Football | 10/13/2016 10:18:00 AM

SIOUX FALLS -- The #6 USF Football Team (6-0, 2-0 NSIC South), which leads NCAA DII in total offense and rushing, will face a test at Winona State (5-1, 2-0 NSIC South) on the Warriors Homecoming at 2:30 p.m.  on Saturday Oct. 15 at Maxwell Field at Verizon Wireless Stadium in Winona, Minn. Both teams come off wins as USF rolled up 670 yards in total offense, including 428 rushing, in a 48-28 decision over Southwest Minnesota State.  Meanwhile WSU defeated Upper Iowa, 27-13 on the road. USF is ranked #6 in both the AFCA Coaches Poll and D2Football.com Poll and #4 in David Boyce's DII Power Poll at NCAA.com.
    
The Matchup   
    Both teams feature explosive offenses with USF relying more on its rushing game (371.8 ypg, 1st, NCAA DII) and WSU heavy in passing (298.2 ypg, 3rd NSIC). USF is 3rd in the league in scoring at 42.0 points per game while WSU is 6th at 39.5. USF leads NCAA DII in total offense at 585.0 yards per game, the Warriors stand 6th in the league at 464.3 ypg. The Cougar has three of the league's top nine rushers (Max Mickey, 157.0 ypg, 1st ; Luke Papilion, 106.7 ypg, 3rd; and Justin Fulks,  81.5, ypg, 9th), while WSU is led by Paul Preston, 2nd,  116.6 ypg. On defense, the Cougars rank 4th in th NSIC in scoring defense (22.0) with WSU, 1st at 14.2 ppg.  USF is 4th in rushing defense at 116.2 ypg and WSU, 2nd, at 111.3 ypg. USF's defense , which ranks fourth in total defense (384.2 ppg), is second in the league in sacks with 23 and interceptions with 11. WSU, which is 1st in the league in total defense at 277.2 ypg, ranks 8th in sacks with 13 and 6th with eight interceptions.
    
Cougars move to 40-10 in NSIC games
     USF is 40-10 in NSIC games and 46-15 in all DII games since the transition in 2011. USF's clinched 23rd straight winning seasons is unmatched in D2 and the fifth-longest streak across all divisions. The string of success began with an 8-3 season for legendary head coach Bob Young in 1994. In the four seasons in the NSIC, USF has gone 9-2, 6-5, 11-1 (Mineral Water Bowl champs) and 9-3 in 2015.  
      
Series Notes –  
USF and Winona State are tied 2-2 in all-time series after a 51-30 by the then #5 ranked Cougars on Oct. 10, 2015 at Bob Young Field. Two years ago at WSU,  the then #14 Cougars taking a 41-28 win on the Warriors' homecoming a year ago. Two years ago in Sioux Falls, the Warriors took a 45-40 decision at Bob Young Field. In 2012, WSU also won, defeating USF, 10-9 in Winona.  In 2015, Luke Papilion had 506 yards in total offense, including a career high 413 passing, as USF overcame a 17-0 deficit and picked up a 51-30 win at Bob Young Field. Two years ago, the Cougars opened up a 35-7 lead in the first half and held off the Warriors. The Cougars defense forced four turnovers, including three interceptions and a 35-yard fumble return for a TD by Cameron Ostrom. Solomon St. Pierre had two picks and a team-high 11 tackles as the USF defense had four sacks, seven tackles for loss and held WSU to under 100 yards rushing. QB Luke Papilion had 21 carries for 121 yards and two TDs while completing 17-of-32 passes for 230 yards and two TDs. Tight end Nicholas Stanke had five catches for 59 yards and a TD.

