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This week
Augustana (0-3, 0-2 NSIC/0-0 NSIC South) opens the South Division portion of its Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference schedule Saturday against Southwest Minnesota State (1-2, 1-1 NSIC/0-0 NSIC South) in Marshall, Minn. It will be the first night game for the Vikings this season and is a 6 p.m. start.
The series
Augustana is 13-2 against Southwest Minnesota State in a series that first saw action during the 1990 season. The Vikings have won the last 13 meetings between the two teams, including a 53-21 dismantling of the Mustangs a year ago in Sioux Falls. Augustana's only loss to SMSU in Marshall, Minn., came during the 1990 season when the Mustangs edged out a 31-30 win. Head coach Mike Aldrich is 1-0 against SMSU. For more on the series, turn to page 13.
Football forecast
Saturday's forecast for Marshall, Minn., calls for a high of 71 degrees and a partly cloud sky.
Last time out
U-Mary held Augustana scoreless for the first time since 2007 and saddled the Vikings with a 10-0 loss last Saturday afternoon in NSIC football in Bismarck, N.D. Craig Bagnell completed 15 of 28 passes for 283 yards and one touchdown for the Marauders. Four had at least 40 yards receiving, led by Bryan Sandy's 65 yards. Augustana's
Sam Holsen surpassed 100 yards receiving for the fifth time in his career, snagging eight balls for 152 yards.
Josh Hanson threw for 195 yards on 15 completions.
In the still of the night
The Vikings are taking part in their first night game since the 2009 season, which also happened to be at Southwest Minnesota State's Regional Event Center. In that encounter, the Vikings topped the Mustangs 29-7. Since 2000, Augustana is 13-11 in night games.
Sept. 2, 2000 at Northern State W 31-28
Sept. 9, 2000 Southwest Minnesota State W 54-7
Sept. 30, 2000 at South?Dakota L 15-10
Aug. 30, 2001 vs. Northern State W 57-7
Sept. 8, 2001 vs. Southwest Minnesota State W 70-0
Sept. 8, 2002 at North Dakota State W 23-6
Sept. 14, 2002 at Southwest Minnesota State W 29-23
Sept. 6, 2003 at Northern State L 24-21
Aug. 28, 2004 vs. Concordia-St. Paul L 17-16
Sept. 11, 2004 at Southwest Minnesota State W 40-9
Sept. 25, 2004 vs. North Dakota L 13-7
Aug. 27, 2005 at Concordia-St. Paul L 33-30
Sept. 3, 2005 at Northern State W 17-16
Oct. 8, 2005 at St. Cloud State L 34-7
Sept. 23, 2006 at Nebraska Omaha L 59-28
Oct. 26, 2006 vs. Central Washington L 34-28
Aug. 25, 2007 at U-Mary W 26-19
Sept. 8, 2007 at Northern State W 37-16
Sept. 15, 2007 at Minnesota State L 26-16
Sept. 22, 2007 vs. Nebraska Omaha L 36-23
Aug. 28, 2008 vs. St. Cloud State W 13-10
Oct. 10, 2009 at Southwest Minnesota State W 29-7
Sept. 19, 2009 at Minnesota Duluth L 42-21
Aug. 27, 2009 at St. Cloud State W 38-16
South Division opener
Saturday's tilt at Southwest Minnesota State marks the first NSIC South Division game for both the Vikings and Mustangs. Augustana is undefeated in South Division-opening games, having beat Concordia University, St. Paul 30-23 in 2009 and SMSU 53-21 a year ago. The Vikings finished 5-1 in the South Division last year, capturing a share of the division title.
Sam I am
Sam Holsen's (Sioux Falls) 152 yards receiving last Saturday against U-Mary marked the fifth time the senior has eclipsed the 100-yard mark in his career. Holsen is averaging 106.0 yards receiving per game. But it's nothing new for the sure-handed wide out; he netted more than 100 yards per game as a sophomore. Holsen, who holds the Augustana single-game receiving record with 267 yards against Wayne State in 2009, is at 1,893 yards for his career.
