THIS WEEK
•Southwest Minnesota State University (0-3, 0-3 NSIC South) concludes the first half of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division play on Saturday night taking on Upper Iowa University (0-3, 0-3 NSIC South) with kickoff set for 6 p.m. at Harms-Eischeid Stadium in Fayette, Iowa.
•Both teams are looking for their first victories of the season.
•SMSU has won 10 of the last 11 meetings in the series.
•Following Saturday's game SMSU will have four straight games versus NSIC North Division opponents during the month of October. SMSU will resume NSIC South play at home on Nov. 2 versus Winona State.
•A preview on UIU is located on page 4.

SMSU vs. UIU Series Notes
(all-time results listed on page 9)
Southwest Minnesota State and Upper Iowa meet for the 16th time on Saturday with SMSU leading 12-3 in a series that started on Sept. 18, 2004 ... eight of the 15 games have been decided by seven or less points ... SMSU has won 10 of the last 11 meetings since 2008 ... UIU's lone win since 2007 came in the last game played in Fayette on Oct. 28, 2017 ... SMSU is 5-2 all-time in games played in Fayette ... SMSU leads the series 11-2 since UIU joined the NSIC in 2006 ... the two teams have played two overtime games with SMSU winning in both 2006 and 2010.

The Last Time - SMSU vs. UIU
 Max Simmons led SMSU with a game-high 154 yards rushing on 30 carries while also catching five passes for 33 yards and one touchdown to pace the Mustangs to a 21-20 victory over Upper Iowa in Marshall on Sept. 22, 2018. SMSU's Blake Gimbel completed 27 of 50 passes for 252 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. Daniel Davis caught a game-high seven passes for 69 yards and one touchdown to pace the SMSU receivers. Gimbel's 14-yard touchdown pass to Davis and Skyler Crew's PAT with 4:32 left in the third quarter proved to be the game-winning score. SMSU closed the game with 389 yards of offense including 137 yards rushing. UIU , which defeated No. 11 Winona State the previous week, finished the game with 363 yards of offense with 129 coming on the ground. UIU quarterback Brent Lammers completed 22 of 44 passes for 234 yards and one touchdown while also throwing a pair of interceptions. The Mustang defense, which forced three turnovers, was led by Shane Ratkovich, who finished with a team-high 10 tackles including two for loss and one fumble recovery. Lucas Fisher added nine tackles and an interception.
   
SMSU vs. UIU Series Information
Overall:    SMSU leads 12-3
In Marshall:    SMSU leads 7-1
In Fayette:    SMSU leads 5-2
Neutral Record:    0-0
Last SMSU win:    Sept. 22, 2018 (21-20)
Last UIU win:    Oct. 28, 2017 (31-20)
Largest win for SMSU:    28 (52-24, 2009)
Largest win for UIU:    12 (28-16, 2004 & 39-27, 2007)
Longest win streak for SMSU:    9 (2008-16)
Longest win streak for UIU:    1 (2004, 2007, 2017)
Current win streak:    SMSU, 1
Sauter vs. UIU:    8-1
Shea vs. SMSU:    2-12 (0-3 at DSU, 1-0 at PSC, 1-9 at UIU)

