SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – It's Week 10 of NSIC football and a championship is on the line for Augustana football. The Vikings travel to Duluth, Minnesota, to play Minnesota Duluth in a 1 p.m. contest.
 
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The Game
Augustana is No. 2 in Super Region Four and faces the region's No. 8 team in the Bulldogs. With the top-seven teams qualifying for the NCAA Division II Playoffs, the game is a must-win for Minnesota Duluth. However, a win for Augustana clinches at least a share of the NSIC Championship and all but guarantees a home game for AU in the playoffs.
 
About the Bulldogs
Minnesota Duluth enters at 7-2 following a 34-21 win last week at Minot State. The Bulldogs only two losses of the year have come via Bemidji State and Wayne State. They have won four of their last five games and sit in second place of the NSIC's North and overall standings.
 
Senior running back Cazz Martin has been a force for the Bulldogs' offense all season, running for over 90 yards a game and finding the endzone eight times on the ground. Armani Carmickle is the Bulldogs top target through the air. With 48 catches for 952 yards and 9 touchdowns, he averages the third most yards per game in the NSIC this season.
 
Three different quarterbacks have thrown at least 38 passes for UMD in 2021 with John Larson tossing 10 touchdowns and completing 60 passes. Logan Graetz has tossed for nine touchdowns and completed 62 passes. Although listed as the starting QB last week, Larson did not throw a pass at Minot State.
 
The Bulldog defense currently ranks first in the NSIC giving up only 291.2 yards per game. They rank third in the NSIC only giving up 22.4 points per game.
 
About the Vikings
Ranked No. 17 in the AFCA Top-25 and No. 10 in the D2Football.com Top-25, Augustana is in control of its own destiny of win out and earn a home game and high seed into the NCAA Division II Playoffs.
 
Augustana's secret to success in 2021 hasn't been attributed to a single start but the team itself. Offensively, the Vikings do it all. They run the ball with Jarod Epperson leading the way at 92.6 yards per game. They throw the ball with Kyle Saddler ranking third in the nation with 32 touchdown passes. They receive the ball with Sean Engel owning 12 touchdown receptions, Logan Uttecht with eight and Devon Jones with seven.
 
Defensively. Well, Augustana is simply the nation's best at stopping the run. In fact, the Vikings' rushing defense is better than any team at the FBS, FCS or Division II levels.  Augustana gives up just 38.1 yards per game. Augustana also has the league's leader in interceptions in Peyton Buckley (you may want to read the Who to Watch For). The Viking defense also gets to the quarterback, recording 2.78 sacks per game.
 
Augustana, who closes the regular season at home on Nov. 13, owns the nation's second-longest home win streak. In addition, Augustana has won six of its last seven regular-season road games. Augustana snapped a long skid on the road earlier this season, topping Minnesota State for the first time in Mankato since 2003. AU will be looking to do the same in Duluth, a city the Vikings have not left the Lake Superior region with a win since 2006.
 
Who to Watch For
Could we be talking about the NSIC Defensive Newcomer of the Year? Peyton Buckley has made his mark on not only the Vikings in 2021 but the NSIC as a whole. The first-year player (third year in college) leads the NSIC with five interceptions and 12 pass breakups, averaging 1.33 breakups per game. Hailing from Rice Lake, Wisconsin, Buckley already earned an NSIC Defensive Player of the Week accolade and ranks third at AU for tackles with 49. Thirty-three of those tackles have been solo.
 
One Last Thing
Augustana last won a conference championship in 1959. That can change on Saturday. Simply, a win over the Bulldogs clinches at least a share of the 2021 NSIC Championship. Augustana won an NSIC South Division Championship in 2015 and tallied an overall 9-2 conference record, however, the last overall conference title was in 1959 while the Vikings were playing in the North Central Conference.