THIS WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University football team (2-4, 1-1 NSIC South) looks to rebound following a homecoming loss last Saturday with a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division match-up this Saturday, Oct. 16, at Winona State University (3-3, 0-1 NSIC South). Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. at Altra Federal Credit Union Stadium in Winona, Minn.
•Saturday's showdown is a 'trophy game' as SMSU and WSU are meeting up for the sixth annual 'Battle for the Sledge' presented by BIG Athletics and Adidas.
•WSU has won the previous four games in the series with SMSU's last victory coming in 2015.  
•WSU, which opened the season 2-0, has lost three of its last four games, including two straight. 

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

SMSU HEAD COACH CORY SAUTER
•Cory Sauter is in his 12th season as head coach with an overall record of 45-72, including 44-70 in NSIC games.

•Sauter's 45 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.

SIXTH MEETING FOR THE "BATTLE FOR THE SLEDGE"
•Saturday's game will be the sixth annual "Battle for the Sledge", presented by BIG Athletics and Adidas.
•The trophy is a seven-foot tall Sledge Hammer. In addition to the sledge trophy, BIG Athletics will also be providing two MVP trophies to be awarded to a player on each team.
•Here is the history behind the naming of the trophy game, "Battle for the Sledge": During the 2008 season, during warm-ups of the WSU/SMSU game on Oct. 4, a WSU player brought a sledgehammer to mid-field while SMSU players looked on. SMSU went on to earn a 35-28 victory over WSU, snapping the Warriors' seven-game winning streak in the series. Following the game, SMSU players ran over to the WSU sideline and grabbed the sledgehammer, celebrating the victory at midfield. With emotions running high for both teams, a WSU player went over to the SMSU sideline to get its sledgehammer back. SMSU eventually gave the sledgehammer back and a rivalry was born.

MUSTANG OPENING DRIVE TIDBITS
•Junior linebacker Onte Burns continues to lead the NSIC in tackles with 11 per game and is 10th in Division II. He also ranks second nationally with 7.8 solo tackles per game.  
•Senior linebacker Gage Roberson ranks second on the team (10th in the NSIC) with 41 tackles including a team-leading 4.5 for loss.
•Freshman safety Hunter Bohannon registered his team-leading second interception of the season last Saturday.
•Senior Adihia Bell's 59-yard punt return last week versus Sioux Falls was the longest by an SMSU player since Andrew McReynolds had an 89-yard return for a touchdown on Sept. 27, 2014.
•SMSU has rushed for more than 135 yards in five of six games this season, including a season-high 241 in Week 4 at Concordia-St. Paul. In 2019, SMSU reached 100 yards rushing in just three games, while in 2018, SMSU reached the 100 yard rushing mark just four times.
•SMSU passed for just 70 yards in the victory at CSP in week four. It was the first time SMSU passed for less than 100 yards in a single-game since being held to 67 yards versus Winona State on Nov. 4, 2017.
•Junior running back Jesse Sherwood ranks first on team and seventh in the NSIC with 448 yards rushing and four touchdowns on 74 carries. He rushed for a career-high 178 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries at Concordia-St. Paul on Sept. 25. Sherwood was the first SMSU player to reach 150 or more yards rushing in a game since Max Simmons versus Upper Iowa on Sept. 22, 2018.  
•Senior quarterback Andrew Haidet has completed 59 of 120 passes for 676 yards with four touchdowns and seven interceptions this season. He also ranks second on the team in rushing with 249 yards and three touchdowns on 55 carries.
•Sophomore running back Duce Reynolds has amassed 190 yards rushing and two scores on 58 carries.
•Junior wide receiver Zeke Robinson has a team-high 15 receptions for 215 yards and three touchdowns. Robinson caught two touchdowns in the win at Upper Iowa, including the game winning score with 1:09 left in the game.  
•Freshman kicker Carter Dicker has booted three field goals this season, including a career-long 37-yarder at CSP in Week 4.

LOOKING FOR THAT HOME VICTORY
•SMSU has lost 10 straight home games with its last victory coming on Oct. 20, 2018, versus Northern State.  

