By: Madie Brink
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The University of Sioux Falls heads down the street this weekend for the latest edition of the 'Key to the City' rivalry against Augustana. The Cougars enter the matchup at 3-2 overall and 3-1 in NSIC play, while the Vikings sit at 3-2 overall and 2-2 in conference action. USF is coming off a 28-14 setback against No. 3 Minnesota State, while Augustana fell 42-41 at Winona State.
Saturday features two teams separated by just one game in the NSIC standings and renews a rivalry that dates back more than a century. USF enters averaging 27.0 points per game, while Augustana has featured one of the league's most productive offenses at 42.0 points and 488.4 yards per contest. The Cougars' defense will be challenged by a Viking passing attack averaging 383.0 yards per game, while USF will look to take advantage of an Augustana defense surrendering 481.2 yards per contest.
Inside the Series
OVERALL: 34th Meeting - Augustana Leads 23-10
CURRENT STREAK: Augustana, Won 3
LAST MEETING: Oct. 4, 2025 - USF 28, AU 29 (Sioux Falls, S.D.)
Series History
Sioux Falls and Augustana renew one of the city's longest-running football rivalries, with the series dating all the way back to Sept. 23, 1916. Saturday marks the 34th meeting between the programs, with Augustana holding a 23-10 advantage. USF won the inaugural meeting 46-0 and has gone 8-5 against the Vikings since the rivalry resumed in 2012. The Cougars have been particularly successful when playing as the road team in the series, carrying a 5-1 away record into this week's matchup.
Recent meetings have been much more balanced, with the programs splitting the last 10 matchups at five wins apiece. USF put together a three-game winning streak from 2016-18, including a 51-13 victory in 2018, before the series shifted back and forth over the following seasons. The Cougars earned victories in 2021 and 2022, but Augustana has responded by winning each of the last three meetings.
The latest chapter came on Oct. 4, 2025, when Augustana escaped Bob Young Field with a 29-28 victory. USF carried a 28-10 advantage into the fourth quarter before the Vikings scored 19 unanswered points to complete the comeback. The one-point decision was the closest game in the rivalry since USF's 32-31 victory in 2012 and marked the second straight meeting decided by one possession.
The Cougar File
Sioux Falls enters Week Six at 3-2 overall and 3-1 in NSIC play following its 28-14 loss to No. 3 Minnesota State. The Cougars had entered the matchup riding three consecutive victories, defeating Jamestown 31-0, MSU Moorhead 29-28 in overtime and UMary 40-34. Through five games, USF is averaging 27.0 points and 323.2 yards of total offense per game, while opponents are averaging 22.8 points and 316.8 yards. The Cougars have scored 18 touchdowns and have converted 16-of-18 trips into the red zone, including 13 touchdowns while leading the NSIC in redzone offense.
USF has continued to feature a balanced offensive attack, averaging 127.4 rushing yards and 195.8 passing yards per game. The Cougars have scored eight times on the ground and nine times through the air, while averaging 4.9 yards per offensive play. Sioux Falls has also protected the football relatively well, losing just two fumbles through five games.
Bennett Brueck leads the Cougar offense with 987 yards of total offense. Brueck has completed 61-of-108 passes for 773 yards and eight touchdowns while adding a team-high 214 rushing yards and three scores. He is averaging 4.6 yards per carry and has accounted for 11 total touchdowns through the opening five weeks.
Bubba Tann III has provided another threat out of the backfield, rushing for 189 yards and three touchdowns while adding eight receptions for 98 yards and two scores. His five total touchdowns lead the Cougars, while his 287 all-purpose yards rank among the team's leaders despite appearing in four games.
Caden Henkes has also contributed two receiving touchdowns and is averaging 6.7 yards per rushing attempt.
Adonis Hutchinson remains USF's leading receiver with 24 catches for 346 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 86.5 receiving yards per game.
Todd Benedict has added 117 yards on eight receptions, while
Mark-hel Joinville has 103 yards on eight catches. Seven different Cougars have caught a touchdown pass this season, giving Brueck and the USF offense multiple options in the passing game.
Defensively, Sioux Falls has allowed 316.8 yards per game, including 126.4 rushing yards and 190.4 through the air. The Cougars have generated 23 tackles for loss, six sacks and seven interceptions, while recovering three fumbles. USF's seven interceptions have already surpassed the four thrown by Cougar quarterbacks, and opponents have managed just five passing touchdowns through five games.
Garret Hoffman leads the Cougar defense with 27 tackles, adding an interception and two pass breakups.
Andy Henson follows with 25 tackles, while
Beau Giblin has 24 and
Owen McCloud has 23. Giblin leads USF with two interceptions and has added three pass breakups, while McCloud has also recorded an interception.
Cade Morse rounds out the group of five Cougars with at least 20 tackles, totaling 21 stops and 1.5 tackles for loss.
USF has received production throughout its defensive front as well.
Denim Blackstad leads the team with five tackles for loss, while
James Woodward has three tackles for loss and a team-best two sacks.
Vayo Kamara,
London Kolb and
Isaac Rudningen have each recorded a sack, while
Peyton Marceau and
Max Elrod have combined for another. The Cougars have also forced six fumbles, led by
Cam Enright with two.
Special teams have provided another spark for Sioux Falls. The Cougars are averaging 25.0 yards per punt return and 22.5 yards per kickoff return, while holding opponents to 14.8 yards per kickoff return. Morse has returned two punts for 52 yards, including a 44-yard return, while Rudningen owns a 23-yard punt-return touchdown leading both the NSIC and NCAA in punt return touchdowns. Joinville leads the kickoff return unit with 188 yards on eight attempts, and
Scott Dickson is averaging 40.1 yards per punt, including a season-long 70-yarder and four punts of 50-plus yards.yards.
Scouting the Opponent
Augustana enters the Key to the City matchup at 3-2 overall and 2-2 in NSIC play following a narrow 42-41 loss at Winona State. The Vikings have featured one of the league's most productive offenses, averaging 42.0 points and 488.4 yards per game. Their attack has been driven primarily through the air, where Augustana averages 383.0 passing yards per contest, while adding 105.4 yards on the ground.
Quarterback Gunnar Hensley has completed 127-of-198 passes for 1,915 yards and 17 touchdowns against just four interceptions. DJ Page leads the receiving corps with 44 catches for 598 yards and two touchdowns, while Klayton Sattler has 29 receptions for 441 yards and a team-high eight touchdowns. On the ground, Breylon Blount has rushed for 476 yards and four touchdowns while averaging 6.0 yards per carry.
Defensively, the Vikings are allowing 36.8 points and 481.2 yards per game, including 213.0 rushing yards and 268.2 passing yards. Augustana has produced 17 tackles for loss, seven sacks and five interceptions through five games. Camron Maciejewski leads the defense with 38 tackles, followed by Ashton Toll with 36 and Brody Koberoski with 33, while Joshua Lee-O'Bryant leads the team with 3.5 tackles for loss.
Augustana Head Coach Jerry Olszewski
Jerry Olszewski enters his 14th season as head coach at Augustana in 2026 and his 18th season overall as a collegiate head coach. Olszewski owns a 91-46 record at Augustana and a 123-65 career mark, earning four NSIC Coach of the Year honors during his tenure. He has guided the Vikings to consecutive outright NSIC Championships in 2023 and 2024, while the 2025 squad finished 9-2 and climbed into the top five of the AFCA Coaches Poll for the first time in program history. Olszewski became Augustana's all-time winningest head coach during the 2024 season and has led the Vikings to five NCAA Division II Playoff appearances.
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