THIS WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University football team (0-2, 0-0 NSIC South) returns home seeking its first victory of the 2021 season taking on the University of Mary (0-2, 0-0 NSIC North) for the annual Ag Bowl with kickoff slated for 6 p.m. at Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center.
•SMSU, which is coming off a 30-13 road loss to Northern State last Saturday night, is searching for its first victory since earning a 42-38 win at St. Cloud State on Oct. 19, 2019. SMSU's last home victory came on Oct. 2, 2018.
•UMary is 0-2 on the season with a road loss to Wayne State in the season opener and a home loss to Augustana last Saturday. 

ANNUAL AG BOWL - PRESENTED BY RALCO
•Saturday's 15th annual Ag Bowl, presented by Ralco, concludes a day of celebration of agriculture in Minnesota and features numerous events for both kids and adults prior to the game.
•Proceeds generated by the Ag Bowl will fund scholarships and programming for worthy SMSU student-athletes and young people who will dedicate their careers to business success in agriculture, environmental science and the food industries.
•SMSU is 5-8 all-time in Ag Bowl games and will be playing UMary for the third time.

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. UMary Series Notes
Southwest Minnesota State and UMary meet for the 10th time on Saturday night with UMary holding a 5-4 advantage in a series that started on Sept. 4, 1999 ... UMary leads the series 3-2 in games played in Marshall ... SMSU won the last game played in Marshall, 47-23, on Sept. 17, 2016 ... SMSU has won the last two in the series overall, including, 54-24, in Bismarck, on Sept. 29, 2018 ... UMary won the first three games in the series in 1999, 2006 and 2007 ... SMSU's win in 2010 was the first road victory for SMSU head coach Cory Sauter.

SMSU vs. UMary Series Information
Overall:    UMary leads 5-4
In Marshall:    UMary lead 3-2
In Bismarck:    tied 2-2
Last SMSU win:    Sept. 24, 2018 (54-24)
Last UMary win:    Sept. 6, 2014 (19-18)
Largest win for SMSU:    30 (54-24, 2018)
Largest win for UMary:    19 (43-24, 2012)
Longest win streak for SMSU:    2 (2010-11)
Longest win streak for UMary:    3 (1999-2007)
Current win streak:    SMSU, 2
Sauter vs. UMary:    4-2
Bagnell vs. SMSU:    0-1

SMSU HEAD COACH CORY SAUTER
•Cory Sauter is in his 12th season as head coach with an overall record of 43-70, including 42-68 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 23.

MUSTANG OPENING DRIVE TIDBITS
•Southwest Minnesota State had nine players on offense, seven on defense and its kicker/punter make their first career starts in the season-opening loss to MSU Moorhead on Sept. 2.
•Junior linebacker Onte Burns leads the NSIC and ranks 12th in Division II through two games with 24 tackles including 15 solo stops.  
•Junior running back Jesse Sherwood leads the team with 155 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 30 carries.
•Sophomore running back Duce Reynolds has amassed 75 yards and one score on 17 carries.
•Senior quarterback Andrew Haidet has completed 24 of 53 passes for 253 yards with five interceptions. He has completed passes to 11 different receivers in two games.
•Junior wide receiver Zeke Robinson has a team-high five receptions for 48 yards.
•SMSU was called for just two penalties for a total of six yards in last week's loss at Northern State.

NSU PULLS AWAY IN FOURTH TO DOWN SMSU
•Northern State took advantage of three Southwest Minnesota State turnovers and used 308 passing yards and three passing touchdowns to pull away for a 30-13 victory last Saturday in Aberdeen, S.D.
•SMSU trailed 20-13 in the fourth quarter before NSU put the game away with 10 points in the final 10 minutes of the game.
•NSU finished the game with 424 yards of offense and 20 first downs, while SMSU closed with 287 yards and 16 first downs.
•SMSU amassed 153 yards rushing with Jesse Sherwood pacing the squad with 72 yards on 16 carries. Quarterback Andrew Haidet added two rushing touchdowns and closed with 44 yards on 11 carries, while Duce Reynolds chipped in with 34 yards on six attempts.
•Haidet completed 11 of 22 passes for 134 yards and was intercepted twice. Zeke Robinson caught a team-high three passes for 22 yards for the Mustangs with teammate Adrian Tolbert finishing with two catches for a team-high 45 yards.
•Onte Burns led the SMSU defense with 14 tackles with Gage Roberson adding seven tackles.

TURNOVERS DOOM SMSU
•Southwest Minnesota State has committed seven turnovers in the first two weeks and is minus-five in turnover margin. SMSU has thrown five interceptions and lost two fumbles on the season.
•SMSU forced a pair of turnovers in the season-opening loss to MSU Moorhead. Junior Alan Giron recorded one fumble, while senior Adihia Bell scooped up another fumble and returned it 26 yards down to the MSUM six-yard line.

