GAME NOTES (PDF)
This week: Unbeaten and No. 7-ranked Augustana (9-0, 8-0 NSIC) travels to Wayne State (5-4, 4-4 NSIC) on Saturday in search of its 10th win of the season against the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division neighbor. Kickoff from Memorial Stadium is at 1 p.m.
The series: Saturday will be the 13th meeting between Augustana and Wayne State in a series that first saw action in 1951. The Vikings are 7-4-1 against the Wildcats and have won six of the last seven contests in the series. Last season, Augustana knocked off then No. 22-ranked WSC 27-24 on the road.
Rewriting history: With Augustana's 17-13 victory over Minnesota State last Saturday, the Vikings achieved something no football team at the school has ever done: win nine games. The milestone happened in thrilling fashion as
Ryan Schuetz found
Tyler Schulte for a 36-yard touchdown pass with 26 seconds left to give Augustana the go-ahead score. The Vikings had eight wins in 1936, 1937, 1942, 1988, 1989, 2008 and 2009.
Who's left: Augustana is one of six undefeated teams left in NCAA?Division II. Kutztown (Pa.), Shepherd (W.Va.), Albany State (Ga.), Abilene Christine (Texas) and Minnesota Duluth are the other unbeatens.
Regionally speaking: The Vikings are ranked No. 1 in the first Super Regional Three Rankings of the year released Monday by the NCAA. Super Region Three is comprised of teams from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The top six teams from each region earn a spot in the NCAA Playoffs. This marks the first time in school history the Vikings have held the No. 1 position in the regional rankings.
Rank School Overall Record Division II Record
1. Augustana 9-0 9-0
2. Minnesota Duluth 9-0 9-0
3. Grand Valley State 8-1 8-1
4. Nebraska-Kearney 8-1 8-1
5. Hillsdale 7-2 7-2
6. St. Cloud State 7-2 7-2
7. Michigan Tech 6-2 6-2
8. Colorado School of Mines 8-1 7-1
9. Winona State 6-3 6-3
10. Wayne State (Mich.) 7-2 7-2
Northern Sun honors: A 15-tackle performance by
Nick Andreas ( Lakeville, Minn.) against Minnesota State last Saturday earned the junior NSIC Defensive Player of the Week honors earlier this week. Andreas also recovered a fumble and had three tackles on a key defensive series for the Vikings in which they forced a Maverick punt to give their offense the ball for the game-winning drive. The nod for Andreas marks the fifth time this season Augustana has had a conference player of the week recipient.
Ryan Isaacson (defense, Sept. 7),
Josh Hanson (offense, Sept. 21),
Tyler Schulte (offense, Sept. 27) and
Drew Behrens (special teams, Oct. 4) have also all garnered the honor in 2010.
He Schuetz, he scores: It was the game-winning drive every quarterback dreams about.
Ryan Schuetz (Gretna, Neb.) led his offense on a 9-play, 70-yard drive to erase a 13-10 deficit and put the Vikings up a decisive four points. Schuetz found
Tyler Schulte for a 36-yard touchdown reception to cap the drive with 26 seconds remaining in the game. Schuetz, who entered the game in the third quarter after starter
Josh Hanson left with an injury, finished the game 5 of 11 for 91 yards. He also had an 11-yard run that resulted in a first down on that final drive.
The finishing touches: Linebacker
Andrew Keel (Winter Springs, Fla.) came up with his third interception of the year last Saturday against Minnesota State. His pick effectively ended a Maverick drive that could have given them the ball with a chance to take the lead with less than 30 seconds remaining.
Fourth-quarter rally: Last Saturday against Minnesota State, the Vikings found themselves in a place they have been only one other time this season:?trailing in the fourth quarter. Augustana entered the fourth quarter trailing St. Cloud State on Sept. 4 but managed to edge the Huskies out 32-23.
Quarterback scramble: Quarterback
Josh Hanson (Watertown, S.D.) scrambled for what turned out to the be longest rush of the year for Augustana when he broke off a 71-yard touchdown run in the second quarter against Minnesota State last Saturday. Hanson received big blocks from his running back,
Joe Clark, to give the Vikings a 10-3 lead.
Football forecast: Saturday's forecast calls for a high of 62 degrees and a sunny sky.
100-plus for Joe: For the first time in four games, senior
Joe Clark (Rochester, Minn.) failed to record 100 yards rushing. Clark carried the ball 21 times for 68 yards against Minnesota State last Saturday. The running back, who is the leading rusher in Augustana history, has rushed for 100 yards 12 times in his career.
