THIS WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University football team (4-4, 1-3 NSIC South) will look to snap a three-game losing streak this Saturday, Oct. 29, hosting NSIC North Division leading and NCAA regionally-ranked Bemidji State University (6-2, 4-0 NSIC North). Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. at Mattke Field at The Schwan Regional Event Center.
•BSU is one of 10 teams ranked in first NCAA Super Region Four rankings released on Monday.
•The game features one of top rushing offenses in the country as SMSU ranks third in the NSIC and 18th in Division II (212.5), while BSU ranks first in Division II in passing offense (347.6) and fourth in total offense (500.4).
•SMSU is also third in the country in fewest penalty yards per game (34.2).   
•BSU, which lost its first two games of the season by a combined four points, has won six straight games, including defeating Minnesota Duluth, 41-16, last Saturday in Bemidji.  
•A preview of BSU is located on page 4.

BROADCAST INFO
•Saturday's game will be broadcast on 105.1 FM KARL with 10th-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 48th time on Saturday with BSU leading the series 25-21-1 ... the teams first met on Oct. 17, 1970, in Marshall ... BSU has won 16 of the last 17 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 17 games came on Sept. 12, 2015, in Marshall ... SMSU leads 12-10 in games played in Marshall ... BSU won last season in Bemidji, 48-14 ... BSU won the last game played in Mashall on Oct. 12, 2019, scoring the game-winning touchdown with 10 seconds remaining to earn a 25-24 victory. BSU trailed 24-0 with less than 10 minutes remaning in the game.
 
The Last Time - SMSU vs. BSU
BSU, ranked No. 6 in the NCAA region rankings, scored 34 straight points in the second and third quarters and used six touchdowns passes by Brandon Alt to earn a 48-14 victory over SMSU in Bemidji on Oct. 30. Alt closed the day completing 21 of 30 passes for 305 yards and one interception. BSU finished the game with 523 total yards, the highest total allowed by SMSU in 2021. SMSU ended the afternoon with 265 yards of offense. Jesse Sherwood had a strong day rushing the ball for the Mustangs with 155 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries. Paddy Devlin caught a career-high five passes for 46 yards and one touchdown. Andrew Haidet completed 9 of 20 passes for 94 yards, while Steven Nava was 5 of 13 for 35 yards and one touchdown pass. Onte Burns and Gage Roberson each recorded nine tackles for the Mustang defense. Marshawn Reese had seven tackles and had an interception.
 
SMSU vs. BSU Series Information
Overall:    BSU leads 25-21-1
In Marshall:    SMSU leads 12-10
In Bemidji:    BSU leads 13-9-1
Neutral Record:    tied 1-1
Last SMSU win:    Sept. 12, 2015 (34-30)
Last BSU win:    Oct. 30, 2021 (48-14)
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, 3
Underwood vs. Bemidji State:    5-7
Bolte vs. SMSU:    3-0

OPENING DRIVE TIDBITS
•Senior linebacker Onte Burns, a two-time All-NSIC South honoree, has led the NSIC in tackles the past two seasons (2019 and 2021). Burns, who has started all 41 games of his career, has amassed 194 career solo tackles ranking second in team history. Burns is just five solo stops shy of Nate Rudolph (1996-99), who holds the school record with 199 solo tackles.
•Burns also ranks fourth in team history in total tackles with 335. The school record is held by Paul Litwicki (1974-75, 78), who amassed 485 tackles. Since 1979, Mike Roggenbuck (1982-85) has recorded the most tackles with 358, followed by Rudolph at 356 and Burns with 335.
•Burns ranks tied for first in the NSIC and 27th in Division II with 73 tackles (9.1).
•Redshirt freshman quarterback Justus McComb, who started the first six games of the season, has missed the last two games due to an injury. True freshman Marcus Martin, the first true freshman to start for SMSU since Rob Fagnan on Nov. 11, 2000, has started the past two games and has completed 20 of 46 pass attempts for 239 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
•Prior to Martin, McComb was the first SMSU redshirt freshman or true freshman to start at quarterback since Tony Rislov started all 11 games in 2005.
•Senior running back Jesse Sherwood, who missed two games earlier this season, leads the NSIC in rushing with 158.5 yards per game and ranks third in Division II. He has rushed for more than 147 yards in five of the six games he has played this season.
•Sophomore running back Donald Austin ranks ninth in the NSIC rushing yards per game (68.9).
•Junior wide receiver Peter Osman has caught a team-high 18 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns.
•Redshirt freshman linebacker Josiah Hedensten racked up a career-high 12 tackles with a sack, forced fumble and two tackles for loss in last week's loss to Wayne State.
•Carter Schmitz (6) and Diego Maldonado (5) each tied career-highs in tackles last week at WSC.
•The SMSU defense has forced at least one turnover in each game this season.
•SMSU ranks ninth in the NSIC in both total offense (346.4) and total defense (368.3).
•SMSU's four-game winning streak earlier this season was its longest since starting the 2015 season 4-0. The last time SMSU opened a season 4-1 occurred during the 2016 season.

