THIS WEEK
•Southwest Minnesota State University (2-3, 1-3 NSIC South), currently on a two-game winning streak, returns home to face Bemidji State University (4-1, 3-1 NSIC North), one of the top teams in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference this Saturday afternoon.
•The SMSU homecoming game is scheduled to kickoff at 3 p.m. at Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center.
•SMSU will be looking to secure a three-game winning streak for a second straight season. Last season SMSU defeaed Upper Iowa, UMary and Minnesota Crookston for its first three-game winning streak since 2016.
•Saturday's game is the second of four straight 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 and BSU both won last week with touchdowns in the final 30 seconds of the game. SMSU started its final drive from its own 13-yard line, while BSU started the winning drive from its 5-yard line.
•The BSU defense enters the game ranked fourth in the NSIC in yards allowed and fifth nationally in third down conversion defense.   
•A preview on BSU is located on page 4.

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.

SMSU ON HOMECOMING
•SMSU is 24-26 all-time on homecoming.
•SMSU defeated Minnesota Crookston last season and has won four of its last five homecoming games.
•SMSU is 7-12 on homecoming since 2000.
SMSU homecoming games since 2010
2010     Wayne State     L, 20-38
2011     Augustana     L, 24-37
2012     Wayne State     W, 40-24
2013     Sioux Falls     L, 48-55
2014     Upper Iowa     W, 28-25
2015     MSU Moorhead     W, 48-9
2016     Upper Iowa     W, 59-41
2017     Sioux Falls     L, 10-24
2018     Minnesota Crookston     W, 55-6

SMSU VERSUS THE NSIC NORTH
•Since 2012, when the NSIC schedule had each team playing four inter-divisional games, SMSU has a record of 17-12 versus NSIC North Division teams including 1-0 this season following last week's victory at Minot State.
•SMSU finished 3-1 versus NSIC North opponents last season and is now 13-4 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.  

SMSU vs. BSU Series Notes
(all-time results listed on page 9)
Southwest Minnesota State and Bemidji State meet for the 46th time on Saturday with BSU leading the series 23-21-1 ... the teams first met on Oct. 17, 1970, in Marshall ... BSU has won 14 of the last 15 games since 1998 ... SMSU had won nine of 10 in the series (1988-97) prior to BSU's current streak ... SMSU's lone win in the last 15 games came during the last meeting in Marshall on Sept. 12, 2015 ... SMSU leads 12-9 in games played in Marshall ... BSU won the last game played, 40-22, in Bemidji on Sept. 23, 2017.

The Last Time - SMSU vs. BSU
Bemidji State took advantage of two Southwest Minnesota State first half turnovers to build a 30-7 halftime lead and went on to earn a 40-22 victory on Sept. 23, 2017, in Bemidji, Minn. Jordan Hein completed 15 of 32 passes for 178 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 47 yards on eight attempts to pace the Beavers attack. Andrew Lackowski rushed for a game-high 114 yards on 21 carries. SMSU quarterback Blake Gimbel played just two series due to an injury. Connor Wilkie finished the game completing 23 of 39 passes for 248 yards with one interception. SMSU senior wide receiver Nate Huot caught a game-high seven passes for 68 yards. Ashanti Payne led the SMSU rushing attack with 95 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries while Shawn Griffin added a career-high 64 yards on 20 carries with two touchdowns. Michael Griffin and Shane Ratkovich each racked up nine tackles for the Mustang defense. Ratkovich forced a fumble, recorded a sack and finished with 2.5 tackles for loss.SMSU closed the game with 410 yards of total offense including 156 on the ground, while recording 21 first downs. BSU finished with 403 yard of offense, amassing 225 yards rushing and racked up 25 first downs.

