THIS WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University football team (4-5, 1-3 NSIC South) will look to snap a four-game losing skid this Saturday, Nov. 5, traveling to Mankato to face nationally-ranked Minnesota State University (7-2, 7-2, 3-1 NSIC South) with kickoff slated for 12 p.m. at Blakeslee Stadium.
•MSU is ranked No. 24 in this week's AFCA Top 25 poll and No. 14 in the D2Football.com Top 25 poll. The Mavericks are also ranked No. 4 in the latest Super Region 4 rankings released on Monday.    
•SMSU enters the game ranked fourth in the NSIC and 28th in Division II in rushing offense.
•The Mustangs will also be looking for just their second win over a Division II Top 25 team in program history. SMSU's lone win came over No. 19 Minnesota Duluth on Sept. 1, 2016.
•A preview of MSU 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. MSU Series Notes
Southwest Minnesota State and Minnesota State meet for the 20th time on Saturday with MSU leading 19-0 in a series that began on Sept. 4, 1971 ... MSU has been ranked in the Top 10 in seven of the last nine meetings ... MSU is 10-0 all-time in games played in Mankato, including earning a 38-23 win on Sept. 7, 2019 ... Saturday's game will be the 17th time the two schools have met as members of the same conference ... SMSU has been held to 17 or less points in 12 of the 19 games ... MSU has scored 34 or more points in the last 14 meetings.
 
The Last Time - SMSU vs. MSU
MSU forced SMSU into eight turnovers and racked up 561 yards of offense in earning a 52-0 victory on Nov. 6, 2021, in Marshall MSU recorded five interceptions and recovered three fumbles as SMSU tied a school record with eight turnovers. MSU used a game-high 10 receptions for 183 yards and two touchdowns by Jalen Sample. MSU used three quarterbacks in the game with starter JD Ekowa completing 9 of 13 for 139 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Hayden Ekern passed for 128 yards on 11 of 19 pass attempts for 128 yards and two touchdowns. SMSU, which closed the game with 362 yards of total offense, despite missing three starters on the offensive line and its top two running backs. Donald Austin rushed for a team-high 76 yards on 10 carries which included a 58-yard rush. Andrew Haidet completed 13 of 29 pass attempts for 150 yards and was intercepted three times. Steven Nava played in the second half and completed 12 of 24 passes for 114 yards and two interceptions. The SMSU offense finished the game 0 for 3 inside the red zone. The Mustang defense was led by Onte Burns with nine tackles including six solo stops.
 
SMSU vs. MSU Series Information
Overall:    MSU leads 19-0
In Marshall:    MSU leads 9-0
In Mankato:    MSU leads 10-0
Last SMSU win:    -
Last MSU win:    Nov. 6, 2021 (52-0)
Largest win for SMSU:    -
Largest win for MSU:    52 (52-0, 2021)
Longest win streak for SMSU:    -
Longest win streak for MSU:     19 (1971-present)
Current win streak:     MSU, 19
Underwood vs. Minnesota State:    4-5
Hoffner vs. SMSU:    11-0

BURNS TIES SMSU SOLO TACKLE RECORD; CLOSING IN ON NSIC MARK
•Senior linebacker Onte Burns, a two-time All-NSIC South honoree, has led the NSIC in tackles the past two seasons. Burns, who has started all 42 games of his career, has amassed 199 career solo tackles ranking tied for first in team history with Nate Rudolph (1996-99). He is also just three away from tying Augustana's Kirby Hora (2015-18) for the NSIC record of 202 solo tackles. Burns' 343 career tackles curently ranks sixth in NSIC history.   
•Burns also ranks fourth in team history in total tackles with 343. 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 343.
•Burns ranks third in the NSIC and 27th in Division II with 81 tackles (9.0).

SHERWOOD REACHES 1,000 RUSHING YARDS
•Senior running back Jesse Sherwood, who missed two games this season due to injury, became just the seventh player in team history to reach 1,000 yards rushing in a single-season during last week's game versus Bemidji State. Sherwood currently ranks fourth on the single-season chart with 1,041 yards on 180 carries. He needs 26 yards to reach third place and 132 to move into second place all-time. Tyler Tonderum (2013) holds the team record with 2,145 yards on 341 attempts.
•Sherwood's current 5.8 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.