USF leads nation in offense and ranks  in 13 top 10 categories
    USF leads NCAA DII in both total offense and rushing, according to the most recent NCAA DII statistics released on Sunday. The Cougars are ranked in the top 10 nationally in 20 team and individual categories in DII stats. USF is ranked in the top 10 in 13 team and individual statistical categories nationally.  After accumulating 670 yards against Southwest Minnesota State, USF jumped from 568.0 to 585.0 yards per game in total offense. The Cougars rushed for 428 yards, which pushed USF's rushing yardage to 371.8 yards per game. The Cougars, which has had at least 282 yards rushing in all six games, accumulated over 400 yards rushing for the third time this year. In addition, they had 600 yards or more offense for the third time and 12th overall since 2010. USF, which also ranks first nationally in yards per play at 7.78, has generated 505, 604, 453, 636, 562 0and 67 yards in the five games this season.  At 42 points per game, USF sits 10th in DII. In first downs, USF is fourth nationally with 160. With 15 carries for 156 yards and a career best four total TDs, junior running back Max Mickey continues to leads the nation in rushing yards per carry at 11.00 while also ranking second in both rushing yards (942) and rushing yards per game (157.0). Mickey has had rushing totals of 178, 185, 77, 207, 140 yards and 156 yards in his six games this year.  Mickey, who ranks 16th in all-purpose yards nationally at 164.0 per game, is part of a USF backfield, which has three players ranking in the top seven nationally in yards per carry. Aside from national leader Mickey, quarterback Luke Papilion is third at 8.77 yards per carry and Justin Fulks, seventh at 7.52 per carry. Papilion is 22nd nationally with 640 rushing yards and ranks ninth in rushing TDs with 10 while sitting 10th in points responsible for with 120 and is 12th in points responsible per game at 20.0. Both Mickey and Papilion rank 16th in DII in scoring 10.0 points per game.
USF, which had five 100-yard rushing games last year, has 11 already this season. Aside from Mickey, Papilion, who has four 100 yard rushing games (149, 101, 163, 122), and Justin Fulks has two (103, 140). Also on offense, Josh Angulo ranks 16th in DII with seven TD receptions.
On defense, Clifford Redmond ranks ninth in fumbles recovered with two and ranks 10th in interceptions per game at 0.67 (four total interceptions).
 USF also ranks 13th in passes intercepted (11) and 18th in sacks with 23.  The Cougars have allowed just three sacks or 0.50 per game for fifth in DII
 
On WSU
The Warriors have opened 5-1, 2-0 in the NSIC South after 27-13 win over Upper Iowa last weekend. WSU also has a 34-31 win vs. Minnesota State when they made a last second field goal. The only loss by WSU was to Minnesota-Duluth, 34-31.  WSU has a 68-0 win over Minnesota Crookston, 51-0  victory over U-Mary and a 26-7 home win over Northern State.  The Warriors rank first in defense and allow 111.2 rushing yards per game. Last week UIU had 428 yards in total offense, including 157 rushing. UMD had 488 total yards including over 200 yards rushing but WSU shut down NSU and shut out two struggling teams in U-Mary and Minnesota Crookston. The Warriors are led on offense by quarterback Jack Nelson who throws for 288 yards per game with 16 TDs while Cameron Johnson is an elite receiver with 41 catches for 780 yards and nine TDs. Senior running back Paul Preston, who did not play in the Upper Iowa game, leads the team with 583 rushing yards and seven TDs.  Safety Andrew Spencer leads the defense with 43 tackles, 3 TFLs and an interception. Linebacker Mike Imperiale has 37 tackles, four TFLs, three interceptions and two sacks.

On WSU Coach Tom Sawyer
Since 1996, Tom Sawyer has led the WSU program, accumulating  157-73 overall record, including 129-43 record. He has led WSU to five playoff appearances. Before accepting the head coach position at WSU, Sawyer was an assistant coach for the Warriors from 1987 to 1989 and then again from 1991 to 1994. He helped lead the Warriors to NSIC Championships in 1993 and 1994. Sawyer played two years of football at Winona State. He was also an all-conference selection on the baseball field for the Warriors. He graduated from Winona State University in 1983 with a B.S. degree n Physical Education and in 1989 with a M.S. degree in Education with an emphasis in Physical Education

Papilion sets USF records in passing, total offense
Luke Papilion, a senior quarterback from Denver, Colo., has become USF's all-time leader in passing and total offense.  Papilion, the NSIC's only two-time Harlon Hill candidate, now has 11,026 yards.  With 242passing yards, Papilion has 7,990 passing which ranks first all-time. Plus he is the only USF QB ever to throw for 7,000 yards and rush for 3,000. He has 3,036 yards, which ranks eighth all-time at USF and is first among quarterbacks. He is tied for second all-time in TD passes with his TD to Max Mickey giving him 72 in his career. The all-time leader is Kurtiss Riggs, who had 85 TD passes from 1993-96.

