Football faces Winona State in final interconference match up

Saturday, October 26

Winona, MN

1 p.m.

St. Cloud State

Winona State University

Ben Gutschow makes a tackle in St. Cloud State's game against SMSU.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

Football faces Winona State in final interconference match up

10/23/2019 12:00:00 PM | Football

ST. CLOUD, MINN. – It's been a long October for the St. Cloud State University football team. After opening the month with a thrilling overtime win over Concordia-St. Paul, the Huskies lost their last two games in heartbreaking fashion, as their last two defeats came by less than a touchdown to both Augustana and Southwest Minnesota State. This weekend, St. Cloud State looks to end the month on a high note, as it takes on Winona State University at 1 p.m. this upcoming Saturday.

This will be the final cross-divisional match up for the Huskies, as they travel to Winona to take on the Warriors, who opened the season receiving votes in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) poll. So far this season, Winona State has put together a 5-2 record. Warriors also enter the contest with a 3-0 record against Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) North opponents.

Like the Warriors, St. Cloud State received votes in the first three AFCA polls of the season thanks to its 2-1 start. Since then, the Huskies have gone 1-3, with their lone win coming against the Golden Bears at home.

Live stats and video will be available for Saturday's game as is a live broadcast of the game on WJON AM 1240. Score updates can also be found on the team's Twitter page (@SCSUHuskiesFB).

Here are the five things to know before kickoff Saturday:

37 – Junior kicker Adam Stage (Appleton, Wis. / Kimberly) was one of 37 place-kickers named to the September Watch List for the Fred Mitchell Outstanding Place-Kicker Award. Stage, who has converted 9-13 field goals this season, is one of nine individuals from Division II up for the award, which is given to the top place-kicker from a non-FBS Division I team.

4 – In Saturday's loss to SMSU, St. Cloud State extended its "interception streak", as it recorded its fourth consecutive game tallying at least one. This time, though, it was a new Husky that came up with the grab, as senior cornerback Ben Gutschow (Amherst, Wis. / Amherst) returned an interception for a touchdown in the second quarter to give his team an early 14-7 lead. Unfortunately, the Mustangs ended up winning the game 42-38 thanks to an interception of their own.

61 – There have been 61 meetings between St. Cloud State and Winona State, with the Huskies holding a 42-15-4 advantage in the series. In fact, in the last five meetings, the Huskies have taken three of five from the Warriors, scoring an average of 23.4 points per game.

2017 – It's been two seasons since St. Cloud State and Winona State last faced each other on the gridiron. Unfortunately, things didn't exactly go the Huskies, as the Warriors won the game by a final score of 34-10. After Winona State scored a touchdown on its opening drive, St. Cloud State cut the score to 7-3 on a 24-yard field goal by Stage. The Warriors then scored 10 unanswered points, extending their lead to 17-3 en route to a 34-10 victory. That s

101.3 – The Huskies defense will have its hands full on Saturday, as they try to stop Sam Santiago-Lloyd from the line of scrimmage. Through seven games this season, the junior running back from Milwaukee, Wisconsin is averaging an impressive 101.3 yards per game this season, which the second most in the NSIC.