THIS WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University football team (1-8, 0-8 NSIC, 0-4 NSIC South) plays its final road game of the season this Saturday versus Concordia-St. Paul (3-6, 2-6 NSIC, 0-4 NSIC South) at Sea Foam Stadium in St. Paul, Minn. The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division is slated to kickoff at 12 p.m.
•SMSU will be looking to snap an eight-game losing skid since opening the season with a non-conference home victory over Valley City State (N.D.).
•This will be SMSU's first visit to St. Paul since the 2021 season following three straight games between the two schools played in Marshall. 
•Saturday's game will be the sixth 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. SMSU did not commit a penalty in last week's home loss to Minnesota State. It was the first time SMSU did not commit a penalty since the 2009 season. 

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 vs. CSP Series Notes
SMSU and CSP meet for the 28th time with CSP leading 15-12 in a series that started on Sept. 15, 1979 ... CSP is 15-10 since joining the NSIC in 1999 ... SMSU holds a 5-4 advantage in St. Paul, including 2-2 at Sea Foam Stadium ... this will be the first meeting in St. Paul since the 2021 season ... the last three games have been played in Marshall ... the series is tied 6-6 since 2012, but CSP has won the last two meetings, including 19-14 last season in Marshall ... SMSU won the first three meetings in the series before CSP won six straight from 2000-05 ... SMSU has been held to 20 or less points in six of the last seven games.    
  
The Last Time - SMSU vs. CSP
Concordia-St. Paul scored the go-ahead touchdown midway through the fourth quarter to rally and earn a 19-14 victory over SMSU on Nov. 8, 2025. The win snapped a six-game skid for CSP, while SMSU suffered its eighth straight loss. On a cold and windy day, both offensive units struggled with CSP closing with 296 yards of offense and 13 first downs. CSP gained 99 yards on a two-play drive, which included a 91-yard rushing touchdown. SMSU finished with 220 yards and 12 first downs. Mustang starting quarterback Macloud Crowton completed 6 of 8 passes for 76 yards but left the game with an injury following an interception late in the first quarter. Drew Kluender came in relief and completed 11 of 29 pass attempts for 107 yards and one touchdown. Tryg Auten caught four passes for 80 yards and one touchdown for the Mustangs, while Jacob Honstetter caught five passes for 22 yards. The CSP rushing attack with strong with 252 yards on 47 attempts with Joel Lacy closing with 143 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries, including a 91-yard touchdown run. Daniel Hornacek rushed for 129 yards on 24 carries.

SMSU vs. CSP Series Information
Overall:    CSP leads 15-12
In Marshall:    CSP leads 8-6
In St. Paul:    SMSU leads 5-4
Neutral:    CSP leads 3-1
Last SMSU win:    Sept. 10, 2022 (14-6)
Last CSP win:    Nov. 8, 2025 (19-14)
Largest win for SMSU:    44 (44-0, 1999)
Largest win for CSP:    42 (63-21, 2004)
Longest win streak for SMSU:    3 (1979-1999 & 2006-08)
Longest win streak for CSP:    6 (2000-05)
Current win streak:    CSP, 2
Bullerman vs. CSP:    0-0
Schumacher vs. SMSU:    0-0

SMSU INTERIM HEAD COACH LEVI BULLERMAN
•Levi Bullerman was named interim head coach on Sept. 20 and is 0-5 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 OPENING DRIVE TIDBITS
•SMSU ranks first in Division II in both fewest penalty yards per game (25.0) and fewest penalties (32). 
•SMSU was not called for penalty in last week's loss to Minnesota State. It was the first time since the 2009 season SMSU did not commit a penalty in a game. 
•Sophomore linebacker Hunter Hanegraaf ranks 11th in the country in tackles for loss (1.5) and 40th in tackles (8.6). He also ranks third in the NSIC (league games only) in tackles (8.5) and tackles for loss (1.3). 
•Senior linebacker Aiden Planer ranks ninth in the NSIC in tackles for loss (0.8) and 10th in tackles (6.6). 
•Junior safety Keegan Patterson begins the week ranked second in the NSIC with three interceptions in eight conference games. He has a team-leading four interceptions in nine games. 
•Sophomore running back Josh Lancifort scored his first career touchdown last week with an 8-yard reception. 
•Sophomore cornerback Bryan Wright recorded a career-high six tackles last week. 
•Sophomore running back Emmanuel Diers broke free for a 33-yard run last week vesus MSU marking the longest rush from scrimmage for SMSU. 
•Fifth year Avery Johnson and sophomore Jack Meier combined to force an intentional grounding in the end zone for a safety in last week's game versus MSU. SMSU's last safety occurred last season versus UMary. 
•Sophomore quarterback Tommy Hoffman made his second career start in last week's game versus MSU. 
•SMSU rushed for a season-high 151 yards in on Oct. 24 loss at Augustana.
•Freshman wide receiver Cooper Murphy caught a career-high six passes for a career-best 144 yards and two touchdowns versus 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.  
•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. 
•Fifth year Macloud 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 222 yards on 81 carries.
•Senior wide receiver Tryg Auten has caught a team-high 36 passes for a team-leading 345 yards.
•Freshman wide receiver Cooper Murphy ranks second with 25 receptions for 310 yards and two touchdowns.
•Senior wide receiver David Ola-Kazeem has amassed 20 catches for 211 yards. 
•Sophomore quarterback Tommy Hoffman has played in five games with two starts and has completed 57 of 101 passes for 698 yards with three touchdowns and six 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 played in six games with five starts, has completed 68 of 133 passes for 625 yards with five interceptions. 
•Junior safety Keegan Patterson leads the team with four interceptions.
•Sophomore linebacker Hunter Hanegraaf has racked up a team-high 77 tackles with 13.5 for loss. 
•Senior linebacker Aiden Planer ranks second on the squad with 55 tackles, including eight for loss.
•Sophomore linebacker Jack Meier is third on the team with 44 tackles and has amassed seven tackles for loss.  
•Fifth year defensive end Avery Johnson is fourth on the team with 6.5 tackles for loss. 