Other Papilion notes
~ With 11, 100-yard rushing games, he owns the mark for the most by a  quarterback at USF. This season, Papilion has four 100-yard rushing games (149, 101, 163, 122). He ranks fifth all-time.
~ Ranks second on the NSIC all-time chart in total offense with 304.8 yards per game, trailing only  Jeff Loots of Southwest Minnesota State at 343.2.
~ With 3,036 career rushing yards, Papilion ranks as the all-time leading rusher among quarterbacks. He is seventh all-time overall at USF.
 
Angulo passes 2,500 yards receiving, approaching 200 catches
Has 33 receptions for 389 yards and seven TDs, which ranks second in the league. He has a season-career best 15 catches for 164 yards (1, 4, 43) vs. Bemidji State (37-36 W, 9-24-16). Angulo's 15 catches in a win over then #22 Bemidji State tied a school record (Kalen DeBoer, Nov. 2, 1996 vs. Nebraska-Wesleyan) and is the most catches by a receiver while USF has been at DII. Also this season, he had two catches for 10 yards and a TD vs. SCSU (9-1-16), recorded four caches for 71 yards and two TDs against MSUM (9-10-16) at Bob Young Field, had one catch for 18 yards against Minot State (9-17-16) and seven catches for 80 yards and a TD in the "Key to the City" victory at Augustana. Angulo added four catches for 43 yards vs. SMSU on Oct. 8. This season, he has two TDs (37, 43) of 30 yards or more. Angulo ranks fifth all-time at USF in all three major receiving categories with 183 receptions, for 2,504 yards and 28 TDs.

Rose continues to climb receiving charts
Senior H-back Brady Rose show his flexibility in the USF offense by catching and throwing a TD vs. SCSU on Sept. 1 in the opener at Husky Stadium. In the in the win over SCSU on Sept. 1, both catching and throwing a TD.  Rose had seven catches for 163 yards and a 64-yard TD reception. He also threw a 39-yard TD pass to Kyle Groeneweg. Rose had five catches for 60 yards against MSUM on Sept. 10, three catches for  62 yards and a TD, and one catch for 11 yards vs. BSU (9-24-16). Against Augustana, he accumulated seven catches for 91 yards. Against SMSU (10-8-16), he set a career high with 12 catches and had 119 yards. Through six games, he has 35 catches and a team high506 yards  receiving. The 119 yards receivin was his sixth career 100-yard receiving game. He now has 167 career receptions, which places him sixth all-time. Rose is sixth on the career yardage chart with 2,197 yards. He has 18 receiving TDs, including two this year, as he sits 10th all-time at USF, just one away from Zach Rutten, who had 19 from 1997-2001.

Angulo and Rose form historical receiving duo
Josh Angulo and Brady Rose rank second all-time for a receiving duo at USF for receiving yards and receptions. The two seniors have 4,701 receiving yards, second to Alex Anderson and Jon Ryan, who had 6,474 yards from 2007-10. Angulo/Rose have 350 receptions, which is second to Anderson/Ryan total of  392.  Anderson/Ryan have 84 TDs to 47 for Rose/Angulo.

