SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The No. 15-ranked Augustana football team (8-2, 8-1 NSIC) closes out the regular season on the road with a chance to claim an outright NSIC championship at Bemidji State (7-3, 6-3). Kickoff is slated for 1 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 is 10-4 all-time against Bemidji State and 4-2 in Bemidji. The Vikings have won the previous two meetings, including a win in the final regular season game of 2023 to capture an outright NSIC title. The last time the teams met in Bemidji, AU won 52-24 in 2021.

Scouting the Enemy
The Beavers enter the week 7-3 overall and 6-3 in the NSIC after defeating MSU Moorhead last weekend. BSU has been better than their record would indicate, losing their three games by a combined six points, all on the road. The Beavers slotted in at No. 7 in the Super Region 4 Region Rankings.

Sam McGath has thrown for 2,041 yards and 19 touchdowns on the season, both ranking top-40 in the country. He has found a reliable target in Brice Peters, whose 925 receiving yards (12th) and 11 touchdowns (7th) are both among the best in the country.

Defensively, Marcus Hansen has lived in opposing backfields. Hansen leads the NSIC with 8.0 sacks and 14.0 tackles for loss. Stephen Hoffman (6.0 sacks, 9.5 TFL) and Cade Barrett (5.5, 8.5) have made Saturday afternoons long and tiring for opposing quarterbacks.

About the Vikings
In his final Key to the City game, Jarod Epperson made sure to keep the Key in-house, leading a 27-21 Augustana victory over Sioux Falls on Saturday afternoon at Kirkeby-Over Stadium. The win is the first home victory for Augustana over USF since 1986.

Epperson ran wild, tallying a career-best 202 rushing yards while scoring two touchdowns for the fourth consecutive game. He was the one to put the game on ice, racking up 109 rushing yards in the fourth quarter alone to seal the victory. He also added a 75-yard reception for a career-high of 277 total yards.

Gunnar Hensley had another efficient outing for the Vikings, going 16 for 25 with 271 yards and a touchdown in the air. Jack Fisher led all receivers with 99 yards on six receptions. Isaiah Huber was stellar in the return game, taking three kickoffs for 66 yards and a pair of punts for 43 yards.

Kade Lynott led a defense full of outstanding performances with a career-day, resetting career-highs with 11 tackles, nine solo, and a pair of sacks while also breaking up a pass. Peyton Buckley led all players with a career-high 12 tackles, 11 solo, and Haden Wallace added the games only interception. The Vikings limited the Cougars to 117 yards on the ground, their 18th game in a row holding an opponent under their season rushing average.

Jarod Epperson continues to sit alone at the top. The senior has run for 4,092 yards in his career, breaking the previous record held by Joe Clark (2006-10). The most remarkable part of the record is he was able to do so in one less game and on 130 less carries than Clark. On the year, Epperson ranks second in the NSIC and 15th in the country with 102.1 yards per game. He is also fifth in the country and leads the NSIC with 7.02 yards per carry while adding 10 touchdowns.

He continues to get stronger as the season wears on. Epperson has scored multiple touchdowns in four consecutive games. In his past five games, Epperson has averaged 181.8 all purpose yards per game, 139.8 yards per game and 8.32 yards per carry, leading the NSIC in each.

Epperson has also scored 35 rushing touchdowns, third all-time. In all, he has 19 100-plus yard games. He has left his mark in the passing game through out his career as well as he is the first player in program history and second active player amongst all NCAA levels to have over 4,000 rushing and 1,000 receiving yards in their career.

It has been quite the coming out party for sophomore signal caller Gunnar Hensley. The Carlsbad, California native has now been named NSIC Offensive Player of the Week twice in eight starts this season.

Hensley currently ranks sixth in the country in completion percentage at 69.1 percent, 17th with 8.95 yards per attempt, 16th with a 163.5 passing efficiency, 40th with 14.0 points responsible for and 25th with 234.8 passing yards per game. He has also thrown for 18 touchdowns, 38th most in the country. 

Special teams has, again, been a strength for this year's team as they rank 22nd in the country with 24.61 yards per kickoff return and allow just 17.83 yards per kick return, 87th in DII.

Offensively, the Vikings rank sixth with a 67.0 completion percentage, 37th in passing offense at 234.0 yards per game. They're also 28th in red zone offense, scoring at a 85.0 percent clip inside the 20, and are 28th in red zone defense, allowing points on 66.7 percent of red zone drives. Ball security has been a theme as well as the Vikings have only lost two fumbles, ranking fifth in the country with just two fumbles lost.  

Defensively, it has been all about the front seven. The Vikings average 2.60 sacks per game, 30th in the country, and are 28th in rushing defense allowing 96.7 rushing yards per game. The defense has also stood tall in the biggest moments, ranking 17th in opponent fourth down conversion percentage, allowing 31.8 percent. 

The Augustana defense has played lights out of late. Over the last five games, the defense has given up 51 total points (10.2 points per game). That performance has helped dip their season number to 16.2 points allowed per game, first in the NSIC and 23rd in the country.  

They have spent plenty of time in the backfield this season. The Vikings fifth in the NSIC with 5.9 tackles for loss per game and are third with 2.60 sacks per game. Kade Lynott (5.0), Will Davis (4.5), Myles Taylor (3.5), and Gradee Sherman (3.0) have led a team effort. 11 Vikings have at least 0.5 sacks and 18 have at least 0.5 tackles for loss.

Five different Vikings have collected at least 40 tackles through 10 games. Haden Wallace leads the way with 81 tackles, 55 solo and 8.0 tackles for loss while adding a pair of interceptions Kade Lynott is second on the team with 75 tackles with 8.5 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks.

Peyton Buckley has been all over the field, racking up 64 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss and eight pass breakups including an interception. Isaiah Ryan has 51 tackles and seven pass breakups to go along with an interception while Logan Leonard has 42 tackles and a team-high four interceptions.

One Last Thing
Jarod Epperson and Kade Lynott were been named NSIC Players of the Week after explosive performances against USF. Epperson earned his first weekly honor of the season and third of his career while Lynott earned his second in the last three weeks.