SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – It's postseason football at Kirkeby-Over Stadium as Augustana hosts Minnesota State in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs. The NSIC Champion Vikings host a postseason game for the third time in program history with kickoff slated for noon.
 
For a full bracket, click here. Tickets can be purchased at GoAugie.com/Tickets. Prices are $15 for reserved seats, $10 for general admission, $5 for youth and $3 for college students.
 
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
It's a rematch from Week 8 that saw Augustana run away with a 28-10 victory. At the time, MSU was ranked No. 3 in the country while Augustana was No. 17. This go-round, AU is No. 16 with the Mavericks sitting at No. 17.
 
The winner of the game will head to Golden, Colorado, for a game with No. 1 Colorado Mines on Saturday, Nov. 25.
 
About the Mavericks
Minnesota State is unseeded in the playoffs while holding a tied for No. 17 ranking in the AFCA Top-25. Coming off a loss 33-21 loss to Minnesota Duluth, the Mavericks are 9-2 on the season and finished runner-up in the NSIC with an 8-2 mark.
 
In the contest with UMD, MSU put up 368 yards of offense, four more than the Bulldogs, but ultimately were outscored by 12 points.
 
For the season, Hayden Ekern started all 11 games at quarterback while tossing for 21 touchdowns and 2,393 yards, an average of 217.5 per game. His top target was Grant Guyett for 33 receptions and three touchdowns. TreShawn Watson led the way yardage wise with 44.1 yards per game and four touchdowns. Shen Butler-Lawson rumbled for 1,412 yards and 15 touchdowns while his lowest output of the season was just 39 yards against AU on Oct. 21.
 
Defensively, Jacob Daulton led MSU with 50 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, four pass breakups and an interception. Maven Kretche got to the quarterback 9.5 times totaling 61 sack yards. He also added three quarterback hurries and two pass breakups. Khai West totaled an NSIC-best five interceptions.
 
About the Vikings
Holding its 10-1 record, Augustana is the No. 4 seed in Super Region Four and won the outright NSIC Championship after earning a 9-1 record through conference action. The exclamation point was a winner-take-all contest in the regular-season finale against Bemidji State. The Vikings won 38-19 to hand the Beavers' their second loss of the season as AU celebrated the championship on its home field.
 
Casey Bauman has been the steady force for the Vikings offense, throwing for 2,391 yards and 24 touchdowns while starting all 11 games. The graduate student completes 63.9 percent of his pass attempts and averages 217.4 yards per outing. He has spread the ball around by throwing touchdown passes to eight different receivers including four each to Jack Fisher, Devon Jones and Logan Uttecht. Canyon Bauer is the team leader with five touchdown receptions.
 
The ability to spread the offense is thanks to Jarod Epperson at running back as he has totaled 1,028 yards this season with 10 touchdowns. After coming back from a season-ending injury a year ago, he took two games to get his feet under him, but since then, he has averaged 107.5 yards per game over the final nine games of the regular season.
 
The Vikings' defense has been stellar all season long, ranking 16^th in the nation in scoring defense. That has to do in part with Peyton Buckley, firmly in the discussion as the NSIC Defensive Player of the Year, leads Augustana with 68 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss. He has also added nine pass breakups, two interceptions, forced a fumble and is credited with a quarterback hurry. JayVian Farr had arguably his best game of the season this past week while adding his second interception of the year, which he took 61 yards for a touchdown.
 
One Last Thing
A win over Minnesota State would give Augustana its most wins in a single season, tying the 2010 squad with 11. The 10 wins this year stand alone as the second most wins in a season. Previously, Augustana has won nine games