THIS WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University football team (1-7, 0-7 NSIC, 0-3 NSIC South), following a road game,  a bye week and another road game, returns home this Saturday for a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division game versus No. 3/5 Minnesota State University (8-0, 7-0 NSIC, 4-0 NSIC South) at Mattke Field at The Schwan Regional Event Center with kickoff set for 12 p.m.
•SMSU will be looking to snap a seven-game losing skid since opening the season with a non-conference home victory over Valley City State (N.D.). SMSU will also be searching for its first-ever win over MSU with the Mavericks holding a 22-0 all-time series advantage.
•MSU, No. 3 in this week's D2Football.com Top 25 poll and No. 5 in the AFCA Top 25 poll, is ranked No. 3 in the NCAA NPI Super Region 3 rankings released on Sunday. The Mavericks are the lone unbeaten team remaining in the NSIC and one of 10 in Division II. 
•Saturday's game will be the fifth for SMSU interim head coach, Levi Bullerman, who was named to the position on Sept. 20 following the retirement of head coach, Scott Underwood.   
•SMSU begins the week ranked No. 1 in Division II in fewest penalty yards per game. 

BROADCAST INFO
•Saturday's game will be broadcast on 105.1 FM KARL with 14th-year SMSU play-by-play voice Ryan Rohlik. 
•Live stats, radio broadcast (free) and video ($) can be found at SMSUmustangs.com.

SMSU INTERIM HEAD COACH LEVI BULLERMAN
•Levi Bullerman was named interim head coach on Sept. 20 and is 0-3 during his tenure. He is in his ninth season on the SMSU coaching staff and fifth as defensive coordinator. He also coaches the team's linebackers.
•He played linebacker at SMSU from 2005-09, where he was a four-year letter winner and three-year starter, playing in 44 games with 154 tackles and three interceptions. He served as team captain in 2009.
•Bullerman took over for Scott Underwood, who retired as head coach on Sept. 20. Underwood was in his fifth season as head coach with a record of 8-40. He was named the program's 11th head coach on Jan. 7, 2022. 

SMSU vs. MSU Series Notes
SMSU and MSU meet for the 23rd time with MSU leading 22-0 in a series that began on Sept. 4, 1971 ... MSU won last season, 42-7, in Mankato ... MSU has been ranked in the Top 20 in nine of the last 12 meetings ... MSU is 9-0 all-time in games played in Marshall ... Saturday's game will be MSU's first in Marshall since 2021 ... Saturday's game will be the 20th time the two schools have met as members of the same conference ... SMSU has been held to 17 or less points in 14 of the 22 games ... MSU has scored 30 or more points in the last 17 meetings.  
  
The Last Time - SMSU vs. MSU
Minnesota State, ranked No. 18/21 nationally, opened a 13-7 halftime lead with 35 second half points with the MSU defense recording three interceptions, to earn a 48-7 victory over SMSU on Nov 1., 2025. MSU scored three touchdowns on plays of 46 or more yards in the first three quarters and also added an interception return for a touchdown to pull away in the second half. MSU rushed for 337 yards on 52 carries and closed the game with 493 yards and 25 first downs. SMSU ended the game with 286 yards of offense with 15 first downs. Josiah Hedensten paced the Mustangs with a career-high 18 tackles. SMSU's Macloud Crowton completed 28 of 39 passes for 278 yards but was intercepted three times and sacked three times. Colin Maher, David Ola-Kazeem and Jacob Honstetter each finished with four receptions. Maher closed with a game-high 86 yards receiving.

SMSU vs. MSU Series Information
Overall:    MSU leads 22-0
In Marshall:    MSU leads 9-0
In Mankato:    MSU leads 13-0
Last SMSU win:    -
Last MSU win:    Nov. 1, 2025 (42-7)
Largest win for SMSU:    -
Largest win for MSU:    52 (52-0, 2021)
Longest win streak for SMSU:    -
Longest win streak for MSU:     21 (1971-present)
Current win streak:     MSU, 22
Bullerman vs. Minnesota State:    0-0
Hoffner vs. SMSU:    14-0

