What Happened & What's Ahead: The ninth-ranked Minnesota State football team (7-0, 7-0 NSIC), returns to the road this weekend as it travels to Winona State for the marquee match-up in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The Mavericks, who were victorious last weekend thanks to a 34-31 double overtime win against Southwest Minnesota State, and the Warriors are the only two undefeated teams in the NSIC South Division. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m., at Verizon Wireless Field.
A Little History Lesson: The 2012 season marked the school's 86th season playing football. The Mavericks are 389-375-28 (.509) in 792 games since their inception as a varsity sport in 1922. Minnesota State is in its fourth season in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and owns a 39-7 (.848) record in league action. Over the course of its history, MSU has claimed 17 conference championships, including 15 NIC titles.
What's in a Win: A win would mark the second time in program history that MSU has started the season with a 8-0 record, joining the 2009 squad as the only other team to do so...It would also mark the 390th win in program history and the 40th win for the Mavericks since becoming members of the NSIC in 2008...A win would be MSU's 32nd all-time victory against the Winona State...Finally, a victory would be the 31st in the collegiate coaching career of acting head coach
Aaron Keen.
A Little Bit About Our Opponent: Winona State enters the weekend owners of a 6-1 record and the winners of its last five games. Last weekend, the Warriors earned a 17-13 victory at Wayne State.
The Warriors are averaging 31.4 points per game while their opponents are scoring 23.3. On the ground WSU is averaging 180 yards per game and it is throwing for 251, averaging 431 yards of total offense per contest. The Warriors are accustomed to a fast start as they have outscored their opponents by a 64-22 margin in the first quarter this season.
Offensively, WSU led by senior Rajon Simmons – who became the NSIC's all-time leading rusher last weekend – who has rushed 192 times for 1,036 yards and 11 touchdowns this season, averaging 148 yards per game and 5.4 yards per carry. Junior quarterback John Teigland has completed 113-of-119 passes for 1,552 yards and ten touchdowns – against eight interceptions – this season, averaging 221.7 yards per game. Teigland's favorite target this season has been senior wideout Sam Hertz who has caught 25 passes for 354 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 50.6 yards per game and 14.2 yards per catch. Behind Hertz, senior Tyler Speer has caught 24 passes for 396 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 56.6 yards per game and 16.5 yards per catch.
Defensively, senior safety Ryan Williams leads the team with 51 tackles, including five for a loss to go with an interception, four pass break-ups and a pair of fumble recoveries. Sophomore linebacker Ryan Gerts has added 34 tackles while sophomore linebacker Morgan Weaver has 33 stops.
The Warriors are coached by Tom Sawyer who is 137-54 in his 16th season with the Warriors.
Series Notes: Minnesota State leads the all-time series, 31-16-4...MSU's worst loss to the Warriors came in a 32-0 defeat on Oct. 23, 1925 while its largest win against WSU came in a 36-6 victory on Nov. 10, 1979...The most points the Mavericks have allowed to Winona State is 43 on Oct. 10, 2010 while 36 points scored on Nov. 10, 1979 is the most yielded by WSU...MSU is 22-12 all-time in October against the Warriors and 15-10-2 in the city of Winona...Both teams have been shut out a combined 18 times in the series, with MSU posting 11 shutouts, Winona State five and two games ending in a 0-0 draw...Junior kicker
Sam Brockshus has booted seven extra points in his career against Winona State but has yet to nail a field goal...Last season running back
Andy Pfeiffer rushed 23 times for 101 yards against the Warriors while averaging 4.4 yards per rush...Senior wideout
Adam Thielen has played in three career games against WSU and has 12 catches for 132 yards and a touchdown, averaging 44 yards per game and 11 yards per catch...A year ago, Thielen caught six passes for 70 yards and a touchdown...Junior quarterback
Jon Wolf has rushed eight times in two games for 33 yards and is 2-of-5 passing for 41 yards in his career against Winona State.
In the Polls: The Minnesota State football team climbed to #9 in this week's American Football Coaches Association Top-25 poll (found
HERE) and moved to #2 in this week's D2football.com Top-25 poll (found
HERE).
To view the complete version of the notes, click
HERE
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Team Comparison (League Rank)
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MSU
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Category
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WSU
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231.6 (2nd)
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Rushing Offense
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180.0 (4th)
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165.7 (14th)
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Passing Offense
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251.0 (7th)
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397.3 (8th)
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Total Offense
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431.0 (4th)
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35.3 (4th)
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Scoring Offense
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31.4 (6th)
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64.0 (1st)
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Rushing Defense
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136.4 (8th)
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164.0 (1st)
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Passing Defense
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224.7 (8th)
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228.0 (1st)
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Total Defense
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361.1 (5th)
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13.7 (1st)
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Scoring Defense
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23.3 (5th)
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38.9 (T8th)
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3rd Down Conversion %
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38.9 (T8th)
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33:40 (1st)
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Time of Possession
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31:24 (5th)
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