SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana football team concludes its 2022 season Saturday at Southwest Minnesota State. Kickoff from Marshall, Minnesota, is slated for 1 p.m.
 
About the Game
Both squads will see their seasons end following the contest. Augustana has 16 student-athletes playing their final game of their career and were all honored prior to the Vikings' last home game in a Senior Day recognition.
 
About the Mustangs
Southwest Minnesota State is experiencing a bounce-back year of sorts with its 4-6 record. However, the Mustangs are on a five-game losing streak after getting into action against NSIC South Division foes. Most recently, it was a 45-24 setback at Minnesota State this past Saturday. The last win for SMSU was on Oct. 1, a 47-7 thumping of Upper Iowa.
 
The Mustangs are paced by the NSIC's top rusher, Jesse Sherwood, and his 139.1 yards per game. That places him seventh in the nation while he accounts for nearly 41 percent of SMSU's offense that records 341.4 yards per game. Southwest has trotted out three quarterbacks in 2022 with Marcus Martin getting the start last week. In three games, Martin has tossed for an average of 203.3 yards and four touchdowns while completing 54.1 percent of his pass attempts. Peter Osman is the top receiver with 442 total yards on 28 receptions with two touchdowns.
 
On the defensive side of the ball, Onte Burns leads the team with 90 tackles, a mark that ranks second in the NSIC. He has also recorded two interceptions and a pass breakup. He leads SMSU with six tackles for loss. The sacks leader is Austin Moore with 3.5 sacks for 18 yards.
 
It is worth noting that the Mustangs are led by Scott Underwood, an Augustana graduate and was the head coach at St. Cloud State prior to the program being disbanded. Vikings' defensive Coordinator Mark Sipple held the same position at SCSU under Underwood while cornerbacks coach Jamari Manuel played for Underwood.
 
About the Vikings
Augustana is 6-4 in 2022 after having a setback against Minnesota Duluth this past week. In that contest, Thomas Scholten threw for 138 yards, all in the second half, and two touchdowns. The Vikings' defense continued to be led by T.J. Liggett and his nine tackles while Grayson Diepenbrock added his 25^th career sack to his resume as part of a six-tackle day.
 
Between essentially two quarterbacks for AU in 2022, Casey Bauman has tossed for 1,054 yards while Scholten has thrown for 883 yards. Bauman has totaled 11 touchdowns while Scholten has totaled eight touchdowns. The glut of those yards passing has gone to Jack Fisher (535), Devon Jones (457) and Logan Uttecht (405) while that trio has accounted for 14 of the 19 touchdown receptions.
 
Liggett leads the AU defense with 71 tackles while Peyton Buckley has added 56 tackles. Diepenbrock is the all-time sacks leader at Augustana and has totaled 9.5 in 2022, a single-season record. Eli Weber leads the Vikings with three passes intercepted.
 
Who to Watch For
Brady Pfeifer, the reigning NSIC Special Teams Player of the Week, connected on a 50-yard field goal in the Vikings' contest against Minnesota Duluth. That marked a career-long for the sophomore. The kick is the sixth longest in program history and the longest since Lucas Wainman hit a 54-yarder on Oct. 31, 2015.
Top 6 longest Field Goals in AU History:
1. 54 yards, Lucas Wainman, Oct. 31, 2015
2. 53 yards, Lucas Wainman, Sept. 7, 2015
3. 52 yards, Lucas Wainman, Sept. 6, 2014
    52 yards, Dave Koehn, Sept. 22, 1979
5. 51 yards, Jon Oien, Oct. 15, 1977
6. 50 yards, Brady Pfeifer, Nov. 5, 2022
 
Year 100 Tidbit
Augustana has had five players step foot on an NFL field during the regular season. Currently, it is CJ Ham with the Minnesota Vikings - the best fullback in the NFL. Kevin Kaesviharn played 87 games for the Cincinnati Bengals from 2001-06 then suited up for two seasons with the New Orleans Saints. He finished his playing days in 2009 with the Tennessee Titans and the Carolina Panthers. Corbin Lacina was a sixth-round draft pick and played for a decade amongst four teams. Bryan Schwartz and Les Josephson are also NFL alumni for AU.