First-time starters
The cornerback spot opposite
Zac Kallas (Eden Prairie, Minn.) has seen three different starters work in so far in 2011.
Devon Alber (Manchester, Iowa) made a start in Augustana's season-opening game against Minnesota Duluth,
Chris Lucido (Omaha, Neb.) got the nod versus Bemidji State and
Sean Kelly (Naperville, Ill.) was the starter at U-Mary. Alber has six tackles on the season, Lucido has one and Kelly has five. The starts for each of the players--all sophomores--were the first of their careers.
NSIC?leader
Austin Luecke (Groton, S.D.) is the NSIC's top tackler at 14.5 per game (conference games only). The junior has been a dominant force for the Vikings in 2011 at his linebacker spot, recording a team-best 39 tackles. That effort also includes 4.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks. Additionally, Luecke's antics have resulted in a forced fumble and blocked kick.
Streaky
Dating back to last year's season-ending loss to Minnesota Duluth in the NCAA playoffs, the Vikings have now lost four straight games (two to UMD, one to Bemidji State and one to U-Mary). The last time Augustana lost four straight was during the 2007 season under Brad Salem when the Vikings dropped four consecutive mid-season games. That streak included losses to Minnesota State (26-16), Nebraska-Omaha (36-23), North Dakota (37-0) and Minnesota Duluth (34-7).
Three to open
Augustana's three losses to open the 2011 season marks the first time the Vikings have had three blemishes to start since 1991--a year that turned into a 0-10 campaign. Augustana has had a total of 10 0-3 starts in the program's 89-year history: 1929, 1930, 1931, 1947, 1952, 1953, 1957, 1963, 1985 and 1991.
Looking for rhythm
Augustana is still trying to find a groove in its kicking game. The Vikings are just 2 for 6 on field goals in 2011 after a record-breaking season in the category in 2010. A year ago,
Drew Behrens (Pleasant Hill, Iowa) connected on a school-record 16 field goals, a statistic that broke both the individual and team single-season records. Last week at U-Mary, Behrens missed two and had one blocked. His long this year came from 26 yards out. Behrens is also 3 of 5 on point afters, having missed a pair of attempts in the Vikings' season-opening game against Minnesota Duluth.
Bruising runner
Curt Truhe (Elk Point, S.D.) has shown he's hard-nosed runner in his 13 carries this season. The senior fullback has gained 58 yards on the ground in 2011 and is averaging 4.5 yards per touch and 19.3 yards per game. While his stats may not initially turn heads, his smash-mouth running has accounted numerous blocks and a 13-yard rumble.
Hanson just misses 200
Josh Hanson (Watertown, S.D.) fell just five yards short of recording his third-consecutive 200-yard passing game with a 195-outing against U-Mary last Saturday. The junior completed 13 of 31 passes and was intercepted once in the Vikings 10-0 loss. The shutout also meant that Hanson didn't complete a touchdown pass for the first time since Oct. 30, 2010, against Minnesota State--a game he left early with an injury. Considering Hanson's streak without the game against MSU in 2010, Hanson connected for a score through the air in every game he started last season.
Kallas snags one
Zac Kallas (Eden Prairie, Minn.) snared his first interception of the season against U-Mary last week, picking of the Marauders' Craig Bagnell in the first quarter. Kallas had eight interceptions in 2010. He and fellow defensive back
Nick Andreas (Lakeville) are the lone Vikings with interceptions this season.
Long plays
Grant Gebhardt (Burwell, Neb.) owns two of the top-three longest plays of the season for the Vikings. His 64-yard reception against Bemidji State two weeks is the longest play in 2011, while his 43-yard kick return versus U-Mary last week is tied for third (with an identical 43-yard kick return by
Sam Holsen). Augustana's second-longest play of the season was Dan O'Keefe's (Aberdeen ,S.D.) 45-yard fumble recovery that he returned for a touchdown against BSU.
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 their 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 of 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 11-5.
History lesson
Augustana is in its 89th season of competition in 2011. The Vikings owns an all-time record of 365-438-15. 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.
