THIS WEEK
•Southwest Minnesota State University (1-3, 1-3 NSIC South), fresh off its first win of the season, continues road action this Saturday taking on Minot State University (2-2, 2-2 NSIC North) with kickoff set for 3 p.m. at Herb Parker Stadium in Minot, N.D.
•Saturday's game is the first of four straight games versus NSIC North Division opponents for SMSU during the month of October. The Mustangs will resume NSIC South play at home on Nov. 2 versus Winona State.
•SMSU's next victory will be the 200th in the program's 52-year history.  
•A preview on MISU is located on page 4.

SMSU VERSUS THE NSIC NORTH
•Since 2012, when the NSIC schedule had each team playing four inter-divisional games, SMSU has a record of 16-12 versus NSIC North Division teams.
•SMSU finished 3-1 versus NSIC North opponents last season.
•SMSU is 12-4 versus North Division teams since 2015.
•SMSU went a perfect 4-0 versus North Division squads in 2015, 3-1 in 2016, 2-2 in 2017 and 3-1 last season.  

BROADCAST INFO
•Saturday's game will be broadcast on 105.1 FM KARL with seventh-year SMSU play-by-play voice Ryan Rohlik.
•Live stats and video can be found at SMSUmustangs. com.

OPENING DRIVE TIDBITS
•SMSU's win last Saturday at Upper Iowa snapped an 11- game road losing streak to NSIC South Division opponents.
•Freshman Duce Reynolds recorded his first two career touchdowns and rushed for a career-high 61 yards.
•SMSU did not allow a sack in Saturday's win for the first time all season.  
•Sophomore Onte Burns' interception return for a touchdown at Upper Iowa was SMSU's first since Lucas Fisher had a 37-yard interception return for a touchdown last season versus Minnesota Crookston.
•Fisher recorded a career-high 14 tackles in last week's victory at UIU.
•Junior Adihia Bell registered a career-high six tackles with two for loss and one sack in the win at UIU.
•Senior Brad Bahlmann picked up a career-high 1.5 sacks in last week's victory.
•Freshman Gary Barnes recovered a fumble and picked up a career-high six tackles versus UIU, while redshirt freshman Calvin Knapp also recorded a career-high six tackles.
•Senior running back Max Simmons' 51-yard rushing touchdown last Saturday was the longest play from scrimmage for SMSU this season.
•SMSU rushed for 158 yards in the win at Upper Iowa. It was the first time in six games--dating back to last season--that SMSU reached 100 yards rushing in a single-game.
•Freshman Adien Belt ranks second in the NSIC averaging 44.2 yards per punt. Belt's 64-yard punt two weeks ago versus Sioux Falls was the longest by an SMSU punter since Mike Wenk had a 74-yarder versus Concordia-St. Paul on Nov. 1, 2014.
•Davis, who has 107 career receptions in two seasons, ranks second in the NSIC in receptions (28) and is third in receiving yards (340).
•Junior safety Garrett Chapman (42) and sophomore linebacker Onte Burns (39) rank second and third respectively in the NSIC in total tackles.
•Junior safety Lucas Fisher ranks fifth in the league in tackles with 34, while senior safety Davaeon Johnson is sixth with 33.
•Senior running back Max Simmons moved into sole possession of seventh place in the program career rushing record book with 2,026 yards. He needs 220 yards to tie for sixth and 238 to move into fifth place.
•Senior left tackle Zach Stratmoen has started 26 straight games the past three seasons. It's the longest streak by any current Mustang.  
•Senior wide receiver Daniel Davis has seven career 100-yard receiving game ranking 10th in team history.

SMSU vs. MISU Series Notes
(all-time results listed on page 9)
Southwest Minnesota State and Minot State meet for the eighth time on Saturday with SMSU holding 6-1 advantage in a series that started on Sept. 15, 1990 ... SMSU is 3-0 all-time in games played in Minot, winning 61-27 in 1991, 16-14 in 1997 and 21-20 in 2015 ... MISU earned its lone victory in the series, 36-12, in Marshall during the 1996 season ... SMSU is 3-0 with both schools members of the NSIC ... SMSU won the first two games of the series in 1990 and 1991 scoring a combined 124 points.

