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This week
Augustana (3-3, 3-2 NSIC/2-0 NSIC South) looks to keep its perfect Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division record intact with a Saturday home encounter with Winona State (3-3, 3-2 NSIC/1-1 NSIC South). Kickoff from Kirkeby-Over Stadium is 1 p.m.
The series
Saturday marks the sixth meeting between Augustana and Winona State in a series that began in 1972. The Vikings are 3-2 against the Warriors. A year ago, Augustana pitched a shutout in Winona, Minn., and exited with a 17-0 victory. WSU had won two straight games over the Vikings prior to that 2010 meeting. Head coach Mike Aldrich is 1-0 against WSU. ?For more on the series, turn to page 13.
Viking Days
Augustana's annual Viking Days celebration is this week, and the Augustana football team will be looking for its fourth straight win in what is usually a highly attended game. The theme for this year's Viking Days is "A Viking State of Mind.” ?Besides Saturday's football contest, numerous activities are scheduled throughout the week. To learn more, visit www.augie.edu. Last year's Viking Days game resulted in a 31-15 win for Augustana over in-state rival Northern State.
Last time out
Augustana went 80 yards in four plays late in the fourth quarter to score the go-ahead touchdown and beat Northern State 27-24 Saturday afternoon in Aberdeen, S.D.
Ben Parsley snagged a 24-yard pass from
Josh Hanson on the game-winning drive, which spanned just 38 seconds and erased a 24-19 NSU lead. The drive, which started with just fewer than 2 minutes left, also included 19 rushing yards from Hanson and a 37-yard reception from
Grant Gebhardt. Parsley additionally pulled in the two-point conversion after his final touchdown catch to make it a three-point game. Parsley provided a punch all game, catching four passes for 40 yards and two scores.
Sam Holsen and Gebhardt each had 94 yards receiving. Gebhardt also notched 31 punt-return yards and 126 kick-return yards; he finished the game with 251 all-purpose yards. Hanson finished 25 of 49 for 317 yards and two scores. He was intercepted once.
Ben Wardell led Augustana with a career-high 13 tackles, including one for loss.
Nick Andreas made 12 stops, and Dan O'Keefe registered 11 tackles and forced a fumble.
Football forecast
Saturday's forecast for Sioux Falls, S.D., calls for a high of 59 degrees and a mostly sunny sky.
The Saturday of Bens
Last Saturday's game at Northern State turned out to be the day of big games for Augustana players named Ben.
Ben Parsley (Flandreau, S.D.) had a huge day from his wide receiver spot, catching four balls for 50 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His two scores came at a time when the Vikings needed them the most. Parsley's first touchdown late in the third quarter put Augustana within five points, while his second late in the fourth quarter essentially gave the Vikings the win.
Ben Wardell (Sturgis, S.D.) made a career-high 13 tackles for the Viking defense, including logging one stop for loss.
Special teams specialist
With blazing speed and a knack for finding open field,
Grant Gebhardt (Burwell, Neb.) has distinguished himself as Augustana's return specialist. The redshirt accumulated 157 return yards Saturday against Northern State. His performance included a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the second quarter. Gebhardt was dangerous on three kick returns, totaling 126 yards. His two punt returns went for 31 yards. Gebhardt added 94 yards receiving to finish with a career- and game-high 251 all-purpose yards.
Nearly a record
The 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by
Grant Gebhardt (Burwell, Neb.) was just 4 yards shy of a school record. The longest kick return in school history was a 97-yard scamper by Keith?Harper against Nebraska-Kearney on Sept. 4, 1993.
Winning streak
After opening the season with three straight losses, the Vikings have answered with three consecutive wins. The win streak, though, is very familiar to Augustana football faithful. The Vikings started the 2010 season by rattling off nine wins in a row.
Rushing yards
Augustana allowed a season high 245 rushing yards last Saturday against Northern State. Mike Aldrich's signature run-stopping defense hadn't allowed more than 200 yards since Dec. 4, 2010, when Minnesota Duluth, which went on to win the national title, dropped 247 rushing yards on the Vikings. Since 2005, the Augustana defense has given up 200 yards on the ground 14 times. However, it's happened just four time since 2008. Since Mike Aldrich took over sole possession of the defensive coordinator position, in 2006 he's given up 200 yards rushing 10 times.
Date Opponent Rushing Yards Allowed
Aug. 27, 2005 at Concordia-St. Paul 320
Oct. 1, 2005 vs. South Dakota 337
Oct. 8, 2005 at St. Cloud State 238
Oct. 15, 2005 at Nebraska Omaha 313
Sept. 23, 2006 at Nebraska Omaha 493
Oct. 21, 2006 at South Dakota 268
Nov. 11, 2006 at Central Arkansas 217
Sept. 22, 2007 vs. Nebraska Omaha 296
Sept. 29, 2007 at North Dakota 395
Oct. 20, 2007 vs. South Dakota 397
Sept. 20, 2008 vs. Minnesota Duluth 232
Oct. 25, 2008 vs. Wayne State 264
Dec. 4, 2010 at Minnesota Duluth 247
Oct. 8, 2011 at Northern State 245
It's all about timing
Augustana experienced its greatest disparity this season in negative margin for time of possession last Saturday against Northern State. The Wolves held onto the ball 13 minutes, 32 seconds more than the Vikings, eating up the clock by rushing the ball 52 times. Heading into the game, Augustana had been bettered in time of possession twice this season, but the largest margin had been around two minutes. For the year, the Vikings, on average, have the ball 40 seconds more than their opponents per game.