USF PULLS AWAY LATE TO DEFEAT SMSU
•Sioux Falls recorded four interceptions and scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to pull away from a close game and defeat SMSU 35-7 last Saturday night in Marshall.
•The final score was not indicative of the closeness of the game as SMSU was driving for a potential game-tying touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Trailing 14-7 and facing second-and-13 from the USF 16-yard line, SMSU quarterback Steven Nava was intercepted at the 10-yard and the Cougars' Carter Lohr returned the interception 70 yards to the SMSU 20-yard line. One play later, USF scored on a 20-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 21-7.
•SMSU closed the game with 23 first downs (the most allowed by USF this season) and finished with 287 yards of offense. The Mustang rushing game amassed 162 yards on 41 carries with Jesse Sherwood racking up a team-high 88 yards and one touchdown on 14 attempts.  
•Andrew Haidet completed 11 of 24 pass attempts for 69 yards and was intercepted twice. Nava finished the night completing 6 of 19 passes for 56 yards and was also intercepted twice.
•Zeke Robinson caught a team-high five passes for 22 yards with Albert Lemon adding three receptions for 18 yards for the Mustangs.

SMSU IN NSIC SOUTH DIVISION PLAY
•Since the NSIC adapted divisional play prior to the 2008 season, SMSU is 25-57 all-time in South Division games, while finishing in the top half of the division three times in 12 seasons.
•SMSU had its highest finish of second place in 2013 and has also placed fourth three times, fifth once, sixth five times, seventh once and eighth once.  

BOHANNON EARNS NSIC AWARD
•True freshman safety Hunter Bohannon was named the NSIC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 27 following his performance in SMSU's 34-24 victory over Concordia-St. Paul.
•Bohannon, in his first career start, recorded an 80-yard interception return for a touchdown and also had a pass break-up and registered five tackles, including a half a tackle for loss.
•He is the first SMSU player to earn an NSIC weekly award since Oct. 8, 2018.

HAIDET REACHES THE CENTURY MARK
•Senior quarterback Andrew Haidet rushed for 147 yards on 10 carries, including a 58-yard run for a touchdown, in the Week 3 loss to UMary. Haidet is the first SMSU quarterback to rush for more than 100 yards in a single-game since Kyle Johnston in 1986.

TEAM CAPTAINS NAMED FOR 2021
•Three players will serve as permanent team captains for the 2021 season as selected by the Mustang players.
•Senior Andrew Haidet and senior Adihia Bell along with junior Onte Burns were selected as permanent captains. It's the second straight season Burns has been named a captain.
•New this season, the SMSU coaching staff will select a game captain each week to serve as a fourth captain for the game.
•Khalif Spry was named captain for week one, Thomas Mergen in week two, Jesse Sherwood in week three, Ken Truitt  in week four, Evan Oetter in week five and Zeke Robinson in week six.

THE 2021 SMSU ROSTER
•The 2021 SMSU roster (as of Oct. 12) features 11 seniors, 19 juniors, 13 sophomores, 25 redshirt freshmen and 55 freshmen.

BURNS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
•SMSU junior linebacker Onte Burns was named preseason second team All-American by D2football.com on Aug. 31. Burns, a two-time team captain, was named first team All-NSIC South and Don Hansen Football Committee All-American third team following the 2019 season.
•Burns finished the 2019 season ranked 24th nationally with 9.8 tackles per game and 47th in solo tackles per game at 4.9.

SMSU / WSU IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
•The following is where SMSU and WSU rank in the this week's NCAA statistics.
•A full listing of SMSU in the 2021 NCAA statistics can be found on pages 20-21.
         (163 teams ranked)     SMSU     WSU
             Scoring Offense    121st     25th
             Rushing Offense    75th      108th
             Passing Offense    135th     31st
             Total Offense    128th     66th
             Scoring Defense    108th     101st
             Rushing Defense    69th     34th
             Pass Defense    129th     156th
             Pass Efficiency Defense    152nd     117th
             Total Defense    108th     124th
             Net Punting     40th     68th
             Punt Returns     12th     24th
             Kickoff Returns     112th     14th
             Turnover Margin     104th     134th
             Fewest Penalty Yards/Gm.     42nd     75th   
             Time of Possession     75th     156th
             3rd Down Conversions     48th     146th
             3rd Down Conv. Defense    65th     37th