The Last Time - SMSU vs. MISU
Ashanti Payne rushed for a career-highs in yards (154), touchdowns (3) and carries (30) to lead SMSU to a thrilling 28-20 Ag Bowl victory over Minot State on Sept. 16, 2017. Payne rushed for a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to rally the Mustangs from a 20-14 halftime deficit. Teammate Max Simmons added 124 yards rushing and one touchdown on 24 carries. SMSU's Lucas Fisher sealed the win with an interception at the SMSU 1-yard line as time expired. SMSU closed the game rushing for 272 yards on 55 attempts and finished the game with 421 yards of total offense. Minot State was led by Larry Overstreet's 69 yards rushing and one touchdowns on 20 carries. Zac Cunha completed 15 of 33 passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns but was also intercepted twice in the fourth quarter. MISU recorded 367 total yards of offense including 135 on the ground. SMSU quarterback Blake Gimbel started the contest, completing 6 of 7 passes for 54 yards, but left the game in the first quarter with an injury and did not return. Connor Wilkie entered the game and finished 13 for 21 for 95 yards with one interception. Michael Rivera caught a career-high seven passes for a career-high 72 yards to lead the SMSU receiving corps.

SMSU vs. MISU Series Information
Overall:    SMSU leads 6-1
In Marshall:    SMSU leads 3-1
In Minot:    SMSU leads 3-0
Neutral Record:    0-0
Last SMSU win:    Sept. 16, 2017 (28-20)
Last MISU win:    Sept. 7, 1996 (36-12)
Largest win for SMSU:    57 (63-6, 1990)
Largest win for MISU:    24 (36-12, 1996)
Longest win streak for SMSU:    4 (1997-2015)
Longest win streak for MISU:    1 (1996)
Current win streak:    SMSU, 4
Sauter vs. Minot State:    3-0
Aldrich vs. SMSU:    3-1 (3-0 at Augustana, 0-1 at MISU)

SMSU EARNS FIRST WIN OF 2019 AT UPPER IOWA
•SMSU earned its first win of the season last Saturday night with a 35-28 road win over Upper Iowa.
•Max Simmons rushed for a team-high 83 yards and one touchdown on seven carries while Duce Reynolds added a pair of touchdowns and 61 yards rushing on 13 attempts.
•SMSU quarterback Boyer Bouman, who missed the past two games with an injury, was back in the starting line-up and completed 15 of 24 pass attempts for 136 yards and one interception.
•Daniel Davis finished the night with a team-high six receptions for 31 yards with teammate Luke Narveson adding three receptions for 32 yards.
•The SMSU defense was led by Onte Burns who racked up 12 tackles and returned an interception for a touchdown to give the Mustangs an early lead.
•Lucas Fisher added 14 tackles while Garrett Chapman chipped in with 13 tackles.
•SMSU added three sacks in the game with Brad Bahlmann registering 1.5 and Adihia Bell finishing with one.

SMSU HEAD COACH CORY SAUTER
•Cory Sauter is in his 10th season as head coach with an overall record of 41-63, including 40-61 in conference games.
•Sauter's 41 victories rank second among 10 head coaches in program history.
•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 23.





FOUR QUARTERBACKS THRUST INTO DUTY
•Due to injuries in the opening two games SMSU has used four quarterbacks this season with three different starters.
•Junior college transfer quarterback Steven Nava was pressed into duty in the second half of the season-opening loss to Minnesota State replacing injured starter Boyer Bouman.
•Nava completed 15 of 21 pass attempts for 184 yards and two touchdowns with one interception versus MSU.
•Nava started at Wayne State in week two, completing 9 of 18 passes for 135 yards and one touchdown, but was injured late in the third quarter and did not return.
•Junior college transfer Paul Herrera replaced Nava at Wayne State and started in week three versus Sioux Falls completing 19 of 30 passes for 154 yards with three interceptions.
•True freshman Sir-Coy Gray made his first appearance of the season versus Sioux Falls and attempted one pass and had one rush attempt.
•Bouman returned to the starting line-up at Upper Iowa in week four and completed 15 of 24 passes for 136 yards with one interception.