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 is 0-3 for the second straight season.
•SMSU will be looking to avoid its first four-game losing streak to open a season since the 1978 team opened the season with six straight losses.
•SMSU has lost 11 straight NSIC South Division road games over the last three seasons. SMSU's last divisional road victory came on Nov. 7, 2015, versus Concordia-St. Paul.
•Senior wide receiver Daniel Davis' 44-yard reception from Paul Herrera last Saturday is the longest play from scrimmage this season.
•Sophomore Dakota Jaeschke registered his first three career receptions in last week's loss to Sioux Falls.
•Freshman Adien Belt leads the NSIC averaging 44 yards per punt. Belt's 64-yard punt in last week's loss to USF was the longest by an SMSU punter since Mike Wenk had a 74-yarder versus Concordia-St. Paul on Nov. 1, 2014.
•Davis, who recorded his 100th career reception in last week's loss to Sioux Falls, ranks second in the NSIC in receptions with 22 and is first in receiving yards with 310.
•Junior safety Garrett Chapman (29) and sophomore linebacker Onte Burns (27) rank third and fourth respectively in the NSIC in total tackles.
•Senior safety Davaeon Johnson ranks tied for seventh in the NSIC in tackles with 23.
•Saturday's game will be SMSU's final night game of the season.
•SMSU has not rushed for 100 yards in six straight games dating back to last season. SMSU's last time reaching 100 yards was on Oct. 20, 2018, versus Northern State.
•Senior running back Max Simmons needs five rushing yards to move into sole possession of seventh place in the program career record book with 1,947 yards.
•Senior left tackle Zach Stratmoen has started 25 straight games the past three seasons. It's the longest streak by any current Mustang.  
•Senior wide receiver Daniel Davis registered his seventh career 100-yard receiving game in the season-opener versus Minnesota State. His seven 100-yard games ranks 10th in team history.

SMSU DROPS THIRD STRAIGHT WITH LOSS TO USF
•The University of Sioux Falls racked up 564 yards of offense including 358 on the ground to earn a 51-7 victory over SMSU last Saturday.
•USF forced SMSU into three turnovers and limited the Mustangs to 160 yards of total offense.
•SMSU, which started its third different quarterback of the season, was held to 21 yards of offense and three first downs in the second half.
•Paul Herrera started his first career game for SMSU and completed 19 of 30 pass attempts for 154 yards and three interceptions.
•Trey Sachs rushed for a team-high 25 yards on eight carries while Herrera added 20 yards on five attempts.
•Daniel Davis caught a game-high eight passes for 94 yards to pace the Mustang offense. Davis now has 101 career receptions in his 14-game Mustang career.
•Max Simmons rushed for a team-high 34 yards on nine carries for the Mustangs.
•Cory Hollowell and Onte Burns each recorded eight tackles for SMSU, while Gage Roberson, Lucas Fisher, Davaeon Johnson and Garrett Chapman chipped in with six tackles each.

FOUR QUARTERBACKS THRUST INTO DUTY
•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 last week's game 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 last week and attempted one pass and had one rush attempt.

SMSU DEPTH PUT TO THE TEST
•SMSU has had several changes to the offensive starting line-up the last two weeks due to injuries including SMSU starting three different quarterbacks in three weeks.
•Week one starters, quarterback Boyer Bouman, tight end Luke Narveson and wide receiver Bailey Olson all missed the Wayne State game in week two due to injury.
•Starting wide receiver Gabe Galamue missed last week's game to Sioux Falls with an injury while back-up wide receiver Quadri Busari has missed the last two games.
•SMSU quarterback Steven Nava was injured in the third quarter of the Wayne State game two weeks ago and did not return. Both Nava and Bouman missed last week's game versus Sioux Falls.

DAVIS CONTINUES TO BE "MONEY" PLAYER
•Senior Daniel Davis currently ranks first in the NSIC with 310 receiving yards and is second with 22 receptions.
•Sixteen of Davis' 22 receptions through three games have been "money" plays which is a reception that leads to a first down, two of which have gone for touchdowns.

NEWCOMER CHAPMAN LEADING THE DEFENSE
•Junior college transfer safety Garrett Chapman leads the team with 29 tackles through three games which 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 third on the team with 24 tackles and has a team-high four for loss.  •Senior safety Davaeon Johnson ranks fourth on the team with 23 tackles while junior cornerback Marshawn Reese has eight tackles and the team's lone interception.

CREW BOOTS CAREER LONG FIELD GOAL
•Junior kicker Skyler Crew had a solid game two weeks ago 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 4 of 4 on PATs this season.

SIX TRUE FRESHMEN PLAY IN FIRST THREE 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 41 yards on seven carries including the team's longest rush of the season of 23 yards versus Minnesota State. He also has a team-high six kickoff returns for 121 yards.
•Defensive lineman Gary Barnes has started two games and has two 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 two games and has registered one tackle.
•Quarterback Sir-Coy Gray played one series last week versus USF.

SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS
•Junior Garrett Chapman and senior Josh Bauer both lead the team with three special team tackles through three games.
•Bauer's three tackles have come on kickoffs while Chapman has one on kickoff and two on punt returns.

SMSU HEAD COACH CORY SAUTER
•Cory Sauter is in his 10th season as head coach with an overall record of 40-63, including 39-61 in conference games.
•Sauter's 40 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 / UIU IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
•The following is where SMSU and UIU 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    UIU    
    Scoring Offense    142nd    162nd     
    Rushing Offense    165th     140th    
    Passing Offense    77th    102nd
    Total Offense    153rd    140th
    Scoring Defense    131st    131st    
    Rushing Defense    166th    126th
    Pass Defense    101st    47th
    Pass Efficiency Defense    124th    144th
    Total Defense    166th    93rd
    Net Punting    6th    7th
    Punt Returns    30th    135th
    Kickoff Returns    117th    150th
    Turnover Margin    124th    124th
    Fewest Penalty Yards/Gm.    71st    23rd   
    Time of Possession    140th    95th
    3rd Down Conversions    123rd    109th         
    3rd Down Conv. Defense    149th    130th

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 (Sept. 24) 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 with 26 rushing touchdowns, is tied for seventh in total touchdowns (30) and ranks eighth in rushing yards (1,942).
•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 has not played the last two weeks in losses to Wayne State and Sioux Falls.  
•Bouman entered the 2019 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.

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.    
 
GET IN THE "ZONE"
•SMSU is 5 for 7 (71.4) inside the "red zone" this season with three 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 13 of 15 (86.7) this season inside "red zone" with nine 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    5 of 7 (71.4)    3    2

BIG PLAY MUSTANGS
•SMSU has recorded 19 offensive/defensive plays or kick/punt returns of 20 or more yards this season with 12 coming from the offense (1 run, 11 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    19    3    1    11    7    0    0    0  

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.

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 three games this season, SMSU has scored 30 or more points in 36 of its last 82 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 four times in its last 29 games since Oct. 20, 2016, including three last season.

TURNOVER MARGIN BY THE NUMBERS
•SMSU is "minus-3" in turnover margin this season following last week's loss to Sioux Falls.
•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 (169 games), SMSU has been a "plus" in turnover margin in just 53 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 once this season).
•The Mustangs have been "even" or "minus" in turnover margin in 97 of their last 146 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.

SMSU IN NSIC SOUTH DIVISION PLAY
•Since the NSIC adapted divisional play prior to the 2008 season, SMSU is 23-53 all-time in South Division games 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 16-12 versus NSIC North Division teams.
•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 finished 3-1 last season.  

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 0-1 in road games this season and 3-14 in road games since the 2016 season.
•SMSU is a combined 32-64 in road games since 2000.

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 198-328-5, including 136-234-5 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 UPPER IOWA
•Tom Shea is in his 11th season as head coach at UIU with a career record of 40-72. He has also been head coach at Dakota State, Peru State, UMary and William Penn.
•The Peacocks have been shutout twice this season including a 28-0 road loss to Winona State in their last game on Thursday, Sept. 19.
•Freshman quarterback Myles Herrera took over in last week's loss to WSU and competed 13 of 26 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns.
•Junior quarterback Jake Schuman started the first three games and has completed 41 of 76 passes for 432 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
•Freshman running back Levon Bellemy started last week's game and rushed for 67 yards on 19 carries.
•Senior running back Matt McDonald has rushed for a team-high 96 yards on 30 carries, which all came in the first two games of the season.
•Senior wide receiver Brandyn Tulloch caught four  passes for 61 yards at Winona State and has 12 receptions for 130 yards on the season.
•Junior wide receiver Alexander Stevens has a team-high 14 receptions for 136 yards and three touchdowns.
•Senior linebacker Mitchel Siech has racked up a team-high 21 tackles with a team-leading 5.5 for loss
•Junior defensive end Erik Hansen has registered a team-high 3.5 sacks.