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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.
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.