SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana football, ranked No. 21 in the latest AFCA Top-25, travels to Northern State for its final regular season road contest. Kickoff from Aberdeen, South Dakota, is slated for 2 p.m.
 
Complete action can be followed on GoAugie.com/Live and the GoAugie app, presented by The Original Pancake House. The app can be downloaded in the App Store or Google Play.
 
About the Game
Augustana earned a Super Region Four ranking of No. 5 in the first official rankings listed Monday. That places AU in the NCAA Division II Playoffs if the season would be over. A road win would only further that ranking while the Wolves are looking to bounce back from a loss at Concordia-St. Paul.
 
About the Wolves
Sitting at 4-5 on the year, Northern State owns a quality win over Wayne State while also defeating UMary, Minot State and Southwest Minnesota State. Most recently, NSU fell 20-14 at Concordia-St. Paul after being unable to convert with a pass in the end zone as regulation ended.
 
Colton Hackel has tossed for eight touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing just shy of 54 percent of his pass attempts. Hackel's top target is Dewaylon Ingram and his 990 yards on 54 receptions. Ingra has hauled in seven touchdowns, a team-best. Brett Brenton leads the rushing charge with 530 yards and five touchdowns.
 
Defensively, Trey King has totaled 57 tackles with 11 tackles for loss. Luke Gunderson leads the team with 2.5 sacks while the reigning NSIC Defensive Player of the Year, Ian Marshall, has one sack after recording six in 2022.
 
About the Vikings
Augustana is 8-1 on the season after what one could consider a strange game at Wayne State. The Vikings won every statistical category with the exception of the final score. AU outgained the Wildcats by over 250 yards, held WSC to just three first downs but ended up on the wrong side of a 14-12 score.
 
Augustana remains in first place of the NSIC while Casey Bauman has tossed for 2,144 yards and 20 touchdowns. Spreading out the field, Jack Fisher is the team's top receiver with 493 yards while Devon Jones has accumulated the most receptions at 27. Jarod Epperson continues his comeback season with 735 yards rushing, an average of 81.6 yards per game.
 
Peyton Buckley, who is firmly in the discussion as the NSIC's Defensive Player of the Year, has recorded 54 tackles with 5.5 tackles for loss. In addition, he has two interceptions, seven pass breakups and a forced fumble. Will Davis and Gradee Sherman have each recorded 3.5 sacks.  
 
One Last Thing
Augustana held Wayne State to -23 yards rushing on Saturday. That lowered its rushing defense to 82.2 yards per outing, a mark that leads the NSIC and is 11^th nationally.