By: Madie Brink
October 5, 2022
SIOUX FALLS – The No. 17 USF football team will host their annual 'Military Appreciation Game' against Southwest Minnesota State this weekend. Kick-off is slated for 1:00pm on Saturday at Bob Young Field.
The History
USF and SMSU have faced off nine times in the DII era with the Cougars coming away with all nine victories. During their first matchup in 2012, USF came away with a 41-22 win while producing 536 yards of total offense. In their most recent matchup last season, it wasn't until the third quarter that USF would score first and go on to win 35-7. Thus far, USF has outscored SMSU 371-189 averaging 42.22 points every time the two teams face off.
The Cougars
USF is coming off a 31-24 'Key to the City' win over cross-town rival, Augustana. The Coo have moved to 5-0 on the season while moving up the rankings in the process. Sioux Falls sits first in the NSIC and the NSIC South Division, 17th in the AFCA Poll and 15th in the D2 Football Poll.
Freshman, Zach Durfee earned himself NSIC Defensive Player of the Week honors while collecting three sacks on Augustana QB, Casey Bauman last weekend. Durfee currently leads the NSIC in sacks and sits second in all of DII football with nine on the season. The Cougar defense have put up 23 sacks this season leading the conference in both sacks forced (23) and sacks allowed (2).
Thuro Reisdorfer once again has proved to be the leading scorer in the NSIC and fourth in the country. With 54 points and 9 touchdowns this season, Reisdorfer has rushed for 620 yards off of 102 attempts averaging 124 yards per game.
Going into this game, Reisdorfer sits 4th in the USF record books with 15, 100+ yard games, 13th in touchdowns (38), 16th in scoring (228 points) and just 13 yards shy of 3,000 career yards. Landon Freeman makes his way up the rushing charts with 1,108 rushing yards (28th) while Adam Mullen sits 12th with 22 touchdown passes. Nick Hernandez has tallied 104 points on the special team's side of the ball and currently sits 9th in kick scoring.
The Mustangs
SMSU is coming off a dominant 47-7 homecoming win over Upper Iowa and sits 4-1 on the season. The Mustangs are averaging 28 points per game tallying 140 on the season.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Mustangs have put up 1,957 yards of total offense led by senior running back, Jesse Sherwood. Sherwood has carried for 708 yards off of 115 carries while producing six touchdowns averaging 176 yards per game. Although Sherwood did sit out of last week's game against Upper Iowa, we still look to see some action from the standout running back.
More Info
For all things Cougar Football be sure to download the new USF Cougars app to follow along AND purchase your tickets! 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!