SHERWOOD CLOSING IN ON 1,000 RUSHING YARDS
•Senior running back Jesse Sherwood has rushed for 951 yards on 155 carries in six games this season. The 951 yards currently rank ninth in team single-season history. Only six players have reached 1,000 yards rushing in a single-season in team history with Davontay Stevens the last to do so in 2015. Tyler Tonderum (2013) holds the team record with 2,145 yards on 341 attempts.
•Sherwood's current 6.1 yards per carry ranks fourth in team single-season history. His 6.4 yards per carry last season (787 yards on 123 attempts) is the school single-season record.

SMSU RUSHING ONE OF THE BEST IN TEAM HISTORY
•SMSU has rushed for 1,700 yards this season which already ranks eighth in team single-season history. Only two teams (2,958 in 2013) and (2,165 in 2015) in program history have reached 2,000 yards rushing in a single-season.
•SMSU is currently averaging 213 yards rushing per game, which ranks second in team single-season history. The 2013 team averaged 247 yards per game.

SMSU HEAD COACH SCOTT UNDERWOOD
•Scott Underwood is in his first season as SMSU head coach with a record of 4-4. He was named the program's 11th head coach on Jan. 7, 2022.
•Underwood was the first SMSU head coach in team history (11 head coaches) to begin his SMSU coaching career with a 3-1 record.
•Underwood compiled an overall record of 86-61 in 12 seasons as head coach at St. Cloud State (2008-19).
•SCSU recorded 10 winning seasons with three NCAA playoff appearances during his tenure. SCSU won seven or more games seven times, including a school record 12 victories in 2013.
•SCSU made NCAA playoff appearances in 2010, 2011 and 2013 and won a share of both the NSIC North Division and NSIC overall championship in 2011.
•He was also an assistant coach at SCSU (2001-07), North Dakota (1997-2000), Sioux Falls (1993-96) and Augustana (1988-92).
•A complete bio on Underwood can be found on page 20.

SMSU LAST TIME OUT
•SMSU had a pair of chances to score late and earn a big upset victory last Saturday, but Wayne State made a pair of big defensive stops to earn a 20-14 victory in Wayne, Neb.
•SMSU recovered a fumble at the WSC 29-yard line with 2:31 remaining in the game but WSC stuffed SMSU on fourth-and-one at the 20-yard line with 1:07 left in the game.
•SMSU had one more chance starting at their own 35-yard line with 41 seconds left, but an interception sealed the WSC victory.
•Jesse Sherwood rushed for a game-high 169 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries, while Donald Austin added 37 yards on seven attempts.
•Marcus Martin completed 9 of 18 pass attempts for 100 yards and two interceptions.
•Peter Osman caught two passes for 47 yards with teammate Eric Lira collecting two receptions for 24 yards.
•Josiah Hedensten racked up a career-high 12 tackles (9 solo), including a strip sack in the fourth quarter, while Onte Burns also had a big game with 10 tackles and five solo stops.
•WSC closed the game with 22 first downs and 335 yards of offense, while SMSU ended with 16 first downs and 277 yards.

