By: Madie Brink
October 28, 2022
SIOUX FALLS – The No. 19 University of Sioux Falls Cougar football team will host the (RV) Minnesota State Mavericks this weekend at Bob Young Field. Kick-off is scheduled for 1:00pm this Saturday with gates set to open at 12:00pm.
The History
Since 2013, USF and MSU have faced of eight times with the Mavericks coming away with six of those wins. Mankato historically has outscore USF 231-227 with their largest victory (44-3) coming in 2015.
The Cougars defeated Mankato in their most recent match-up last season, 45-35, where Landon Freeman and Adam Mullen both put up 200+ yards on the day. USF owned the run game with 365 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns while Freeman picked up four rushing touchdowns and one receiving for the Coo.
The (RV) Mavericks
Minnesota State is coming off a 35-14 upset victory over Augustana putting them at 6-2 on the season and fourth in the NSIC. Mankato has averaged 361.6 yards of total offense a game thus far in their season with 203.8 in the air and 157.8 on the ground. While the Mavericks average 30.3 point per game, they continue to be led by junior running back Shen Butler-Lawson with seven touchdowns on the season and 431 yards. Nyles Williams controls the air game with 319 yards on the season and three touchdowns while sophomore quarterback, Hayden Ekern, has thrown for 697 yards and four touchdowns this season.
The Mankato defense has given up 185 points this season averaging 23.13 a game. Junior, Max Dahm, leads the Mavericks with 3.5 sacks for a loss of 23 yards while sophomores Payton Conrad and Jacob Daulton leads MSU in tackling with 40+ apiece.
The No. 19 Cougars
Sioux Falls enters the weekend 7-1 and looks to bounce back after a tough loss last weekend in Winona. USF currently sits at 19th in the AFCA Coaches' Poll and leads the NSIC overall standings.
The Cougars have put up 263 points this season while averaging 32.88 a game and 34 touchdowns on the season. With 1,000 rushing yards on the season and sitting at 7th in the USF all-time record books, Thuro Reisdorfer continues to lead the Coo and the NSIC in rushing yards and scoring. Adam Mullen enters the weekend with 1,601 yards on the season and 10 passing touchdowns averaging 200.13 yards a game with his leading receivers being Ethan Wittenburg and Carter Slykhuis.
The Sioux Falls defense leads the NSIC in sacks with 30 thus far in the season led by Zach Durfee with 11.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss. Cam Alfaro and Noah Schmitt continue to lead the Coo each with 35 tackles on the season. USF has only given up 153 points on the season averaging 19.13 a game allowing them to outscore their opponents 263-153 so far this season.
More Info
For all things Cougar Football be sure to download the new USF Cougars app to follow along! Follow The Coo on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates all season long. Fans can also follow along with live stats, watch the NSIC live video and tune into the KWSN radio broadcast with Tom Frederick and Tim Hiatt for every Cougar Football game!
