SIOUX FALLS -- No. 14 University of Sioux Falls Football Team (7-1, 3-1 NSIC South), which ranks second in NCAA DII in total defense, rushing defense and defensive scoring, will host city rival Augustana (3-5, 1-3 NSIC South) in the "Key to the City" game at 12:05 pm on Saturday, Oct. 28 at Bob Young Field.  

The Cougars have won two-straight games and face a critical stretch in the season as they try to reach the NCAA DII playoffs for the third straight year.  This will be the sixth "Key to the City" matchup as the Cougars lead the series, 4-1 and will look to  win the second straight rivalry game. USF won the initial three games in the series before losing in 2015 and rebounding with a 35-20 victory at Kirkeby-Over Stadium a year ago.

Fans can listen to the NSIC contest at KWSN.com with Tom Frederick on play-by-play and Tim Hiatt serving as analyst.  The "Key to the City" contest will be broadcast live by Midco with David Brown on play-by-play and Thayer Trenhaile serving as analyst.

Game Breakdown
A week ago, the Cougars picked up their 16th consecutive NSIC road win with a 27-9 victory at Concordia-St. Paul. The victory enabled USF to open 7-1 or better for the fourth consecutive season.  Augustana lost a heartbreaker at home a week ago to Upper Iowa (21-20) but defeated SMSU, 30-8, two weeks ago at Kirkeby-Over Stadium to end a three-game losing spin.

Directed by first-year head coach Jon Anderson, USF has utilized one of the nation's best defenses with a balanced offensive approach. USF, led by linebacker Dennis Gardeck (48 tackles, D2-best 12 sacks) and Josh Butler (232 career tackles), ranks second in DII in defensive scoring (9.8 ppg), rushing defense (59.9 ypg) and total defense (236.2 ypg). The Coo stop the run and run effectively, owning a 1,631-to-479 rushing yard edge or 203.9-to-59.9. On offense, the Cougars have featured a balanced offensive attack, which is producing 28.8 points per game, which ranks sixth in the NSIC. Despite missing All-American running back Max Mickey (146-873-8 TDs; 3,656 career yards) for three games, USF is averaging 203.9 yards rushing per game, which ranks fourth in the league.  Senior Jason Towns has produced 56.5 yards per game with 99 carries for 452 yards and seven total TDs. He is part of a three-headed rushing attack, which includes sophomore Winston Maxwell (51-224-3 TDs) and Colton Myles (36-175-2 TDs). QB Ian Fieber has been efficient (123.02) in the passing game, completing 111-of-192 passes for 1,287 yards with seven TDs and only three interceptions. He is averaging 160.9 yards per game. Junior Anthony Holmes has supplied 28 catches for 447 yards and two TDs while steady junior wide out A.J. Garrow has 25 catches for 255 yards and a TD.

NCAA DII Regional Rankings - USF ranks 6th
USF was ranked sixth in the initial NCAA DII Super Region Four rankings release Monday.
Super Region 4 - Rankings #1
(School, conference, In-Region Record, DII Record)
1. Winona State (NSIC), 8-0, 8-0
2. Central Washington (GNAC), 7-0, 8-0
3. Minnesota State (NSIC), 8-0, 8-0
4. Midwestern State (LSC), 5-0, 6-0
5. Humboldt State (GNAC), 6-1, 6-1
6. Sioux Falls (NSIC), 7-1, 7-1
7. Colorado Mesa (RMAC), 7-1, 7-1
8. Texas A&M Commerce (LSC), 4-1, 6-1
9. Eastern New Mexico (LSC), 5-1, 6-1
10. Minnesota-Duluth (NSIC), 6-2 ,6-2

USF moves up in national rankings
This week, USF moved up in both national polls as they were ranked No. 14 by the AFCA Coaches Poll and No. 13 by the D2Football.com poll. As a result, the Cougars have been ranked 44 consecutive weeks, the longest active run in the NSIC.

