SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana football team is back in action Saturday at Upper Iowa. The Vikings travel to Fayette, Iowa, for the first time since the 2018 season when AU had the dramatic come-from-behind 48-45 victory.
 
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
Kickoff in Fayette, Iowa, is slated for 3 p.m. The later start time is to accommodate homecoming activities at Upper Iowa.
 
The Peacocks
Upper Iowa is one of three NSIC schools with an 0-5 record. The Peacocks are 0-1 in the NSIC South Division after a 47-7 loss to Southwest Minnesota State this past Saturday. The lone touchdown for UIU came late in the fourth quarter on a 14-play, 72-yard drive. Aboubacar Barry ran four yards into the end zone to make the score 47-7. SMSU outgained UIU 436-201 while being held the Peacocks were held to 67 yards passing.
 
Marcus Orr has been the starting quarterback for Upper Iowa as he has completed 54.3 percent of his passes and tallied five touchdowns. His top target is Cole Ewald and his 18 receptions. He has hauled in one touchdown. The rushing attack is led by Desean Phillips and his 47.2 yards per game.
 
The Peacocks average 65.6 yards rushing per game while the passing attack nets 147.4 yards per outing. In all, UIU totals 213 yards per game while opponents rack up 394 yards per game.
 
The Vikings
Augustana is 4-1 on the season after suffering its first loss of the year this past week. Despite the loss, Augustana looked strong garnering a game-high 23 first downs and held a time of possession at 33:23. The Vikings also totaled 405 yards of offense with 293 coming through the air (game-high) and 112 on the ground.
 
Casey Bauman was back at quarterback for the Vikings after missing nearly three games due to injury. He has now totaled 376 yards passing and six touchdowns. Three of those passing touchdowns came this past week with one each to Jack Fisher, Devon Jones and Isaiah Huber. Jones is the top receiver this year in terms of receptions at 15 while Fisher holds the most yards (217) and touchdowns (four).
 
Defensively, T.J. Liggett leads AU with 36 tackles while Peyton Buckley has totaled 34. Combined, the two have totaled 6.5 tackles for loss. The tackles for loss leader? Grayson Diepenbrock. The senior has 7.5 tackles for loss with six of which being a sack on the quarterback.
 
For the season, Augustana averages 362.6 yards per game offensively with 166.6 coming on the ground and 196.0 coming through the air. Defensively, AU holds opponents to just 73.8 yards rushing and 261.4 yards passing.
 
Who to Watch For
Isaiah Huber recorded his first-career touchdown when he hauled in a 29-yard pass from Bauman this past week. The redshirt freshman now owns five receptions for 58 yards in 2022 with four receptions against MSU Moorhead. Serving on special teams, he owns eight returns off kicks and five returns off punts.
 
Year 100 Tidbit
The 1960s saw an Augustana student-athlete play in the NFL for the first time. Les Josephson, a 1963 Williamson Midbracket All-America honoree, signed with the Dallas Cowboys in 1964 and was subsequently traded to the Los Angeles Rams. While with the Rams, he was a 1968 Pro Bowl selection and played a total of 129 games in the NFL as a running back.
 
One Last Thing
Augustana is seventh in all of NCAA Division II with a pair of defensive touchdowns. In the home opener on Sept. 10, Peyton Buckley returned an interception for a touchdown. In the season's second home contest, Grayson Diepenbrock recovered a fumble and took it four yards for a touchdown.