THIS WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University football team (4-1, 1-0 NSIC South), off to its best start since 2016, takes on the lone undefeated team in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, the 17th-ranked University of Sioux Falls (5-0, 1-0 NSIC South) on Saturday, Oct. 8. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. at Bob Young Field in Sioux Falls, S.D.
•SMSU has won four straight games for the first time since starting the 2015 season 4-0.   
•The last time SMSU opened a season 4-1 occurred during the 2016 season, while the program's last 5-1 start came in 2015.
•The game features two of top rushing offenses in Division II as SMSU enters the game 10th (250.4), while USF is 15th (227.0).
•SMSU is also ninth in the country in fewest penalty yards per game (34.6).   
•USF has won all nine meetings between the two teams since joining the NSIC in 2012.
•Sioux Falls, which moved into the AFCA Top 25 on Monday, is coming off a 31-24 road win over Augustana last Saturday. The Cougars are one of 16 remaining undefeated teams in the country.
•A preview of USF 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. USF Series Notes
Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls meet for the 14th time on Saturday with USF leading 10-3 ... the two teams first met on Sept. 21, 1968, in Marshall ... the first game between the two schools was also the first-ever game in SMSU history with USF earning a 13-6 victory at Legion Field in Marshall ... SMSU defeated USF 36-12 in 1969 in Sioux Falls and then won in both 1978 and 1979 ... USF has won all nine games since joining the NSIC in 2012, including 35-7 last season in Marshall ... USF has scored 41, 55, 44, 34, 48, 39, 51 and 35 points in eight of the nine meetings since joining the NSIC ... SMSU's last win in the series was on Oct. 20, 1979, in Sioux Falls.
 
The Last Time - SMSU vs. USF
USF recorded four interceptions and scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to pull away from a close game and defeat SMSU 35-7 on Oct. 9, 2021. 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, SMSU's 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, Landon Freeman broke free on a 20-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 21-7. SMSU closed the game with 23 first downs 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. Zeke Robinson caught a team-high five passes for 22 yards with Albert Lemon adding three receptions for 18 yards for the Mustangs. Freeman ended the game rushing for 136 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries for the Cougars. Quarterback Adam Mullen completed 15 of 23 passes for 178 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
 
SMSU vs. USF Series Information
Overall:    USF leads 10-3
In Marshall:    USF leads 6-1
In Sioux Falls:    USF leads 4-2
Last SMSU win:    Oct. 20, 1979 (24-6)
Last USF win:    Oct. 9, 2021 (35-7)
Largest win for SMSU:    24 (36-12, 1969)
Largest win for USF:    44 (51-7, 2019)
Longest win streak for SMSU:    3 (1969-79)
Longest win streak for USF:    9 (2012-present)
Current win streak:    USF, 9
Underwood vs. USF:    1-3
Anderson vs. SMSU:    4-0

OPENING DRIVE TIDBITS
•SMSU's 47 points in last week's victory was its highest total since scoring 42 at St. Cloud State on Oct. 19, 2019.
•Senior running back Jesse Sherwood, who leads the NSIC in rushing at 176 yards per game and second in Division II in yards per game, missed last week's win over Upper Iowa with an injury. He is also fourth nationally in all-purpose yards (189.2) and 20th in rushing touchdowns (6).
•Sherwood has rushed for more than 140 yards in the last five games he has played in dating back to last season. He is the first SMSU player to reach 100-yards rushing or more in five straight games since Tyler Tonderum in 2016.  
•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 38 games of his career, has amassed 183 career solo tackles ranking second in team history. Nate Rudolph (1996-99) holds the school record with 199 solo tackles.
•Burns also ranks tied for fourth in team history in total tackles with 315. 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 and Dan Lee (1978-81) with 315.
•Burns has notched double-digit tackles in four games this season ranking first in the NSIC and 10th in Division II with 53 tackles (10.6).
•Burns recorded his second career interception return for a touchdown last Saturday and also registered his first career two interception game.
•Sophomore running back Donald Austin recorded his first career 100-yard rushing game last week with 124 yards on 18 carries.
•SMSU ranks 22nd in Division II in third-down conversion pct. (47.5) and 24th in third-down conversion pct. defense (29.2).
•The SMSU defense has forced 10 turnovers during its four-game winning streak.
•Junior wide receiver Peter Osman scored three touchdowns (two rush, one receiving) in last week's victory.
•Justus McComb is the first SMSU redshirt freshman or true freshman to start at quarterback since Tony Rislov started all 11 games in 2005.
•McComb tossed a career-high two touchdowns and also ran for a score in last week's win over Upper Iowa.
•SMSU has held two opponents (Concordia-St. Paul and Upper Iowa) to less than seven points. The last time SMSU limited two opponents to single-digit points in a single-season came in 2018. The last time SMSU held three opponents to less than 10 points in a season occurred in 2004.

SMSU VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS
•SMSU is 1-25 versus Division II Top 25 teams since the 2008 season.
•SMSU's lone victory versus a ranked team came in the 2016 season opener versus No. 19 Minnesota Duluth (42-38) in Marshall.
SMSU HEAD COACH SCOTT UNDERWOOD
•Scott Underwood is in his first season as SMSU head coach with a record of 4-1. 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 19.