SMSU vs. BSU Series Information
Overall:    BSU leads 23-21-1
In Marshall:    SMSU leads 12-10
In Bemidji:    BSU leads 13-8-1
Neutral Record:    tied 1-1
Last SMSU win:    Sept. 12, 2015 (34-30)
Last BSU win:    Sept. 23, 2017 (40-22)
Largest win for SMSU:    49 (49-0, 1990)
Largest win for BSU:    38, 2x (52-14, 2001; 47-9, 2005)
Longest win streak for SMSU:    8 (1990-97)
Longest win streak for BSU:    13 (1998-13)
Current win streak:    BSU, 1
Sauter vs. Bemidji State:    1-4
Bolte vs. SMSU:    1-0

OPENING DRIVE TIDBITS
•SMSU's victory last Saturday at Minot State was the 200th in the program's 52-year history.  
•SMSU held Minot State to 251 yards of total offense in last week's victory, which is the lowest by a Mustang opponent this season. SMSU also allowed just 12 first downs in the victory.
•Senior running back Max Simmons ranks seventh in the program history with 2,168 rushing yards. He needs 78 yards to tie for sixth and 96 to move into fifth place.
•Simmons rushed for a season-high 142 yards last Saturday for his 10th career 100-yard rushing game ranking tied for third in team history. He needs one more to tie Zach Wysong for second all-time and three more to tie Tyler Tonderum for the program record.
•Simmons' 58-yard rush last Saturday was the longest play from scrimmage for SMSU this season.
•Freshman Duce Reynolds rushed for a career-high 92 yards and one touchdown on 21 attempts in last week's win at Minot State.
•Junior Marshawn Reese secured last week's victory with his team-high second interception of the season.
•Sophomore Dakota Jaeschke caught four passes for 67 yards last week, including grabbing a 49-yard Hail Mary touchdown to end the first half. It was his first career touchdown reception.
•SMSU rushed for a season-high 254 yards on 56 attempts last week. After not reaching 100 yards rushing in six straight games dating back to last season, SMSU has amassed 158 and 254 yards the last two weeks.   
•Freshman Adien Belt ranks first in the NSIC averaging 44 yards per punt. Belt's 64-yard punt three 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.
•Daniel Davis, who has 110 career receptions in two seasons, ranks second in the NSIC in receptions (31) and is fifth in receiving yards (402).
•Davis has seven career 100-yard receiving game ranking 10th in team history.
•Sophomore linebacker Onte Burns (45) and junior safety Garrett Chapman (44) and rank third and fourth respectively in the NSIC in total tackles.
•Senior safety Davaeon Johnson is sixth in the NSIC with 40 tackles, while junior safety Lucas Fisher ranks ninth with 38.
•Senior left tackle Zach Stratmoen has started 27 straight games the past three seasons. It's the longest streak by any current Mustang.  

SMSU HEAD COACH CORY SAUTER
•Cory Sauter is in his 10th season as head coach with an overall record of 42-63, including 41-61 in NSIC games.
•Sauter's 42 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.

SMSU / BSU IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
•The following is where SMSU and BSU 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    BSU    
    Scoring Offense    122nd    71st     
    Rushing Offense    145th     50th    
    Passing Offense    100th    121st
    Total Offense    145th    88th
    Scoring Defense    106th    28th    
    Rushing Defense    162nd    33rd
    Pass Defense    77th    44th
    Pass Efficiency Defense    141st    15th
    Total Defense    156th    29th
    Net Punting    12th    92nd
    Punt Returns    11th    155th
    Kickoff Returns    143rd    70th
    Turnover Margin    97th    53rd
    Fewest Penalty Yards/Gm.    70th    128th   
    Time of Possession    121st    52nd
    3rd Down Conversions    112th    10th         
    3rd Down Conv. Defense    136th    1st

SMSU PICKS UP DRAMATIC VICTORY AT MINOT STATE
•Boyer Bouman connected on a 34-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Davis with 25 seconds remaining to lift Southwest Minnesota State to a thrilling 21-17 road victory over Minot State last Saturday.
•SMSU started the game-winning drive with 3:36 remaining and from its own 13-yard line.
•SMSU dominated statistically with more than 433 yards of offense and 22 first downs, while MISU was limited to less than 251 yards and 12 first downs. The SMSU defense held MISU to just one first down and 37 total yards on 14 plays in the opening half.
•Max Simmons led a balanced SMSU rushing attack with a season-high 142 yards on 20 carries, while Duce Reynolds added 92 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries.
•Bouman closed the game completing 14 of 23 pass attempts for 130 yards.
•Dakota Jaeschke and Luke Narveson each caught four passes for the Mustangs, while Davis added three receptions for 61 yards.
•Onte Burns, Gage Roberson and Davaeon Johnson each recorded a team-high eight tackles to pace the Mustang defense, while Cory Hollowell chipped in with seven tackles.

