THIS WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University football team (0-2, 0-2 NSIC) returns home this Saturday, Sept. 21, facing Concordia University, St. Paul (0-2, 0-1 NSIC) in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference game at Mattke Field at The Schwan Regional Event Center. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.
•Both teams are looking for its first win of the season with SMSU coming off a 33-0 loss at No. 23 Bemidji State last Saturday, while CSP suffered a home-opening 31-14 setback to Winona State.
•SMSU has won the last two meetings in the series, including the 2022 SMSU home opener. It was the first victory at SMSU for head coach Scott Underwood.
•A preview of CSP is located on page 4.

BROADCAST INFO
•Saturday's game will be broadcast on 105.1 FM KARL with 12th-year SMSU play-by-play voice Ryan Rohlik.
•Live stats, radio broadcast and video can be found at SMSUmustangs.com.

SMSU vs. CSP SERIES NOTES
Southwest Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul meet for the 26th time on Saturday with CSP leading 13-12 in a series that started on Sept. 15, 1979 ... the series is tied 6-6 in games played in Marshall ... SMSU leads 6-4 since 2012, with SMSU winning the last two games, including the last match-up two seasons ago in Marshall, 14-6 ... SMSU won the first three meetings in the series before CSP won six straight from 2000-05 ... SMSU leads 9-7 since the 2006 season.

THE LAST TIME - SMSU VS. CSP
SMSU earned its first home victory since 2018 with the Mustang defense forcing three turnovers, while Jesse Sherwood rushed for 196 yards on 32 carries, to pace SMSU to a 14-6 victory over CSP on Sept. 10, 2022. The victory was also the first at SMSU for head coach Scott Underwood. SMSU used a pair of big touchdown runs to secure the victory as Sherwood broke free for a 63-yard score early in the game, while Eric Lira cruised to a 52-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to give the Mustangs an eight-point lead. Sherwood also led SMSU with three catches for 29 yards. Justus McComb completed 8 of 17 yards for 106 yards and two interceptions for SMSU. Onte Burns racked up a game-high 11 tackles for pace the Mustangs, while Thomas Mergen added eight stops and forced one fumble. Alan Giron and Austin Moore also forced fumbles to help SMSU win the turnover battle. Jaylin Richardson rushed for 175 yards on 14 carries to pace the CSP offense with teammate Conner Cordts completing 17 of 28 passes for 170 yards.

SMSU HEAD COACH SCOTT UNDERWOOD
•Scott Underwood is in his third season as SMSU head coach with a record of 6-18. 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. SMSU's four victories in 2022 was its highest victory total since 2018.
•Underwood compiled an overall record of 86-51 in 12 seasons as head coach at St. Cloud State (2008-19) and is now 92-69 in 15 seasons as a head coach.
•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
•No. 23 ranked Bemidji State used a pair of big plays in the second half to extend a 14-0 halftime lead in earning a 33-0 victory over SMSU last Saturday in Bemidji, Minn.
•BSU limited SMSU to 137 yards of offense, including 10 first downs and forced three turnovers. The Mustangs finished 3 for 11 on third-down conversions and 0 for 2 on fourth-down tries.
•Mustang starting quarterback Wyatt Oak completed 3 of 5 pass attempts for 15 yards before leaving the game early in the second quarter with an injury. Kendon Krogman came on in relief and completed 4 of 15 for 26 yards and one interception.
•Jacob Honstetter led the SMSU rushing attack with 56 yards on 17 carries.
•The SMSU defense forced its first two turnovers of the season in contest with Parker Knutson recording his first career interception to close out the first half. Earlier in the game, Josiah Hedensten had a strip-sack that was recovered by Carter Schmitz.
•Hedensten racked up a game-high 10 tackles for the Mustangs, while Gideon Ervasti and Thomas Mergen each closed with five tackles.

OPENING DRIVE TIDBITS
•Junior running back Jacob Honstetter has rushed for a team-high 168 yards on 30 carries through two games.
•Junior wide receiver Colin Maher has two receptions for 62 yards and one touchdown.
•Junior wide receiver Jake Anderson has caught a team-high four passes for 28 yards.
•Junior linebacker Gideon Ervasti and junior linebacker Josiah Hedensten both have amassed a team-high 16 tackles with Ervasti collecting 2.5 tackles for loss. Hedensten has one sack and has forced a pair of fumbles.
•Senior linebacker Thomas Mergen has also registered 16 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss.
•Redshirt freshman safety Parker Knutson recorded his first career interception in last week's loss at Bemidji State.
•Senior wide receiver Cade Eddington recorded a career-high 30-yard rush last week.
•For the second straight season, 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.

THE 2024 SMSU ROSTER
•The SMSU roster (as of Sept. 17) features 10 seniors, 24 juniors, 10 sophomores, 25 redshirt freshmen and 35 freshmen.

SMSU / CSP IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
•The following is where SMSU and CSP rank in the latest NCAA Division II statistics.
•A full listing of SMSU in the NCAA statistics can be found on pages 16-17.
             (159 teams ranked)     SMSU     CSP
             Scoring Offense    156th     72nd
             Rushing Offense    44th      22nd
             Passing Offense    154th     95th
             Total Offense    138th     18th
             Scoring Defense    136th     76th
             Rushing Defense    128th     31st
             Pass Defense    39th     132nd
             Pass Efficiency Defense    128th     98th
             Total Defense    89th     93rd
             Net Punting     122nd     73rd
             Punt Returns     35th     16th
             Kickoff Returns     89th     121st
             Turnover Margin     157th     104th
             Fewest Penalty Yards/Gm.     26th     59th   
             Time of Possession     138th     20th
             3rd Down Conversions     155th    21st
             3rd Down Conv. Defense    126th     55th

TEAM CAPTAINS FOR 2024
•Four players serve as team captains for the 2024 season with senior Thomas Mergen and juniors Avery Johnson, Colin Maher and Tyler Nebelung selected by the Mustang players.

