SIOUX FALLS --  For the second straight year, the No. 14 University of Sioux Falls Football Team (1-0, 1-0) will face No. 15 Winona State (1-0, 1-0 in the NSIC South) with a lot at stake when the two teams meet at 1 p.m. on Saturday (Sept. 8) at Altra Federal Credit Union Stadium  in Winona, Minn.-

A year ago, the Cougars were ranked No. 6 in NCAA DII and took a 31-13 home loss to the then No. 22 Warriors on homecoming night at Bob Young Field.  

For the second straight season, USF will face a nationally ranked team in the first two weeks of the season. In the opener a year ago, then No. 17 USF handed Minnesota Duluth, then ranked No. 7, a 26-7 setback, in Duluth.  The Cougars, which ended a 22-game home winning streak by the Bulldogs, utilized a shutdown defensive effort (195 total yards) to pick up the win. In net rushing yards, the Cougars set a DII program defensive mark by holding UMD to a -19 yards on 30 attempts. It is the least amount of net rushing yards by a USF defense since the 2008 USF team held Northwestern (Iowa) to -22 yards (Nov. 1, 2008) when the Cougars won an NAIA national title.  

Now roughly a year later, the Cougars and Warriors are nationally ranked and trying to stay at the top of the NSIC. Both teams were picked to finish high in the NSIC, according to preseason coaches picks. WSU was picked to finish second overall and USF, third, overall, in the coaches poll.

Both USF and WSU come off big wins in their openers. WSU turned back Wayne State, 41-28 last Thursday in Wayne, Neb. WSU was led by quarterback Owen Burke, who had three spot starts in 2017. He had a solid opening night this year. Owens completed 20-of-30 passes for 248 yards and three TDs, including a pair to Jake Balliu.  Junior running back Javian Roebuck had 18 carries for 102 yards and a 53-yard TD run.  The WSU defense forced four turnovers, turning one into a score by Carter Duxbury.

As for the Cougars, they opened with a dramatic 27-24 win over Concordia St. Paul when Caden Walters tossed a 26-yard TD pass to junior tight end Clint Sigg with three seconds to play. After CSP took a 24-20 lead, USF had just 26 seconds to rally. Walters completed 3-of-4 passes for 60 yards as he finished 7-of-12 for 127 yards. Sigg, who had four catches for 57 yards, caught a pair of his passes during the drive. Walters did not start the game , entering in the second half and led USF on three scoring drives.

USF was led on offense by newcomer Gabriel Watson, a junior from Piedmont, Calif., who had quite the debut for USF. He rushed 27 times for 200 yards with three TDs, including runs of nine, 13 and 35 yards. Watson, who was named the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week Tuesday, led the USF offense to 404 yards in total offense. Balance was in place for USF with 208 rushing yards matched by 196 passing yards. USF also had three catches f or 60 yards from newcomer Nate Johnson.

After CSP took a 14-7 lead, USF held control in the second half, putting up a 275-to-126 yardage advantage. In fact, USF's defense held CSP to two first downs, eight rushing yards and 41 passing yards in the third quarter. CSP added 35 more rushing yards and 55 through the air in the fourth quarter. Still giving up just 43 rushing yards and 96 passing yards through the air was a strong defensive effort from USF, which lost eight starters from a year ago. As for the defense, junior linebacker Brody Grantham finished with nine tackles to lead the way. Joe Rodino, who was making his first start at linebacker, added seven with safety Nate Durfee supplying six with an interception. Dalton Elliott had five stops and a fumble recovery. USF had five tackles for loss and a sack.

#Road Warriors --  Since 2014, USF has won 21-of-24 road games. In 2014, USF was 4-1, followed by 6-1 in 2015, 5-0 in winning the league title in 2016 and 6-1 in the playoff season a year ago. Meanwhile, dating back to 2012, the Warriors are 22-12 on their home turf in Winona. Over the past two seasons WSU has posted a 9-2 record at Altra Federal Credit Union Stadium.

#Sawyer -- Winona State is led by head coach Tom Sawyer, who was named the 2018 NSIC Football Coach of the Year, receiving the horror for the fifth time. Sawyer has led the Warriors to a 174-78 record in his 22-year tenure, including six N

#WinnersWin - After five nine-win campaigns in the past six years, the Cougars enter the 2018 season with plenty of momentum. A tradition of success is embedded in the program. The motto, "Winners Win" was coined by legendary and all-time USF wins leader Bob Young and continues as the program's mantra.