OPENING DRIVE TIDBITS
•Senior running back Jesse Sherwood leads the NSIC in rushing with 148.8 yards per game and ranks sixth in Division II. He has rushed for more than 147 yards in five of the seven games he has played this season. He also ranks 13th nationally in all-purpose yards (156.7).
•Redshirt freshman quarterback Justus McComb, who started the first six games of the season, has missed the last three 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 two games, while redshirt freshman John Romero made his first career start last week versus Bemidji State.
•Martin has completed 20 of 46 pass attempts for 239 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, while Romero has appeared in three games and has completed 21 of 40 passes for two touchdowns 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.
•Junior wide receiver Peter Osman has caught a team-high 20 passes for 308 yards and two touchdowns.
•Redshirt freshman linebacker Josiah Hedensten racked up a career-high 13 tackles in last week's loss to BSU.
•Redshirt freshman tight end Brye Hardel caught his first career touchdown pass last week versus BSU.
•Senior linebacker Alan Giron amassed a career-high nine tackles with seven solo versus BSU.
•Redshirt freshman cornerback Diego Maldonado set a career-high with six tackles last week.
•The SMSU defense has forced at least one turnover in each game this season.
•SMSU ranks 10th in the NSIC in total offense (334.4) and ninth in total defense (379.1).
•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.

SMSU RUSHING ONE OF THE BEST IN TEAM HISTORY
•SMSU has rushed for 1,791 yards this season which already ranks seventh 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 199 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 4-5. 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).

SMSU LAST TIME OUT
•Bemidji State University picked up its seventh straight victory scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter to pull away and earn a 34-15 win over SMSU last Saturday.
•BSU finished the game with 466 yards of offense on 82 plays and closed with 26 first downs.
•SMSU started its third different quarterback on the season with John Romero completing 10 of 24 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
•Jesse Sherwood rushed for a game-high 90 yards on 25 carries to reach 1,000 yards rushing in a single-season. •SMSU closed the game with 239 yards of offense with 15 first downs on 59 plays.
•Josiah Hedensten led the Mustang defense with 13 tackles, while Alan Giron added nine tackles with seven solo stops.
•Onte Burns had eight tackles, including five solo stops, and has now racked up 199 solo tackles in his career ranking tied for first with Nate Rudolph (1996-99) for the school record.

SMSU / MSU IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
•The following is where SMSU and MSU rank in this week's NCAA statistics.
         (163 teams ranked)     SMSU     MSU
             Scoring Offense    115th     47th
             Rushing Offense    28th      72nd
             Passing Offense    150th     77th
             Total Offense    105th     81st
             Scoring Defense    82nd     64th
             Rushing Defense    116th     56th
             Pass Defense    74th     129th
             Pass Efficiency Defense    112th     49th
             Total Defense    98th     86th
             Net Punting     146th     21st
             Punt Returns     141st     1st
             Kickoff Returns     82nd     75th
             Turnover Margin     68th     96th
             Fewest Penalty Yards/Gm.     16th     51st   
             Time of Possession     55th     65th
             3rd Down Conversions     93rd    35th
             3rd Down Conv. Defense    47th     23rd

TURNOVER MARGIN BY THE NUMBERS
•SMSU is 'plus-1' in turnover margin this season.
•SMSU has forced a turnover in each game 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 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 Nov. 2) features seven seniors, 10 juniors, 22 sophomores, 24 redshirt freshmen and 16 freshmen.

GET IN THE 'ZONE'
•SMSU is 17 of 27 inside the 'red zone' this season with 15 touchdowns and two field goals.
•SMSU opponents are 24 of 29 inside the 'red zone' with 14 touchdowns and 10 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    17 of 27 (62.9)    15    2

BIG PLAY MUSTANGS
•SMSU has recorded 38 offensive/defensive plays or kick/punt returns of 20 or more yards in 2022 with 28 coming from the offense (13 run, 15 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    38    12    13    15    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 22-20 versus NSIC North Division teams, including 3-2 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 31-46 all-time at the stadium, including 3-2 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 all-time, including 0-1 this 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 207-347-5, including 145-253-5 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 MINNESOTA STATE
•Todd Hoffner his 13th season as head coach and has led the Mavericks to seven NCAA playoff appearances. He has a career record of 119-29 with six NSIC championships.
•MSU has won three straight, including its last two at Augustana (35-14) and Sioux Falls (38-24).
•Junior running back Shen Butler-Lawson leads the Maverick rushing attack with 534 yards and eight touchdowns this season. He rushed for 103 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries in the win on Saturday.
•Sophomore quarterback Hayden Ekern has thrown for 894 yards and six touchdowns. He completed 10 of 20 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns versus USF.
•Senior wide receiver Nyles Williams leads the Maverick receiving corps with 379 yards and four touchdowns.
•Senior defensive back Payton Conrad leads the Maverick defense with 50 tackles, while sophomore linebacker Jacob Daulton has tallied 42 tackles and two interceptions.
• Trey Vaval ranks third in Division II in punt returns averaging 18.6 yards per return.
•Punter Max Pelham ranks 10th nationally at 42.9 yards per punt.