SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana football team looks to carry the momentum of a rivalry win to Bemidji State with a 2 p.m. kickoff Saturday in Bemidji, Minnesota.
 
The Game
It is the first game of cross-divisional play as both squads are in second place of their respective divisions. The Vikings are 3-1 in South Division action while the Beavers are 3-1 in North Division play. Augustana is in control of the all-time series with a 7-2 record and has won the last three contests. The last meeting was a 30-27 overtime thriller in favor of the Vikings in Sioux Falls.
 
The Beavers
Bemidji State opened the season 3-0 before falling to No. 12 Minnesota Duluth this past Saturday. The Beavers led 7-0 early in the game, mostly on the legs of sophomore running back Jalen Frye and his 34 yards rushing. The Beavers were on third-string quarterback Emmett Enright after Jared Henning, the season-opening No. 2 quarterback, got injured. Brandon Alt, the original No. 1 has been out since week one when he tossed for 192 yards at Northern State.
 
The Beavers won convincingly over their first three games, 33-7 at Northern State, 52-7 vs. UMary and 27-10 at Minnesota Crookston, relying on a defense that gave up just eight points per game. Amongst the defense, BSU has not given up a point in the first quarter.
 
The Vikings
Augustana is riding the wave of the rivalry victory over Sioux Falls. The Key to the City game was a defensive battle, with three forced turnovers, 11 tackles for loss and seven sacks. The offense took care of business with short field position, scoring 17 points off turnovers. The win pushed the Vikings to 3-1 on the season, one game behind Minnesota State in the South Division and in the NCAA Division II playoff hunt.
 
Augustana ranks second in the nation with 14 turnovers gained, eight from interceptions and six from fumble recoveries. The eight interceptions rank sixth in the nation. Eli Weber leads the team with three interceptions, with the .8 interceptions per game ranking sixth in NCAA Division II.
 
Who to Watch For
Logan Swanson earned the NSIC's Defensive Player of the Week, but any member of the defense could have been up for the award after the Key to the City win. The defense had 11 tackles for loss, totaling 89 yards. Of those 89 yards, 55 came from seven sacks, two each from Swanson and Grayson Diepenbrock. Sacks also came from T.J. Liggett, Luke Fritsch, Kyle Theis and Jake Denn. Weber picked off his third pass of the season and the Cougars were only able to muster 38 yards rushing when entering the game with an average of nearly 250 per game.
 
One Last Thing
In an interesting match-up, fans should not expect to see a lot of red-zone scoring. Bemidji State is tops in the nation in red-zone defense. The Vikings? They are second in the NSIC and 11^th in the country allowing just 5.7 percent of drives into the red zone to end in points.
 
--GoAugie.com--