SMSU OPENING DRIVE TIDBITS
•SMSU ranks first in Division II in fewest penalty yards per game (28.1).
•Sophomore linebacker Hunter Hanegraaf ranks sixth in the country in tackles for loss (1.6) and 52nd in tackles (8.4). 
•SMSU rushed for a season-high 151 yards in last week's loss at Augustana.
•Sophomore quarterback Tommy Hoffman rushed for a career-high 53 yards on 13 carries last week.  
•Hoffman made his first career start on Oct. 10 at Sioux Falls and completed 17 of 36 passes for 233 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He also rushed for 36 yards and one touchdown.  
•Junior quarterback Drew Kluender made his second start of the season last week at Augustana, completing 5 of 11 passes for 20 yards. Kluender completed 26 of 43 passes for a career-high 314 yards and three touchdown passes in his first start of the season versus Wayne State on Sept. 26, but missed the Minnesota Duluth and Sioux Falls games with an injury. 
•Freshman wide receiver Cooper Murphy caught a career-high six passes for a career-best 144 yards and two touchdowns to Wayne State on Sept. 26. Murphy is the first SMSU player to have more than 100 yards receiving in a game since Colin Maher on Oct. 25, 2025.  
•SMSU had seven players on defense and three on offense make their first career collegiate starts in the victory over Valley City State on Aug. 27. 
•The SMSU defense, which recorded a pair of interceptions in the season-opening win over Valley City State, limited VCSU to 26 yards rushing. It was the first time SMSU held an opponent to less than 50 yards rushing since the final game of the 2009 season. 
•Crowton started at quarterback in the season-opening victory versus VCSU. It was the first time since 2018 that SMSU had the same quarterback start the first game of the season in back-to-back seasons. Blake Gimbel was the last Mustang to start back-to-back season openers in 2017 and 2018. 

SMSU SEASON NUMBERS
•Sophomore running back Josh Lancifort leads SMSU in rushing with 215 yards on 74 carries.
•Senior wide receiver Tryg Auten has caught a team-high 33 passes for 299 yards.
•Freshman wide receiver Cooper Murphy ranks second with 21 receptions for 277 yards and two touchdowns.
•Senior wide receiver David Ola-Kazeem has amassed 18 catches for 194 yards. 
•Sophomore quarterback Tommy Hoffman has played in four games with one start and has completed 43 of 75 passes for 524 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions. 
•Junior quarterback Drew Kluender has played in four games making two starts and has completed 38 of 73 passes for 432 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions. 
•Fifth year quarterback Macloud Crowton, who has started five games, has completed 63 of 124 passes for 559 yards with five interceptions. 
•Junior safety Keegan Patterson leads the team with three interceptions.
•Sophomore linebacker Hunter Hanegraaf has racked up a team-high 67 tackles with 13 for loss. 
•Senior linebacker Aiden Planer ranks second on the squad with 47 tackles, including eight for loss.
•Sophomore linebacker Jack Meier is third on the team with 40 tackles. 
•Fifth year defensive end Avery Johnson is third on the team with six tackles for loss. 

SMSU & MSU IN THE 2026 NCAA RANKINGS
•The following is where SMSU and MSU rank in this week's NCAA statistics.
             (159 teams ranked)     SMSU    MSU     
             Scoring Offense    158th    18th
             Rushing Offense    154th    11th    
             Passing Offense    98th    103rd    
             Total Offense    144th    26th     
             Scoring Defense    127th    3rd
             Rushing Defense    126th    7th 
             Pass Defense    131st    41st 
             Pass Efficiency Defense    117th     9th
             Total Defense    140th    11th     
             Net Punting     94th    74th 
             Punt Returns     61st     119th
             Kickoff Returns     127th    25th    
             Turnover Margin     155th     12th
             Fewest Penalty Yards/Gm.     1st      20th     
             Time of Possession     140th    47th 
             3rd Down Conversions     156th    4th
             3rd Down Conversion Defense    109th    54th

TEAM CAPTAINS FOR 2026
•The SMSU football leadership council and team will select four game captains each week for the 2026 season.

THE 2026 SMSU ROSTER
•The SMSU roster (as of Oct. 27) features 111 players with nine fifth-year players, 11 seniors, 28 juniors, 29 sophomores and 34 freshmen. 

