SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- With one game to go in the 2018 season, the Augustana football team will attempt to make history on Saturday by becoming the first team in the program's 97-year history to finish the year 6-0 on the road. Although four teams have ended the year undefeated, the feat hasn't been accomplished in more than 70 years, and none of the teams have finished with more than three road wins. Equally impressive, a win on Saturday will mark the Vikings 7th of the year, marking just the sixth time the program has accomplished that feat in the last 16 years.

The Vikings, who have already won two more games than last year, will square up with Southwest Minnesota State for a 1 p.m. kickoff at the Schwan Regional Event Center in Marshall, Minnesota. Fans not in attendance can follow along at GoAugie.com/live.

Augustana head coach Jerry Olszewski, who will also be going for his 70th career win on Saturday, is looking forward to finishing the season strong. "This team deserves sevens wins," Olszewski said, "but you have to earn everything you get in this league. Our seniors have worked so hard, and we hope we can send them off with a smile on Saturday." With six wins already, the Vikings have secured their 4th winning season in Olszewski's six-year Viking career.

Although postseason play is now out of the picture, a win on Saturday is also significant for the 13 seniors in the Augustana football program. Over the course of the last four years, this class has won 27 games, which is tied for 3rd all-time in program history. With a win on Saturday, the class of 2018 will move into sole possession of the 3rd winningest class with 28 victories.

The Vikings come into Saturday's matchup at 6-4 (3-3 NSIC South) and stand two games above Southwest Minnesota State (4-6, 1-5 NSIC South). The matchup will square up two of the top statistical quarterbacks in the conference in Kyle Saddler and Blake Gimbel. Behind a stout Augustana offensive line, who has allowed just eight sacks in 10 games, Saddler leads the conference with 3,099 passing yards (309.9/game) and 26 touchdowns. After 65 passing attempts last week, Saddler also broke the all-time program record for attempts in a single season and now has 438. Gimbel is second in the NSIC with 2,958 passing yards (295.8/game) and 23 touchdowns, and with 10,107 career passing yards, is now just nine yards shy of the program's all-time record.

In addition to great play by the Vikings line, the offensive skill players have helped out Saddler over the course of the season. Augustana has four receivers averaging more than 40 yards per game, and seven players have caught a touchdown. The Vikings are led by Nickel Meyers as the Junior is 5th in the NSIC with 94.8 yards per game and leads the league with 12 touchdowns. In week nine, the Vikings had three 100-yard receivers for the first time all year (Brett Shepley, 124 Nickel Meyers, 123 and Jake Welsheimer, 102). At tailback, Rudolh Sinflorant remains 5th in the NSIC in rushing, racking up 93.3 yards per game and seven touchdowns.

Defensively, the Vikings will look to carry their second-half momentum into the final game. Over the last four games, the Augustana defense has allowed less than 24 points per game and an average of just 259 total yards. Last week, The Vikings limited Winona State to 81 rushing yards. It's the second straight week (87 vs. Concordia St. Paul) that Augustana has allowed less than 100 yards rushing. Individually, senior captain Joey Newman has come on strong, racking up 11 TFL's and multiple sacks over the last four games. Kirby Hora leads the Vikings with 86 tackles on the season and now has 400 in his career. He needs 20 to break the all-time school record, which is held by Bryan Schwartz with 419 (1991-1994). Kyle Theis has also been impressive, having a breakout junior season with 75 tackles, three sacks, and two forced fumbles. Augustana will once again look for contributions from offense, defense and special teams in hopes of picking up their 7th win of the year.

A Senior Send-Off...
The Vikings have 13 seniors on their roster, including senior captions Chet Peerenboom, Tom Green, Joey Newman, and Kirby Hora. All 13 seniors will graduate this year. Over the last four years, this class has won 27 games, ranking them 3rd all-time in program history for a single class.

Moving the Chains...
Through 10 games, Augustana has racked up 267 first downs (26.67 per game). The Vikings rank first in the NSIC in first downs and stand third in the nation in DII.

Protecting The Passer...
The Vikings great offensive production starts with a tremendous job from the offensive line. The Vikings have only allowed eight sacks all season, which ranks first in the NSIC and 12th in the nation.

Potent Passing…
The Augustana offensive line has allowed Kyle Saddler to lead the conference in passing (309.9 yards per game), and also break multiple records. After 65 passing attempts last week, Saddler broke the all-time program record for attempts in a single-game, as well as the single-season record with 438.

Picking Up Where They Left Off...
Augustana has 10 interceptions on the season, standing 6th in the league. Michael Kloza leads the team with four interceptions on the year.

Keep Kicking To Us...
Behind stout efforts from sophomore Luke Fritsch, the Vikings are leading the NSIC in kick return yards, averaging just under 25-yards per return. Individually, Fritsch is 14th in the nation at 29.7 yards per kick return.

Last Time Out: Loss, 34-20 vs. Winona State

Playing on senior day at Kirkeby-Over Stadium, Augustana football was looking for their fourth straight win and 7th overall. Although the Vikings held a 13-10 lead to start the 4th quarter, 17 unanswered and 24 fourth-quarter points from Winona State sealed the road win. Overall, the Vikings did double the total offense of Winona State with 462 yards compared to just 223.

