THIS WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University football team (2-6, 1-2 NSIC South) steps out of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division play taking on NSIC North Division-leading and NCAA regionally-ranked Bemidji State University (6-2, 4-0 NSIC North) this Saturday at Chet Anderson Stadium with kickoff slated for 1 p.m.
•SMSU, which is 1-3 versus NSIC North Division teams this season, will be looking to snap a three-game losing streak and also earn its first win at BSU since the 1997 season.  
•SMSU is coming off a 38-16 home loss to Wayne State, while BSU, which earned votes in this week's AFCA Top 25 poll, earned a come-from-behind, 42-35 road win over No. 16 Minnesota Duluth. It was BSU's first win in Duluth since the 1941 season.
•BSU is ranked No. 6 in the first Super Region 4 rankings released on Monday. The top seven teams earn a spot in the NCAA playoffs starting on Nov. 20. BSU enters the game with the seventh ranked passing offense and 23rd ranked offense in Division II.

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 vs. BSU Series Notes
Southwest Minnesota State and Bemidji State meet for the 47th time on Saturday with BSU leading the series 24-21-1 ... the teams first met on Oct. 17, 1970, in Marshall ... BSU has won 15 of the last 16 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 16 games came on Sept. 12, 2015 ... BSU leads 13-8-1 in games played in Bemidji with SMSU's last victory at Anderson Stadium coming on Sept. 27, 1997 ... BSU won the last meeting with a last-second 25-24 win in Marshall on Oct. 12, 2019.    
 
The Last Time - SMSU vs. BSU
BSU scored 25 unanswered points in the final nine minutes, including the game-winning touchdown with 10 seconds remaining, to earn a stunning 25-24 victory over SMSU on Oct. 12, 2019, in Marshall. SMSU dominated for three-plus quarters in building a 24-0 advantage with 10 minutes and 16 seconds left in the game. BSU was limited to 203 yards and 10 first downs in the game's first 49 minutes, but were able to rally with four straight scoring drives of 75, 60, 77 and 61 yards to earn the victory. Emmett Enright connected with Malik Williams on a 27-yard touchdown for the game-winning touchdown pass. SMSU finished the game with 391 yards, including 193 on the ground and closed with 21 first downs. The Mustangs' balanced rushing attack was led by Duce Reynolds, who amassed a career-high 100 yards on 20 carries. Mustang quarterback Boyer Bouman completed 14 of 22 pass attempts for 198 yards and three touchdown. Daniel Davis finished with six receptions for 110 yards and two touchdowns for SMSU.
 
SMSU vs. BSU Series Information
Overall:    BSU leads 24-21-1
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:    Oct. 12, 2019 (25-24)
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, 2
Sauter vs. Bemidji State:    1-5
Bolte vs. SMSU:    2-0

SMSU HEAD COACH CORY SAUTER
•Cory Sauter is in his 12th season as head coach with an overall record of 45-74, including 44-72 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.

MUSTANG DEFENSE ALONG WITH BURNS AND ROBERSON CONTINUE TO RANK HIGH IN NSIC
•The SMSU defense begins the week ranked seventh in the NSIC in yards allowed at 389 per game. SMSU is sixth in pass defense (243.5) and ninth in rush defense (145.5).
•Junior linebacker Onte Burns continues to lead the NSIC in tackles with 9.6 per game (77 total tackles) and ranks 23rd in Division II. He also ranks third nationally with 6.9 solo tackles per game. Burns will be making his 31st consecutive start on Saturday.
•Senior linebacker Gage Roberson ranks second on the team (10th in the NSIC) with 58 tackles including a team-leading 7.5 for loss. Roberson racked up a career-high 13 tackles in last week's loss to Wayne State.

DICKER RANKS HIGH IN NATIONAL STATISTICS
•Freshman punter Carter Dicker is averaging 42.2 yards per punt on 29 attempts ranking second in the NSIC and eighth in Division II. Dicker has six punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line and six punts of 50 or more yards. He is also 4 of 5 on field goals and 16 of 19 on PATs.

MUSTANG OPENING DRIVE TIDBITS & SEASON NUMBERS
•Senior Gage Roberson (13) and sophomore Jordan White (11) each recorded career-highs in tackles and both had an interception in last week's loss to Wayne State.
•SMSU's 92-yard scoring drive last week capped by a Duce Reynolds touchdown run was the longest drive by the Mustangs this season.
•Freshman Keilan Smith caught a career-high four passes for 88 yards in last week's loss to Wayne State.
•SMSU has rushed for more than 135 yards in five of eight 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 four times. SMSU has been held to less than 100 yards rushing in three of its last four games.
•Junior running back Jesse Sherwood ranks first on team and sixth in the NSIC with 628 yards rushing and five touchdowns on 103 carries. Sherwood's 67-yard run two weeks ago at Winona State was the longest by a Mustang since Max Simmons' 75-yard run on Sept. 29, 2018, at UMary. Sherwood 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 Simmons versus Upper Iowa on Sept. 22, 2018.  
•Senior quarterback Andrew Haidet has completed 88 of 179 passes for 965 yards with five touchdowns and nine interceptions this season. He also ranks second on the team in rushing with 249 yards and three touchdowns on 67 carries.
•Sophomore running back Duce Reynolds has amassed 219 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 73 carries.
•Junior wide receiver Zeke Robinson has a team-high 18 receptions for 234 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 four field goals this season, including a career-long 37-yarder at CSP in Week 4.
•Freshman safety Hunter Bohannon, sophomore safety Jordan White and senior cornerback Ken Truitt each lead the team with two interceptions.  
•Senior Adihia Bell's 59-yard punt return on in Week 6 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 passed for just 70 yards in the victory at CSP in Week 4. 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.  