Rushing stalls
After charting season highs for rushing yards in consecutive weeks, the Augustana ground game stalled last week against Northern State. The Vikings netted just 40 yards on ground—their lowest output since their season opener against then No. 1 Minnesota Duluth when they got just 9 rushing yards.
Dajon Newell (Lakeville, Minn.), who broke into the starting lineup against Southwest Minnesota State on Sept. 24, had just 5 rushing yards. That performance came following two-straight 100-yard rushing games, including a 200-yard effort, from the redshirt freshman.
Passing performance
With its rushing game struggling last Saturday against Northern State, Augustana and offensive coordinator Steve Olinger looked to spark their passing game. The Vikings registered a season-high 317 passing yards on a season-high 49 attempts. Augustana hasn't thrown the ball that many times since Oct. 4, 2003, against South Dakota when the Vikings attempted 50 passes in a 31-27 loss to the Coyotes. Since 2000, Augustana has thrown 49 times or more just five times.
Date Opponent Passing Attempts
Nov. 4, 2000 at Nebraska Omaha 52
Nov. 11, 2000 vs. Northern Colorado 52
Sept. 6, 2003 at Northern State 51
Oct. 4, 2003 vs. South Dakota 50
Oct. 9, 2011 at Northern State 49
Fantastic four
Augustana's receiving unit is turning into a diverse one. Four different receivers had at least four catches last week at Northern State, and two netted more than 90 yards.
Sam Holsen (Sioux Falls) and
Grant Gebhardt (Burwell, Neb.) both finished with 94 yards receiving on eight and six catches, respectively.
Jordan Marshall (Ramsey, Minn.) snagged five catches for 58 yards, and
Ben Parsley (Flandreau, S.D.) was the recipient of four catches for 50 yards and two scores. Holsen continues to the lead the Vikings with 85.3 receiving yards per contest. He's caught 32 passes for 512 yards on the season.
Hanson goes for 300 again
Josh Hanson (Watertown, S.D.) completed 25 of 49 passes for 317 yards and two touchdowns against Northern State last Saturday, marking the 11th time in his career the junior has eclipsed the 200-yard mark and third time he has gained more than 300 yards through the air. It was also the fifth time this season the junior has reached 200 yards and second time he's gotten to 300 yards in 2011. Hanson has thrown for 1,487 yards and eight touchdowns this year; he's also averaging 247.8 passing yards per game and leads the conference with 250.4 passing yard per game (conference games only).
Date Opponent Yards Passing
Sept. 4, 2010 St. Cloud State ?256
Sept. 11, 2010 at Bemidji State 253
Sept. 18, 2010 U-Mary 406
Sept. 25, 2010 Southwest Minnesota State 285
Oct. 16, 2010 at Winona State 216
Oct. 23, 2010 at MSU Moorhead 239
Sept. 3, 2011 Minnesota Duluth 235
Sept. 10, 2011 Bemidji State 301
Sept. 24, 2011 at Southwest Minnesota State 219
Oct. 1, 2011 Concordia-St. Paul 220
Oct. 8, 2011 at Northern State 317
What the coaches say
The NSIC coaches picked the Vikings third overall and first in the South Division in their preseason poll. Augustana received 145 points overall and 33 points and four first-place votes in the South Division edition of the rankings. Minnesota Duluth was the preseason favorite with 11 first-place votes and 167 points. The Bulldogs were also picked to win the North Division with five first-place votes and 35 points.
All-America nods
Defensive backs Dan O'Keefe (Aberdeen, S.D.) and
Zac Kallas (Eden Prairie, Minn.) accepted a total of four preseason All-America certificates prior to the start of this 2011 season. Consensus Draft Services picked O'Keefe for its team. D2football.com, Lindy's and Sporting News reserved a spot for Kallas.
We like Mike
Mike Aldrich commenced his career as a head coach in eventful style. He immediately rattled off nine wins and led the Vikings to their first playoff appearance in more than two decades. Aldrich also doubles as Augustana's defensive coordinator. The 2010 Region 5 Coach of the Year and a finalist for the Liberty Mutual?Coach of the Year, Aldrich owns a career record of 14-5.
History lesson
Augustana is in its 89th season of competition in 2011. The Vikings owns an all-time record of 368-438-15. The Vikings have posted 32 winning seasons, including the past three years.
Stay connected
It's easy to know the latest on Viking athletics. You can follow Augustana on its various social media outlets, including Twitter (twitter.com/GoAugie), Facebook (facebook.com/GoAugie) and YouTube (youtube.com/GoAugie). To learn more, visit GoAugie.com/stayconnected.
Augustana Sportscene
Augustana Sportscene is a 30-minute weekly television show highlighting Augustana athletics and is hosted by Director of Athletics Bill Gross. The show includes Viking highlights, interviews with various coaches and student-athletes and promotion of upcoming Augustana athletic events. Augustana Sportscene airs Monday's at 10:30 p.m. and Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. on Midco Sports Network and at various times on Mediacom's MC22.
Augustana Coaches' Show
Live from Rookies in Sioux Falls, The Augustana Coaches' Show airs On ESPN 99.1 each Monday at 5 p.m. Join Jeffy Fylling and Augustana head coaches as they discuss various topics surrounding Viking athletics. You can also stream the show live at www.ESPN991.com.
Video webcasts
The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and Penn Atlantic have again teamed up to webcast each conference football game in 2011. A complete broadcast schedule is available at www.northernsun.org.
On the radio
Veteran radio man Jeff Fylling is back as the “Voice of the Vikings” for 2011. Join Fylling and color anaylyst and former Augustana quarterback John Schultz for each week's broadcast on KIKN-FM 100.5. You can also stream the broadcast at kikn.com/stream.
