Texas (1).

    OPENING DRIVE TIDBITS
•SMSU will be looking for first first-ever victory over a No. 1 ranked team on Thursday.
•SMSU ended the 2017 season losing its last eight games following a 2-1 start.
•SMSU's last eight-game losing streak during a single season came in 1976 when SMSU finished 0-9 overall.
•SMSU finished the 2017 season ranked second in the NSIC in passing offense (233.5) and 12th in rushing offense (121.8). SMSU also ranked 13th in scoring offense (18.6) and 14th in scoring defense (34.3).
•Junior quarterback Boyer Bouman started the final four games and finished the season completing 106 for 179 pass attempts for 826 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions.
•SMSU ranked 27th in the country in turnover margin (+0.82) and 52nd in turnovers gained (22).
•SMSU ranked tied for first with four other teams in Division II in fewest fumbles lost (3).   
•Senior quarterback Blake Gimbel had his 26-game consecutive start streak snapped on Sept. 30. He did not play the final seven weeks of the season.
 •Senior cornerback Je'Darien Jackson-Hanchett's four interceptions on Sept. 7 last season at MSU Moorhead was the highest single-game total in Division II last season and the third highest single-game total in all levels of NCAA football.
•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.

    SMSU / MSU IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
•The following is where SMSU and MSU ranked in the final 2017 NCAA statistics.
•A full listing of SMSU in the final national statistics can be found on pages 23-24.
    (168 teams ranked)    SMSU    MSU    
    Scoring Offense    136th    12th     
    Rushing Offense    128th    3rd     
    Passing Offense    56th    118th
    Total Offense    98th    16th    
    Scoring Defense    138th    10th
    Rushing Defense    152nd    4th
    Pass Defense    48th    76th
    Pass Efficiency Defense    73rd    33rd
    Total Defense    131st    9th
    Net Punting    155th    103rd
    Punt Returns    108th    45th
    Kickoff Returns    110th    109th
    Turnover Margin    27th    51st
    Fewest Penalty Yards/Gm.    48th    93rd
    Time of Poss.    114th    23rd
    3rd Down Conv.    75th    57th        
    3rd Down Conv. Defense    151st    9th

•In the final 2017 NCAA stats, senior Alex Ney ranked 13th in Division II in tackles per game (10.9), 34th in solo tackles per game (5.5) and third in forced fumbles (0.45).
•Senior Je'Darien Jackson-Hanchett finished the season ranked 50th in interceptions (0.4) and 69th in passes defended (1.1).
•Senior punter Austin Wells ranked 56th in Division II in punting (38.9).

    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 was one of four defensive lineman named to the first team and was one of just eight among 26 first team honorees with a 4.0 GPA.
•Dicke carries a 4.0 cumulative GPA in exercise science.

    MUSTANG DEFENSE FORCING TURNOVERS/SCORING
•The SMSU defense forced 22 turnovers last season ranking 52nd in Division II.
•SMSU recorded a season-high six turnovers with five interceptions in a week two road victory over MSU Moorhead.
•SMSU forced a turnover in 10 of 11 games and recorded two or more turnovers in seven games.
•The SMSU defense scored one touchdown last 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 KICK IS UP...AND GOOD
•Sophomore kicker Skyler Crew booted three field goals in SMSU's week two win at MSU Moorhead last season. He was the first Mustang to make three in a game since Mike Wenk on Sept. 13, 2014.
•He finished the 2017 season making 21 of 24 on PATs and also ran for a two-point conversion.
•He finished 6 of 11 on field goals with a long of 37 yards.

    NEY LEADING THE WAY ON DEFENSE
•Senior linebacker Alex Ney led the team last season with 120 tackles and also ranked first with 60 solo stops.
•Ney was 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 ranked third in Division II in forced fumbles (0.45), 13th in tackles per game (10.9) and 34th in solo tackles per game (5.5).
•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.

    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
    N3    Augustana            DNP - injured
    N10    at Concordia-St. Paul            DNP - injured

    SIMMONS IN THE RECORD BOOK
•Junior Max Simmons ranks fifth in team history with 23 rushing touchdowns and ranks 14th in rushing yards (1,349).
•His 18 rushing touchdowns in 2016 ranked second in team single-season history while also ranking fifth in touchdowns scored (18) and fifth in 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) in 2016 (at Minnesota Crookston and at Winona State).

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

    TWO MUSTANGS EARN NSIC WEEKLY AWARD IN '17
•SMSU had a pair of players earn NSIC weekly awards in 2017. Senior Blake Gimbel and senior Je'Darien Jackson-Hanchett were named the NSIC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week on Sept. 11.
•Gimbel has earned the award four times in his career.

    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 68 games dating back to the final game of the 2011 season.
•SMSU struggled last season reaching 30 points just once.
•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
•Ben Specht and Shawn Griffin led the Mustang special teams last season with six tackles each.
•Brad Bahlmann, Josh Bauer and Shaylar Burnell all ranked tied for third on the team with five tackles each.   

    GET IN THE "ZONE"
•Southwest Minnesota State scored on 24 of its 37 (64.9) possessions inside the "red zone" last season with 18 touchdowns and six field goals.
•SMSU opponents finished 37 of 42 (88.1) inside "red zone" this season with 27 touchdowns and 10 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    24 of 37 (64.9)    18    6

    BIG PLAY MUSTANGS
•SMSU recorded 68 offensive/defensive plays or kick/punt returns of 20 or more yards in 2017, including 40 by the Mustang offense (12 run, 28 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




    TURNOVER MARGIN BY THE NUMBERS
•SMSU finished "plus-9" in turnover margin in 2017.
•Since the start of the 2004 season (155 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 132 conference games, which spans from late in the 2004 season through this season, SMSU is minus-32 in turnover margin.
•The Mustangs have been "even" or "minus" in turnover margin in 86 of their last 132 conference games.

    MUSTANGS AT HOME
•The 2018 season will be the 11th year that Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center has served as the home for SMSU football.
•SMSU, which is 25-31 all-time at the stadium, finished 1-4 last season.
•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 finished 1-5 on the road in 2017 after recording a 1-4 road mark 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 31-59 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 in 2016 and ended 2-2 in 2017.

    SMSU VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS
•SMSU is 1-20 versus Division II Top 25 teams since the 2008 season including 1-2 during the 2017 season.
•SMSU lost 24-10 to No. 7 Sioux Falls on Sept. 30, 54-7 to No. 4 Minnesota State on Oct. 19 and 45-7 to No. 18 Winona State on Nov. 4.
•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.

    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).

    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.
•Ney was named All-NSIC South honorable mention.

    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.

    ABOUT MINNESOTA STATE
•Todd Hoffner is entering his ninth season as head coach at MSU and has a career record of 79-20. He has led the Mavericks to five NCAA playoff appearances.
•MSU finished 13-1 a season ago and advanced to the third round of the NCAA playoffs before losing to eventual national champion Texas A&M Commerce.
•The Mavericks averaged 40 points and 466 yards of offense a game last season.
•Running back Nate Gunn is the team's top returning rusher from last season with a school single-season record 1,550 yards and 12 touchdowns.
•Running back Justin Taormina rushed for 1,140 yards and 11 touchdowns.
•Quarterback Ryan Schlichte returns after passing for 1,910 yards and 25 touchdowns in 2017.
•MSU also returns Shane Zylstra, who caught 51 passes for 861 yards and tied a school single-season record with 15 touchdowns.
•The strength of the team's defense will be led by linebacker Michael Palme, who registered 73 tackles last season, ranking second on the team.

    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, while Anthony Rohlik provides analysis.