Quick look at USF through eight  games
USF opened the season with a 26-7 win at then #10 Minnesota-Duluth. The Cougars defense held UMD to -19 net rushing yards. In week two, the Cougars opened their home schedule with a 37-7 win over Northern State. In that game, Mickey had a career-best 87 yard run as he rolled up a personal-best of 217 rushing yards on 24 carries with two TDs.  Mickey added 150 yards on 24 carries and two TDs in a 38-7 road win over U-Mary. Jason Towns also had a pair of TDs. In week four, the Cougars registered 483 total yards, including 180 yards rushing from Mickey and 101 from Towns in a 34-0 shutout over UMC. Towns, who recorded his first career 100-yard rushing game, had two TDs for the second straight game, including a career-best 66-yard punt return and a 41-yard run. The Cougars moved to 5-0 with a 24-10 win over SMSU on Sept. 30. USF's defense had two more sacks (21 on the season, 3rd nationally), 11 TFLs and held an explosive Mustangs offense to 282 total yards or nearly 140 yards below its average. Mickey broke free for 212 yards rushing with two TDs. In week six, USF dropped a 31-13 decision to Winona State. The Cougars were outgained, 430 to 321.  Ian Fieber had a career high 256 yards passing with a TD. He surpassed 1,000 yards (1,009) with his performance against Winona State. USF rebounded in week seven with a dominating 31-7 road win as the Cougars' defense recorded four sacks, including two by national leader Dennis Gardeck,. Defense was also key as the Cougars moved to 5-0 in NSiC road games with a 27-9 decision against Concordia-St. Paul. Gardeck had two more sacks and four TFLs as the USF limited the Golden Bears to 238 total yards, including just 10 net rushing yards in the second half. Jason Towns had career highs in carries with 25 and yards with 125 while scoring on a 22-yard TD. The Cougars rolled up 231 rushing yards and 376 total yards.

Things to know about USF
~ Recorded 16 consecutive NSIC road wins
~ Stand 19- 1 in the past 20 league games
~ Opened 7-1 or better for the fourth straight season
~ With victory over Wayne State on Oct. 12, clinched 24th straight winning season
~ Ranked in 44th straight national poll by AFCA and D2Football.com
~ Stand 52-11 all-time in NSIC play
~ Sit 63-7 all-time at Bob Young Field
~ Opponents are averaging just 59.9 rushing yards per game, 1.8 per rush
~ USF's defense has held 6-of-8 opponents to 238 yards or less with five opponents held to less than 200 yards
~ Cougars have limited opponent's rushing offenses to 478 total rushing yards with five teams unable to break 40 yards vs. USF.

National rankings - Coo moves up three spots
The Cougars are currently ranked No. 18 in both the AFCA Coaches DII Poll and D2Football.com. USF has been ranked as high as No. 6 in the AFCA Coaches Poll and No. 4 in the D2Football.com poll.  

