USF kicks off the 2012 football home-opener Saturday September 8 against NSIC foe MSU-Moorhead. The matchup is the first between the Cougars and Dragons in football. For a full version of this week's notes, MSUM's notes or the NSIC weekly release, please see the related links box.
Military Appreciation Day
The USF athletic department will host a Military Appreciation Day for Saturday's home opener which will feature the Lincoln High School Band, a flag presentation and several tributes throughout the game. Festivities begin with a tailgate at 11 a.m.
The Broadcast
Live Stream: Sioux Falls will provide a free live stream of Saturday's NSIC matchup at http://nmtvsports.com
Radio: KWSN (AM 1230) will air Saturday's game. Player interviews and the Jed Stugart pregame show airs 45 minutes prior to kickoff. Tom Frederick and Tim Hiatt will team up to call the play-by-play.
Links to live audio, stats and video stream can be found online on the football schedule here
First and 10
• The Cougars played spoiler last week, knocking off No. 16 St. Cloud 32-19 in St. Cloud to end a 14-game home win streak held by Huskies.
• USF boasts an all-time record of 36-1 at Bob Young Field, which opened in the fall of 2007. Their first loss came in last season's home-opener vs. No. 18 Washburn (9/1/11).
• The last team to defeat USF in a conference game at home was Concordia (Neb.), who topped the Cougars 17-14 at McEnaney Field September 15, 2001.
• Junior receiver Carrington Hanna's (Streetsboro, Ohio./CalPen) 113 yard receiving day at St. Cloud snapped a 14-game span where no USF player reached 100 or more yards receiving in a game
• Senior receiver Jeremiah Oates (Orangevale, Calif./Sacramento CC) has tallied 10 receiving TDs in 10 career starts for the Cougars
• With an interception at St. Cloud, senior safety Robert Virgil (Elk Grove, Calif./Sacramento CC) has recorded an interception in six of his last seven games and enters the weekend having picked off a pass in three straight
• Despite two linemen (Hyronimus and Surgant) making their first career start, USF didn't allow a single sack at St. Cloud
• Under head coach Jed Stugart, USF is 17-1 when holding a halftime lead and 15-1 after scoring first
• The Cougar defense recorded and impressive 10 TFL for 48 yards in week one.
• Second-year starter senior safety Michael Frericks (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake South) set a career-high with nine tackles last Thursday
Run Support
USF's run defense gave up just 66 yards in the season-opener, which was tied for the third lowest mark in the NSIC last weekend. The Cougars also extended their streak of not allowing a single player to rush for 100 yards or more to 16 consecutive games. Josh Endres of Dakota Wesleyan (10/23/10) was the last player to surpass the century mark against a USF defense.Stats to Cheer
In 2012, USF has a 100% (3-3) conversion rate in Red Zone. The Cougars only allowed 289 total yards in game one (4th in NSIC) and tied for first in the conference with four sacks, first in yards accrued (34yds). USF limited SCSU to converting just three of 16 third downs last week.
2012 Captains
On defense Eric Anderson (Irene, S.D./Irene-Wakonda) and Nick Bonte (Garretson, S.D./South Dakota State) represent USF, while Taylor Perkins (Mesa, Ariz./Arizona State) and Kristian Porter (Hawarden, Iowa/West Sioux) are the team's offensive captains. Braden Wieking (Sioux Falls, S.D./Christian) is the special teams captain.
Stats to Fear
The Cougars have seen a drop in special teams production, as they currently sit in the bottom three of the NSIC in KO coverage (40.5), KO return (10.6) and net punt average (27.1).
Strength Up Front
USF did not allow a single sack last week, yet put SCSU's QB on his back four times.
Confidence Under Center
Senior quarterback Taylor Perkins shined in his fourth career start for the Cougars, connecting on 25 of 42 attempts for a career-high 254 yards and three touchdowns to just one interception to lead the Cougars to a 32-19 road victory against the-then no. 16 Huskies. His completion and touchdown totals had not been matched since current tight ends coach Jon Eastman was under center for USF in 2010. Perkins recorded touchdown strikes of 20, 2 and 22 yards and also rushed for 28 yards on eight attempts.
Golden Boot
Placekicker and punter Braden Wieking had career-best performance last Thursday. He added a career-long 48 yard field goal to his USF resume. Wieking also charted a 45 yard punt and placed two inside the 20.
AFCA Votes
For the first time since the 2011 preseason poll, USF received votes (23) for the AFCA D2 Coaches' Poll released September 3
