THIS WEEK
•Southwest Minnesota State University (3-6, 1-4 NSIC South) looks to snap a two-game losing streak with a  Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division game this Saturday, Nov. 9, versus Concordia University-St. Paul (5-4, 3-2 NSIC South) at Sea Foam Stadium in St. Paul, Minn., with kickoff slated for 12 p.m.
•SMSU has been held to 14 or less points in each of its last two games and failed to win a home game this season.
•SMSU is 3-1 on the road this season and will conclude the season on Nov. 16 with another road game versus Augustana University.
•Seven of CSP's nine games have been decided by seven or less points, while six of SMSU's nine games have been decided by 11 or less points.
•A preview on CSP 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 vs. CSP Series Notes
Southwest Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul meet for the 23rd time on Saturday with CSP leading 12-10 in a series that started on Sept. 15, 1979 ... SMSU leads the series 4-3 in games played in St. Paul ... the series is tied 1-1 in games played at Sea Foam Stadium, including a 37-20 CSP victory in the final game of the 2017 season ... SMSU has won four of the last seven meetings in the series, but CSP has won the last two games ... SMSU won the first three meetings in the series before CSP won six straight from 2000-05.

The Last Time - SMSU vs. CSP
Concordia-St. Paul's Jonas Schenderlein booted three field goals—including two from 50-plus yards—to help pace the Golden Bears to a 16-10 victory over Southwest Minnesota State on Nov. 3, 2018, in Marshall. CSP was limited to 281 yards of offense and 14 first downs, but the CSP defense recorded seven sacks to stymie several SMSU drives throughout the game. The Mustangs finished the game with 368 yards of offense and 22 first downs, but the story of the game was SMSU's failure to convert on third and fourth down. SMSU finished the game 6 of 17 on third down conversions and 0 for 4 on fourth down, including three times inside the CSP 40-yard line. SMSU quarterback Blake Gimbel completed 32 of 46 passes for 353 yards and one touchdown. SMSU's Daniel Davis caught a game-high six passes for 35 yards, while Max Simmons led the SMSU rushing attack with 47 yards on 17 carries. SMSU linebacker Shane Ratkovich finished with a team-high nine tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss. CSP's Lajuan Preston gained a team-high 50 yards rushing on 10 attempts, while MJ Williams finished with five receptions for 105 yards to pace the Golden Bears receivers. Chris Garrett had four sacks and forced a fumble to lead the CSP defense.

SMSU vs. CSP Series Information
Overall:    CSP leads 12-10
In Marshall:    CSP leads 6-5
In St. Paul:    SMSU leads 4-3
Neutral:     CSP leads 3-1
Last SMSU win:    Oct. 29, 2016 (28-14)
Last CSP win:    Nov. 3, 2018 (16-10)
Largest win for SMSU:    44 (44-0, 1999)
Largest win for CSP:    42 (63-21, 2004)
Longest win streak for SMSU:    3 (1979-1999 & 2006-08)
Longest win streak for CSP:    6 (2000-05)
Current win streak:    CSP, 2
Sauter vs. CSP:    4-5
Currier vs. SMSU:    6-1

DAVIS MOVES UP IN SMSU RECORD BOOK
•Senior Daniel Davis, despite playing in just 20 career games, has moved into the top 12 in a handful of school career records.
•He is second in receptions per game (7.6), sixth in all purpose yards per game (115), ninth in receiving yards (2,058), 11th in touchdown receptions (19) and 12th in receptions (151).

OPENING DRIVE TIDBITS
•SMSU senior wide receiver Daniel Davis ranks second in Division II in receptions per game (8.0) and is seventh in receiving yards (945).
•Davis' 13 receptions last week versus Winona State is tied for the fourth highest single-game total in Division II this season.
•Davis ranks second in team history averaging 7.5 receptions per game in 20 games.
•Davis, who has 151 career receptions in 20 games, ranks first in the NSIC in receptions (72) and is second in receiving yards (945).
•Davis also ranks fourth in the NSIC in scoring (non-kickers) at 6.7 points per game and seventh in all purpose yards (113.7)
•Davis has 11 career 100-yard receiving game ranking fifth in team history.
•SMSU finished 0-5 at home this season recording its first winless season at home since 1995 (0-5).
•SMSU is "plus-one" in turnover margin this season and have been "plus" in five of the last six games.
•SMSU has outscored its opponents a combined 144-111 in the second and third quarters this season, but has been outscored 111-31 in the fourth quarter and overtime.
•Junior linebacker Adihia Bell tied a career-high with six tackles versus Winona State last week.
•Senior Boyer Bouman set career-highs for passing yards (338) and touchdown passes (4) at St. Cloud State in week seven.
•Bouman ranks first in the NSIC in passing yards (223.6) and second in total offense (223.7).
•Freshman Adien Belt ranks sixth in the NSIC averaging 40.1 yards per punt. Belt's 64-yard punt in week three 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.
•Sophomore linebacker Onte Burns (89) ranks first in the NSIC in tackles with 9.9 per game.
•Junior safety Garrett Chapman (75) and senior safety Davaeon Johnson (72) rank fourth and fifth respectively in the NSIC in total tackles.
•Senior running back Max Simmons ranks fifth in the program history with 2,305 rushing yards. He needs 122 yards to tie for fourth all-time with Robert Lipsey (1987-90) at 2,427.
•Simmons earlier this season became the 12th player in team history to reach 3,000 all purpose yards.
•Simmons has racked up 10 career 100-yard rushing game ranking tied for third in team history. He needs one more to tie Zach Wysong for second all-time.
•Simmons' 58-yard rush at Minot State in week five was the longest play from scrimmage for SMSU this season.
•Senior left tackle Zach Stratmoen has started 31 straight games the past three seasons. It's the longest streak by any current Mustang.  
•SMSU's victory at Minot State on Oct. 5 was the 200th in the program's 52-year history.  
•The SMSU defense forced a season-high four turnovers three weeks ago at St. Cloud State.