USF leads "Key to the City" series, 4-1
USF has won four of the five meetings in the NCAA DII era vs. city rival Augustana but trail the all-time series 19-5. The first ever meeting in 1916 was a 46-0 USF win. A year ago at Kirkeby-Over Stadium, No. 12 USF defeated No. 12 Augustana, 35-20 by racing to 14-0 lead and outscoring the Vikings, 14-7 in the second half before 7,115 in attendance. The Cougars rolled up 562 yards, including 282 yards rushing. Max Mickey had 20 carries for 140 yards with two TDs (18, 42). Mickey's 42-yard scoring run with 8:25 to play gave USF a 35-13 lead.  Luke Papilion completed 22-of-30 passes for 280 yards and two TDs. Trey Heid completed 24-of-44 passes for 293 yards with two TDs and two interceptions. Cliff Redmond had two interceptions and three tackles to lead the USF defense. In 2015, C.J. Ham, who rushed for 154 yards, had a 31-yard run with 22 seconds to play to lift Augustana to its first win in the "Key to the City" series by a 35-28 tally. Before 4,091 at Bob Young Stadium, the Cougars led, 14-0 but were outscored, 35-14 over the final three quarters. USF forced Trey Heid into four interceptions and recorded five turnovers, including two TD returns. Solomon St. Pierre had a 24-yard interception return for a TD in the third quarter and Drew Jackson gave USF a 28-21 lead with a 21-yard interception return in the fourth quarter.  The Vikings outgained USF, 562-to-411.  In 2014, USF built a 17-3 halftime lead and rolled past the Vikings, 23-12 at Kirkeby-Over Stadium before 6,841 in attendance. Luke Papilion had 130 yards rushing and 217 yards passing while Nephi Garcia had 97 yards rushing, including a 45-yard TD gallop in the second quarter. Brad Hatfield made three field goals (26, 34, and 38) and Brady Rose hauled in a TD pass from Papilion. The Cougars had a 451-to-358 edge in total yards. USF's Cameron Ostrom had nine tackles and a sack to lead the defense. In 2013, Nephi Garcia had 29 carries for 159 yards and three TDs (36, 1, and 3) to lead USF to a 27-1 victory. USF led, 6-0, at halftime before using a 21-7 run in the second half to take the "Key to the City" win. The Cougars outgained Augustana, 433-to-329, and rushed for 234 yards. In the first-ever "Key to the City" game, the Cougars delivered in overtime in a 32-31 victory. After USF built a 14-8 first-half lead, Augustana had a 17-11 edge in the second half to force overtime. In the second overtime, the Vikings took a 31-25 lead when Hanson scored on a four-yard run. However, USF blocked the extra point, setting the stage for a dramatic win. Carrington Hanna hauled in nine-yard TD pass from Taylor Perkins and Braden Wieking's extra point gave USF a dramatic, 32-31 victory. The Vikings outscored USF, 470-to-347. Perkins completed 21-of-30 passes for 238 yards and had a rushing TD as well as the game-winning TD pass. Robert Virgil and Eric Anderson both had 12 tackles with Nick Bonte adding 10.

Year-by-Year Results - "Key to the City"
2012 -- USF 32 Augustana 31, Kirkeby-Over Stadium, Att., 7,120
2013 -- USF 27 Augustana 10, Bob Young Field, Att. 4,712
2014 -- USF 23 Augustana 12, Kirkeby-Over Stadium, Att, 6,841
2015 -- Augustana 35 No. USF 28, Bob Young Field, Att. 4,091
2016 -- USF 35 Augustana 20, Kirkeby-Over Stadium, 7,115

Opponent review - Augustana stands 3-5
The Vikings have opened 3-5, including 1-3 in NSIC South play. Last week, Augustana dropped a 21-20 home decision to Upper Iowa. After a 38-7 loss to MSU Moorhead, the Vikings recorded consecutive wins with a 28-20 road win at Minot State and a 30-27 overtime win over Bemidji State at home on Sept. 16. AU lost three straight (St. Cloud State, 26-14; Wayne State, 16-13; Minnesota State, 42-21) before recording 30-8 home win over Southwest Minnesota State on Oct. 14.  Directed by head coach Jerry Olszewski (30-23 at AU; 62-41 overall, 10 years), Augustana has been outscored 24.8-to-20.4 and average 348.8 total yards. Ryan Bradberry has had a solid season at running back with 554 yards and three TDs. The Vikings will start Tulsa transfer Ryan Rubley at quarterback, where he has 275 yards rushing and two TDs and has completed 69-of-125 passes for 690 yards and five TDs. Tyler DeSchepper leads the receiving corps with 31 catches for 361 yards. All-league linebacker Kirby Hora has a league-high 99 tackles, 6.5 TFLs and three sacks to lead the AU defense. Matt Wagner has 82 stops with two sacks and an interception.

