SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - After the bye week for the Vikings, Augustana Football is set for a matchup against Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday with a 1:05 p.m. kickoff to celebrate Viking Days. 

Live audio (free) and video ($) of the game can be followed on GoAugie.com/Live and the GoAugie app.

New for the 2026 season, the NSIC Network is now powered by Midco Sports Plus, the conference's new streaming home for exclusive live and on-demand coverage of all 16 NSIC member institutions. Fans can stream every home regular-season conference and non-conference home football game, along with NSIC championship events, through a monthly ($15) or annual subscription (less than $7 per month). Subscriptions are available at MidcoSportsPlus.com or through the Midco Sports Plus app on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Fire TV, and Roku.

Scouting the Enemy
After being chosen 14th overall and 7th in the South Division in preseason polls, Southwest Minnesota State is currently 1-6 overall and 0-6 in the NSIC. The Mustangs found their single win at the beginning of the season against Valley City State. Before the bye week, Southwest Minnesota State fell to Sioux Falls 28-14. Offensively, the Mustangs gathered 280 total yards, 233 of those coming from the pass game. Tommy Hoffman completed 17-for-36 pass attempts for 233 yards, one touchdown, threw two interceptions, and took three sacks. Hoffman led the Mustangs in rushing yards as well, with 36 yards on 14 attempts. Emmanuel Diers followed with 19 yards on six carries. Zoan Robinson led the receivers with 90 yards on six receptions, scoring one touchdown. 

Defensively for Southwest Minnesota State, Hunter Hanegraaf was at the helm with 11 tackles, including four tackles for a loss of 13 yards. Aiden Planer added eight tackles for the Mustangs. Connor Shelton recorded the lone interception, returning it for 20 yards, and Avery Johnson had the lone sack on the Cougars. 

Weekend Rewind
Prior to the bye week for the Vikings, the defense showed up and showed out, allowing the Golden Bears no points on the board. The offense also had a strong showing, putting up 55 points to dominate the game and win 55-0. The Vikings totaled 575 offensive yards, with 361 of those being passing yards. Gunnar Hensley held a majority of the passing yards with 329, adding five touchdowns on 24-for-30 completions. Rich Lucero Jr. added 32 yards going 3-for-9 and throwing one touchdown. Max Grand led the team in rushing yards with 105 on 15 attempts. Max Carlson scored two touchdowns for Augustana on five rushing attempts for 26 yards. Cody Oswald had himself a day with two touchdowns on only six receptions and accumulated 139 yards. Klayton Sattler, Carlson, Tytan Tryon, and Will Lynch also recorded one touchdown each. 

Defensively for Augustana, Camron Maciejewski and Brock Salm had five tackles and led the Vikings in that column. Tyler Birn followed with four tackles, including two tackles for a loss of 10 yards and one sack. Lathan Wilcox recorded the other sack for the Vikings, while Alex Belongia snagged his interception to return for 17 yards. 18 other players recorded at least one tackle for the Vikings. 

Defensive Domination
The Augustana defense recorded a shutout, the first one since beating Winona State 31-0 in the 2024 season. Augustana's defense brings momentum into the matchup. Maciejewski and Salm lead the way in tackles, Birn keeps wrecking drives on the defensive line, and Wilcox continues to add pressure on the quarterback. Belongia's ball-hawking in the secondary gave the Vikings a key takeaway, and the unit's talent showed with nearly the whole group landing on the stat sheet.