#In Review -- A year ago, the Cougars were under new leadership with Jon Anderson and his staff. Anderson, who was hired originally at USF by Young, continued the program on its winning ways. USF jumped to a 5-0 start before falling to No. 17 Winona State, 31-13, at home. From there, USF rebounded and won four straight before consecutive losses to No. 1 Minnesota State, 27-23, and No. 5 Midwestern State, 24-20, closed out the season.

USF, which returns 35 letter winners and 11 starters, was one of the nation's top defensive teams and the best in the NSIC in 2017. After its start a year ago, USF has opened a season 5-0 or better every year since 2014. The Cougars, which opened fall practice August 6, had an 8-0 start in 2015, 7-0 in 2015, went undefeated in league play in 2016 and started 5-0 a year ago before a loss.
     
Series Record - USF & WSU tied at 3-3
USF and Winona State are tied in the all-time series 3-3. Here is a year-by-year breakdown. Until meeting on Sept. 8 this year, the two squads have played every game in the series in October. When USF has been ranked, they are 3-1 against Winona State.
Oct. 7, 2017 -- No. 22 Winona State 31 No. 6 USF 13, @ Bob Young Field
Oct. 15, 2016 -- No. 6 Sioux Falls 41 Winona State 30, @ Winona, Minn.
Oct. 10, 2015 -- No. 4 Sioux Falls 51 Winona State 30, @ Bob Young Field
Oct. 25, 2014 -- No. 14 Sioux Falls 41 Winona State 28, @ Winona, Minn.
Oct. 12, 2013 -- Winona State 45 Sioux Falls 40, @ Bob Yong Field
Oct. 6, 2012 -- Winona State 10 USF 9, @ Winona, Minn.

USF stands 55-12 in NSIC play
USF is 55-12 overall in the NSIC, which breaks down to a .821 winning percentage, the best all-time mark in the NSIC.  USF is 62-19 all-time in NCAA DII with a 33-10 mark against South opponents and 22-2 vs. the North. The Cougars are 27-6 in road NSIC games and 28-6 in home NSIC games. In North Division road games, the Cougars are 10-2 and 12-0 at home against NSIC North teams. USF stands 16-6 against South opponents at home and is 17-4 on the road. USF clinched their 24th straight winning season with a win over Wayne State on Oct. 12, 2017. 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.

Coo Tracks
~ USF and WSU will meet for the second straight year with both teams nationally-ranked.
~ Five-time All-American Dennis Gardeck, who helped lead thee 2017 Cougars to the playoffs, has earned a spot on the Arizona Cardinals NFL roster. Gardeck was All-NSIC, Harlon Hill and Cliff Harris finalist and NSIC Newcomer of the Year after accumulating 75 tackles, 14 sackles and 21 tackles for loss.
~ After the win over CSP,  USF has a 17-2 record  since 2000 in season openers with loss in 2011 and 2013.  Over the same time period, USF is 18-1 in home openers, including 7-0 in NSIC home openers, since 2000.
~ USF has been ranked for 50 straight weeks in both the AFCA Coaches and D2Football.com polls. The Cougars were ranked No. 14 in the AFCA Coaches Preseason poll and moved up to No. 16 in the D2Football.com poll.
~ For the fifth time in six years at NCAA DII, the Cougars have registered nine or more wins after going 9-3 in 2017.  
 ~ Senior offensive tackle Trey Pipkins has been named to the Senior Bowl Watch List and two preseason All-American Teams - D2Football.com and The Podyum. He has 146 career pancakes.
~ Captains for the 2018 season will include Pipkins, senior wide receiver Michael Maxwell, junior safety Tucker Stout and senior All-NSIC defensive end Logan Dykstra.
~ The Cougars will look to extend a 24-season streak  for winning seasons, which is the best run in NCAA.
~ USF also has earned four straight postseason appearances, including three straight in the NCAA DII playoffs.
~ USF has both an offensive and defensive lineman named Nick Zimmerman. On offense, one of the Nicks hailed from Rosendale, Wisc., and is a 6-3, 296 starting center. A business administration major, he has been a starter for the past two seasons at dons No. 63. On defense, the other Nick is a 6-0, 282 pound defensive tackle from Oceanside, Calif. He is in his first season at USF. He is a psychology major.

Cougars have scored 38 TDs on D/ST in DII era  
Through  one game, USF has forced two turnovers but did not score in week one vs. CSP. That in itself is unusual. A year ago in 12 games, the Cougars registered five defensive or special teams TDs which pushed their total to 38 during the DII era.  The fifth of the TDs was a 67-yard interception return by senior Kyle Campiotti. The 38 TDs by USF includes 26 on defense and 12 on special teams.

Scoring streak hits 152 games
Since moving to DII in 2011, the Cougars have scored 2,837 points in 81 games or 35.02 ppg. USF has scored in 152 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.