SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – It's the 49^th annual Shrine Football game as Augustana welcomes Winona State into Kirkeby-Over Stadium where the Vikings hold the nation's second-longest home winning streak. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.
 
Tickets to the contest are available at GoAugie.com/Tickets. Tickets have transitioned to a digital-first model with more information here. Complete action can be followed at GoAugie.com/Live and on the GoAugie App, presented by CellOnly. The app can be downloaded in the app store or on Google Play.
 
The Game
Augustana, ranked No. 19/11 in the country in the two Top-25 polls, is also the No. 1 team in the NCAA Super Region Four rankings. The Vikings control their own destiny to win its first outright conference championship since 1959. Winona State, winners of two-straight, is coming off a win at Sioux Falls last weekend.
 
The Warriors
Winona State enters at 5-3 following a win last week at Sioux Falls. The Warriors' three losses of the year have come via Minnesota Duluth, Wayne State and Northern State. They have won two of their last three games and sit in fourth place in the NSIC South standings.
 
Senior quarterback Owen Burke has had a strong 2021 campaign, throwing for nearly 250 yards per game, enough for sixth in the NSIC. Ethan Wittenburg has been Burke's favorite target with 25 catches for 499 yards and five touchdowns. On the ground, Dominik London leads the way with 439 yards and 4 touchdowns.
 
The Warrior defense currently ranks sixth in the NSIC giving up 384.5 yards per game average along with only giving up 25 points per game, good for seventh in the NSIC.
 
The Vikings
Augustana is 7-1 on the season after toppling Minnesota State in Mankato this past Saturday, 45-35. The Viking defense held the league's top rushing offense to just 42 yards while also keeping the Mavericks a full touchdown shy of its league-best scoring average. Kyle Saddler threw for five touchdowns and over 400 yards in the win while Logan Uttecht broke out for a three-touchdown game.
 
It was no surprise the Vikings held MSU to just 42 yards rushing as AU continues to lead the nation in rushing defense at just under 38 yards per game. Augustana began the year by not allowing a single positive yard of rushing offense and has maintained its spot atop the national leaderboard through eight weeks.
 
Saddler is second in the nation with his 28 touchdown passes with his top target being Sean Engel (more on that below). Jarod Epperson continues to lead the rushing attack with an average of 101.4 yards per game while scoring six touchdowns.
 
Defensively, T.J. Liggett leads AU with 56 tackles with five for a loss. Grayson Diepenbrock leads the team with nine tackles for a loss as part of his 19 for the season. Peyton Buckley, as he has the entire season, leads Augustana with four interceptions.
 
Who to Watch For
With six touchdown receptions in his past three games, Sean Engel has reached a total of 11 touchdowns on the year. This is good for sixth in the nation. The NSIC appears to be a pass-heavy league as he only ranks fourth in the NSIC for touchdown receptions.
 
One Last Thing
As exciting as national polls are, the only one that matters at the end of the season is the Region Poll. The first region poll of 2021 came out this past Monday with Augustana holding down the No. 1 spot. The top seven teams in each region qualify for the NCAA Division II Playoffs.