Winona State is on the road for the second consecutive week when it travels to Sioux Falls Saturday, Oct. 10, to take on the fourth-ranked Sioux Falls Cougars for a 6 p.m. kickoff at Bob Young Field. WSU and USF will be meeting for the 4th time in series history, with the Warriors controlling a 2-1 all-time edge.

Hear the call live on 89.5 FM KQAL or kqal.org with broadcasters TJ Leverentz and John Wojcik. Watch live online via Sioux Falls at www.winonastatewarriors.com/watch.


LAST WEEK: The Warriors racked up 532 yards of offense and held Concordia-St. Paul to just 255 to roll to a 51-7 rout of the Golden Bears last Saturday at Sea Foam Stadium in St. Paul.

KICKOFF FORECAST: Weather in Sioux Falls Saturday is forecast to be a clear fall evening, with unseasonably warm temperatures in the mid 70s at kickoff.

SHORT HISTORY: Since joining the NSIC in 2012, the Warriors and Cougars have met three times, with the Warriors winning two of the matchups. WSU won the first ever meeting in a 10-9 defensive battle in Winona, but the past two meetings have been much more offensive affairs. WSU claimed a 45-40 win at Bob Young Field in 2013 before USF earned its first win over WSU last season with a 41-28 win on Homecoming in Winona.

LAST TIME VS. THE COUGARS: The Warriors dug themselves a 28-0 hole last year against Sioux Falls and their rally came up short in a 41-28 loss on Homecoming in Winona. QB Jack Nelson completed 24-of-47 passes for 226 yards with two touchdowns, three interceptions and four sacks. RB Paul Preston rushed for two touchdowns and 110 yards, his third straight 100-yard game, while WR Josh Mikes caught a pair of touchdowns. LB Ian Murray led the team with nine tackles, while DL Jeff Brown had a pair of tackles-for-loss.

LAST TIME IN SIOUX FALLS: The Warriors won an offensive shootout the last time they were at Bob Young Field, claiming a 45-40 win on a windy day in Sioux Falls. USF racked up 616 yards of offense while WSU managed 589 itself. Jack Nelson completed just 13 passes but still racked up 278 yards with a passing and rushing touchdown. Leading 38-33 with under five minutes to play, RB Anthony Resnick found paydirt with an 18-yard run to put the Warriors up 45-33 and essentially seal the game.

A LOOK AT THE COUGARS: The Cougars are coached by Jed Stugart, who's in his sixth season as head coach at Sioux Falls and has a 49-13 career record. The Cougars are a perfect 5-0 this season and have won all but one game - a 35-31 win over Minnesota Duluth - by double digits. Sioux Falls is ranked No. 5 in the latest AFCA Coaches' poll and is coming off a 59-10 win at Wayne State. Defensively the Cougars are led by senior cornerback Solomon St. Pierre, who has a league-best five picks this year and has 15 interceptions in his last 16 games. USF has the league's best scoring offense at 44.4 points per game, thanks in part to QB Luke Papilion, who leads the league in total offense (308.8), just .4 yards per game more than WSU's Jack Nelson (308.4).

NELSON's 7K CLUB: In just his junior season, Nelson's name is already plastered all over the WSU record book. In last week's win, 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, is second in career passing yards (7,144; just 424 shy of the all-time record), and second in career touchdown passes (62; 2 shy of the WSU record). A complete list of records can be found on pages 8-9.

SACK ATTACK: The Warrior defense has turned up the pressure on defense this season, ranking in a tie for second in the NSIC in sacks with 13. Last week, Collin Corcoran, Ian Murray and Nickai Poyser each had a sack. WSU sacked Minot State three times in Week Two before sacking the Bemidji State quarterback seven times in Week Three. Of those seven sacks, Jeff Brown and Michael Ferrante each had 1.5, Mike Imperiale and Ian Murray had 1.0 and Collin Corcoan, Jarrett Wood, Lauden Wood and Nickai Poyser had a half a sack.

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 five games this season, including nine different receivers in each of the first two games, and last week at Concordia.

McCAULEY'S BIG YEAR: Though the season is just five weeks old, Carter McCauley's 11 field goals this season already tied for fourth-most in WSU single-season history and is just two behind Steve Opgenorth and Jake Vercher for most all time ... 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.

HIGH-POWERED OFFENSE: The Warrior offense finds itself at or near the top of the NSIC in variety of categories. WSU has the league's top passing attack, with 322.6 passing yards per game, considerably more than second place Upper Iowa's 281.4. Alan May is third in the NSIC in receiving yards per game with 98.8 and receptions per game with 6.4.

PASSING THE DEFENSIVE TEST: Teams have not had much success passing the ball against the Warriors, as WSU ranks fourth in the league in passing defense, allowing just 193.8 yards through the air. 

TACKLE MACHINE: Senior LB Collin Corcoran has been all around the ball this season, recording double-digit tackles in three of five games. His 51 tackles (10.2 per game) is the second most  in the NSIC.

MAY'S BIG DAYS: Senior wide receiver Alan 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.