SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana football team travels to No. 3 Minnesota State on Saturday. Kickoff from Mankato is slated for 6 p.m. inside Blakeslee Stadium.
 
The Game
Saturday's contest can be considered the NSIC's premier matchup of Week Two with the Vikings coming off a 52-0 win over Upper Iowa and Minnesota State ranked No. 3 in the latest AFCA Coaches' Poll. A victory by the Vikings would snap the Mavericks' 25-game NSIC win streak which dates back to the 2016 season. Augie owns the nation's sixth-longest road win streak with six-straight wins away from home.

The Mavericks
Minnesota State, the preseason favorite in the NSIC, had trouble pulling away from Southwest Minnesota State until the fourth quarter in its season opener last Saturday. The Mavericks led 28-23 after three quarters but scored 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to pull away 38-23. Nate Gunn, the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week, rattled off 242 yards rushing and three touchdowns. JD Ekowa and Ryan Schlichte split time under center with Ekowa tossing for 108 of MSU's 207 yards. As a team, MSU totaled 601 yards of offense, 394 of which came on the ground.
 
The Vikings
Augustana shutout its first opponent inside Kirkeby-Over Stadium in nearly five years and prevailed 52-0 over Upper Iowa in the 2019 season opener. Quarterback Kyle Saddler was nearly flawless, completing 22-of-25 passes for 294 yards. The defense was flawless. Upper Iowa totaled just 198 yards, with just 33 on the ground. The Vikings scored 21 points off turnovers, including a pick-six from Cody Kujawa. The defense also totaled 12 tackles for a loss with three sacks. Zach Masoli relieved Saddler in the fourth quarter and promptly threw the first touchdown pass of his career to true freshman Devon Jones. Between three quarterbacks seeing action, the Vikings completed passes to 13 receivers on opening day.
 
Who to Watch For
Junior defensive lineman Logan Swanson totaled 1.5 sacks in the season-opener against Upper Iowa, totaling 17 yards lost on tackles. Swanson will be key on the defensive line to slow down MSU's Gunn and his 240-plus yards rushing last week.
 
One Last Thing
With last week's shutout, the Vikings are the only active Division II squad to have not given up a point in 2019. Augustana's defense held Upper Iowa to three chances in the red zone but held the Peacocks to the shutout thanks to a dominant front-line performance with 12 tackles for a loss and three sacks.