THIS WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University football program (1-0, 1-0 NSIC) opens its five-game home schedule this Saturday, Sept. 9, facing No. 10/11 ranked Bemidji State University (1-0, 1-0 NSIC) for the annual Ag Bowl, presented by Ralco, with kickoff slated for 5 p.m. at Mattke Field at The Schwan Regional Event Center.  
•SMSU opened the 2023 season on Aug. 31 with a come-from-behind 28-23 road victory over Minot State.
•BSU, which advanced to the second round of the NCAA Playoff last season and captured a share of the NSIC regular season championship, opened the 2023 season last Thursday with a 49-13 home win over Northern State.
•BSU is ranked No. 10 in D2Football.com Top 25 poll and No. 11 in the AFCA Top 25 poll.  
•A preview of BSU is located on page 3.

BROADCAST INFO
•Saturday's game will be broadcast on 105.1 FM KARL with 11th-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 17th 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 6-9 all-time in Ag Bowl games and will be playing BSU for the second time.
All-Time Ag Bowl Results
2007 Concordia-St. Paul W, 24-19
2008 Black Hills State L, 14-21
2009 Black Hills State W, 55-10
2010 Wayne State L, 20-38
2011 UMary W, 48-45
2012 UMary L, 24-43
2013 St. Cloud State L, 35-49
2014 Northern State L, 43-46
2015 Bemidji State W, 34-30
2016 Wayne State L, 39-41
2017 Minot State W, 28-20
2018 Wayne State L, 14-23
2019 Minnesota State L, 23-38
2020 no game
2021 UMary L, 23-45
2022 Concordia-St. Paul W 14-6

HOME OPENERS & MORE
•SMSU won last season's home opener, 14-6, over Concordia-St. Paul. The win snapped a four-game home opener losing skid.
•SMSU is 23-31 all-time in season openers after beginning the 2023 season with a victory at Minot State on Aug. 31. The win snapped a five-game losing skid in season opening games.

SMSU VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS
•SMSU is 1-27 versus Division II Top 25 teams all-time, including 0-2 last season.
•SMSU's lone victory versus a ranked team came in the 2016 season opener versus No. 19 Minnesota Duluth (42-38) in Marshall.

BOHANNON EARNS NSIC WEEKLY HONOR
•Junior safety Hunter Bohannon was named the NSIC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday following his performance in SMSU's 28-23 victory at Minot State on Aug. 31.
•Bohannon forced two fumbles, recovering one, recorded three solo tackles and one pass break-up in the Mustangs' come-from-behind win.
•It's the second time Bohannon has earned the award in his career. He also earned the award on Sept. 27, 2021.  

OPENING DRIVE TIDBITS
•SMSU rallied from a 17-point deficit in the first half in last week's win at Minot State. It was SMSU's first victory when trailing after three quarters since Oct. 2, 2021, when SMSU erased a 14-7 deficit in the fourth quarter versus Upper Iowa to earn a 20-14 victory.
•Junior running back Donald Austin recorded his third career 100-yard rushing game in last week's victory.
•Senior wide receiver Peter Osman finished with a career-high two touchdown receptions in the victory.
•Sophomore quarterback Marcus Martin, who threw three touchdown passes last week, earned his first victory in his fifth career start.
•Sophomore safety Diego Maldonado recorded a career-high eight tackles in the win at Minot State.
•Sophomore linebacker Gideon Ervasti finished with a career-high five tackles at Minot State.
•Redshirt freshman punter Mason Carver finished with a 30.8-yard average with two punts inside the MSU 20-yard line in his first collegiate game last week.
•For the first time since 2007, the NSIC will not have a divisional format in football. Each team will play 10 NSIC games with five at home and five on the road.
 
SMSU HEAD COACH SCOTT UNDERWOOD
•Scott Underwood is in his second season as SMSU head coach with a record of 5-7. 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 4-1 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 18.

SMSU LAST TIME OUT
•SMSU opened the season with a come-from-behind 28-23 victory over Minot State on Aug. 31 in Minot, N.D..
•SMSU trailed 17-0 late in the first half before scoring 28 straight points.
•Trailing 17-14 late in the game, SMSU took its first lead of the game as Marcus Martin connected with Peter Osman for a 26-yard touchdown with 3:07 remaining. The score capped a 12-play, 80-yard drive that amassed just over six minutes off the clock.
•The SMSU defense forced MSU to turn the ball over on downs on the ensuing possession at the MSU 37-yard line. Donald Austin, who finished with a game-high 154 yards rushing on 26 carries, broke free for a 37-yard touchdown run to seal the victory with 2:09 left in the game.
•Martin, which earned his first victory in the fifth career start, completed 13 of 28 passes for 225 yards and three touchdowns.
•Osman caught four passes for 71 yards and two touchdowns.
•Josiah Hedensten, who amassed 12 tackles, led the SMSU defense, which forced two turnovers in the second half.
•Hunter Bohannon added two forced fumbles and recovered a fumble in the final 30 minutes.