DAVIS CONTINUES TO BE "MONEY" PLAYER
•Senior Daniel Davis currently ranks second in the NSIC with 28 receptions and is third with 340 receiving yards.
•Eighteen of Davis' 28 receptions through four games have been "money" plays which is a reception that leads to a first down, including two of which that have gone for touchdowns.

NEWCOMER CHAPMAN LEADING THE DEFENSE
•Junior college transfer safety Garrett Chapman leads the team with 42 tackles which also ranks second in the NSIC.
•He recorded a game-high 15 tackles including 11 solo stops versus Minnesota State in the season opener.

MORE DEFENSIVE TRANSFERS MAKE IMPACT
•Along with Chapman, several other transfers on defense have played major roles this season.
•Junior linebacker Gage Roberson ranks fifth on the team with 31 tackles and has a team-high four for loss.  •Senior safety Davaeon Johnson ranks fourth on the team with 32 tackles while junior cornerback Marshawn Reese has 13 tackles and one interception.

CREW BOOTS CAREER LONG FIELD GOAL
•Junior kicker Skyler Crew had a solid game in week two at Wayne State booting a pair of long field goals.
•Crew's first field goal was a career-long 40-yarder in the second quarter.
•He would later set another career-high with a 43-yard field goal late in the third quarter.
•Crew is 3 of 4 on field goals and 9 of 9 on PATs this season.

SIX TRUE FRESHMEN PLAY IN FIRST FOUR GAMES
•Six true freshmen have made their collegiate debuts for SMSU in the first three weeks of the season.  
•Running back Duce Reynolds has rushed for 102 yards on 20 carries with two touchdowns. He also has a team-high seven kickoff returns for 133 yards.
•Defensive lineman Gary Barnes has started three games and has eight tackles.
•Punter Adien Belt is averaging 44.2 yards per punt including a 64-yard punt versus Sioux Falls. He currently ranks second in the NSIC in punt average.
•Defensive back Demeiko Hill has played on both special teams and defense.
•Defensive lineman Nate Collins has played in three games and has registered one tackle.
•Quarterback Sir-Coy Gray played one series versus USF.

SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS
•Junior Garrett Chapman and redshirt freshmen Nathan Hill both lead the team with four special team tackles through four games.
•Hill's four tackles have come on kickoffs while Chapman has one on kickoff and three on punt returns.

SMSU / MISU IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
•The following is where SMSU and MISU rank in this week's NCAA statistics.
•A full listing of SMSU and individuals in the national statistics can be found on pages 21-22.
    (166 teams ranked)    SMSU    MISU    
    Scoring Offense    122nd    129th     
    Rushing Offense    156th     51st    
    Passing Offense    98th    144th
    Total Offense    153rd    121st
    Scoring Defense    125th    90th    
    Rushing Defense    165th    146th
    Pass Defense    111th    112th
    Pass Efficiency Defense    137th    90th
    Total Defense    164th    147th
    Net Punting    8th    6th
    Punt Returns    4th    157th
    Kickoff Returns    127th    85th
    Turnover Margin    109th    73rd
    Fewest Penalty Yards/Gm.    60th    14th   
    Time of Possession    152nd    46th
    3rd Down Conversions    115th    85th         
    3rd Down Conv. Defense    144th    90th

TEAM CAPTAINS NAMED FOR 2019
•Four players--two on offense and two on defense--serve as team captains for the 2019 season.
•The offensive team captains selected were senior quarterback Boyer Bouman and senior offensive lineman Nick Guzman.
•The defensive team captains are junior safety Lucas Fisher and sophomore linebacker Onte Burns.
•The team captains were selected by a vote of the Mustang players.

THE 2019 SMSU ROSTER
•The 2019 SMSU roster (Oct. 1) features 107 players with 24 seniors, 21 juniors, 14 sophomores, 15 redshirt freshmen 33 freshmen.

