Football plays for bowl game berth Saturday

ST. CLOUD, MINN. – It all comes down to this.

It's been a bit of a rollercoaster season for the St. Cloud State University football team, or at least, that's what it seemed. However, the Huskies have already secured their best record since the 2013 season, both overall and in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play. This weekend, the 7-3 St. Cloud State Huskies have a chance to secure its place in the Mineral Water Bowl with a road victory over Minnesota State-Moorhead Saturday afternoon.

Yes, with a win on Saturday, St. Cloud State will have the opportunity to play in the Mineral Water Bowl, set to take place on December 1 in St. Joseph, Missouri, for the first time in program history. However, the Huskies will have to upend MSU-Moorhead at 1 p.m. on Saturday, a team that is also 7-3 on the year and a surprising 5-1 record in NSIC North play.

Fans can follow the game via 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 this weekend's big matchup between the Huskies and Dragons:

63 – This will be the 63^rd meeting between the Huskies and Dragons, with St. Cloud State holding a 37-23-1 lead in the series. However, there's a bit more at stake for the two teams than just bragging rights this weekend. With a win, either team will have a chance to represent the NSIC in the Mineral Water Bowl in December and will finish second in the NSIC North Division behind No. 5 Minnesota-Duluth.

11 – St. Cloud State has won 11 consecutive meetings against MSU-Moorhead, including a 31-7 victory over the Dragons in 2017. Since 2013, the Huskies have scored an average of 50 points per game against the Dragons while surrendering just 24 points per game. However, the closest meeting between the two teams occurred in 2016, when St. Cloud State hung on for a thrilling 41-38 victory in Moorhead, Minnesota.

193 – In the Huskies victory over MSU-Moorhead last season, the defense ended up being the star of the show, holding the Dragons to 193 yards on offense, including just 66 yards on the ground in the victory. St. Cloud State also held MSU-Moorhead to just 127 yards in the air while tallying five sacks, two interceptions and 10 tackles for loss.

1006 – Senior running back Gregory Lewis (Milwaukee, Wis. / Wauwatosa West) became the first running back to rush for 1000 yards in a single season in 13 years last week with his performance against Minot State last week. The senior ran for a career and season-high 216 yards against the Beavers, helping the Huskies come back for a thrilling 30-23 victory.

26 – Sophomore kicker Adam Stage (Appleton, Wis. / Kimberly) was one of just 26 kickers in Divisions II, III and I (FCS) to make the October cut for the Fred Mitchell Award. At the end of October, Stage was 12-16 on his field goal attempts (FGAs) and led the conference in field goal percentage (.750) amongst all kickers with a minimum of 10 attempts. Since then, his numbers have gotten even better. Stage was 3-3 on field goals last week and 3-3 on PATs helping him move to first in the NSIC in nearly all kicking statistics.

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Players Mentioned

Gregory Lewis

Adam Stage

Saint Cloud State University Athletics