MANKATO, Minn. --- The #1 Minnesota State football team concludes its regular season road schedule on Saturday as it takes on the Wayne State Wildcats. The opening kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Our History: The 2014 season marks the school's 88th season playing football. The Mavericks are 415-377-28 (.523) in 820 games since their inception as a varsity sport in 1922. Minnesota State is in its seventh season in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and owns a 60-9 (.869) record in league action. Over the course of its history, MSU has claimed 19 conference championships, including 16 NIC titles. Last season, the Mavericks won the NSIC Championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Grabbing the Reigns: The 2014 season marks the fifth season with head coach
Todd Hoffner on the sidelines. During his five seasons at Minnesota State, Hoffner has compiled a 43-13 (.763) record, including a pair of trips to the NCAA Tournament in 2008 and 2009.
Mutual History: Saturday's game between the Mavericks and the Wildcats represents the seventh meeting between them. MSU has won all six of the previous encounters, including a 45-3 win in Mankato last season. The Mavericks are 3-0 against the Wildcats on the road.
Last season, junior
Connor Thomas tallied 77 rushing yards and a touchdown, while senior
Austin Rieder tallied 43 receiving yards and a touchdown. Junior
Justin Otto recorded a team-high 10 tackles.
Concerning the Mavericks: Minnesota State improved to 9-0 overall and 5-0 in NSIC South Division competition last Saturday as it defeated the Sioux Falls Cougars 27-14 at Blakeslee Stadium last weekend. MSU has now won 31 NSIC games in a row dating back to week one of the 2012 season.
Junior
Josh Gordon set a new MSU single-season sack record as he tallied four sacks against USF, to bring his season tally to 16.5, passing the previous mark of 13.5 set by Steve Connelly during the 1992 season.
Gordon tallied a total of 10 tackles against the Cougars, while junior
Rob Myers tallied 10 tackles as well. MSU also came up with three turnovers as senior
Kris Fleigle and junior
Rumeal Harris each posted and interception, while senior
Barry Ballinger recovered a fumble.
The MSU rushing attack accounted for 326 rushing yards, with junior
Connor Thomas leading the way with 140 rushing yards and a touchdown. Senior
Andy Pfeiffer added 93 rushing yards, while sophomore
Nick Pieruccini tallied 86 rushing yards and a touchdown. In doing so, Pfeiffer became MSU's all-time leading rusher with 3,141 rushing yards.
As a team, MSU has tallied 4,035 yards of total offense on the season, including 2,429 yards on the ground. The Mavericks have also posted 391 points through nine games. Thomas is leading the MSU rushing attack with 898 rushing yards and nine touchdowns.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Mavericks have two shutouts on the season and have only allowed a total of 115 points through nine games.
Junior
Tyler Henderson is leading the Mavericks in tackles with 71, while Gordon leads MSU in sacks with 16.5. The MSU defense has also tallied 14 interceptions and has recovered nine fumbles.
Concerning the Wildcats: The Wayne State Wildcats enter the weekend with a 5-4 record, including a 3-2 NSIC South Division record. Recently, WSC fell to Upper Iowa in Fayette 58-29. The last time MSU and Wayne State met up, the Mavericks posted a 45-3 win at Blakeslee Stadium.
Zach Osborn has completed 235-of-387 passes for 3,071 yards and 25 touchdowns, compared to 14 interceptions.
Ryan Ludlow leads the WSC rushing attack with 545 rushing yard and six touchdowns.
Cole McDaniel currently has 899 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, while Adam Stark has 868 receiving yard and six touchdowns.
Nick Monzu leads the Wildcat defense with 76 tackles. Jeff Van Den Top leads WSC with 8.5 sacks, with Abram Walker following close behind with 6.5.
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