USF vs the NSIC - Breaking it down
USF is 52-11 overall in the NSIC, which breaks down to a .825 winning percentage, the best all-time mark in the NSIC.  USF is 59-17 all-time in NCAA DII with a 20-9 mark against South Division opponents and 22-2 vs. the North Division. The Cougars are 26-6 in road NSIC games and 26-5 in home NSIC games. In North Division road games, the Cougars are 10-2 and 12-0 at home against the North. USF stands 14-5 against South Division opponents at home and is 16-4 on the road. USF's clinched a 24th straight winning season with a win over Wayne State  two weeks ago. It is a streak which 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.
 
Mickey ranks sixth all-time in NSIC rushing yards
Eight-time All-American Max Mickey, who was a candidate for the Harlon Hill Trophy (DII's top player) a year ago, had a fast start to 2017 with 873 yards (2nd, nationally) on 146 carries and eight TDs in five games.  He has sat out the last three games due to an injury. To this point in his career, Mickey ranks fourth all-time at USF with 3,656 yards. However, he is sixth all-time in NSIC rushing (league games only) with 3,388 yards on 532 carries and 37 TDs in 40 league games. His 6.36 yards per carry is sixth all-time and his 84.7 yards per game ranks 14th in conference history.  With 37 carries for 212 yards and two TDs in the 24-10 win over SMSU, Mickey had his third 200-yard rushing game of his career and was the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week for the second time in his career. He now has 10 games of 150 rushing yards or more in his career including four straight. The senior from Holden, Mo., ranks third in the country in yardage (873) and second in rushing yards per game (174.2).  Against Minnesota Crookston, Mickey had 24 carries for 180 yards and a TD. In a 38-7 win at U-Mary, Mickey had 24 carries for 150 yards and TDs of two and 27 yards.  In a 37-7 win over Northern State at Bob Young Field, Mickey set a career-best with 217 rushing yards on 24 carries with two TDs. Tied for third all-time at USF in 100-yard rush games with 18, he has five straight to open 2017 campaign. With his next 100 yard rushing game, Mickey will tie Mike Dvoracek (2003-06) for second on USF's all-time list for 100-yard rushing games with 19.

Among Mickey's eight scoring runs was a career-best 87-yard run in the first half of a 37-7 win over NSU.  Among Mickey's eight scoring runs was a career-best 87-yard run in the first half of a 37-7 win over NSU.  Mickey, who was the NSIC Preseason South Offensive Player of the Year, has 3,656 career rushing yards (4th all-time at USF) and 40 career rushing TDs (8th all-time at USF).

Mickey's totals - game-by-game in 2017
Minnesota-Duluth -- 37-114-1 TDs
Northern State -- 24-217-2 TDs
Mary -- 24-150-2 TDs
Minnesota Crookston --- 24-180-TD
SMSU -- 37-212-2 TDs.

In road games in 2017, Mickey  has 98 carries for 476 yards and five TDs. At home (Bob Young Field), he has 48 carries for 397 yards and three TDs. He is averaging 4.8 yards per carry in road games with a 8.2 per carry average in home games.  Mickey did not play against Winona State.

Butler passes 230 career tackles
In 42 career games, senior captain Josh Butler has 232 career stops with 140 solo stops and 25 passes defended. Butler has recorded two interceptions in his career and also has a sack. This season, Butler has 37 tackles, including 16 solo stops and seven pass breakups.

Gardeck ranks first nationally in sacks
In eight games with USF, senior linebacker Dennis Gardeck has 48 tackles, including a DII-best 12 sacks (1.50 per game). He had five sacks in the opening win over UMD, when he was the NSIC Defensive Player of the Year. He added a pair in week two and had two against Wayne State and Concordia-St Paul. He also leads the NSIC with 17 TFLs and ranks fifth in the country with 2.1 per game. He also has a fumble recovery and forced fumble. A two-time All Mountain East performer before transferring to USF, Gardeck has 10 career games with double digit tackles. In his career, he now has 321 tackles with 30 career sacks and 54 tackles for loss and eight forced fumbles.

