Photo by Jake McNeill: Southwest Minnesota State University linebacker Aiden Planer (35) celebrates a safety while jogging off the field with defensive back Kaden Lunsford (24) and Cam Enright (33) during a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football game against UMary on Saturday at Mattke Field in Marshall. SMSU goes on the road to take on Wayne State (Neb.) on Saturday.

WAYNE, Neb. — The Southwest Minnesota State University football team will look to bounce back from a tough second half against UMary last week when it goes on the road to take on Wayne State (Neb.) for a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference matchup on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Mustangs kept the game close at halftime but allowed 26 unanswered points in the second half, giving the team room for improvement this time around.

​Rewind to last week

Jacob Honstetter scored his first touchdown of the season against UMary with five minutes left in the first quarter, capping off a 96-yard scoring drive and giving SMSU a 7-0 lead heading into the second frame.

Yet, those points were the last offensive points the Mustangs scored on the day. The only other SMSU points came when Aiden Planer pushed the UMary punter out of the back of the end zone for a safety following a bad long snap, and UMary closed the game on a 40-2 scoring run.

Defense shows promise

Defensively, SMSU has continued to look like a strong unit, particularly early in games. The Mustangs have allowed a total of 13 first-quarter points through the season’s first three games, including none in their last two.

As the game progresses, however, the Mustang offense’s inability to put together long drives consistently has worn out the defense. SMSU has given up an average of 8.3 points per quarter across the last three quarters of each game, including 11.7 in the second quarter.

Against the run, SMSU has been effective, ranking second in the NSIC with 3.2 yards per attempt allowed. Parker Knutson has also been impactful in the secondary, with his five interceptions leading all of Division II. No other player has more than three.

Yet, the Mustangs’ passing defense as a whole has struggled, giving up an average of 9.6 yards per attempt to rank second-to-last in the NSIC.

The absence of the team’s 2024 sack leader Avery Johnson with an upper-body injury has contributed to the Mustangs’ inability to rush the passer. SMSU’s four sacks rank ninth in the NSIC, but their 10 sack yards rank last.

Wayne goes ground and pound

Through its first four games of the season, Wayne State ranks third in the NSIC with 188.5 rushing yards per game.

The Wildcats’ ground attack is led by Dawson Forgy, a junior running back who has amassed a league-leading 508 rushing yards for an average of 127 per game. His 5.8 yards per attempt on 87 carries ranks second in the NSIC among players with 10 or more carries per game, and his five rushing touchdowns trail only Minnesota Duluth quarterback Kyle Walljasper’s six.

Last week against Minnesota State University-Moorhead, Forgy ran for 223 yards to lead the Wildcats to a 27-17 win. Forgy’s total was the most by an NSIC player since 2014.

Defensively, the Wildcats have also been effective at stopping the run. Their 109 rush yards allowed per game ranks second in the conference, and their 3.3 yards per attempt allowed trails only SMSU’s 3.2 and Minnesota Duluth’s 3.0. ​

Establishing the run

Through three games, advancing the ball on the ground has been a struggle for SMSU. Gaps for the running backs have been few and far between, and the team ranks last in the NSIC with 45 rush yards per game and 1.5 rush yards per attempt as a result. No other team in the conference averages fewer than 2.5 yards per attempt, and only one other averages fewer than 3.4 per attempt.

Tariq Parker has emerged as a potential boost to the Mustangs’ run game as of late. He received just one attempt in the season-opener and got little work in the first half of last week’s game in week 3. Yet, he put together strong performances in the absence of Honstetter in week 2 and showed flashes when given opportunity in the second half of week 3.

Parker has accounted for 106 of the Mustangs’ 135 rushing yards on the season while getting just 29 of the team’s 90 carries. His 3.7 yards per attempt also puts him well ahead of the team average, and he’s shown explosive athleticism with plays such as when he hurdled a UMary tackler for a 14-yard gain last week.

Passing shows progress

In the first half of last week’s loss to UMary, the Mustangs showed more promise in the air attack. Leading the way, Colin Maher had another big receiving game with eight catches for 107 yards, making him responsible for more than half of Macloud Crowton’s passing yards. It was Maher’s first time reaching 100 receiving yards in a game.

Yet, the wheels fell off the wagon for the Mustangs in the second half. Crowton threw three interceptions after the break, and UMary capitalized to continue pulling away. Still, the Mustangs showed the potential to be effective offensively if they are able to harness the efficiency they showed in the first half.

Looking to stop the slide

Wayne State has won eight consecutive games against SMSU, including a 41-7 win over the Mustangs in Marshall last season. SMSU hasn’t defeated the Wildcats since 2015, when they claimed a 61-3 win in Wayne. SMSU hasn’t scored more than 16 points against the Wildcats in the last seven games. ​

Where to watch

Tickets for Saturday’s 1 p.m. kickoff at Memorial Stadium in Wayne, Neb. are available on WSCwildcats.com. General admission tickets are going for $11, senior tickets for $9 and K-12 student tickets for $6.

Ryan Rohlik continues his 13th season as the Mustangs’ radio play-by-play voice on 105.1 FM KARL, while live video and stats can be found online at SMSUmustangs.com.