SMSU / BSU IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
•The following is where SMSU and BSU rank in this week's NCAA statistics.
•A full listing of SMSU in the NCAA statistics can be found on pages 18-19.
         (163 teams ranked)     SMSU     BSU
             Scoring Offense    114th     8th
             Rushing Offense    18th      80th
             Passing Offense    151st     1st
             Total Offense    90th     4th
             Scoring Defense    70th     32nd
             Rushing Defense    120th     14th
             Pass Defense    44th     70th
             Pass Efficiency Defense    88th     33rd
             Total Defense    90th     23rd
             Net Punting     141st     90th
             Punt Returns     154th     38th
             Kickoff Returns     57th     101st
             Turnover Margin     65th     134th
             Fewest Penalty Yards/Gm.     3rd     21st   
             Time of Possession     46th     92nd
             3rd Down Conversions     66th    2nd
             3rd Down Conv. Defense    36th     12th

TURNOVER MARGIN BY THE NUMBERS
•SMSU is 'plus-1' in turnover margin this season.
•SMSU has forced a turnover in each game this season and two or more in four games.
•SMSU finished the 2021 season 'minus-15' in turnover margin.

BURNS EARNS NSIC WEEKLY HONOR
•SMSU senior linebacker Onte Burns was honored on Sept. 26 as the NSIC Defensive Player of the Week after leading SMSU to a 27-20 overtime win over Minot State.
•Burns recorded a game-high 11 tackles, with four solo, along with two sacks and a pass break-up in the win.
•It's the first time Burns has earned the award in his career. He is also the first Mustang to receive the NSIC weekly defensive award since the 2017 season.

SHERWOOD TWICE HONORED BY NSIC
•SMSU senior running back Jesse Sherwood has twice been named the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week this season. He earned the first honor on Sept. 12 after rushing for 196 yards and one touchdown in a win versus Concordia-St. Paul.
•He earned the award again on Sept. 19 after rushing for a career-high 205 yards and three touchdowns on a career-high 36 carries in a win at UMary. The 205-yard game is the 13th highest single-game total in program history.
•Sherwood is the first SMSU player since Blake Gimbel in 2015 to earn the NSIC weekly award twice in a season.

TEAM CAPTAINS NAMED
•Four players will serve as team captains for the 2022 season with seniors Onte Burns, Alan Giron, Dylan Lauer, and Jesse Sherwood selected by the Mustang players. It's the third straight season Burns has been named a captain.

THE 2022 SMSU ROSTER
•The SMSU roster (as of Oct. 25) features seven seniors, 10 juniors, 22 sophomores, 24 redshirt freshmen and 16 freshmen.

GET IN THE 'ZONE'
•SMSU is 16 of 26 inside the 'red zone' this season with 14 touchdowns and two field goals.
•SMSU opponents are 19 of 24 inside the 'red zone' with 11 touchdowns and eight field goals.
•The following is SMSU in the 'red zone' since the 2010 season.
    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    20 of 29 (69.0)    16    4
    2022    16 of 26 (61.5)    14    2

BIG PLAY MUSTANGS
•SMSU has recorded 35 offensive/defensive plays or kick/punt returns of 20 or more yards in 2022 with 25 coming from the offense (12 run, 13 pass).
•Jesse Sherwood has the longest play from scrimmage this season with a 63-yard touchdown run versus Concordia-St. Paul.
•The longest pass play is a 41-yard connection from Marcus Martin to Peter Osman at Wayne State.
•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    42    6    8    18    10    1    2    3
    2022    35    11    12    13    9    0    1    0

SMSU IN NSIC SOUTH DIVISION PLAY
•Since the NSIC adapted divisional play prior to the 2008 season, SMSU is 26-64 all-time in South Division games, including 1-3 this season, while finishing in the top half of the division three times in 13 seasons.
•SMSU had its highest finish of second place in 2013 and has placed fourth three times, fifth once, sixth six 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 22-19 versus NSIC North Division teams, including 3-1 this season. Saturday's game versus Bemidji State will be its final NSIC North opponent this season.
•With the departure of St. Cloud State and Minnesota Crookston, SMSU now plays five games versus NSIC North teams the past two seasons.
•SMSU finished 1-4 versus North teams a season ago, finished 2-2 in 2019, went 3-1 in 2018, was 2-2 in 2017, 3-1 in 2016 and was a perfect 4-0 in 2015.

