SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana football is back on Saturday. The Vikings host UMary at 1 p.m. at Kirkeby-Over Stadium to open the 2023 season.
 
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 the 101^st season of Augustana football and the Vikings are in K-O Stadium, a home turf that has seen AU fall just three times in regular season action since the start of the 2019 season. UMary comes into the facility under new leadership looking to bring a revival to the program.
 
New in 2023, while aligning with national security standards, Augustana University will implement a new re-entry policy for Augustana football, basketball and hockey ticketed events.
Fans will not be able to leave Kirkeby-Over Stadium, the Sanford Pentagon, or Midco Arena and return using a previously scanned ticket. 

• Kirkeby-Over Stadium / Sanford Pentagon / Midco Arena: Once a spectator has entered the facility, they will not be permitted to exit the facility and re-enter using the same ticket. A new ticket must be purchased (based on availability) or they must have an unscanned ticket to re-enter. 
• Elmen Center / Morstad Field / Bowden Field / Ronken Field: Once a spectator has entered any of these facilities, they should see a ticket representative for a hand stamp to re-enter the facility.

Augustana Athletics ticket windows will be open until the start of the 2nd half (football and basketball) or the start of the 3rd period (hockey).
 
About the Marauders
The one word that comes to mind when looking at the 2023 season for UMary is change. The Marauders are under the guidance of first-year head coach Shann Schillinger and will look vastly different on offense without NSIC Offensive Player of the Year and All-America wide receiver Danny Kittner.
 
Picked to finish 12^th in the NSIC in the preseason coaches' poll, UMary had senior offensive lineman Drake Lalim and junior defensive lineman Grant Collins marked as their players to watch. Lalim, a starter as a true freshman, is a three-time captain. Collins earned a starting role for the first-time last season and recorded 24 tackles with 2.5 tackles for a loss.
 
Of the 92 student-athletes on the roster, 43 are newcomers in 2023 for the Maruaders.
 
 
About the Vikings
Augustana was picked to finish fourth in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll while garnering two first place votes. Much of that has to do with the offense returning 10 starters from a season ago. Additionally, every student-athlete listed as the No. 1 on the two deep has started for the Vikings including two-time NSIC First Team honoree Blake Larson. The Vikings' offense totals seven student-athletes that have garnered all-conference accolades over the past two years.
 
The Vikings defense will look slightly different after the graduation of a pair of All-America honorees. Returning is the 2021 NSIC Newcomer of the Year in Peyton Buckley and six individuals that started games in the 2022 season.
 
As part of the preseason coaches' poll, Buckley and Jarod Epperson were tabbed as Vikings to Watch. Epperson played in three full games last season before an injury early in the fourth game derailed his season. To that point, he had averaged 103 yards per game and has run for 2,107 yards over his career. Buckley, an all-region performer, led Augustana with 60 tackles with forty-four marked as solo.
 
New to the 2023 coaching staff is offensive coordinator Tyler Paopao while the remaining nine assistant coaches for head coach Jerry Olszewski remains unchanged.
 
One Last Thing
Augustana owns a record of 54-42-4 in season-opening contests spanning 100 years. In the NSIC era, AU is 12-2 and has won four-straight season openers.