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. He completed 15 of 21 pass attempts for 184 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
•Nava started at Wayne State in week two, 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 played one series 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 has started the past two games.

DAVIS CONTINUES TO BE "MONEY" PLAYER
•Senior Daniel Davis currently ranks second in the NSIC with 31 receptions and is fifth with 402 receiving yards.
•Twenty-one of Davis' 31 receptions this season have been "money" plays which is a reception that leads to a first down, including three of which that have gone for touchdowns.

NEWCOMER CHAPMAN LEADING THE DEFENSE
•Junior college transfer safety Garrett Chapman ranks second on the team with 44 tackles ranks fourth 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 fourth on the team with 39 tackles and has a team-high 4.5 for loss.  •Senior safety Davaeon Johnson ranks third on the team with 40 tackles while junior cornerback Marshawn Reese has 15 tackles and a team-leading two interceptions.

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.

SEVEN TRUE FRESHMEN PLAY THIS SEASON
•Seven true freshmen have made their collegiate debuts for SMSU in the first three weeks of the season.  
•Running back Duce Reynolds has rushed for 194 yards on 41 carries with three touchdowns. He also has a team-high seven kickoff returns for 133 yards.
•Defensive lineman Gary Barnes has started four games and has nine tackles.
•Punter Adien Belt is averaging 44 yards per punt including a 64-yard punt versus Sioux Falls. He currently ranks third 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 four games and has registered one tackle.
•Quarterback Sir-Coy Gray played one series versus USF.
•Running back Jack Beardmore has played one game on  special teams.  

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

THE 2019 SMSU ROSTER
•The 2019 SMSU roster (Oct. 8) features 103 players with 24 seniors, 21 juniors, 13 sophomores, 15 redshirt freshmen 30 freshmen.

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.

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 (2,168).
•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 and Minot State.
•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 9 for 12 (75.0) inside the "red zone" this season with seven 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 15 of 17 (88.2) this season inside "red zone" with 10 touchdowns and five 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    9 of 12 (75.0)    7    2

BIG PLAY MUSTANGS
•SMSU has recorded 29 offensive/defensive plays or kick/punt returns of 20 or more yards this season with 20 coming from the offense (4 run, 16 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    29    6    4    16    7    1    1    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 84 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 31 games since Oct. 20, 2016, which includes three last season and once this season.

TURNOVER MARGIN BY THE NUMBERS
•SMSU is "minus-1" in turnover margin this season following last week's win at Minot State.
•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 (171 games), SMSU has been a "plus" in turnover margin in just 55 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 three times this season).
•The Mustangs have been "even" or "minus" in turnover margin in 97 of their last 148 conference games.

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.

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.

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.  

MUSTANGS RECORD ON THE ROAD
•SMSU is 2-1 in road games this season and 5-14 in road games since the 2016 season.
•SMSU is a combined 34-64 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 200-328-5, including 138-234-5 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 BEMIDJI STATE
•Brent Bolte is in his fourth season as head coach at Bemidji State with a record of 28-11.
•BSU is coming off a dramatic 21-20 home win over Augustana on Saturday scoring a touchdown and two point conversion with five seconds left in the game.
•BSU started the game-winning drive from its own 5-yard line with 1:12 left in the game.
•Junior quarterback Emmett Enright, BSU's third string quarterback to open the season, has completed 20 of 51 passes for 242 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions.
•Redshirt freshman quarterback Brandon Alt was injured in week one, while senior Jared Henning was injured in a week four loss to Minnesota Duluth.   
•Sophomore running back Jalen Frye has a team-high 390 yards rushing and four touchdowns on 85 carries but did not play last week versus Augustana
•Senior wide receiver Malik Williams has caught 16  passes for 134 yards and three touchdowns.
•Sophomore wide receiver Brendan Beaulieu has 14 receptions for a team-high 217 yards and two touchdowns.
•Sophomore free safety Gunnar Feldhege has racked up a team-high 27 tackles.
•Junior linebacker Gabe Ames has registered a team-high three sacks and is second on the squad with 26 tackles.
•Senior cornerback Michael Junker has three interceptions and five pass break-ups.