SMSU LAST TIME OUT
•SMSU opened NSIC South Division play earning its fourth straight victory behind a career-high 124 yards rushing from Donald Austin and two interceptions by Onte Burns, including returning one for a touchdown, in cruising to a 47-7 homecoming victory over Upper Iowa last Saturday night.
•The SMSU defense limited UIU to 201 yards of offense, including just 67 passing yards.
•SMSU racked up 436 yards of offense, including 252 on the ground, while closing with 22 first downs. Austin, who started in place of the team's leading rusher, Jesse Sherwood, who missed the game due to injury, carried the ball 18 times for his first career 100-yard rushing game.
•Blake Allen added a career-high 83 yards and a touchdown on 11 attempts.
•Justus McComb passed for a career-high 184 yards and two touchdowns while completing 13 of 20 pass attempts. McComb completed passes to eight different receivers with Rashaan Palmer finishing with three receptions for 58 yards.
•Peter Osman scored three touchdowns, including a pair of short touchdown runs and his first career touchdown reception.
•Thomas Mergen led the Mustangs on defense with eight tackles, while Burns finished with seven stops. Carter Schmitz and Marquise Ogletree each recorded six tackles with Ogletree also adding two pass break-ups.

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 FOR 2022
•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. 3) features seven seniors, 10 juniors, 23 sophomores, 23 redshirt freshmen and 16 freshmen.

SMSU / USF IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
•The following is where SMSU and USF rank in this week's NCAA statistics.
•A full listing of SMSU in the NCAA statistics can be found on pages 17-18.
         (162 teams ranked)     SMSU     USF
             Scoring Offense    68th     26th
             Rushing Offense    10th      15th
             Passing Offense    145th     53rd
             Total Offense    55th     13th
             Scoring Defense    41st     41st
             Rushing Defense    100th     14th
             Pass Defense    57th     92nd
             Pass Efficiency Defense    77th     73rd
             Total Defense    76th     32nd
             Net Punting     117th     46th
             Punt Returns     139th     154th
             Kickoff Returns     117th     83rd
             Turnover Margin     42nd     34th
             Fewest Penalty Yards/Gm.     9th     104th   
             Time of Possession     67th     32nd
             3rd Down Conversions     22nd    18th
             3rd Down Conv. Defense    24th     100th

SMSU IN NSIC SOUTH DIVISION PLAY
•Since the NSIC adapted divisional play prior to the 2008 season, SMSU is 26-61 all-time in South Division games, including 1-0 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. SMSU has one more game (Bemidji State) versus an NSIC North team 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.

GET IN THE 'ZONE'
•SMSU is 13 of 19 inside the 'red zone' this season with 11 touchdowns and two field goals.
•SMSU opponents are 13 of 16 inside the 'red zone' with nine touchdowns and four 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    13 of 19 (68.4)    11    2

BIG PLAY MUSTANGS
•SMSU has recorded 27 offensive/defensive plays or kick/punt returns of 20 or more yards in 2022 with 21 coming from the offense (10 run, 11 pass).
•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    27    9    10    11    5    0    1    0

TURNOVER MARGIN BY THE NUMBERS
•SMSU is 'plus-2' in turnover margin following the first five games of the season.
•SMSU finished the 2021 season 'minus-15' in turnover margin.
•Since the start of the 2004 season (193 games), SMSU has been a 'plus' in turnover margin in just 65 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, four times in 2021 and three times in 2022).
•The Mustangs have been 'even' or 'minus' in turnover margin in 109 of their last 170 conference games.

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 31-44 all-time at the stadium, including 3-0 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 9-21 in road games since the 2016 season, including 1-1 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'.

MUSTANG HISTORY
•The 2022 season is the 54th year of college football at SMSU dating to 1968.
•SMSU owns an all-time record of 207-343-5, including 145-249-5 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 SIOUX FALLS
•Jon Anderson is in his sixth season after being named head coach following the 2016 season. He has a record of 37-14, while at USF. Anderson was head coach at for four seasons West Virginia State compiling a record of 10-34.
•USF is coming off a 31-24 victory over Augustana last Saturday in which the Cougars led 31-10 with 10 minutes remaining in the game.
•USF sophomore quarterback Adam Mullen completed 17 of 27 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns in the game and for the season has completed 83 of 138 passes for 1,160 yards with six touchdowns and four interceptions.
•Senior running back Thuro Reisdorfer rushed for a game-high 134 yards and two touchdowns in the Augustana victory and leads the Cougars in rushing at 620 yards with nine touchdowns on 102 carries.  
•Junior running back Landon Freeman, who redshirted during the 2018 season at SMSU, has amassed 281 yards and five touchdowns.  
•Senior wide receiver Ethan Wittenburg has caught 23 passes for 409 yards and two touchdowns on the season. The transfer from Winona State, caught a game-high seven passes for 134 yards and one touchdown last week.
•Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Zach Durfee was named the NSIC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday following his three sacks and five tackles in the win over Augustana. He leads the NSIC with nine sacks on the season.  
•Senior defensive back Cameron Alfaro has racked up a team-high 27 tackles.
•Sophomore linebacker Noah Schmitt has recorded 21 tackles with two for loss.