THIS WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University football program (0-1, 0-0 NSIC South) opens its six-game home schedule this Saturday, Sept. 10, facing Concordia-St. Paul (0-1, 0-0 NSIC North) for the annual Ag Bowl with kickoff slated for 5 p.m. at Mattke Field at The Schwan Regional Event Center.  
•Saturday's game will be the first at home for SMSU head coach Scott Underwood, who was named the 11th head coach in program history on Jan. 7, 2022.
•Concordia-St. Paul, which finished 1-10 a season ago, opened the 2022 season last Thursday with a 28-14 home loss to Augustana.
•A preview on CSP 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.

ANNUAL AG BOWL - PRESENTED BY RALCO
•Saturday's 16th 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 5-9 all-time in Ag Bowl games and will be playing CSP for the second time.
All-Time Ag Bowl Results

2022 OPENING DRIVE TIDBITS
•SMSU has lost its last four home openers with its last home-opening victory coming on Sept. 1, 2016, versus Minnesota Duluth.   
•SMSU scored 21 points in last week's loss to Minnesota Duluth, snapping a shutout streak that lasted more than two games to end the 2021 season. The Mustangs were shutout in the final two games of the 2021 season and failed to score 20 points in the final six games of the season.
•SMSU has lost 12 straight home games with the last victory coming on Oct. 20, 2018, versus Northern State.  
•Justus McComb was the first SMSU redshirt freshman or true freshman to start at quarterback since Tony Rislov started all 11 games in 2005.
•McComb scored his first career touchdown with a 10-yard run early in the third quarter.
•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 34 games of his career, finished with 108 tackles in 2019 and racked up 106 in 2021.
•Burns has amassed 163 career solo tackles ranking tied for fifth in team history. Nate Rudolph (1996-99) holds the school record with 199 solo tackles. Burns also ranks 11th in team history in total tackles with 274.

SMSU HEAD COACH SCOTT UNDERWOOD
•Scott Underwood is in his first season as SMSU head coach with a record of 0-1. He was named the program's 11th head coach on Jan. 7, 2022.
•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 18.

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.

SMSU LAST TIME OUT
•SMSU opened the 2022 season on Sept. 1 dropping a 31-21 road decision to 2021 NCAA playoff participant, Minnesota Duluth.
•The game was tied at 21 following three quarters of play following a pair of SMSU touchdowns in the third quarter.
•UMD snapped the tie with a touchdown pass of 43-yards on third-and-13 with 12:35 left in the game.
•UMD closed the game with 441 yards of offense with 22 first downs, while SMSU amassed 306 yards and 16 first downs.
•SMSU was led by Jesse Sherwood, who rushed for a game-high 156 yards and two touchdowns on a career-high 25 carries.  
•Mustang redshirt freshman quarterback Justus McComb, playing in his first career game, completed 9 of 18 passes for 161 yards and also rushed for one touchdown.
•Peter Osman caught four passes for a career-high 96 yards.
•Onte Burns paced the way for the Mustang defense with a game-high 12 tackles.
•Thomas Mergen added nine tackles with Jalani Jefferson adding eight stops.

SEVERAL NEWCOMERS MAKE APPEARANCES
•SMSU has several new faces on the 2022 roster, in fact a total of 17 players made their first-ever appearance in a Mustang uniform in the loss to UMD.
•Eight of the 17 newcomers started with four on offense and four on defense.

THE 2022 SMSU ROSTER
•The 2022 SMSU roster (as of Sept. 5) features nine seniors, eight juniors, 23 sophomores, 23 redshirt freshmen and 16 freshmen.

2022 SMSU PRESEASON NOTES
•The Mustangs have 34 returning letter winners, including six starters on offense, three starters on defense and its punter/kicker from the 2021 roster.
•The SMSU offense returns it leading rusher and leading receiver from last season. Senior running back Jesse Sherwood ran for 787 yards and a team-high six touchdowns, while senior wide receiver Zeke Robinson led the team in receptions (24), receiving yards (276) and touchdowns (3).
•SMSU will have a new quarterback in 2022 with redshirt freshman, Justus McComb atop the depth chart.
•The SMSU offensive line returned three starters with senior center Khalif Spry, senior right guard Dylan Lauer and junior right tackle Bradley Gould.
•Senior linebacker Onte Burns, a two-time first team All-NSIC South honoree and 2019 third team All-American leads the SMSU defense. He is a four-year starter and has led the NSIC in tackles the past two seasons with a combined 214 stops.
•Sophomore safety Hunter Bohannon played in every game with eight starts as a true freshman in 2021 and recorded 27 tackles and two interceptions.
•Senior defensive back Alan Giron made three starts a season ago, registering 21 tackles, one sack, and recovered one fumble.
•Sophomore kicker/punter Carter Dicker returns after recording a 41.4-yard punt average that ranked second in the league a season ago. He also made 18 of 21 PATs and connected on 4 of 5 field goal attempts.