DAVIS COMES THROUGH IN FIRST SEASON
•Senior wide receiver Daniel Davis had a big first season in 2018 leading the NSIC in both receptions and receiving yards while ranking third in all purpose yards.
•Davis was named to the Don Hansen All-American third team following last season and was also named second team all-region by Don Hansen.
•He finished the season with six 100-yard receiving games including a season-high 162 yards on 10 catches versus Northern State.
•Davis had a team-high 1,113 receiving yards last season ranking fifth in team single-season history and becoming just the eighth player in team history to reach 1,000 yards in a season and the first since 2013.

SIMMONS IN THE RECORD BOOK
•Senior running back Max Simmons ranks third in team history in rushing touchdowns (27), is seventh in total touchdowns (31) and ranks seventh in rushing yards (2,026).
•Simmons' 18 rushing touchdowns in 2016 rank second in team single-season history and was a school single-season record for a freshman.  
•Simmons has also twice tied the school single-game record for rushing touchdowns (4) which came during the 2016 season at Minnesota Crookston and at Winona State.
•See page 9 for career record rankings.

BOUMAN'S CAREER AT QUARTERBACK
•Fifth-year senior quarterback Boyer Bouman started the season opener versus No. 3 Minnesota State before leaving at halftime with an injury. He missed the Wayne State and Sioux Falls games before starting at Upper Iowa.
•Bouman entered this season having played 19 career games including making four starts to close the 2017 in place of an injured Blake Gimbel. He made his first career start versus Minnesota State on Oct. 19, 2017.
•In Bouman's four starts in 2017, he completed 100 of 168 pass attempts for 799 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions.
•In the final game of 2017, Bouman completed 37 of 55 for 316 yards and one touchdown in a road loss to Concordia-St. Paul.
•In 2018, Bouman was 8 of 14 passing for 32 yards and one touchdown.

GET IN THE "ZONE"
•SMSU is 8 for 10 (80.0) inside the "red zone" this season with six touchdowns and two field goals.
•SMSU finished last season 28 for 37 (75.7) inside the "red zone" with 23 touchdowns and five field goals.
•SMSU opponents are 14 of 16 (87.5) this season inside "red zone" with 10 touchdowns and four field goals.
•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    28 of 37 (75.7)    23    5
    2019    8 of 10 (80.0)    6    2

BIG PLAY MUSTANGS
•SMSU has recorded 24 offensive/defensive plays or kick/punt returns of 20 or more yards this season with 16 coming from the offense (2 run, 14 pass).
•For a complete look at the "long" plays and SMSU's "money" plays for this season, go to pages 17-18.
•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    70    15    8    51    7    2    2    0
    2019    24    4    2    14    7    1    0    0  

SMSU VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS
•SMSU is 1-24 versus Division II Top 25 teams since the 2008 season including 0-1 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.

SMSU HIGH-OCTANE OFFENSE
•Since being shutout on Nov. 5, 2011, SMSU has since scored 30 or more points in nearly half of its games.
•Dating back to the final game of the 2011 season through four games this season, SMSU has scored 30 or more points in 37 of its last 83 games.
•In that time, SMSU has scored 40 or more points 21 times, 50 or more points 11 times and 60 or more points once.  
•SMSU hasn't been as prolific scoring in the last two-plus seasons, having reached the 30-point plateau just five times in its last 30 games since Oct. 20, 2016, including three last season and one this season.

TURNOVER MARGIN BY THE NUMBERS
•SMSU is "minus-2" in turnover margin this season following last week's win at Upper Iowa.
•SMSU finished "plus-2" in turnover margin last season after finishing "plus-9" in turnover margin in 2017.
•Since the start of the 2004 season (170 games), SMSU has been a "plus" in turnover margin in just 54 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, twice in 2018 and twice this season).
•The Mustangs have been "even" or "minus" in turnover margin in 97 of their last 147 conference games.

NSIC PRESEASON POLL
•SMSU was picked to finish 11th overall and seventh in the South Division in the annual 16-team NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
•Senior wide receiver Daniel Davis and senior cornerback Cory Hollowell were named "Players to Watch" in the NSIC this season.