The Vikings limited Winona State to 81 rushing yards, marking the second straight week (87 vs. Concordia-St. Paul) that Augustana has allowed less than 100 yards rushing. With Brett Shepley (124), Nickel Meyers (123), and Jake Welsheimer (102), the Vikings had three 100-yard receivers for the first time all year. Kyle Saddler finished the game with 65 passing attempts, which broke a 23-year old record set by Pat Graham (62 vs. Minnesota State, 1995).

Scouting The Enemy:

Although Southwest Minnesota State already has four wins on the year and has doubled their total from last year, they've also locked in their third straight losing season. The Mustangs have picked up wins over Upper Iowa and Northern State and stand 6th in the NSIC South at 1-5 (4-6 overall).

The Mustangs are led by quarterback Blake Gimbel, a senior from Marshalltown, Iowa. Gimble is second in the NSIC with 2,958 passing yards (295.8/game) and 23 touchdowns. Gimbel has now amassed 10,107 passing yards in his career and is just nine yards shy of the all-time school record. The Mustangs also have a dangerous weapon out wide as junior college transfer Daniel Davis has 989 receiving yards (98.9/game) and 9 touchdowns. Defensively, linebacker Shane Ratkovich leads the team with 100 tackles and 7.5 sacks, both top-six in the NSIC.  He is also second in the nation (DII) with 20 TFLs.

When These Two Square Up:
Dating back nearly three decades, Augustana and Southwest Minnesota State have played 22 times in programs history. Although the Mustangs won the first two meetings between the schools, Augustana has dominated ever since, winning 19 of the last 20 and four straight in the series. Over those last four matchups, Augustana has averaged 40 points and allowed just over 13 points per game. Augustana is also undefeated when playing in Marshall's Schwan Regional Event Center.

Both sitting in the NSIC South, the last time Augustana and SMSU squared up was Oct. 14, 2017. Playing on Viking Days at Kirkeby-Over Stadium, Augustana started fast and rolled to a 30-8 win over the Mustangs. Ryan Bradberry led the team offensively, finishing with 121 yards and two touchdowns on just 15 carries. The Augustana defense limited the Mustangs to just 89 rushing yards and 334 total yards in the win. Trevor Naasz led the team with 10 tackles.

Game Notes:

• Saturday's kickoff will wrap up the 97th season of Augustana Football.
• The Vikings are 5-0 on the road this year. The five road wins matches the most the Vikings have had in the last decade.
• Although the Vikings have finished the year undefeated on the road four times in program history, they have never finished 6-0 on the road.
• Overall, the Vikings have already racked up six wins this year, which is two more than last season.
• A 7th victory for Augustana will mark just the sixth time the program has accomplished the feat in the last 16 years.
• The Vikings have 13 seniors on their roster. This senior class has won 27 games over four years, ranking 3rd all-time in program history.
• Augustana has won 19 of the last 20 against SMSU, and four straight in the series.
• With one game to go in his career, Kirby Hora has 400 career tackles. He needs 20 to break the all-time school record, which is held by Bryan Schwartz with 419 (1991-1994).
• Hora also has five forced fumbles, which is tied for 1st all-time in program history.
• Kyle Saddler finished week nine with 65 passing attempts, which broke a 23-year old record set by Pat Graham (62 vs. Minnesota State, 1995).
• Saddler now has 438 attempts for the season, which is also an all-time single-season record. Graham also held the previous record, which he set in 1996 with 413.
• Saddler leads the NSIC in passing (309.9 yards per game) and total touchdowns (26).
• With Brett Shepley (124), Nickel Meyers (123), and Jake Welsheimer (102), the Vikings had three 100-yard receivers for the first time all year in week nine.
• Meyers is 5th in the NSIC with 94.8 yards per game and leads the league with 12 touchdowns.
• Rudolh Sinflorant ranks 5th in the NSIC in rushing yards, averaging 93.3 yards per game. The sophomore has also racked up seven touchdowns.
• Through 10 games, Augustana has racked up 267 first downs (26.67 per game). The Vikings rank first in the NSIC in first downs and stand third in the nation in DII.
• The Vikings offensive line has only allowed eight sacks all season, which ranks first in the NSIC and 12th in the nation.
• Augustana stands 4th in the NSIC in scoring, averaging 35.1 points per game.
• The Vikings limited Winona State to 81 rushing yards. It's the second straight week (87 vs. Concordia-St. Paul) that Augustana has allowed less than 100 yards rushing. Augustana is 7th in the league, allowing 125.5 rush yards per game.
• The Vikings lead the NSIC in kick return yards, averaging over 24-yards per return. Individually, Luke Fritsch is 14th in the nation at 29.7 yards per kick return.
• Over the last four games, the Augustana defense has allowed less than 24 points per game and an average of just 259 total yards.
• Augustana has now recorded 30 sacks on the season, which ranks 4th in the NSIC.
• Luis Guarita has knocked down 42-44 (95.5%) PATs, which is 6th in the NSIC.
• The Vikings are 37-29 all-time under head coach Jerry Olszewski, with coach 'OJ' earning his first ever win as a Viking at MSU Moorhead in the 2013 season-opener, 41-28.