NEW QUARTERBACK IN 2024
•With sophomore Wyatt Oak starting at quarterback in the season opener, it marked the sixth straight season SMSU had a different quarterback starting week one. •Blake Gimbel was the last Mustang to start back-to-back season openers in 2017 and 2018.
•Steven Nava started the season in 2019, with Andrew Haidet in 2021, followed by Justus McComb in 2022 and Marcus Martin in 2023.

TURNOVERS MARGIN BY THE NUMBERS
•SMSU is 'minus-7' in turnover margin following two games this season.
•SMSU finished 'minus-10' in turnover margin last season and was 'minus' in turnover margin in nine of 11 games.
•SMSU forced a turnover in five of 11 games in 2023 and twice (vs. MSU Moorhead and Sioux Falls) forced four turnovers.  

STAY IN THE 'ZONE'
•SMSU is 1 of 3 (33.3) in the red zone this season with one field goal.
•SMSU finished 17 of 30 inside the 'red zone' last season with 14 touchdowns and three field goals.
•SMSU opponents are 4 of 6 in the red zone this season with four touchdown.
•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    17 of 30 (56.6)    14    3
    2024    1 of 3 (33.3)    0    1

BIG PLAY MUSTANGS
•SMSU has recorded 10 offensive/defensive plays or kick/punt returns of 20 or more yards with four coming from the offense (3 run, 1 pass).
•Wyatt Oak's 55-yard touchdown pass to Colin Maher  versus Minot State is the longest pass play this season.
•Jacob Honstetter's 55-yard 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    50    9    8    29    11    1    1    0
    2024    10    1    3    1    4    1    1    0

MUSTANGS WITH FIRST NON-LEAGUE HOME GAME
•With the departure of Upper Iowa University to the Great Lakes Valley Conference following the 2022 season, SMSU will play a non-conference game for the second straight season and will host its first non-league game since 2010.  
•SMSU will host Nebraska-Kearney, a member of the MIAA, on Oct. 5. It will be SMSU's first home non-conference game since facing Northern State in 2010.
•In last season's lone non-league game, SMSU suffered a 16-15 road loss to FCS foe, Valparaiso.

2024 NSIC PRESEASON POLL
•SMSU was picked to finish 11th overall in the annual 13-team NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
•Junior offensive tackle Tyler Nebelung and junior linebacker Josiah Hedensten were named 'Players to Watch'.

MUSTANGS AT HOME
•The 2024 season marks the 16th year that Mattke Field at The Schwan Regional Event Center has served as the home for SMSU football.
•SMSU is 32-52 all-time at the stadium, including 0-1 this season.
•New turf was installed at the stadium in the summer of 2022.
•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 10-30 in road games since 2016, including 0-1 this season.

SMSU VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS
•SMSU is 1-31 all-time versus Division II Top 25 teams, including 0-1 this season.
•SMSU's lone victory versus a ranked team came in the 2016 season opener versus No. 19 Minnesota Duluth (42-38) in Marshall.

WORKING OVERTIME
•SMSU is 5-8 all-time in overtime games since the NCAA added overtime in 1998.
•SMSU's last overtime game occurred on Sept. 24, 2022, with a 27-20 home victory over Minot State.
•SMSU is 1-3 in multi-overtime contests.
•The program's last multi-overtime game was a 34-31 double overtime loss at Minnesota State on Oct. 13, 2012.

SEASON & HOME OPENER INFORMATION
•SMSU is 23-32 all-time in season openers after losing at home to Minot State this season. SMSU is now 1-6 in its last seven home openers with the lone victory coming over Concordia-St. Paul in 2022.

MUSTANG HISTORY
•The 2024 season is the 56th year of college football at SMSU (including the 2020 season that was canceled) dating to 1968.
•SMSU owns an all-time record of 209-360-5, including 147-262-5 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 CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL
•Shannon Currier is in his second stint and 13th season overall (ninth season was canceled) as head coach at CSP with a record of 52-71. 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 72-106 in his 18th season as a head coach including five seasons at Truman State (Mo.).
•CSP opened the season on Sept. 7 losing 33-7 at Upper Iowa before suffering a home loss to Winona State last Saturday, 31-14.
•WSU booted a field goal to close the first half to build a 17-14 advantage before scoring a pair of touchdowns in the second half. CSP rushed for 211 yards, including 6.4 per carry in the setback, but passes for just 91 yards.
•Sophomore quarterback Reed Styer started last week's game and in two appearances this season has completed 18 of 33 pass attempts for 141 yards and one interception. He entered the season opener midway through the fourth quarter.
•Senior quarterback Conner Cordts started the season opener and completed 10 of 20 passes for 91 yards with three interceptions.
•Senior running back Jaylin Richardson has rushed for 198 yards and one touchdown on 34 carries. He gained 131 yards in last week's loss to WSU.
•Senior wide receiver Peter Uboibok has caught six passes for 46 yards, while junior wide receiver Troy Ellison has four receptions for 51 yards.
•Senior linebacker Brayden Hilgemann has 12 tackles and the team's lone interception.
•Senior safety Cyrus McClure has a team-leading 17 tackles.