National news: Augustana climbed one spot and is ranked No. 7 in the American Football Coaches Association poll released Monday. The Vikings received 476 points to move up from their No. 8 spot last week. Minnesota Duluth took the No. 1 position with 644 points and 24 first-place votes. Three Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference teams are in this week's top 25. Besides Augustana and UMD, St. Cloud State was No. 25. The highest ranking Augustana has been achieved was No. 6 on Sept. 19, 1989
On the up and up: Since making their first appearance in the poll on Sept. 20, the Vikings have made a jump every week. To view a breakdown of where Augustana has been ranked this season, turn to page 6.
The last time: Junior wide receiver
Sam Holsen (Sioux Falls) may have this week's game circled on his calendar. Last time Augustana and Wayne State faced off, Holsen went off for 267 yards receiving en route to setting a school record. Holsen caught 11 passes and found paydirt twice as his team picked up a 27-24 victory over the Wildcats, who were ranked No. 22 in the nation.
It's good: Drew Behrens' (Pleasant Hill, Iowa) 26-yard field goal against Minnesota State last Saturday put the sophomore at 14 for the season and set a new single-season record. Behrens passed Dave Kohen's mark of 13 field goals in 1979. He is 14 of 22 this season and has also passed Koehn's record of 18 attempts, which also occurred in 1979.
Touchdown receptions: Senior
Tyler Schulte (Sioux Falls) is just two touchdowns away from tying the single-season record for touchdown receptions. With two more, Schulte would tie Matt Holmlund's mark of 16 during the 2000 season.
We like Mike: The Mike Aldrich era is officially underway. The first-year head coach served as the Vikings' defensive coordinator the past four seasons and has a plethora of experience coaching in the collegiate ranks, including stops at Louisville, California Lutheran, College of the Sequoias and St. Olaf.
They're back:?The Vikings return a total of 17 starters from last year's squad (seven on offense, six on defense, and four specialists).
According to the coaches: The NSIC's 14 head coaches picked Augustana to finish third overall in their Preseason Coaches' Poll. Minnesota Duluth was tabbed the preseason favorite by the conference's 14 head coaches. Augustana was also picked to finish second in the seven-team NSIC South Division. The Vikings, who received one first-place vote in the South Division rankings, received 125 points in the overall rankings and 27 points in the South Division rankings.
The house that Bob built: 2010 marks the second season in the lavish Kirkeby-Over Stadium for the Vikings. Made possible by a lead gift of $6.1 million by Bob and Kari Hall, K-O Stadium has gained the reputation of being one of the best football facilities in NCAA Division II.
Bob Hall, who serves as Augustana's equipment manager, has been instrumental in the construction of several athletic facilities on campus. As Bob has always said, “It's for the kids.”
History lesson: Augustana is in its 88th year of competition in 2010. The Vikings own an all-time record of 363-434-15. Augustana has recorded 30 winning seasons, including the past two years.
About Augustana: Fresh off their school-record ninth win, the Vikings are looking to extend their winning streak to 10 on Saturday.
Josh Hanson, who left last Saturday's game with an injury, has thrown for more than 2,000 yards this season.
Tyler Schulte has been the recipient of a good amount of those passes; he has hauled in 39 receptions for 846 yards and 14 touchdowns. Augustana, though, also gets a boost from its ground game in the form of
Joe Clark, who has rushed for 711 yards and seven touchdowns. The Viking defense, which is fifth in the nation in rush defense, is led by
Andrew Keel and
Chris Janisch, who have charted 62 and 61 tackles, respectively. As a team, the Vikings have intercepted opposing quarterbacks 17 times. Dan O'Keefe leads Augustana with five picks.
About Wayne State: Riding a three-game losing streak and coming off a one-point loss to Upper Iowa, Dan McLaughlin's Wildcats are averaging 361.9 yards of total offense per game. Evan Johnson leads WSC?in both rushing and passing, having accumulated 354 yards on the ground and 1328 through the air. Kevin Paulsen leads the Wildcat receivers with 46 catches for 493 yards and two touchdowns. Frederic Bruno has also caught seven touchdown passes. Defensively, Ben Perry has charted a team-high 53 tackles. ?He also has two interceptions.
The Augustana Coaches' Show: Live from the Gateway Lounge in Sioux Falls, The Augustana Coaches' Show airs each Monday at 5 p.m. Join Jeff Fylling and Augustana head coaches as they discuss various topics surrounding Viking athletics.
Stay connected: Follow Augustana all season long on its official online home, www.GoAugie.com. You can also get the latest news and updates on the Vikings on Facebook (www.facebook.com/GoAugie) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/GoAugie). To view video highlights and the latest episode of the Augustana Sportscene, log onto the Vikings' official YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/GoAugie).
