Independent file photo SMSU’s Bailey Olson tries to escape a tackle during their Sept. 16, 2017 game against Minot State University. The Mustangs will face Wayne State College today in their annual Ag Bowl game.

MARSHALL - Southwest Minnesota State University (0-1, 0-1 NSIC South) opens its six-game home schedule today facing Wayne State College (0-1, 0-1 NSIC South) at Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center with kickoff slated for 6 p.m.

•Both teams lost their season openers on Aug. 30, with SMSU losing at No. 1 Minnesota State, 49-13, while Wayne State dropped a home match-up to No. 21 Winona State, 41-28.

ANNUAL AG BOWL – PRESENTED BY RALCO

•Today’s Ag Bowl game concludes a day of celebration of agriculture in Minnesota and features numerous events for both kids and adults.

•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 ALL-TIME

ON AG BOWL

•SMSU is 5-6 all-time in Ag Bowl games following last season’s 28-20 win over Minot State.

Broadcasts

Radio Broadcast: 105.1 FM KARL

Internet Radio: marshallradio.net

Internet Video Broadcast: SMSUmustangs.com/watchnow

Live Statistics: SMSUmustangs.com

SMSU vs. WSC

Series Notes

Southwest Minnesota State and Wayne State meet for the 30th time on Saturday with WSC leading 21-8 in a series that started on Nov. 1, 1969 … SMSU is 4-10 all-time in games played in Marshall … WSC has won the last two games played in Marshall … WSC has won the last two games in the series, including 20-6 last season in Wayne … WSC won the last game in Marshall, 41-39 during the 2016 season, stopping an SMSU two-point conversion with 1:12 left in the game … WSC had a seven-game winning streak in the series from 2005-11 … WSC has won 11 of the last 16 meetings since 2002 … SMSU has scored 39 or more points in five of the last six games, including 55 in 2013 and 61 in 2015.

SMSU coach Cory Sauter said they’re lots of excitement surrounding the team as they return home to play in front of their fans.

“I would say we have one of the best gameday environments in our conference. Our players certainly appreciate the support and I think the people of Marshall enjoy coming out and supporting the Mustangs and enjoying a good battle in the Northern Sun,” Sauter said. “We’re certainly excited to have that home crowd advantage and we’re certainly going to need it and take advantage of it.”

OPENING

DRIVE TIDBITS

•SMSU is looking to snap a nine-game losing streak that dates back to week four (Sept. 23) last season at Bemidji State. SMSU’s last victory came on Sept. 16 versus Minot State.

•SMSU ended the 2017 season losing its last eight games following a 2-1 start.

•SMSU has lost 10 straight NSIC South Division games dating back to the final two games of the 2016 season.

•SMSU lost 22 straight games from week two in 1975 to week seven in 1977.

•Senior Blake Gimbel needs six pass completions to become the third player in team history to reach 700 career completions.

•Gimble needs one more touchdown pass to move into sole possession of third place in team history with 60.

•Senior Alex Ney needs two more tackles to reach 200 in his career.

•SMSU was held without a touchdown versus Wayne State last season in Wayne. It was the first time SMSU was held without a touchdown since Nov. 15, 2014, versus Augustana.

SACHS MAKES START IN

BACKFIELD

•Redshirt freshman Trey Sachs made his first career start at running back and rushed for a team-high 33 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries on Thursday night. He also caught six passes for 38 yards.

MUSTANG

DEFENSE FORCING TURNOVERS/

SCORING

•The SMSU defense forced 22 turnovers last season ranking 52nd in Division II.

•SMSU recorded a season-high six turnovers with five interceptions in a week two road victory over MSU Moorhead.

•SMSU forced a turnover in 10 of 11 games and recorded two or more turnovers in seven games.

•The SMSU defense scored one touchdown last season with Hunter Cushman returning an interception 68 yards versus St. Cloud State. Cushman also had a 31-yard fumble return at MSU Moorhead but was tackled at the MSUM 1-yard line.

Sauter said defensively this week, they’ve been working on open-field tackling and making sure their players are in the right spots to make the necessary play.

“I think one of the things right away is being able to tackle in space. In your first game of the season, typically that’s one of your first times you’re going to be doing live tackling; in training camp, there’s a lot of tagging off defenders and not bringing them to the ground. So anytime you go from that to a true game, your players have to adapt and adjust and make plays,” Sauter said. “We’ve incorporated a few more not necessarily tackling drills but being able to get guys in difficult spaces to be able to make a play. We’ve been emphasizing that so our kids understand leverage and where they need to be and fit on that ballcarrier.”

ABOUT

WAYNE STATE

•Dan McLaughlin is in his 14th season as head coach at WSC and has a career record of 72-74. He is the all-time wins leader in WSC history and is the second-longest tenured coach in the NSIC.

•The Wildcats finished 6-5 last season, including placing fourth in the South Division with a 4-3 record.

•WSC opened its season with a 41-28 home loss to No. 21 Winona State on Aug. 30.

•WSC finished the game with 415 yards of offense, including 355 through the air.

•Junior quarterback Aaron Bleil completed 24 of 37 passes in the game with four touchdowns and two interceptions.

•Senior wide receiver Nate Rogers caught 11 passes for 195 yards and three touchdowns. He became the program’s all-time leader in touchdown receptions during the game and now has amassed 30 career touchdown receptions.

•Sophomore running back Marlon Warren rushed for a team-high 59 yards on 18 carries.

•Junior linebacker Tyler Thomsen racked up a team-high 12 tackles to pace the defense, while teammate defensive back Ian Ailts finished with nine stops with one for loss.

Sauter said both teams are going to be hungry to get that first win of the season under its belt, and it’s going to be a challenging matchup.

“They’re going to be hungry coming into this game; they’re 0-1 and we’re 0-1. They played really well against Winona State and really had a chance for it to be a ballgame, so they’re a very dangerous program,” Sauter said. “They’ve got a lot of strong kids, so we’re certainly going to have a huge challenge in front of us and I know they’re hungry for a victory and we’re hungry for a victory, but it’s about who’s going to out and earn that over the course of this weekend.”

Content courtesy

of SMSU Athletic

Communications