USF's "lightning strike" offense
In 2016, USF is a quick strike offense. In a week one win over SCSU, USF had six TDs with drives taking three minutes or less. Of that six TDs, five came in two minutes or less and two in under a minute. Against MSUM, five of the six scoring drives were under three minutes, including two in less than 20 seconds. USF added three more scoring drives in three minutes or less against Minot State.  Against Bemidji State, the Cougars scored 34 points in the third quarter, including three TDs in 6:27 to open the second half. All five TDs by USF were scored in less than three minutes of drive time with two under a minute vs. BSU. In the victory over Augustana, USF  had two drives in three minutes or less. The Cougars had three TD drives of three minutes or less in the 48-24 win over SMSU. This year USF has produced seven TDs  in 40 seconds or less. In 24 of the 34 TD drives, USF has taken less than three minutes. A year ago, USF had 44 TD drives of three minutes or less drive time with 33 in under two minutes and 16 in one minute or less.  In the past two years USF has had 109 TD drives in three minutes or less. In the past two seasons, USF has 23 scoring driving in under one minute and 49 in under two minutes of time.

By the numbers under Stugart
USF is 56-3 when leading at halftime in the Coach Stugart era.  They are 2-11 when trailing at halftime and 1-2 when tied at halftime. USF is 47-5 when scoring first and when opponents score first, the Cougars stand 15-11.

Scoring streak hits 131 games
Since moving to DII in 2011, the Cougars have scored 2,224 points in 61 games or 36.46 ppg. In 2016, USF is averaging 42.0 points per game. It has been 131 games since USF has failed to score, which was a 55-0 loss to Carroll College in the final game of the 2005 season. USF had a DII-best 73 points vs. Minnesota State-Moorhead (Sept. 27) in 2014. The previous high was in 2011 when the Cougars defeated the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, 71-0.  

Cougars are 65-0 all-time when scoring 50
When the Cougars reach 50 points, they are 65-0 all-time and 25-0 when scoring over 60 points. They are 7-0 all-time when breaking the 70-point mark. When the Cougars have scored over 40, USF has a 155-2 mark, including 25-1 in DII. When scoring over 30 points, USF is 230-8. The two times USF has lost when scoring over 40 points was a 45-40 setback to Winona State on Oct. 12, 2013 at Bob Young Field while in DII and 52-49 to Dakota Wesleyan in 1990 while in NAIA.

Offense lighting it up
With 1,236 points in the past 30 games (start of 2014 season), USF is averaging 41.2. In the past 30 games, the Cougars have scored 167 TDs or 5.7 per game.  USF has averaged more than six yards a play in 18 of the last 23 games.  With 585 yards on 64 plays, against SCSU on Sept. 1, the Cougars averaged 9.1 yards per play, which is its best mark at the NCAA DII level and the best since averaging 11.4 yards per play (638 yards on 56 plays)  in a 66-13 win over Doane College on Sept. 18, 2010. With 670 yards vs. SMSU, USF had the fifth largest total in school history and second best (680, Minnesota Crookston, 2013) in the DII era. USF has had 600 yards or more in offense three times this season and 12 times in the Jed Stugart era (since 2010).