QUICK START LEADS WSC PAST SMSU
•Wayne State scored 24 straight points to close the first half to build a 28-point halftime lead and used a strong defensive performance to earn a 38-16 victory over SMSU last Saturday night in Marshall.
•The WSC defensed limited SMSU to a season-low 11 first downs and held the Mustang offense to 257 yards, matching a season-low.
•WSC finished the game with 390 yards and 19 first downs but was held to just 86 yards in the second half.
•The SMSU offense was led by running back Jesse Sherwood, who amassed 83 yards rushing and one touchdown on 18 carries.
•Andrew Haidet, one of three SMSU quarterbacks to see time tonight, completed 6 of 17 passes for 106 yards and one interception. Steven Nava was 6 of 12 for 30 yards and one interception, while Jakob Olson completed 2 of 8 pass attempts for 22 yards.
•Keilan Smith caught a career-high four passes for a career-high 88 yards.
•The SMSU defense was led by Gage Roberson, who racked up a career-high 13 tackles, including two for loss and also recorded his first career interception. Jordan White added a career-high 11 tackles, while Adihia Bell chipped in with six stops.

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.  

SMSU IN NSIC SOUTH DIVISION PLAY
•Since the NSIC adapted divisional play prior to the 2008 season, SMSU is 25-59 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, Zeke Robinson in week six, Marshawn Reese in week seven and Dylan Lauer in week eight.

THE 2021 SMSU ROSTER
•The 2021 SMSU roster (as of Oct. 26) features 12 seniors, 18 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 / BSU IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
•The following is where SMSU and BSU 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     BSU
             Scoring Offense    129th     46th
             Rushing Offense    98th      115th
             Passing Offense    131st     7th
             Total Offense    136th     23rd
             Scoring Defense    114th     113th
             Rushing Defense    82nd     113th
             Pass Defense    119th     130th
             Pass Efficiency Defense    149th     97th
             Total Defense    103rd     129th
             Net Punting     34th     123rd
             Punt Returns     3rd     135th
             Kickoff Returns     134th     118th
             Turnover Margin     114th     42nd
             Fewest Penalty Yards/Gm.     69th     152nd   
             Time of Possession     58th     155th
             3rd Down Conversions     77th     39th
             3rd Down Conv. Defense    80th     56th

GET IN THE 'ZONE'
•SMSU is 18 for 22 in the 'red zone' with 14 touchdowns and four field goals this season.
•SMSU opponents are 25 of 31 in the 'red zone' with 19 touchdowns and six field goals.  
•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    18 of 22 (81.8)    14    4

BIG PLAY MUSTANGS
•SMSU has recorded 34 offensive/defensive plays or kick/punt returns of 20 or more yards in 2021 with 20 coming from the offense (6 run, 14 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    34    6    6    14    9    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-7' 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 (185 games), SMSU has been a 'plus' in turnover margin in just 61 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 three times in 2021).
•The Mustangs have been 'even' or 'minus' in turnover margin in 105 of their last 162 conference games.

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 28-43 all-time at the stadium, including an 0-4 record in 2021.
•SMSU has lost 11 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 2-2 on the road in 2021 and are 8-18 in road games since the 2016 season.
•SMSU finished 3-3 in road games last season.
•SMSU is 22-35 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 203-339-5, including 141-245-5 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 sixth season as head coach after taking over the position as interim head coach in 2016. He has been on the BSU staff for 21 seasons.
•BSU is coming off dramatic 42-35 road win over No. 16 Minnesota Duluth last Saturday with the Beavers scoring 21 points in the final 13 minutes of the game.
•Sophomore quarterback Brandon Alt completed 20 of 40 passes for 269 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions in the victory. For the season, Alt has completed 175 of 338 passes for 2,540 yards and 28 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. He ranks second in the country in touchdown passes and fourth in passing yards.   
•Senior wide receiver Malik Williams was named the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after recording 10 receptions for 176 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. On the season, Williams has 37 receptions for 739 yards and 12 touchdowns.  
•Junior wide receiver Brandan Beaulieu has caught a team-high 42 passes for 717 yards and six touchdowns.
•Sophomore running back Makaio Harn has rushed for 558 yards and one touchdown on 122 carries on the season.  
•Senior defensive back Hameed Oyedele has racked up a team-high 51 tackles with two for loss.
•Senior linebacker Gabe Ames has recorded 44 tackles, eight tackles with for loss and two sacks.