THIS WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University football team (0-1, 0-0 NSIC South) hits the road for the first time in 2021 taking on Northern State University (0-1, 0-0 NSIC North) on Saturday, Sept. 11, with kickoff slated for 6 p.m. at the new Dacotah Bank Stadium in Aberdeen, S.D.
•SMSU is coming off a 33-21 home loss to MSU Moorhead on Sept. 2, while NSU opened the season losing 40-34 in overtime at No. 2 Minnesota State.  
•SMSU is searching for its first victory since earning a 42-38 win at St. Cloud State on Oct. 19, 2019.
•NSU finished 6-5 in 2019, including 4-3 in the NSIC North.
•A preview on NSU is located on page 3.

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.

MUSTANGS DROP SEASON OPENER TO MSU MOORHEAD
•SMSU returned to the field for the first time since the 2019 season last Thursday night, losing 33-21 to MSU Moorhead in Marshall.
•MSUM amassed 404 yards of offense with Grady Bresnahan leading the way with eight receptions for 118 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Tommy Falk completed 19 of 21 pass attempts for 285 yards and three touchdowns.
•SMSU running back Jesse Sherwood had a strong game with 87 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 14 carries. Duce Reynolds added 41 yards rushing and one touchdown on 11 attempts.
•SMSU quarterback Andrew Haidet, making his Mustang debut, completed 13 of 31 passes for 119 yards and was intercepted three times.
•Gage Roberson led the Mustang defense with 11 tackles with 1.5 for loss and one sack. Onte Burns added 10 tackles, while Adihia Bell registered five tackles, forced one fumble, recovered a fumble and blocked a field goal.

FORCING TURNOVERS
•Southwest Minnesota State forced a pair of turnovers in the 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. Bell also blocked a field goal attempt by MSUM in the fourth quarter.

OPENING DRIVE TIDBITS
•Southwest Minnesota State had nine players on offense and seven on defense make their first career starts in the loss to MSU Moorhead. True freshman kicker/punter Carter Dicker also made his debut and was a perfect 3 for 3 on PATs and averaged 30 yards on four punts.
•Junior running back Jesse Sherwood led SMSU with 87 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 14 carries in the loss to MSU Moorhead.
•Sophomore running back Duce Reynolds closed the game with 41 yards rushing and one touchdown on 11 carries.
•Senior quarterback Andrew Haidet completed 13 of 31 passes for 119 yards and was intercepted three times. He completed passes to eight different receivers with a long of 26 yards to Zeke Robinson. Senior wide out Paddy Devlin caught a team-high three passes for 27 yards.
•Senior linebacker Adihia Bell had five tackles, including 2.5 for loss and also forced a fumble and recovered a fumble in the loss. He also returned two kickoffs for a total of 52 yards.   
•Junior linebacker Onte Burns, who had 10 tackles in the season opener, led the NSIC in 2019 in tackles with 108 (9.8 per game).

SMSU HEAD COACH CORY SAUTER
•Cory Sauter is in his 12th season as head coach with an overall record of 43-69, including 42-67 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 22.

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 RANKS HIGH IN FINAL 2019 NCAA STATS
•Junior linebacker Onte 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 will feature 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 season opener last Thursday.
•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.
•Nava 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. 8) features 11 seniors, 21 juniors, 13 sophomores, 25 redshirt freshmen and 57 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.
•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.
•The team captains were selected by a vote of the Mustang players.

SMSU / NSU IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
•The following is where SMSU and NSU 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.
         (142 teams ranked)     SMSU     NSU
             Scoring Offense    76th     35th
             Rushing Offense    63rd      115th
             Passing Offense    112th     18th
             Total Offense    106th     59th
             Scoring Defense    105th     121st
             Rushing Defense    64th     123rd
             Pass Defense    108th     111th
             Pass Efficiency Defense    139th     71st
             Total Defense    95th     132nd
             Net Punting     99th     86th
             Punt Returns     78th     38th
             Kickoff Returns     47th     70th
             Turnover Margin     117th     1st
             Fewest Penalty Yards/Gm.     72nd     125th   
             Time of Possession     81st     126th
             3rd Down Conversions     68th     32nd
             3rd Down Conv. Defense    41st     59th

GET IN THE 'ZONE'
•SMSU was 3 for 3 in the 'red zone' with three touchdowns in the week one loss to MSU Moorhead.
•MSUM was 3 for 5 in the 'red zone' with three 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    3 of 3 (100.0)    3    0

BIG PLAY MUSTANGS
•SMSU has recorded eight offensive/defensive plays or kick/punt returns of 20 or more yards in 2021 with two coming from the offense (1 run, 1 pass).
•For a complete look at the 'long' plays and SMSU's 'money' plays from 2021, go to pages 16-17.
•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    8    0    1    1    4    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-2' in turnover margin in 2021 following one 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 (178 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 101 of their last 155 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 18-15 versus NSIC North Division teams, including 0-1 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 finished 3-3 in road games in 2019 and are 6-16 in road games since the 2016 season.
•SMSU is 20-33 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 201-334-5, including 139-240-5 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 NORTHERN STATE
•Mike Schmidt is in his second season as head coach at Northern State. His first season was canceled due to COVID-19. Schmidt came to NSU following four seasons as head coach at Wisconsin-LaCrosse, where he finished with a record of 27-13.
•NSU, which finished the 2019 season with a record of 6-5, opened the season last Thursday with a heartbreaking 40-34 overtime loss at No. 2 Minnesota State. NSU held a 34-24 lead with less than five minutes remaining in the game before MSU rallied and tied the score with 38 seconds remaining in regulation.
•Senior quarterback Hunter Trautman passed for 331 yards, completing 21 of 42 attempts with four touchdowns.
•Senior wide receiver Dakota Larson finished with seven receptions for 168 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.
•Senior running back Isaiah Cherrier led the Wolves with 40 yards rushing on nine carries.
•The NSU defense was led by senior defensive back Hunter Hansen, who amassed 14 tackles.