Max Mickey leads nation and league in rushing average; approaching 1K for season
Junior running back Max Mickey has had a big start in his junior season at USF. The standout from Holden, Mo., ranks first NCAA DII in rushing yards per carry at 11.00 and ranks second nationally in rushing yards per game at 157.0 per game while sitting second in rushing yards with 942 (86 carries). He is part of a backfield and an offense that leads the NSIC and ranks first nationally in rushing yards at 371.8 per game. The Cougars have rushed for 343 yards (SCSU), 444 yards (MSUM), 328 (Minot State), 406 (Bemidji State), 282 (Augustana) and 428 vs. SMSU this season. Mickey had 13 carries for 178 yards and a TD in the win over SCSU and then produced 15 carries for 185 yards against MSUM before totaling 77 vs. Minot State on just nine carries and a career best 207 yards on 14 carries with a career-best 75-yard TD run against BSU on Sept. 24. He had 20 carries for 140 yards and two TDs vs. Augie. and earned NSIC Offensive Player of the Week honors with 15 carries for 156 yards and a career-high four total TDs. Interestingly he has done it off the bench as senior Justin Fulks has started with Mickey entering in the second or third offensive series. Fulks (103 vs. SCSU) and Mickey (178) both had 100-yard rushing games against SCSU on the road. Mickey (185) and Luke Papilion (149) busted out for 100-yard rushing games against MSUM.  Papilion added 101 yards rushing on Sept. 17 week vs. Minot State. Against BSU Mickey had 207 yards, the most by a USF rusher since Nephi Garcia rumbled for 225 in the snow against Wayne State on Nov. 15, 2014, and Papilion had 163 yards on 17 carries with a 46 yard TD run.  So, USF, which had just five 100-yard rushing games all last year, already has surpassed that with 11 through six games this year. Mickey (156) Fulks (140) and Papilion (122) all had 100-yard rushing game vs. SMSU, which is a school record for most 100-yard rushing individuals in same game. Mickey now has 311 carries for 1,961 yards rushing. Mickey, who now has nine career 100-yard rushing games, has scored 21 career TDs, including five this year. He already has 326-yards more (942-to-616) than he had a year ago. Senior Justin Fulks, who earned the start in the opener, has two 100-yard rushing games at USF, has 65 carries for 489  yards and three TD. He now has 191 carries for 1,051 yards and seven TDs at USF. Fulks, who has been on a playoff team three straight years (twice with Northwest Missouri State, who won a national title his freshman year), has 228 carries for 1,324 yards and eight TDs in his time at USF and NMSU.  

Rushing Attack best ever at through six games
This year, the Cougars' ground game has played a huge role in the team's 6-0 start. USF is averaging a nation's best 371.8 yards per game on the ground. USF has had 11 individual games of 100 yards or more in a game, which gives USF 36 since moving to DII in 2011. For the first time in school history, USF put three players over 100 yards in a 48-28 win over SMSU on Oct. 8 at Bob Young Field. Overall USF had 428 yards, the third time over 400 this year and received 100 yard games from Max Mickey (156), Justin Fulks (140) and Luke Papilion (122). Through six games, USF has 266 carries for 2,231 yards and a 8.4 average. The total is the best at the DII era and best dating back to 1990. In fact, USF's total for six games this season betters any season. With 61 yards, USF will better the mark of 2,291 for the entire 2015 season.
Top 5 Rushing Totals after 6 Games
2016     266    2,231    8.4  
2013    323    1,879    5.8
1998    259    1,650    6.4
2008    316    1,534    4.9
1995    270    1,470    5.4

Cougars 2nd  in sacks & picks; Redmond has four int.
USF is second in the league in sacks with 23 and interceptions with 11 as senior Clifford Redmond has four interceptions, four pass breakups, 26 tackles and two fumble recoveries. Seniors Westly Johnson, who has 5.5 TFLs, and Drew Jackson, who has a team-high six TFLs, have a t,eam-high 3.5 sacks. Senior Michael Mehling has been one of the best linebackers in the league with a team-high52 tackles, 5.5 TFLs, 2.5 sacks and a pick six. Junior safety Josh Butler has 36 tackles and Kyle Campiotti, 30. USF has  had 12 different players record a sack.  Here is a look back at the best sack and interception totals at USF since 2002.
Team Sacks at USF since 2002
2002 -- 43
2015 -- 39
2006 -- 37
2008 -- 35
2010 -- 34
2009 -- 33
2005 -- 33
2004 -- 32
2014 -- 30
2003 -- 29
2016 -- 23 (6G)
2007 -- 22
2012 -- 21
2011 -- 20
2013 -- 16
Interceptions, - Returns since
2014 -- 26 -474
2009 -- 24-305
2012 -- 23 - 296
2002 -- 22 -- 337
2010 -- 21- 274
2005 -- 21 -231
2015 -- 20 -- 374
2008 -- 20-288
2004 -- 20 -- 247
2006 -- 16 -- 148
2003 -- 16 -- 175
2011 -- 15 -- 258
2007-- 14 -- 162
2016 -- 11 -- 140 (6G)
2013 -- 9 -- 105