SMSU HEAD COACH CORY SAUTER
•Cory Sauter is in his 10th season as head coach with an overall record of 43-66, including 42-64 in NSIC games.
•Sauter's 43 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 24.

SMSU / CSP IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
•The following is where SMSU and CSP rank in this week's NCAA statistics.
•A full listing of SMSU and individuals in the national statistics can be found on pages 22-23.
    (166 teams ranked)    SMSU    CSP    
    Scoring Offense    117th    105th    
    Rushing Offense    143rd     86th    
    Passing Offense    54th    134th
    Total Offense    110th    126th
    Scoring Defense    113th    54th    
    Rushing Defense    145th    84th
    Pass Defense    134th    75th
    Pass Efficiency Defense    136th    93rd
    Total Defense    154th    73rd
    Net Punting    30th    96th
    Punt Returns    56th    78th
    Kickoff Returns    155th    108th
    Turnover Margin    71st    60th
    Fewest Penalty Yards/Gm.    94th    5th   
    Time of Possession    99th    93rd
    3rd Down Conversions    104th    89th        
    3rd Down Conv. Defense    137th    91st
DAVIS, BURNS, BELT RANK HIGH IN NCAA STATS
•Senior Daniel Davis ranks second in Division II in receptions per game, seventh in receiving yards, 10th in receiving yards per game and 12th in receiving touchdowns.
•Sophomore Onte Burns is currently 22nd nationally in tackles per game, while freshman Aiden Belt ranks 40th in punt average.

SMSU DROPS SECOND STRAIGHT WITH LOSS TO WSU
•Winona State, ranked No. 9 in the NCAA region rankings, earned a 41-13 victory over Southwest Minnesota State last Saturday in Marshall.
•SMSU finished the game with 355 yards of offense and 27 first downs.
•Daniel Davis caught a career-high 13 passes for 150 yards and one touchdown. It was his fourth straight 100-yard receiving game and the 11th of his career.
•Boyer Bouman completed 24 of 42 pass attempts for 267 yards and two touchdowns, but was sacked seven times.
•Onte Burns recorded a game-high 14 tackles for the Mustangs, while Davaeon Johnson added eight 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. Nava 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 has not played again this season.
•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 six games.

DAVIS CONTINUES TO BE "MONEY" PLAYER
•Senior Daniel Davis ranks first in the NSIC with 72 receptions and ranks second with 945 receiving yards.
•Forty-eight of Davis' 72 receptions this season have been "money" plays which is a reception that leads to a first down, including 10 of which that have gone for touchdowns.

BURNS LEADING THE DEFENSE
•Sophomore linebacker Onte Burns ranks first in the NSIC with 89 tackles.
•Burns also has four tackles for loss, one interception, four pass break-ups and one fumble recovery.
•He racked up a career-high 16 tackles with one forced fumble and one pass break-up versus Bemidji State in week six.

DEFENSIVE TRANSFERS MAKE IMPACT
•Several transfers on defense have played major roles this season.
•Junior safety Garrett Chapman is second on the team with 75 tackles.
•Senior safety Davaeon Johnson ranks third on the team with 72 tackles with two interceptions.
•Junior linebacker Gage Roberson ranks fourth on the team with 59 tackles and has six for loss.
•Junior linebacker Adihia Bell has a team-leading seven tackles for loss and a team-high three sacks.  
•Junior cornerback Marshawn Reese has 39 tackles and two interceptions.

CREW BOOTS CAREER LONG FIELD GOAL
•Junior kicker Skyler Crew booting a pair of long field goals in a week two loss at Wayne State.
•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 4 of 6 on field goals and 22 of 24 on PATs this season.

SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS
•Redshirt freshman Nathan Hill leads the team with six special teams tackles with all six coming on kickoffs.
•Sophomore Chris Bain, redshirt freshman Michael Bailey, junior Garret Chapman and junior Adihia Bell all have four tackles on special teams.

NINE TRUE FRESHMEN PLAY THIS SEASON
•Nine true freshmen have made their collegiate debuts for SMSU this season.  
•Running back Duce Reynolds has rushed for 382 yards on 86 carries with three touchdowns. He also has a team-high 15 kickoff returns for 249 yards.
•Defensive lineman Gary Barnes has started seven games and has 13 tackles.
•Punter Adien Belt is averaging 40 yards per punt including a 64-yard punt versus Sioux Falls. He currently ranks sixth in the NSIC in punt average.
•Demeiko Hill has played all nine games on special teams, defense and wide receiver.
•Wide receiver Albert Lemon has played in five games and has four receptions for 87 yards.
•Defensive lineman Nate Collins has played in five games and has registered one tackle.
•Quarterback Sir-Coy Gray played one series versus USF.
•Running back Jack Beardmore has played five games on special teams and offensive.  
•Defensive back Julian Luciano has also played in four games on special teams.

THE 2019 SMSU ROSTER
•The 2019 SMSU roster (Nov. 5) features 99 players with 23 seniors, 21 juniors, 13 sophomores, 15 redshirt freshmen 27 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 (28), fifth in rushing yards (2,305) and seventh in total touchdowns (33).
•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 returning and starting the past five weeks.
•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 18 for 22 (81.8) inside the "red zone" this season with 15 touchdowns and three 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 29 of 36 (80.6) this season inside "red zone" with 23 touchdowns and six 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     18 of 22 (81.8)    15    3

BIG PLAY MUSTANGS
•SMSU has recorded 47 offensive/defensive plays or kick/punt returns of 20 or more yards this season with 35 coming from the offense (4 run, 31 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    70    15    8    51    7    2    2    0
    2019    47    12    4    31    9    1    2    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
•Following a shutout loss 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 nine games this season, SMSU has scored 30 or more points in 38 of its last 88 games.
•In that time, SMSU has scored 40 or more points 22 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 six times in its last 35 games since Oct. 20, 2016, which includes three last season and twice this season.

TURNOVER MARGIN BY THE NUMBERS
•SMSU is "plus-one" in turnover margin this season following last week's loss to Winona 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 (175 games), SMSU has been a "plus" in turnover margin in just 58 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 six times this season).
•The Mustangs have been "even" or "minus" in turnover margin in 98 of their last 152 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 in 2018 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 24-54 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.  

SMSU VERSUS THE NSIC NORTH
•Since 2012, when the NSIC schedule had each team playing four inter-divisional games, SMSU has a record of 18-14 versus NSIC North Division teams including 2-2 this season.
•SMSU finished 3-1 versus NSIC North opponents last season and is now 14-5 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.  





MUSTANGS AT HOME
•The 2019 season marked the 12th year that Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center served as the home for SMSU football.
•SMSU, which is 28-39 all-time at the stadium, finished 0-5 this 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 3-1 in road games this season and 6-14 in road games since the 2016 season.
•SMSU is a combined 35-64 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.

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 201-331-5, including 139-237-5 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 CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL
•Shannon Currier is in his second stint and eighth season overall as head coach at CSP with a record of 46-40. The program's all-time leader in victories, Currier was head coach at CSP from 2000-03, before returning in 2016. He has a career record of 66-75 in his 13th season as a head coach including five seasons at Truman State (Mo.).
•CSP is coming off a final-minute loss at Augustana, 21-20 on Saturday. AU scored the game-winning touchdown and PAT with 52 seconds remaining.
•Senior quarterback Maxon Hutton was injured in Saturday's loss and was replaced by senior Jared Olsgaard. Olsgaard completed 12 of 21 passes for 128 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Olsgaard has also played wide receiver this season.
•Earlier this season, CSP tied a Division II single-game record with 14 sacks versus MSU Moorhead.
•CSP ranks seventh in Division II with 3.5 sacks per game.
•Hutton has completed 121 of 215 pass attempts for 1,288 yards with seven touchdowns and six interceptions. Hutton has also rushed for 348 yards and two touchdowns on 106 carries.
•Freshman running back Darios Crawley-Reid has a team-high 433 yards rushing and seven touchdowns on 61 carries. Crawley-Reid had 102 yards rushing, including a 59-yard run in last week's loss to Augustana.
•Senior wide receiver MJ Williams has caught 27 passes for 327 yards and one touchdown.
•Senior wide receiver Jabril Clewis has a team-high 402 yards receiving and 26 receptions.
•Junior All-American defensive end Chris Garrett is the program's all-time leader in sacks with 33.5. He has 11 sacks this season and a team-high 17.5 for loss. He ranks fourth in Division II in sacks and sixth in tackles for loss.
•Sophomore linebacker Jake Portz has a team-high 86 tackles.