SMSU / CSP IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
•The following is where SMSU and CSP rank in this week's NCAA statistics.
•A full listing of SMSU in the NCAA statistics can be found on pages 16-17.
         (154 teams ranked)     SMSU     CSP
             Scoring Offense    83rd     110th
             Rushing Offense    63rd      115th
             Passing Offense    104th     77th
             Total Offense    90th     109th
             Scoring Defense    97th     88th
             Rushing Defense    121st     141st
             Pass Defense    100th     7th
             Pass Efficiency Defense    139th     56th
             Total Defense    118th     72nd
             Net Punting     73rd     112th
             Punt Returns     94th     94th
             Kickoff Returns     136th     66th
             Turnover Margin     124th     68th
             Fewest Penalty Yards/Gm.     50th     10th   
             Time of Possession     144th     88th
             3rd Down Conversions     120th     44th
             3rd Down Conv. Defense    87th     117th

MUSTANGS RANK AMONG TOP 60 IN 2021 NCAA STATS
•Senior linebacker Onte Burns ranked third in solo tackles per game (6.9) and 19th in total tackles per game (9.6) last season in the final Division II statistics.
•Sophomore Punter/kicker Carter Dicker averaged 41.4 yards per punt on 43 attempts ranking second in the NSIC and 15th in Division II last season. Dicker had eight punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line and eight punts of 50 or more yards. He was also 4 of 5 on field goals and 18 of 21 on PATs.
•Senior running back Jesse Sherwood, who missed the final two games last season due to injury, ranked 16th in yards per carry (6.3), 39th in rushing yards per game (87) and 62nd in rushing yards (787).

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 VERSUS THE NSIC NORTH
•Since 2012, when the NSIC schedule had each team playing four inter-divisional games, SMSU has a record of 19-19 versus NSIC North Division teams, including 0-1 this season.
•With the departure of St. Cloud State and Minnesota Crookston, SMSU will now play five games versus NSIC North teams again this season.
•SMSU finished 1-4 versus North teams a season ago, finished 2-2 in 2019, went 3-1 in 2018, was a perfect 4-0 in 2015, was 3-1 in 2016 and 2-2 in 2017.  

SMSU IN NSIC SOUTH DIVISION PLAY
•Since the NSIC adapted divisional play prior to the 2008 season, SMSU is 25-61 all-time in South Division games, 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.  

GET IN THE 'ZONE'
•SMSU is 2 of 2 inside the 'red zone' this season with a pair of touchdowns. SMSU finished the 2021 season 20 for 29 in the 'red zone' with 16 touchdowns and four field goals.
•SMSU opponents are 3 of 4 inside the 'red zone' with two touchdowns and one field goal. Opponents closed the 2021 season 41 of 49 in the 'red zone' with 34 touchdowns and seven 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    2 of 2 (100.0)    2    0

BIG PLAY MUSTANGS
•SMSU has recorded five offensive/defensive plays or kick/punt returns of 20 or more yards in 2022 with five coming from the offense (1 run, 4 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    5    1    1    4    0    0    0    0

TURNOVER MARGIN BY THE NUMBERS
•SMSU is 'minus-2' in turnover margin following week one versus UMD.
finished the 2021 season 'minus-15' in turnover margin.
•Since the start of the 2004 season (188 games), SMSU has been a 'plus' in turnover margin in just 62 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 four times in 2021).
•The Mustangs have been 'even' or 'minus' in turnover margin in 107 of their last 165 conference games.

BOHANNON EARNS NSIC AWARD
•Sophomore safety Hunter Bohannon was named the NSIC Defensive Player of the Week last season on Sept. 27 following his performance in SMSU's 34-24 Week 4 victory at Concordia-St. Paul.
•Bohannon, in his first career start, recorded an 80-yard interception return for a touchdown and also had a pass break-up and registered five tackles, including a half a tackle for loss.
•He was the first SMSU player to earn an NSIC weekly award since Oct. 8, 2018.

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.
•New turf was installed at the stadium in the summer of 2022.
•SMSU is 28-44 all-time at the stadium after finishing 2021 with an 0-5 record. It's the second straight season SMSU was winless at home after closing with an 0-5 record in 2019.
•SMSU has lost 12 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 2-3 on the road in 2022 and are 8-20 in road games since the 2016 season.
•SMSU is 22-37 in road games since 2010.

WORKING OVERTIME
•SMSU is 4-8 all-time in overtime games 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.

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' this season.

MUSTANG HISTORY
•The 2022 season is the 54th year of college football at SMSU dating to 1968.
•SMSU owns an all-time record of 203-343-5, including 141-249-5 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 now 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 CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL
•Shannon Currier is in his second stint and 11th season overall (ninth season was canceled) as head coach at CSP with a record of 48-52. The program's all-time leader in victories, Currier was head coach at CSP from 2000-03, before returning in 2016. He has a career record of 68-87 in his 16th season as a head coach including five seasons at Truman State (Mo.).
•CSP opened the season with a 28-14 home loss to Augustana on Thursday, Sept. 1. The game was tied at 14 in the third quarter before the Vikings used a pair of touchdowns and strong defense to pull away.
•CSP was limited to 271 yards of offense, including 68 rushing yards and 203 yards through the air.
•Sophomore Conner Cordts completed 13-21 for 167 and a touchdown through the air before sophomore Bryce Sievers added five completions on 10 attempts for 31 yards in relief in the fourth quarter.
•Sophomore running back Jaylin Richardson tallied 89 total yards as he paced the squad in both receiving and rushing, picking up 59 yards on five catches through the air and 30 yards on 11 carries on the ground.
•Junior wide receiver Nathan Gimza caught five passes for 26 yards, while sophomore wide receiver Drew Enke caught two passes including a 36-yard touchdown pass.
•Junior wide receiver Isiah Koran led the Golden Bears last Saturday versus USF with six receptions for 63 yards.
•Sophomore linebacker Brayden Hilgemann tied for the team lead with eight tackles (one for a loss) while he also registered a sack on the night.
•Sophomore free safety Rhett Sheehan added eight tackles, including two for loss while sophomore linebacker Caden Baarts also had an eight tackle performance.