SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana football team is back home Saturday as it hosts MSU Moorhead for Viking Days at 1 p.m. inside Kirkeby-Over Stadium.
 
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 is in its 101^st season of football. Mixed with a few seasons where football was not played, most notably World War II and the canceled COVID season, this marks the 100^th Homecoming celebration. Augustana has played 13 Viking Days games in Kirkeby-Over Stadium, holding a 10-3 record over those contests. That includes last year's 31-27 win over 2022 NCAA Division I playoff team Wayne State.
 
About the Dragons
MSU Moorhead sits at 2-1 on the season after dropping its week one contest, 31-23, to Wayne State but bounced back with wins over Minot State and McKendree. That contest against McKendree was this past weekend as the Dragons topped the visiting Bearcats 38-17 in nonconference action.
 
Josiah Behm earned the NSIC Defensive Player of the Week after making 10 tackles with five marked as solo. He also recorded a forced fumble and a breakup in the contest. Behm also leads MSUM in tackles with 25 while Tate Gustafson has totaled 23 on the year.
 
Offensively, the Dragons have the fourth-best passing offense in NCAA Division II with 362.7 yards per game. That is on the heels of a completion percentage that ranks ninth in the country as quarterback Jack Strand has tossed for 1,037 yards and 12 touchdowns on a 70.3 completion percentage. His top target is Carter Birrenkott with his 304 yards on 19 receptions and Gage Florence who has 232 yards on 33 receptions. The rush game is led by Owen Wiersma and his 42 yards per game.
 
About the Vikings
Augustana is 3-0 for the third-straight season after last week's 24-16 win at Concordia-St. Paul. In the contest, the Vikings threw for 243 yards and three touchdowns while the defense held firm, holding CSP to three field goals in the win. Peyton Buckley had an outstanding week on the field with 11 tackles, six solo, two tackles for loss, a forced fumble, two pass breakups and a quarterback hurry.
 
For the year, Buckley leads AU with 20 tackles while Brayden Hoops is second on the team with 16 tackles. Offensively, Casey Bauman controls the passing game with 760 yards and six touchdowns. His top target is Jack Fisher with his 77 yards per game average and three touchdowns. On the ground, Jarod Epperson averages 46.7 yards per game and is coming off his best game since last year's season-ending injury as he racked up 80 yards at CSP.
 
Avery Book has taken hold of Augustana's punting game as he ranks 14^th in NCAA Division II with his 43.8 yards per punt average.
 
One Last Thing
One can expect Saturday's contest will be one of the cleanest games of the year. Augustana ranks fourth in the nation for the fewest penalties per game at just 3.33. However, that is second in the NSIC as MSU Moorhead is second in the nation at 2.67 in the same category.