SMSU & CSP IN THE 2026 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. 
             (159 teams ranked)     SMSU    CSP     
             Scoring Offense    159th    123rd
             Rushing Offense    156th    137th    
             Passing Offense    94th    81st    
             Total Offense    147th    126th     
             Scoring Defense    134th    139th
             Rushing Defense    122nd    148th 
             Pass Defense    136th    87th 
             Pass Efficiency Defense    121st     119th
             Total Defense    143rd    139th     
             Net Punting     93rd    67th 
             Punt Returns     66th     67th
             Kickoff Returns     119th    96th    
             Turnover Margin     154th     45th
             Fewest Penalty Yards/Gm.     1st      62nd     
             Time of Possession     139th    127th 
             3rd Down Conversions     154th    122nd
             3rd Down Conversion Defense    106th    157th

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 Nov. 3) features 110 players with nine fifth-year players, 11 seniors, 28 juniors, 29 sophomores and 33 freshmen. 

TURNOVER MARGIN BY THE NUMBERS
•SMSU is 'minus-13' in turnover margin on the season ranking 154th 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 eight games. (see chart on page 3)
•SMSU has forced a least one turnover in eight of nine games this season.
•SMSU finished 'minus-9' in turnover margin last season.

MUSTANGS IN THE 'ZONE'
•SMSU has scored on 8 of 20 trips (40.0) inside the red zone this season with five touchdowns and three field goals. 
•SMSU has failed to score in 12 red zone trips with six turnover on downs, four missed field goals, one fumble and one end of game. 
•SMSU opponents are 31 of 39 (79.4) in the red zone with 25 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    8 of 20 (40.0)    5    3

LONG PLAYS FOR THE MUSTANGS
•SMSU has recorded 40 offensive/defensive plays or kick/punt returns of 20 or more yards this season with 26 coming from the offense (4 run, 22 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, 33 yards, versus Minnesota 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    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    40    4    4    22    12    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 33-66 all-time at the stadium, including 1-4 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 1-36 all-time versus Division II Top 25 teams, including 0-2 this season after losing at home to No. 19 Minnesota Duluth on Oct. 3 and No. 3/5 Minnesota State at home on Oct. 31.
•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 211-387-5, including 148-287-5 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 CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL
•Joshua Schumacher is in his first season as head coach after spending eight seasons as head coach at Concordia Ann Arbor (Mich.) compiling a record of 59-25 from 2017-24. He spent the 2025 season as associate head coach/special teams & linebackers coach at Saginaw Valley State (Mich.) 
•The Golden Bears have lost four in a row and are coming off a 54-14 road loss to Wayne State last Saturday.
•Fifth year running back Joel Lacy leads the Golden Bears rushing attack with 347 yards and four touchdowns on 79 carries. Sophomore running back BJ Davis has amassed 332 yards and four touchdowns on 65 carries. 
•Sophomore quarterback Lincoln Graf has passed for 1,797 yards and 15 touchdowns with just three interceptions. He has completed 178 of 289 pass attempts 
•Lacy has tallied a team-high 39 receptions with a team-high 368 receiving yards and four touchdowns. 
•Junior linebacker Jonas Barros has amassed a team-high 70 tackles including a team-leading 6.5 for loss.
•Sophomore safety Aydin Buchanan has registered 44 tackles with one interception.