THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK FOOTBALL... Upper Iowa returns to Fayette this Saturday for Homecoming Weekend looking for their first win of the season. The Peacocks will line up against the Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State University for a 3 p.m. kickoff in the teams' first NSIC South Division contest of the year. Both teams come in with balanced offenses that split evenly between attacking the defense on the ground and through the air. Last week, Upper Iowa let a 21-10 lead get away in the fourth quarter and lost a 33-28 decision on the road at MSU Moorhead, while Southwest Minnesota State secured their first win, 34-24, on the road at Concordia-St. Paul. The Mustangs rallied from a 17-10 halftime deficit and scored 24 second-half points straight to claim the win. SMSU is averaging 22.8 points per game on 314.3 yards of total offense per game, while UIU is scoring 17.5 points per game on 322.8 yards of total offense per game. Third downs will be key to Upper Iowa's success as SMSU is converting 42.9% of their chances, while the Peacocks are only moving the chains on 33.3% of their third-downs.
 
LIVE OPTIONS... The game will be broadcasted live on AM 950 KOEL and will air on Eastern Iowa's CW 9.3. The game can be streamed through most mobile devices at NSICNetwork.com/UIUPeacocks or through the NSIC Network app on Roku and Amazon Fire devices, as well as Apple and Android televisions. Live stats, live audio and more are all available online at UIUPeacocks.com/Live.
 
DIGITAL GAMEDAY PROGRAM… Upper Iowa will not be printing gameday programs this season. Fans can access the interactive and digital gameday program at any time at UIUPeacocks.com/Programs. The digital programs are available to fans both at our games and those at home listening to or watching the action. QR Codes will also be located around the stadium to scan with your cell phone's camera that will link you directly to that game's specific digital gameday program.
 
THE SERIES... Southwest Minnesota State leads the all-time series 13-3. SMSU won nine straight games against Upper Iowa until 2017 when the Peacocks claimed a 31-20 Homecoming victory. In 2018, Upper Iowa lost a 21-20 decision in Marshall as the Mustangs snapped an 11-game losing streak and posted their first win of the season. Prior to 2018, the last time the teams were together in Marshall was 2016 and the game turned into a wild shootout that saw the Mustangs post a 59-42 victory after the teams combined for over 1,300 yards of total offense. From 2011-14, the four matchups were decided by just twelve points combined; three were played in Marshall, Minn. The Mustangs won 28-24 in 2011 and 38-37 in 2012 before holding off a first and goal for UIU with under a minute to play in 2013 to claim a 52-48 win in Fayette.  In 2014, the Mustangs scored 14 fourth quarter points to claim a come-from-behind 28-25 win over UIU; the loss was UIU's first of the season after opening 5-0.  The first two UIU wins in the series came in 2004 (28-16) and in 2007 (39-27). SMSU claimed a 35-28 win in 2019 in Fayette behind converting four UIU turnovers into touchdowns.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET... The Mustangs escaped Fayette with a 35-28 win in 2019 in a NSIC South Division shootout despite being in the disadvantage in many stat categories. But the one thing that SMSU did better than UIU was convert turnovers into points on the scoreboard. Four of SMSU's five touchdowns on the night followed a turnover by the Peacocks. Upper Iowa threw an interception on just their third play and SMSU returned the pick for the game's opening score. UIU also turned the ball over on downs twice and fumbled a handoff exchange; all three led to touchdowns on the visitor's ensuing possession. UIU claimed advantages in first downs (27-17), rushing yards (236-177), passing yards (233-160), total offense (469-337) and time of possession (35:17-24:43), but couldn't overcome the turnovers. SMSU scored three of their touchdowns on single-play drives.
 
BLOCK PARTY... The Peacock special teams has posted three blocked kicks this season, which ranks fifth in the nation and leads the NSIC. Ben Houselog, Isaac Pope and DJ Green Jr. all have gotten their hands on opponents kicks.
 
MOVE 'EM BACK... UIU's defense has struggled against the pass this season, but the Peacocks have lived in the backfield and continue to put pressure on the opposing quarterbacks and offensive linemen. Upper Iowa ranks fifth in NCAA Division II and leads the conference in Team Tackles for Loss with 39 tackles for a 161-yard loss. Defensive end Erik Hansen leads the charge with 13.5 tackles for loss and five sacks, while Brody Bazile has added five stops behind the line and RJ Knack has four. Hansen's numbers rank him with the best of the best in NCAA Division II; his sacks are eighth-best in the nation and lead the NSIC, while his tackles for loss are the top-mark in the country.
 
DOUBLE BARREL… Running backs Willy Camacho and Keontae Luckett have been a handful for opposing defenses through the first four games of the season. UIU is averaging 127 yards per game on the ground led by Camacho's 89.5 and Luckett's 44.3 yards per game. Luckett's four touchdowns rank 26th nationally and third-best in the conference. Camacho is averaging 171 all-purpose yards per game, which ranks eighth in NCAA Division II and second in the NSIC. In addition to his rushing, the Palmdale, Calif. native averages 23.3 yards in receiving and 58.3 yards in kick returns per game.
 
PEACOCK LEADERS… Defensively, UIU is led by Bazile (27 tackles) and Hansen (25 tackles), but Joey Rattin (22 tackles), DJ Green Jr. (18 tackles) and Zacarius Murray (18 tackles) have stood out this season as well. Terrell Powell has two interceptions and three pass break ups to his name. On the line, Kyle Domin (3 tackles for loss) and Samsun Tufui (2.5 for loss) have both added to UIU's defensive penetration. Offensively, the receiving corps is led by the trio of Xavier Saldana (14 catches, 124 yards, 1 TD), DJ Emsweller (13 catches, 176 yards, 3 TD) and Alexander Stevens (12 catches, 154 yards). Marcus Orr is completing nearly 62% of his passes 508 yards, 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, while averaging 169.3 yards per game.
 
NEXT UP... Upper Iowa heads to Augustana University next Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff. UIU returns for Hall of Fame Weekend against Minnesota State University, Mankato on Saturday, Oct. 16 at 12 p.m.