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.

SIGNAL CALLERS IN 2021
•The SMSU offense features one quarterback with returning experience in a Mustang uniform in senior Steven Nava while senior transfer Andrew Haidet joined the team last spring and started the first two games.
•Haidet spent the 2020 season at Northern Illinois University and appeared in four games completing 3 of 6 passes for 44 yards and one touchdown.
•Haidet spent four seasons (2016-19) at Houston Baptist University where he played in 11 career games completing 23 of 57 pass attempts for 348 yards with three touchdowns.
•In 2019, 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. He started at Wayne State in week two, but was injured late in the third quarter and missed the remainder of the season.

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

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.

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 and Thomas Mergen in week two.  

SMSU / UMARY IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
•The following is where SMSU and UMary rank in the this week's NCAA statistics.
•A full listing of SMSU in the 2021 NCAA statistics can be found on pages 21-22.
         (162 teams ranked)     SMSU     UMary
             Scoring Offense    104th     78th
             Rushing Offense    69th      157th
             Passing Offense    129th     6th
             Total Offense    120th     65th
             Scoring Defense    104th     142nd
             Rushing Defense    73rd     131st
             Pass Defense    144th     103rd
             Pass Efficiency Defense    160th     110th
             Total Defense    116th     125th
             Net Punting     94th     141st
             Punt Returns     113th     106th
             Kickoff Returns     60th     56th
             Turnover Margin     155th     57th
             Fewest Penalty Yards/Gm.     31st     37th   
             Time of Possession     92nd     49th
             3rd Down Conversions     50th     86th
             3rd Down Conv. Defense    15th     63rd

GET IN THE 'ZONE'
•SMSU is 5 for 5 in the 'red zone' with five touchdowns following two weeks of play.
•SMSU opponents are 7 of 10 in the 'red zone' with five 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    5 of 5 (100.0)    5    0

BIG PLAY MUSTANGS
•SMSU has recorded 16 offensive/defensive plays or kick/punt returns of 20 or more yards in 2021 with six coming from the offense (1 run, 5 pass).
•For a complete look at the 'long' plays and SMSU's 'money' plays from 2021, 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    56    12    4    37    12    1    2    0
    2021    16    0    1    5    8    0    0    2

SMSU VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS
•SMSU is 1-24 versus Division II Top 25 teams since the 2008 season including 0-1 in 2019.
•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-5' in turnover margin in 2021 following two week.
•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 (179 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, six times in 2019 and zero in 2021).
•The Mustangs have been 'even' or 'minus' in turnover margin in 102 of their last 156 conference games.

SMSU IN NSIC SOUTH DIVISION PLAY
•Since the NSIC adapted divisional play prior to the 2008 season, SMSU is 24-56 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.  

SMSU VERSUS THE NSIC NORTH
•Since 2012, when the NSIC schedule had each team playing four inter-divisional games, SMSU has a record of 18-16 versus NSIC North Division teams, including 0-2 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 28-40 all-time at the stadium, including an 0-1 record in 2021.
•SMSU has lost eight 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 0-1 on the road in 2021 and are 6-17 in road games since the 2016 season.
•SMSU finished 3-3 in road games last season.
•SMSU is 20-34 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.

FOR OPENERS
•SMSU is now 22-30 all-time in season openers after losing to MSU Moorhead last Thursday.
•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 201-335-5, including 139-241-5 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 UMARY
•Craig Bagnell is in his fourth season as head coach at UMary with a record of 3-21. His third season was canceled due to COVID-19. Bagnell was a four-year standout quarterback for the Marauders from 2010-13.  
•UMary, which finished 2-9 in 2019, is 0-2 on the season with losses at Wayne State in week one and a 43-20 home defeat to Augustana last Saturday.
•The Marauders fell behind 30-7 at halftime to Augustana on Saturday and were held to 42 yards rushing on 26 attempts, including four sacks.
•UMary enters this week's game with the sixth ranked passing offense in Division II.
•Senior quarterback Logan Nelson has completed 51 of 94 passes for 604 yards and five touchdowns.
•Junior wide receiver Danny Kittner has caught a team-leading 27 passes for 337 yards and three touchdowns.
•Senior wide receiver Luke Little has recorded 16 receptions for 231 yards and three touchdowns.
•Redshirt freshman running back Dorian McAllister is the team's top rusher with 33 yards on six carries.
•The UMary defense has been led by sophomore defensive back, Tylen Small, who has a team-leading 21 tackles.