After two weeks on the road, Winona State returns to Altra Federal Credit Union Stadium when it hosts the Upper Iowa Peacocks at 1 p.m. Saturday. WSU and UIU will be meeting for the 12th time in series history, with the Warriors winning every matchup of the series.

Hear the call live on 89.5 FM KQAL or kqal.org with broadcasters TJ Leverentz and John Wojcik. Watch live with Justin Barrientos and Bob Urness on HBC TV 25 and online at www.winonastatewarriors.com/watch.


LAST WEEK: The Warriors jumped out to an early 17-3 lead but were unable to hold on as No. 5 Sioux Falls claimed a 51-30 victory at Bob Young Field in Sioux Falls.

KICKOFF FORECAST: Weather in Winona Saturday is forecast to be a sunny fall afternoon with temperatures near 50 degrees at kickoff with no threat of rain.

ONE-SIDED HISTORY: Though the Warriors and Peacocks began their series in 1968, the two teams did not start meeting on a yearly basis until 2006. The Warriors have dominated the series, winning all 11 of the matchups. Since 2006, the Warriors have outscored the Peacocks by a 430-168 margin.

LAST TIME VS. THE PEACOCKS: The Warriors earned a 38-19 win over Upper Iowa last season in Fayette. WSU never trailed in the game despite Jack Nelson throwing for a season-low 123 yards. Paul Preston ran for a still career-high 133 yards and one touchdown. Linebacker Jarrett Wood had a breakout performance, leading the team with seven tackles - two for loss - along with a sack, a fumble recovery and a 38-yard interception return. 

LAST TIME IN WINONA: The Warriors never trailed last time they played Upper Iowa in Winona in 2013, either. In that game, a 49-32 win, Nelson threw for 333 yards and three touchdowns and Alan May caught four passes for 108 yards and a score.

A LOOK AT THE PEACOCKS: The Peacocks are coached by Tom Shea, who's in his seventh season as head coach at Upper Iowa and has a 29-47 career record. The Peacocks are 4-2 this season are coming off a 52-20 win on their homecoming against Concordia-St. Paul. UIU is 1-1 away from Harms-Eischeid Stadium this season, beating U-Mary 34-16 in Week 2 before a tough 28-24 loss at UMD.

TOP PASSING OFFENSES: Saturday's game will pit against each other the top two passing offenses in the NSIC. WSU is No. 1 in the league, averaging 323.8 yards per game. Right behind the Warriors are the Peacocks, as they average 311.2 yards per game. Third place Sioux Falls averages 287.3 per game. Upper Iowa also has the second-best passing defense in the league, however, giving up just 189.2 yards per game, while WSU is 10th at 230.3 per game.

NELSON SETS RECORDS: Two career passing records became Jack Nelson's during last week's game at Sioux Falls. Nelson threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Alan May for the 65th of his career, surpassing WSU Hall of Famer Jake Goettl for the most in team history. A little earlier in the game, Nelson connected on a 77-yard touchdown to Josh Mikes, which happened to be the 499th completion of Nelson's career, the most completions in Warrior history.

ANOTHER RECORD ON THE HORIZON: Two weeks ago Nelson surpassed the 7,000-yard career passing mark, just the second player in WSU history to do so. He currently holds four of the top six all-time passing games, and is second in career passing yards with 7,448, and needs just 121 yards to break the career record, also currently held by Jake Goettl. A complete list of QB records can be found on pages 8-9.

PRESTON FINDING HIS STRIDE: Junior running back Paul Preston has reached the 100-yard plateau in three of the past four weeks. After a 39-yard effort against Minot State in his first game of the season in Week 2, Preston rushed for 121 yards Bemidji State, 104 against Concordia-St. Paul and 103 last week at Sioux Falls. His only other non-100 yard effort was an 18-carry for 86-yard performance vs. St. Cloud State.

SPENCER IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Sophomore defensive back Andrew Spencer has proven to have a knack for the ball, as he has a team-leading three interceptions on the season - one in every other game this season.

NO PLAYING FAVORITES: Quarterback Jack Nelson has proven that he doesn't play favorites when it comes to his receivers. The junior quarterback completed a ball to at least eight different receivers in four out of six games this season, including nine different receivers in each of the first two games, and two weeks ago at Concordia.

McCAULEY'S BIG YEAR: Though the season is just six weeks old, Carter McCauley's 12 field goals this season already tied for third-most in WSU single-season history and is just one behind Steve Opgenorth and Jake Vercher for most in a single season ... It was a day for the record books for McCauley against Minot State in Week Two, breaking WSU's record for longest field goal by booting a 53-yarder in the second quarter in a win over Minot State. He wasn't done there, breaking his own record in the fourth quarter with a 54-yarder to cement his name in the top two spots of the kicking record. After hitting a 47-yarder against St. Cloud State, McCauley now owns the three longest kicks by a Warrior in history.

McCAULEY'S HONOR: Sophomore kicker Carter McCauley was recognized last week as one of 21 kickers throughout all divisions of football to earn the Fred Mitchell Award for excellence in the month of September. McCauley made two kicks of 50+ yards and is 8-of-12 for the season, league bests for both number of field goals and kicking percentage. McCauley is one of just two kickers recognized to boot multiple 50-yard field goals, and the only one from Division II.

MAY DAY: Senior wide receiver Alan May is finds himself toward the top of the NSIC when it comes to pass catchers. May ranks second in the league in receiving yards per game with 96.3, trailing only SCSU's Jameson Parsons. May also is third in receptions per game with 6.50, behind only UIU's Jalen Amis and Mary's Brennan Doan.

MORE MAY DAY: May is making the most of his senior season. He had a career day in a Week One loss at MSU Moorhead, hauling in 11 passes for 161 yards. The 11 catches is tied for the fifth-most in WSU single-game history, while the 161 receiving yards goes in the books as the 24th-most receiving yards by a WSU wideout. He followed it up with a 90-yard performance against Minot State, and caught a touchdown in three straight weeks before hauling in his first multi-touchdown game of the season last week at Sioux Falls.