GET IN THE 'ZONE'
•SMSU is 13 for 15 in the 'red zone' with 10 touchdowns and three field goals this season.
•SMSU opponents are 19 of 25 in the 'red zone' with 15 touchdowns.
•SMSU finished the 2019 season 22 for 29 (75.9) inside the 'red zone' with 19 touchdowns and three field goals.
•SMSU opponents closed the 2019 season 34 of 42 (81.0) inside "red zone" with 28 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     22 of 29 (75.9)    19    3
    2021    13 of 15 (86.7)    10    3

BIG PLAY MUSTANGS
•SMSU has recorded 28 offensive/defensive plays or kick/punt returns of 20 or more yards in 2021 with 16 coming from the offense (5 run, 11 pass).
•For a complete look at the 'long' plays go to page 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    56    12    4    37    12    1    2    0
    2021    28    6    5    11    7    1    2    2

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

TURNOVER MARGIN BY THE NUMBERS
•SMSU is 'minus-6' in turnover margin in 2021.
•SMSU finished 'minus-2' in turnover margin in 2019, 'plus-2' in 2018 and was 'plus-9' in 2017.
•Since the start of the 2004 season (183 games), SMSU has been a 'plus' in turnover margin in just 60 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, six times in 2019 and twice in 2021).
•The Mustangs have been 'even' or 'minus' in turnover margin in 104 of their last 160 conference games.

SMSU VERSUS THE NSIC NORTH
•Since 2012, when the NSIC schedule had each team playing four inter-divisional games, SMSU has a record of 19-17 versus NSIC North Division teams, including 1-3 in 2021.
•SMSU finished 2-2 versus NSIC North opponents in 2019, 3-1 in 2018, was a perfect 4-0 in 2015, 3-1 in 2016 and 2-2 in 2017.  

MUSTANGS AT HOME
•The 2021 season marks the 13th year that Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center served as the home for SMSU football.
•SMSU is 28-42 all-time at the stadium, including an 0-3 record in 2021.
•SMSU has lost 10 straight home games with the last victory coming on Oct. 20, 2018, versus Northern State.  
•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 ON THE ROAD
•SMSU is 2-1 on the road in 2021 and are 8-17 in road games since the 2016 season.
•SMSU finished 3-3 in road games last season.
•SMSU is 22-34 in road games since head coach Cory Sauter took over in 2010.

WORKING OVERTIME
•SMSU is 4-8 all-time in overtime games, including 0-1 in 2019, 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.

2021 NSIC PRESEASON POLL
•SMSU was picked to finish 11th overall and sixth in the South Division in the annual 14-team NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
•Senior quarterback Andrew Haidet and junior Onte Burns were named 'Players to Watch' in the NSIC this season.

FOR OPENERS
•SMSU is 22-30 all-time in season openers after losing to MSU Moorhead this season.
•SMSU's last season-opening victory came on Sept. 1, 2016, 42-38, versus No. 19 Minnesota Duluth in Marshall.
•SMSU is 3-8 in season openers under head coach Cory Sauter.
•SMSU has lost its last four home openers with the last victory coming on Sept. 1, 2016, versus Minnesota Duluth.

MUSTANG HISTORY
•The 2021 season is the 53rd year of college football at SMSU dating to 1968.
•SMSU owns an all-time record of 203-337-5, including 141-243-5 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 WINONA STATE
•Tom Sawyer is in his 25th and final season as head coach with a record of 193-88. Sawyer is second nationally in total wins among active Division II coaches. Only West Chester's Bill Zwaan (202) currently has more victories. Sawyer has led WSU to the NCAA playoff s six times and four Mineral Water Bowl appearances.
•WSU has lost two straight, including a 52-49 home setback to Northern State last Saturday afternoon.  
•Senior quarterback Owen Burke completed 22 of 38 passes for 334 yards and five touchdowns but was intercepted three times in the loss. For the season, Burke has completed 105 of 188 passes for 1,589 yards and 12 touchdowns with seven interceptions.
•Sophomore running back Dominink London rushed for 59 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries in the loss to NSU. London is the team's top rusher with 292 yards and three touchdowns on 52 carries.
•Senior kick returner and wide receiver Jake Balliu, was named the NSIC Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday following a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown on Saturday. He also had a punt return for a touchdown this season.
•Junior wide receiver Ethan Wittenburg has caught 19 passes for a team-high 449 yards and five touchdowns on the season.
•Sophomore linebacker Clay Schueffner has racked up a team-high 50 tackles.
•Junior linebacker Carter Duxbury has recorded eight tackles with for loss and five sacks.