Homecoming returns as football hosts Upper Iowa Saturday

SCSU vs UIU Game Notes

ST. CLOUD, MINN. – In case you haven't heard, homecoming is back at St. Cloud State University October 17-21 (aka, this upcoming weekend). That means plenty of Husky athletic teams will be in action at home, including the St. Cloud State football team. The Huskies will host the Upper Iowa University Peacocks at 2 p.m. on Saturday in their first homecoming game since the 2010 season.

While there will be plenty of festivities leading up to the game, it should be one of the most exciting of the year for St. Cloud State. The Huskies are coming off one of their biggest victories of the year in which they went in to Bob Young Stadium and upended the (RV) University of Sioux Falls 30-27 on its own turf.

Of course, Upper Iowa has had quite the season of its own despite the 3-4 record. In fact, the Peacocks have beat two teams that were either nationally ranked or receiving votes in either the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) or D2Football.com polls. Last week, Upper Iowa also held on for a thrilling 27-24 victory over Bemidji State, a team that was receiving votes in both national polls.

As mentioned, Saturday will serve as more than just a typical football game. Plenty of homecoming festivities will be going on in and around Husky Stadium. Fan Fest will begin in the south pay lot by Husky Stadium prior to the game with plenty activities for current and former students as well as families and children. Fans can also receive $5 off their ticket if they bring one non-perishable food item, curtesy of North Risk Partners.

Finally, Saturday will also St. Cloud State's "Tackle Cancer" game. Currently Huskies will be taking donations before the game and during halftime to help fight the battle against cancer. All donations will go to the Randy Shaver Cancer Research and Community Fund to support the Minnesota cancer community and providing funding for research, treatment, prevention and other areas of need.

Fans who can't make the trek to Husky Stadium can follow the game in multiple ways. They can tune in to live stats, video and WJON's live radio broadcast on 1390 Granite City. Updates will also be made to St. Cloud State football's Twitter account (@SCSUHuskiesFB) when time allows.

Here are the five things to know before St. Cloud State's homecoming clash with Upper Iowa:

2010 – The last time the Huskies celebrated homecoming was in 2010 when they defeated the University of Minnesota-Crookston 49-6 at Husky Stadium. St. Cloud State finished that season with a 10-3 overall record and 5-1 in the North Division of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Huskies also advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II football playoffs for just the second time in school history and was ranked No. 11/12 in the final AFCA and D2Football.com polls.

21 – The Huskies outscored the Cougars 21-10 in the second quarter of their thrilling 30-27 win last Saturday. Although Sioux Falls managed to come back and tie the game at 27-27 in the fourth quarter, sophomore kicker Adam Stage's (Appleton, Wis. / Kimberly) 27-yard field goal at 9:59 proved to be the dagger as St. Cloud State's defense came up with monster players to prevent the Cougars offense from scoring in the final five minutes of the game.

34 – In their wins over No. 11 Winona State and (RV) Bemidji State, the Peacocks outscored their opponents 34-0 in the fourth quarter. In the early season win over the Warriors, Upper Iowa scored 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to comeback from a 33-14 deficit. In last Saturday's win over the Beavers, the Peacocks scored 14 points in the fourth and scored the game-winning touchdown at 6:27 to cement the 27-24 victory.

58 – Senior linebacker Jack Horter (Sussex, Wis. / Marquette) has had two mighty impressive weeks for the St. Cloud State defense. In the past two weekends, the senior has forced two opponent turnovers with two recoveries for a combined 58 yards. In the Huskies 23-17 win over Wayne State on October 6, Horter recorded the longest forced-fumble recovery of the season with his 40-yard run against the Wildcats. Then, this past weekend, the senior kicked off St. Cloud State's scoring barrage in the second quarter with an 18-yard pick-6 to put the Huskies ahead 7-3.

272.7 – Upper Iowa currently ranks second in the NSIC in passing offense, as the Peacocks average 272.7 yards in the air this season. Of course, they'll be going up against St. Cloud State, which has the No. 3 pass defense in the conference this season. After seven games, the Huskies are currently surrendering just 201.4 yards in the air to opponents this season and only 114.1 yards on the ground.

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Players Mentioned

Jack Horter

Adam Stage

Saint Cloud State University Athletics