What Happened & What's Ahead: The seventh-ranked Minnesota State football team (8-0, 8-0 NSIC), closes out the road portion of its schedule this weekend as it travels to Wayne State College for a 1 p.m., contest against the Wildcats. Last weekend, the Mavericks earned a 30-20 win at Winona State.
A Little History Lesson: The 2012 season marked the school's 86th season playing football. The Mavericks are 390-375-28 (.509) in 793 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 40-7 (.851) 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 9-0 record, joining the 2009 squad as the only other team to do so...It would also mark the 391st win in program history and the 41st win for the Mavericks since becoming members of the NSIC in 2008...A win would be MSU's fifth win all-time against Wayne State and its third in the city of Wayne, Neb.
A Little Bit About Our Opponent: Wayne State enters the weekend owners of a 5-3 record. Last weekend, the Wildcats snapped a two-game losing streak with a 48-21 victory at Concordia.
As a team, Wayne State is averaging 28 points per game while giving up 19.8. The Wildcats are averaging 184 yards per game on the ground while its opponents are averaging 120.5. Through the air, WSC averages 167.2 yards per contest and gives up 243.4 for a total offense output per game of 351.2 compared to 363.9.
Senior running back Nick Pulscher leads the team on the ground with 118 carries for 595 yards, averaging 74.4 yards per game and five yards a carry in addition to seven touchdowns. Junior signal-caller Nate Most has completed 68-of-143 passes for 981 yards and eight touchdowns against six interceptions and is averaging 122.6 yards per game. Senior wideout Kevin Paulson has a team-high 33 catches for 423 yards and five touchdowns and is averaging 52.9 yards per agme and 12.8 yards per catch.
Defensively, junior defensive back Austan Pomajzl leads the team with 75 tackles and three interceptions while senior defensive lineman Jeff Pokorny has 61 stops, including 12.5 for a loss and senior linebacker Benjamin Perry has 54 tackles. The Wildcats are coached by Dan McLaughlin who is in his 51-36 during his eight season with the program.
Series Notes: Minnesota State leads the all-time series, 4-0 and is 2-0 against the Wildcats in the city of Wayne...The Mavericks are averaging 19.5 points per game against WSC in Wayne while giving up 12...Last year MSU won 45-23 against the Wildcats in Mankato and the closest game in the series came on Sept. 19, 2009 when MSU won 37-34 in double-overtime in Blakeslee Stadium...Wayne State head coach Dan McLaughlin was MSU’s offensive coordinator in 2004 and the Wildcat Athletic Director Mike Powicki was an Assistant AD at MSU from 2008 till this past July.
Rank 'Em: The
Minnesota State football team is ranked seventh in the AFCA poll (found
HERE), second in the d2football.com poll (found
HERE) and is first in the NCAA Super Region Poll (found
HERE).
To view a complete version of the release, click
HERE
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Team Comparison (League Rank)
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Minnesota State
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Category
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Wayne State
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220.8 (2nd)
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Rushing Offense
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184.0 (3rd)
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173.0 (14th)
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Passing Offense
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167.2 (15th)
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393.8 (8th)
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Total Offense
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351.2 (12th)
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34.6 (4th)
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Scoring Offense
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28.0 (9th)
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63.1 (1st)
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Rushing Defense
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120.5 (4th)
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183.2 (1st)
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Passing Defense
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243.4 (12th)
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246.4 (1st)
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Total Defense
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363.9 (7th)
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14.5 (1st)
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Scoring Defense
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19.8 (3rd)
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38.9 (10th)
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3rd Down Conversion %
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26.7 (15th)
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33:36 (1st)
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Time of Possession
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26:37 (14th)
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