SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The No. 21 Augustana football team remains in Kirkeby-Over Stadium Saturday with a 1 p.m. contest against Minnesota State. The 100^th season of Augustana football, presented by CorTrust Bank, coincides with the 50^th annual Shrine Game.
 
Tickets to the contest are available at GoAugie.com/Tickets. Complete action can be followed on GoAugie.com/Live and the GoAugie app. The app can be downloaded in the app store or Google Play.
 
The Game
Augustana and Minnesota State face off in what has been one of the fiercest rivalries for the two programs over the years. The two squads first met in 1931 and competed consistently through the 30s but then didn't face each other from 1939 to 1968. In that 1968 rivalry-renewed contest, AU prevailed 28-14 at Howard Wood Field. Overall, Augustana is 15-10 in Sioux Falls against Minnesota State but is 24-27 all-time.
 
The Mavericks
Minnesota State is 5-2 this season with a one-point loss at Northern State (Sept. 17) and an eight-point loss to Wayne State (Oct. 8). Last week, the Mavericks throttled past Upper Iowa, 43-20. In the contest, MSU reeled off 455 yards of total offense, 285 on the ground and 170 through the air. The Mavericks also took complete control of the game by holding the ball for 36:46 of game time.
 
In a season that saw MSU ranked No. 24 in the third week of the AFCA poll, the Mavericks opened with a pair of wins over a then-ranked Bemidji State squad and Minnesota Duluth. Minnesota State scores 29.7 points per game while giving up 24.4 defensively. Offensively, MSU ranks fifth in the NSIC with 204.6 yards per game while the rushing attack is seventh in the league at 163 yards per outing.
 
As they have historically, Minnesota State continues to roll out a pair of quarterbacks in Camden Dean and Hayden Ekern. Dean completes 58.4 percent of his passes and owns six touchdowns while Ekern completes 53.4 percent of his passes and has four touchdowns. The top receiver is Nyles Williams with 316 yards and three touchdown receptions. Jalen Sample also owns three touchdowns with his 303 yards receiving. The leading rusher is Shen Butler-Lawson and his 53.8 yards per game.
 
Defensively, Payton Conrad leads with 40 total tackles while ranking fifth in the nation with nearly a forced fumble every other game. The punt return game has proven to be a strong point as Trey Vaval is the country's leader with 21.8 yards per return.  
 
The Vikings
Augustana is 6-1 after a Viking Days victory over Wayne State last week, 31-27. It was a come-from-behind victory as Casey Bauman connected with Logan Uttecht with nine seconds remaining for the game-winning score. Bauman had the best game of his AU career with 221 yards passing with three touchdowns and 57 yards rushing.
 
Augustana, currently ranked No. 21 in the AFCA Top-25 and No. 14 in the D2 Football Top-25, is 6-1 on the year and holds second place in the NSIC standings. Appearing to be fully back from injury, Bauman has tossed for 597 yards and nine touchdowns while completing a hair under 56% of his pass attempts. His top target is Jack Fisher and his 21 receptions for 344 yards and five touchdowns. In terms of total catches, Devon Jones has 27 receptions for 260 yards in 2022.
 
Even since Jarod Epperson went down with an injury, it has been a running back by committee as David Addo leads the way with 394 yards rushing, an average of 56.29 yards per game. He has rumbled into the end zone three times.
 
The defense is led by T.J. Liggett's 50 tackles while Grayson Diepenbrock owns 11 tackles for loss including eight sacks.
 
Drew Jurgens, the nation's tallest punter, owns an NSIC-best nine punts of 50-plus yards while averaging 39.4 yards per punt.
 
Who to Watch For
Logan Uttecht had a 2022 breakout game against Wayne State with his 100 yards receiving and two touchdowns. He concluded 2021 with nine touchdowns and 709 yards receiving but had not found the end zone until week seven this year. Those nine receiving touchdowns were top 10 in the NSIC a year ago while also sitting as the top returner for Augustana. In 2022, he now owns 22 receptions for 291 yards including a long of 45 yards.
 
Year 100 Tidbit
It'll be 50 years of Shrine Game football Saturday as Augustana hosts Minnesota State. For those that like easy numbers, that means half of the existence of Augustana football there has been a Shrine Game celebration. The first Shrine Game happened in the 1972 season and has taken place yearly since (with exception of 2020). Net proceeds from Shriner's activities surrounding the contest benefit Shriners Hospitals for Children.
 
One Last Thing
Augustana has been consistent in 2022 with winning scores. In three of the six victories, AU has recorded 31 points including in the last two games. The Vikings also scored 31 points in the 31-7 win at MSU Moorhead on Sept. 17. In addition, Augustana also holds winning scores with point totals of 28 and 30, even more, proving consistency in the scoring game.