TURNOVER MARGIN BY THE NUMBERS
•SMSU is 'minus-13' in turnover margin on the season ranking 155th in Division II. 
•SMSU was 'plus-1' in the win over Valley City State, but have been 'minus' or 'even' in each of the next seven games. (see chart on page 3)
•SMSU finished 'minus-9' in turnover margin last season.
•The SMSU defense forced a least one turnover in every game last season and forced two or more in six games.

MUSTANGS IN THE 'ZONE'
•SMSU has scored on 7 of 17 trips (41.1) inside the red zone this season with four touchdowns and three field goals. 
•SMSU has failed to score in 10 red zone trips with four missed field goals, four turnover on downs, one fumble and one end of game. 
•SMSU opponents are 29 of 35 (82.8) in the red zone with 23 touchdowns and six 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    20 of 33 (60.6)    17    3
    2023    17 of 30 (56.6)    14    3
    2024    7 of 14 (50.0)    5    2
    2025    19 of 25 (76.0)    15    4
    2026    7 of 17 (41.1)    4    3

LONG PLAYS FOR THE MUSTANGS
•SMSU has recorded 33 offensive/defensive plays or kick/punt returns of 20 or more yards this season with 21 coming from the offense (3 run, 18 pass).
•Drew Kluender's 53-yard pass to Cooper Murphy versus Wayne State is the longest play of the season.
•Emmanuel Diers has the longest rush from scrimmage, 26 yards, versus Minnesota Duluth. 
•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    48    6    7    15    18    1    6    1
    2025    55    5    2    34    19    0    0    0
    2026    33    4    3    18    10    0    2    0

2026 NSIC PRESEASON POLL
•SMSU was picked to finish 14th overall and seventh in the NSIC South Division in the annual 14-team NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll. 
•Mustang senior quarterback Macloud Crowton and senior defensive lineman Avery Johnson were tabbed a 'Player to Watch' in the NSIC.

MUSTANGS AT HOME
•The 2026 season is the 18th year that Mattke Field at The Schwan Regional Event Center has served as the home for SMSU football. 
•SMSU is 33-65 all-time at the stadium, including 1-3 this season. SMSU's season opening win over Valley City State snapped an 11-game home losing streak. 
•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
•Since the 2016 season, SMSU is 11-43 in road games, including 0-4 this season.
•SMSU's last season with a winning road record occurred in 2015 (5-1). 

SMSU VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS
•SMSU is 1-35 all-time versus Division II Top 25 teams, including 0-1 this season after losing at home to No. 19 Minnesota Duluth on Oct. 3.
•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 23-35 all-time in season openers after defeating Valley City State to open the 2026 campaign. 
•SMSU is 2-7 in its last nine home openers defeating VCSU this season and Concordia-St. Paul in 2022. 

MUSTANG HISTORY
•The 2026 season is the 59th year of college football at SMSU and 58th season of competition (2020 was canceled) dating to 1968.
•SMSU owns an all-time record of 211-386-5, including 148-286-5 in conference play. 
•SMSU has recorded 10 winning seasons with two NAIA playoff appearances (1987 and 1991) and one Mineral Water Bowl appearance (2013). SMSU's last winning season came in 2015. 
•The program earned its lone conference championship in 1990.

SCOUTING MINNESOTA STATE
•Todd Hoffner is in his 17th season as head coach and has a record of 160-41 with seven league titles and 11 NCAA tournament appearances. MSU has made the NCAA playoffs in each of the past four seasons. He has a career record of 202-69 following six seasons at Wisconsin-Eau Claire. 
•The Mavericks are coming off a 35-0 home victory over Wayne State last Saturday afternoon.
•The MSU defense has not allowed more than 17 points in a game this season. 
•Junior running back Sam Backer leads the Maverick rushing attack with 567 yards and eight touchdowns, while junior running back Carter Henderson has tallied 495 yards and two touchdowns.
•Junior quarterback Mitchell Thompson has passed for 613 yards and five touchdowns, while rushing for 428 yards and 10 touchdowns. 
•Sophomore quarterback Maximus Sims has completed 55 of 102 passes for 813 yards and six touchdowns. 
•Redshirt freshman wide receiver El Staley has tallied a team-high 19 receptions with a team-high 264 receiving yards and two touchdowns. 
•Senior linebacker Nathan Drumm has amassed a team-high 41 tackles, while senior defensive lineman Jack Hawkinson has recorded 11 tackles for loss with eight sacks, which ranks third in Division II.