MUSTANGS AT HOME
•The 2022 season marks the 14th year that Mattke Field at The Schwan Regional Event Center has served as the home for SMSU football.
•SMSU is 31-45 all-time at the stadium, including 3-1 this season.
•New turf was installed at the stadium in the summer of 2022.
•SMSU lost 12 straight home games from late in the 2018 season through 2021. SMSU was winless at home in both 2019 and 2021 (2020 season was canceled).  
•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
•After recording its last winning road record in a season in 2015 (5-1), SMSU is 9-23 in road games since the 2016 season, including 1-3 this season.

WORKING OVERTIME
•SMSU is 5-8 all-time in overtime games since the NCAA added overtime in 1998, including 1-0 this season after defeating Minot State, 27-20, on Sept. 24.
•SMSU is 1-3 in multi-overtime contests.
•SMSU's previous overtime home win came on Nov. 2, 2015, versus Winona State.
•The program's last multi-overtime game was a 34-31 double overtime loss at Minnesota State on Oct. 13, 2012.

2022 NSIC PRESEASON POLL
•SMSU was picked to finish 13th overall and seventh in the South Division in the annual 14-team NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
•Senior running back Jesse Sherwood and senior linebacker Onte Burns were named 'Players to Watch'.

SMSU VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS
•SMSU is 1-26 versus Division II Top 25 teams since the 2008 season following a loss to No. 17 Sioux Falls on Oct. 8.
•SMSU's lone victory versus a ranked team came in the 2016 season opener versus No. 19 Minnesota Duluth (42-38) in Marshall.

MUSTANG HISTORY
•The 2022 season is the 54th year of college football at SMSU dating to 1968.
•SMSU owns an all-time record of 207-346-5, including 145-252-5 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.

FOR OPENERS
•SMSU is 22-31 all-time in season openers after losing to Minnesota Duluth in the 2022 season-opener. SMSU has lost its last five season lid-lifters.
•SMSU's last season-opening victory came on Sept. 1, 2016, versus No. 19 Minnesota Duluth (42-38) in Marshall.
•SMSU has lost its last four home openers with the last victory coming on Sept. 1, 2016, versus Minnesota Duluth.  SMSU opens the 2022 home season on Saturday, Sept. 10, versus Concordia-St. Paul.

SCOUTING BEMIDJI STATE
•Brent Bolte, the 2021 NSIC Coach of the Year, is in his seventh season as head coach after taking over the position as interim head coach in 2016. He has a career record of 48-18. He has been on the BSU staff for 22 seasons.
•BSU is coming off a 41-16 home victory over Minnesota Duluth last Saturday. It's the fifth straight game BSU has score more than 40 points.
•BSU amassed 464 yards of offense and has reached the 400-yard mark in every game this season.
•Junior quarterback Brandon Alt completed 11 of 21 passes for 287 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in the victory. For the season, Alt has completed 161 of 269 passes for 2,504 yards and 22 touchdowns with 2 interceptions. He ranks fourth in Division II in passing yards and seventh in passing touchdowns.
•Junior wide receiver Brandan Beaulieu has caught a team-high 48 passes for 919 yards and nine touchdowns, while senior Dhel Duncan-Busby has 36 receptions for 668 yards and six touchdowns.  
•Junior running back Jalen Fry has rushed for 553 yards and seven touchdown on 139 carries on the season.
•Senior defensive end Zollie Kaplan has 11.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks.
•Junior linebacker Spencer Wehr has racked up a team-leading 43 tackles.
•Junior linebacker Max Burduris has 4.5 sacks and eight tackles for loss while ranking second on the squad with 39 tackles.  
•BSU ranks second in Division II in third-down conversions (54.5) and 12th in third-down conversion defense (27.6).