THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK FOOTBALL... Upper Iowa is back on the road this Saturday for their first Northern Sun Conference South Division showdown of the 2022 campaign. The Peacocks and Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State University will play the final game on the NSIC slate on Oct. 1 with a 5 p.m. kickoff. While the Peacocks have not marked the win column, the Mustangs are enjoying one of their best starts in program history. Southwest Minnesota State comes into the weekend with a 3-1 record; their only blemish came in an opening day loss at the University of Minnesota Duluth, 31-21. SMSU will be celebrating Homecoming Weekend on campus as well.
 
LIVE OPTIONS... Fans that can't be in Marshall for the game have a few live options to follow along in real time. Live stats and a webcast are available through links at UIUPeacocks.com/Live. In addition, 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.
 
THE SERIES… Southwest Minnesota State leads the all-time series 14-3. 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 and a 20-14 win in 2021, both in Fayette. In 2019, the Mustangs converted four UIU turnovers into touchdowns. In 2021, SMSU erased a 14-0 deficit and held the Peacocks scoreless after their first four possessions.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET… Last season, SMSU held the lead at Harms-Eischeid Stadium for exactly 69 seconds. Unfortunately for the Peacock football team and the Upper Iowa University Homecoming crowd, it was the final 69 seconds of the game. The Peacocks raced out to a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter, but the Mustangs outscored their hosts 20-0 over the final two and a half quarters to win 20-14. During Upper Iowa's first four possessions, the team built a 14-0 lead fueled by a pair of Marcus Orr to DJ Emsweller touchdown passes. The Mustangs were able to pull within one score with 17 seconds to play prior to halftime. Southwest Minnesota State capped off a 14-play, 80-yard drive with a touchdown on a three-yard pass play on second and goal. Steven Nava found Nathan Stearns on the touchdown pass for SMSU. Neither team scored in the third quarter as both defenses put up a wall at midfield and didn't allow either offense to cross the 50-yard line except for one Upper Iowa possession. SMSU began a drive just before the fourth quarter opened and carried the ball into the final frame tying the game at 14-14 fueled by a 10-play, 80-yard drive that was highlighted by three big third-down conversions including a 31-yard pass play from Andrew Haidet to Keilan Smith. The big pass play set up a 12-yard touchdown reception by Zeke Robinson from Haidet. Upper Iowa broke into the red zone later in the fourth quarter at the 19-yard line on a second-down run by Luckett, but couldn't convert on third or fourth down and turned the ball over on downs again at the 23-yard line with 2:29 to play in the game. Southwest Minnesota State took the momentum of their defensive stop and turned it into a game-winning drive that covered 77 yards in four plays. SMSU took advantage of back-to-back, big pass plays that included a 22-yard third-down conversion to Albert Lemon and a 51-yard touchdown to Robinson. Upper Iowa quickly pushed the ball into Mustang territory as Orr found Stevens on five of his six completions including a fourth down and third down to keep the drive alive. The Peacocks had a first down at the SMSU 22-yard line with 10 seconds to play. But the Mustangs ended the threat and secured the win with an interception thanks to the hands of Ken Truitt.
 
PEACOCK QUICK HITTERS... Five Peacocks have tallied 20-plus tackles through the first four games of the season. The quintet includes players from all three levels of Upper Iowa's defense; safety Cejai Parrish (25), linebackers Collin Jones (23) RJ Knaack (23) and Trevor Thompson (21) and defensive end Baxter Bohr (20)... Bohr (4.5), Thompson (3.5), Knaack (3.0) and Demetrius Walker (3.0) have combined for 14 of the team's 22 tackles for loss and Bohr has a team-high 3.5 sacks... Thompson, Zacarius Murray and Cody Cotton have pulled in interceptions, while Bohr, Walker and Jones have all landed on fumbles to secure a Peacock takeaway... Traegen Kramer has had four punts blocked this year including three last Saturday against Bemidji State, but he is averaging 38.4 yards per punt and has placed nine inside the 20-yard line and boomed five kicks over 50 yards... Marcus Orr has completed 61 passes with five touchdowns and three interceptions, while the sophomore did throw an interception last Saturday against BSU, he bounced back with three touchdown passes... Orr's top target this season has been Cole Ewald, who has 18 grabs for 232 yards and a score, while Jahani Wright is second with 11 catches for 88 yards and a touchdown.
 
MUSTANG HEADLINES (FROM SMSU ATHLETICS COMMUNICATION)... Jesse Sherwood leads the NSIC in rushing at 176 yards per game which ranks second in Division II. He is also fifth nationally in all-purpose yards (189.2) and is ninth with six rushing touchdowns... Sherwood has rushed for more than 140 yards in his last five games dating back to last season. Sherwood is also the first SMSU player to reach 100-yards rushing or more in five straight games since Tyler Tonderum in 2016... Senior linebacker Onte Burns, a two-time All-NSIC South honoree, has led the NSIC in tackles the past two seasons (2019 and 2021). Burns, who has started all 37 games of his career, has amassed 180 career solo tackles ranking second in team history. Nate Rudolph (1996-99) holds the school record with 199 solo tackles. Burns also ranks fifth in team history in total tackles with 308. The school record (since 1978) is 358 tackles held by Mike Roggenbuck (1982-85)... Burns has notched double-digit tackles in all four games this season and ranks first in the NSIC and fourth in Division II with 46 tackles (11.5)... The SMSU defense ranks 24th in Division II in third-down conversion pct. (27.5)... The SMSU defense has forced eight turnovers during its three-game winning streak... Thomas Mergen recorded his first career interception and tied a career-high with nine tackles in last week's win over Minot State... SMSU limited Concordia-St. Paul to six points in a week two victory. It was the first time SMSU held an opponent to less than 10 points in a game since Oct. 20, 2018, versus Northern State. SMSU also limited CSP to a pair of field goals which marked the first time since the 2015 season at Wayne State, that SMSU held an opponent to zero touchdowns.
 
WHO'S NEXT... The Peacocks will come back to Fayette and Harms-Eischeid Stadium next Saturday, Oct. 8 for Homecoming Weekend. Upper Iowa will host the Vikings of Augustana University at 3 p.m. in another Northern Sun Conference South Division battle.