Cougars have scored 37 TDs on D/ST in DII era  
Through eight games, the Cougars have registered four defensive or special teams TDs in 2017 which pushes their total to 37 during the DII era. The 37 TDs by USF includes 25 on defense and 12 on special teams. The most recent special teams score was a 66-yard punt return TD by Jason Towns against Minnesota Crookston. The latest defensive TD was senior safety Jeffrey Harman's 35-yard interception for a score against NSU.  In the opener against UMD, the Cougars had a 17-yard fumble recovery for a TD by Derek Landis and a 41-yard punt return for a TD by Towns.  

Scoring streak hits 147 games
Since moving to DII in 2011, the Cougars have scored 2,707 points in 76 games or 35.6 ppg. USF has scored in 147 straight games, dating to a 55-0 loss to Carroll College in the final game of the 2005 season. USF recorded 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.  

Butler, Mayberry, Springer and Mickey named Team Captains
Head Football Coach Jon Anderson has announced the team captains for the 2017 season. The captains, selected by vote of the team, include seniors Max Mickey, Holden, Mo.; Joshua Butler, Aurora, Colo.; Brian Mayberry, Littleton, Colo.; and Jesse Springer, Denver, Colo.

USF ranks 1st or 2nd in six national stat categories
As of this week, USF is ranked first or second in NCAA DII in six different defensive categories. The Cougars are listed in the Top-10 in nine categories and in the Top-5 in eight categories in NCAA DII. Overall, USF is in the nation's Top-25 in 17 categories. The Cougars currently sit second nationally at just 59.9 yards rushing per game. They have held five opponents to 40 yards or fewer with four opponents at 30 yards or fewer. The Cougars are stingy in first downs and points allowed. USF ranks first in the country by allowing just 97 total first downs and they sit second nationally by allowing just 9.8 points per game. In the second half alone, USF owns a 104-to-38 scoring advantage. On the season, USF has allowed just 78 points, including seven in the fourth quarter. They have limited seven opponents in eight games to 10 points or fewer.  USF is tough on opponents when they get into the red zone, ranking fifth nationally as opponents have just a 58.3 success rate. Led by national leader Dennis Gardeck, who has 12 total sacks or 1.5 per game, the Cougars have 30 sacks or 3.75 per game, which is sixth in DII. Of note, Gardeck owns the nation's single best sack performance in DII with five (Minnesota-Duluth, August 31). The Cougars rank 12th in tackles for loss with 8.6. In addition, USF is solid on third down conversion defense, allowing only a 29.4 percent conversion rate for 16th in DII. They are even better on fourth down conversion defense, ranking 10th at 22.25 percent. USF is 12th in passing efficiency defense at 98.55 and 18th in punt return defense at 3.31 yards per return.  

Towns making an impact with seven TDs in eight games
Senior Jason Towns is making an impact for USF with 773 all purpose yards, including 452 rushing, 192 on punt returns and 114 on kickoff returns. He has seven TDs, including two on punt returns of 42 and 66 yards. With those two TDs, he leads NCAA DII in punt return TDs. Towns has 1,402 career all-purpose yards in 29 games. He now has 719 career rushing yards on 182 carries.

Vanden Heuvel approaching school mark in career punting yards
Punter/kicker Stuart Vanden Heuvel was named the NSIC Special Teams Player of the Week on Oct. 16. He is tied for the lead in the NSIC with 15 punts placed inside the 20 yard line and now has 64 in his career.  Vanden Heuvel ranks second in the NSIC in net punting 36.1 yards per kick. He has 209 punts for 7,578 yards (36.3 yard avg.), established a career-best with a 64-yard punt in the win over Minnesota Crookston (Sept. 23). He needs just 28 yards punting to become the career leader in total punting yards at USF. He will pass Drew Anderson, who had 7,605 yards from 2004-08. On the season, he has 52 punts for 1,932 yards for 37.2 average, which ranks tied for ninth in the league. He is also 10-of-14 on field goals, including a long of 50 yards. He is 26-of-28 on extra points. He is 5-of-5 on field goals over 40 yards.