SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The reigning NSIC Champion and No. 14-ranked Augustana football team begins its title defense on Thursday evening, traveling to Bismarck, N.D., for a match-up against UMary. Kickoff is slated for 6 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 will open its schedule with UMary for the second consecutive season and third time overall. It will also be the first time the Vikings have opened their season in Bismarck since 2007, the first meeting between the two teams. The 6 p.m., kickoff is the latest in series history. The latest prior to this season came in 2011 when the Vikings and Marauders kicked off at 2:37 p.m.
 
About the Marauders
The Marauders enter the week 1-0 after knocking off Jamestown 23-6 to open the second year of the Shann Schillinger era. Justus Breston had a pair of interceptions returned for touchdowns, proving that sometimes the best offense is good defense. 

Picked to finish 13th in the NSIC in the preseason coaches' poll, UMary had senior wide receiver Mujeeb Rufai and junior linebacker Mason Phillips marked as their players to watch. Rufai, caught 65 passes for 569 yards in his first season with the Marauders in 2023. Phillips led the defense  with 6.5 sacks and 9.0 tackles for loss a season ago. The 6.5 sacks was also fifth in the NSIC

The Marauders bring experience as all 11 projected offensive starters have earned a start in their respective UMary careers. Defensively, they'll have a pair of third-year starters on the line. 

About the Vikings
Augustana was picked to finish second in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll while garnering two first place votes. Much of that has to do with the defense returning eight starters from a season ago. Among the 22 defensive players listed on the final two-deep of 2023, 15 return. On the offensive side, the Vikings lost a pair of captains, including an All-American.  Augustana returns just four starters, although all 11 backups from the final two-deep of 2023 return.
 
As part of the preseason coaches' poll, Peyton Buckley and Jack Fisher were tabbed as Vikings to Watch. Buckley was a consensus All-American a season ago while leading AU with 78 tackles and tying a team-high with three interceptions. Fisher is a two-time All-NSIC performer that was second on the team last year with 549 yards and 17.2 yards per catch. 
 
Brayden Kearsley will join the mix as an offensive line coach. The other nine assistant coaches for head coach Jerry Olszewski remain unchanged.

One Last Thing
Augustana owns a record of 55-42-4 in season-opening contests spanning 101 years. In the NSIC era, AU is 13-2 and has won five-straight season openers.