MUSTANGS WITH FIRST NON-LEAGUE GAME SINCE
•With the departure of Upper Iowa University to the Great Lakes Valley Conference, SMSU will have its first regular season non-conference game since the 2011 season when SMSU plays at FCS foe Valparaiso on Sept. 30.  
•This will be SMSU's first game versus an FCS opponent since losing at Northern Iowa in the final game of the 1999 season. SMSU also played at Illinois State in 1992 and twice at Weber State in 1983 and 1989.
•SMSU's last non-conference game was the 2013 Mineral Water Bowl versus Pittsburg State, while the last regular season non-conference game occurred in the 2011 season opener at Northern State.

THE 2023 SMSU ROSTER
•The SMSU roster (as of Sept. 5) features eight seniors, 19 juniors, 28 sophomores, 11 redshirt freshmen and 42 freshmen.

TEAM CAPTAINS FOR 2023
•Four players serve as team captains for the 2023 season with seniors Cam Irvin and Peter Osman and junior Donald Austin and Thomas Mergen selected by the Mustang players.

SMSU / BSU IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
•The following is where SMSU and BSU rank in the latest NCAA statistics.
•A full listing of SMSU in the NCAA statistics can be found on pages 16-17.
         (163 teams ranked)     SMSU     BSU
             Scoring Offense    63rd     13th
             Rushing Offense    57th      26th
             Passing Offense    62nd     70th
             Total Offense    59th     41st
             Scoring Defense    68th     32nd
             Rushing Defense    116th     26th
             Pass Defense    77th     138th
             Pass Efficiency Defense    86th     52nd
             Total Defense    89th     93rd
             Net Punting     113th     60th
             Punt Returns     8th     15th
             Kickoff Returns     84th     20th
             Turnover Margin     63rd     10th
             Fewest Penalty Yards/Gm.     36th     107th   
             Time of Possession     29th     83rd
             3rd Down Conversions     44th    86th
             3rd Down Conv. Defense    122nd     55th

TURNOVER MARGIN BY THE NUMBERS
•SMSU is 'even' in turnover margin this season after finishing the 2022 season 'minus-1' in turnover margin.
•SMSU forced at least one turnover in each game in 2022 and two or more in six games.

GET IN THE 'ZONE'
•SMSU is 0 of 0 inside the 'red zone' this season.
•SMSU opponents are 4 of 4 inside the 'red zone' with three touchdowns and 1 field goal.
•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    20 of 33 (60.6)    17    3
    2023    0 of 0 (n/a)    -    -

BIG PLAY MUSTANGS
•SMSU has recorded five offensive/defensive plays or kick/punt returns of 20 or more yards in 2023 with four coming from the offense (1 run, 3 pass).
•Marcus Martin's 44-yard touchdown pass to Rashaan Palmer versus Minot State is the longest play from scrimmage this season.
•Donald Austin's 37-yard touchdown run versus Minot State is the longest rush from scrimmage this season.
•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    51    14    14    23    13    0    1    0
    2023    5    4    1    3    0    1    0    0

2022 RUSHING ONE OF THE BEST IN TEAM HISTORY
•SMSU finished the 2022 season rushing for 1,901 yards ranking fourth in team single-season history.
•SMSU's 172.8 rushing yards per game also ranked fourth in team single-season history.

2023 NSIC PRESEASON POLL
•SMSU was picked to finish ninth overall in the annual 13-team NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
•Senior wide receiver Peter Osman and junior linebacker Thomas Mergen were named 'Players to Watch'.

MUSTANGS AT HOME
•The 2023 season marks the 15th year that Mattke Field at The Schwan Regional Event Center has served as the home for SMSU football.
•SMSU is 31-47 all-time at the stadium, including finishing 3-3 in 2022.
•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 10-24 in road games since the 2016 season, including 1-0 this season.

WORKING OVERTIME
•SMSU is 5-8 all-time in overtime games since the NCAA added overtime in 1998, including 1-0 last 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.

MUSTANG HISTORY
•The 2023 season is the 55th year of college football at SMSU (including the 2020 season that was canceled) dating to 1968.
•SMSU owns an all-time record of 208-349-5, including 146-255-5 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 BEMIDJI STATE
•Brent Bolte, the 2021 NSIC Coach of the Year, is in his eighth season as head coach after taking over the position as interim head coach in 2016. He has a career record of 53-19. The 53 victories ranks tied for second in team history. He has been on the BSU staff for 23 seasons.
•BSU opened the season last Thursday with a 49-13 home victory over Northern State.
•BSU amassed 425 yards of offense while averaging 6.9 yards per play.
•The BSU defense had four interceptions and limited NSU to 5 of 17 on third-down and 68 rushing yards.
•Senior quarterback Brandon Alt completed 13 of 21 passes for 176 yards with three touchdowns and one interception in the victory. Alt, now in his seventh season at BSU, was the 2022 NSIC Offensive Player of the Year and is a two-time all-region honoree. He has started every games since the 2021 season.
•Senior wide receiver Dhel Duncan-Busby caught three passes for 72 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while junior Jake Hill caught three passes for 71 yards.
•Senior running back Ali Mohamed a transfer from Minot State, rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries.
•Senior defensive back Isaiah Johnson finished with eight solo tackles.