NSIC SOUTH ACTION TO OPEN SEASON AGAIN
•For the second straight season 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 last season, SMSU opened the season with four games versus NSIC North opponents.
•SMSU again this season will face four NSIC South foes, then will play four NSIC North opponents, before closing the season with three games versus NSIC South teams.    


SMSU IN NSIC SOUTH DIVISION PLAY
•Since the NSIC adapted divisional play prior to the 2008 season, SMSU is 24-53 all-time in South Division games through four weeks this season and has finished in the top half of the division three times in 11 seasons.
•SMSU had its highest finish of second place in 2013 and has also placed fourth three times, fifth once, sixth five times and eighth once.  

MUSTANGS AT HOME
•The 2019 season marks the 12th year that Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center has served as the home for SMSU football.
•SMSU, which is 28-36 all-time at the stadium, is 0-2 this season after finishing 3-3 last season.
•SMSU recorded back-to-back home winning seasons 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 1-1 in road games this season and 4-14 in road games since the 2016 season.
•SMSU is a combined 33-64 in road games since 2000.

OPENING GAME NOTES
•SMSU is 22-30 all-time in season openers following this season's loss to No. 3 Minnesota State.
•SMSU has lost its last three season openers.
•SMSU is 3-7 in season openers under head coach Cory Sauter.

2018 ALL-NSIC RETURNERS
•SMSU returns three players from last season's team that garnered All-NSIC South honors in 2018.
•Senior wide receiver Daniel Davis was named first team All-NSIC South, senior cornerback Cory Hollowell was named second team All-NSIC South while senior offensive lineman Zach Stratmoen was named honorable mention All-NSIC South.

MUSTANG DEFENSE MAKES PLAYS IN 2018
•The SMSU defense finished with 84 tackles for loss last season ranking third in team history.
•The defense also recorded 28 sacks ranking tied for seventh in team history.  
•SMSU forced three or more turnovers in four games a season ago including five in a week two loss to Wayne State and six in a win over Minnesota Crookston in week six.

WORKING OVERTIME
•SMSU is 4-8 all-time in overtime games, including 0-1 this season, since the NCAA added overtime in 1998.
•SMSU is 1-3 in multi-overtime contests.
•SMSU's last overtime game was a loss at Wayne State (19-13) on Sept. 14, 2019.
•SMSU's last overtime win came on Nov. 2, 2013, (51-44) versus Winona State.
•The program's last multi-overtime game was a 34-31 double overtime loss at Minnesota State on Oct. 13, 2012.

MUSTANG HISTORY
•The 2019 season marks the 52nd year of college football at Southwest Minnesota State dating to 1968.
•SMSU owns an all-time record of 199-328-5, including 137-234-5 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.

SCOUTING MINOT STATE
•Mike Aldrich is in his third season as head coach at Minot State with a record of 6-20. He was head coach at Augustana (2010-12) for three seasons compiling a record of 22-13.
•Aldrich was an assistant coach at SMSU for two seasons (2015-16) prior to taking the MISU job.
•Co-offensive coordinators Shane LaDage (2011-12) and Derek Edholm (2015) along with defensive line coach Rob Schlaeger (2012-15) were assistant coaches at SMSU.
•LaDage was a four-year letter winner at tight end for SMSU from 2007-10.
•Minot State has won its last two games which is the program's first two-game winning streak since 2012.
•Junior quarterback Ben Bolinske has completed 53 of 98 passes for 601 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions. He has also rushed for 150 yards and one touchdown on 37 attempts.
•Freshman running back Ali Mohamed has a team-high 353 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 54 carries.
•Junior running back Isaiah Hall has 191 yards rushing and one touchdown on 57 attempts.
•Senior wide receiver Lavante Bushnell has caught 17  passes for 246 yards and one touchdown.
•Junior wide receiver Alexander Stevens has a team-high 14 receptions for 136 yards and three touchdowns.
•Junior linebacker Derek Wax has racked up a team-high 22 tackles with two tackles for loss.
•Junior linebacker Matthew Ackerman has registered a team-high 3.5 tackles for loss and 22 total tackles.