SMSU football returns home to face undefeated NSU in the annual Ag Bowl on Saturday night

All notes courtesy of SMSU athletics communications.

THIS WEEK

•The Southwest Minnesota State University football team (1-1, 0-1 NSIC) returns home on Saturday night to face undefeated Northern State University (2-0, 1-0 NSIC) for the annual Ag Bowl with kickoff slated for 5 p.m. at Mattke Field at The Schwan Regional Event Center.

•SMSU, which suffered a 38-0 road loss to Bemidji State last Saturday, will look to snap a four-game losing streak to Northern State and earn its first victory over the Wolves since the 2018 season.

•SMSU’s season-opening victory over Valley City State snapped an 11-game home losing skid.

•NSU is 2-0 on the season following a non-conference home victory over Chadron State on Aug. 27, before opening NSIC play last Thursday at home with a 31-16 win over Winona State. The 2-0 start is NSU’s first since the 2003 season. The Wolves have not committed a turnover in either game. NSU senior running back Hank Kraft was named D2Football.com’s national offensive player of the week on Tuesday after rushing for 247 yards and three touchdowns versus WSU. Kraft enters the game ranked first in Division II in all purpose yards and rushing yards.

•A preview of NSU is located on page 4.

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.

ANNUAL AG BOWL

•Saturday’s 19th annual Ag Bowl concludes a day of celebration of agriculture in Minnesota and features numerous events for both kids and adults prior to the game.

•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 is 6-12 all-time in Ag Bowl games (no game in 2020) and will be playing NSU for the second time.

All-Time Ag Bowl Results

2007 Concordia-St. Paul W, 24-19

2008 Black Hills State L, 14-21

2009 Black Hills State W, 55-10

2010 Wayne State L, 20-38

2011 UMary W, 48-45

2012 UMary L, 24-43

2013 St. Cloud State L, 35-49

2014 Northern State L, 43-46

2015 Bemidji State W, 34-30

2016 Wayne State L, 39-41

2017 Minot State W, 28-20

2018 Wayne State L, 14-23

2019 Minnesota State L, 23-38

2020 no game

2021 UMary L, 23-45

2022 Concordia-St. Paul W 14-6

2023 Bemidji State L 14-34

2024 Minot State L 9-42

2025 MSU Moorhead L 3-51

SMSU vs. NSU Series Notes

SMSU and NSU meet for the 41st time with NSU leading 27-11-2 in a series that started on Sept. 20, 1980 … NSU leads, 9-8-1, in games played in Marshall, including winning the previous match-up in Marshall, 24-17, in 2023 … NSU has won the last four meetings and six of the last seven since 2014 … NSU won last season, 55-23, in Aberdeen … NSU won 16 straight games in the series from 1992 to 2007, and holds a 7-5 advantage since the 2008 season … SMSU’s last victory in the series occurred on Oct. 20, 2018, in Marshall.

The Last Time – SMSU vs. NSU

Northern State scored on five straight possessions in the first half while also adding a blocked punt for a touchdown to build a 41-16 halftime advantage and go on to earn a 55-23 victory over SMSU on Oct. 18, 2025, in Aberdeen. SMSU finished the game with a season-high 28 first downs and rushed for a season-high 162 yards, while closing with 362 yards of offense. Wyatt Block led the Wolves with 117 yards rushing on eight attempts. NSU finished the game with 526 yards of offense with 269 on the ground and 25 first downs. The Wolves were 9 of 10 on third-down conversions, while the Mustangs were 5 of 16 on third-down, but did finish 4 of 5 on fourth-down conversions. SMSU’s Macloud Crowton completed 19 of 37 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns but was intercepted three times. He also rushed for 41 yards. Tryg Auten was his top target with a career-high seven receptions for a career-high 92 yards and two touchdowns. Jacob Honstetter rushed for a team-high 67 yards for the Mustangs, while Tariq Parker added 43 yards on the ground. SMSU senior linebacker Josiah Hedensten racked up a game-high 13 tackles.

SMSU vs. NSU Series Information

Overall: NSU leads 27-11-2

In Marshall: NSU leads 9-8-1

In Aberdeen: NSU leads 16-3-1

Neutral Record: NSU lead 2-0

Last SMSU win: Oct. 20, 2018 (35-7)

Last NSU win: Oct. 18, 2025 (55-23)

Largest win for SMSU: 37 (49-12, 1991)

Largest win for NSU: 39 (56-17, 2000)

Longest win streak for SMSU: 3 (1989-91 & 2008-10)

Longest win streak for NSU: 16 (1992-2007)

Current win streak: NSU, 4

Underwood vs. NSU: 6-9

Schmidt vs. SMSU: 4-0

SMSU OPENING DRIVE TIDBITS

•Junior Malachi Kohls recorded a career-high nine tackles in the loss at Bemidji State. Redshirt freshman Jett Olson also added a career-high tackles with eight.

•Freshman JR Vierstraete and senior Julius Brown each recorded their first career sacks in last week’s loss.

•Punter Kaleb Kirgan averaged 45.1 yards on 10 punts with a career long of 70 yards versus BSU.

•SMSU was limited to 57 yards of offense and three yards rushing in the setback at Bemidji State. SMSU was 0 for 14 on third-down conversions and is 3 for 29 on the season.

•BSU held a 40:51 to 19:09 time of possession advantage in the victory.

•Freshman Josh Lancifort leads SMSU in rushing with 67 yards on 19 carries.

•Junior Tryg Auten has caught a team-high 10 passes for 98 yards.

•Junior Keegan Patterson leads the team with two interceptions.

•Redshirt freshman Hunter Hanegraaf has racked up a team-high 15 tackles with four for loss.

•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 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.

•Senior 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 season opener in back-to-back seasons. Blake Gimbel was the last Mustang to start back-to-back season openers in 2017 and 2018.

•Junior Aiden Planer and junior Keegan Patterson each recorded their first career interceptions in the win over VCSU.

SCOUTING NORTHERN STATE

•Mike Schmidt is in his seventh season as head coach (2020 canceled) and has a record of 33-24. He has a career record of 60-37 as a head coach after spending four seasons at Wisconsin-LaCrosse with a record of 27-13.

•The Wolves are 2-0 overall, 1-0 NSIC, are averaging 276 yards rushing in victories over Chadron State and Winona State.

•Senior running back Hank Kraft has amassed 482 yards on 37 carries with six touchdowns, while also catching 11 passes for 79 yards and one touchdown.

•Senior linebacker Jack Adams was named NSIC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday recording 17 tackles, including five solo stops versus UMD.

•NSU has played two quarterbacks this season with senior Ty Englehart completing 16 of 25 passes for 235 yards with three touchdowns. Sophomore Joey Dube-Garrett has completed 15 of 29 passes for 115 yards with one touchdown.

•Junior wide out Cooper Eisenbeisz has three receptions for 107 yards and one touchdown.

•Senior linebacker Jake Adams leads the squad with 25 tackles.