Cory Sauter starred at quarterback for the Minnesota Gophers in the mid-1990s.
The Gophers didn’t win a lot of games, but their pass-happy offense was entertaining, part of the “Air Wacker” era named after late head coach Jim Wacker. They were running a wide-open, spread offense back when that was still exotic.
Sauter threw for a program-record 6,834 career yards before going on to a brief professional football career.
Sauter, 39, has taken bits and pieces from more than 20 years in the sport to make Southwest Minnesota State one of the highest-scoring teams in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The Mustangs (1-1), who haven’t huddled on offense in two seasons, will bring their hurry-up style into Malosky Stadium at 6:05 p.m. today when they take on fourth-ranked Minnesota Duluth (2-0).
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“I’ve got different connections to a lot of different places, and we added wrinkles to this offense from everywhere. We’ve gotten ideas and then made it our own,” Sauter said. “We’re still a no-huddle team. We’ll mix up the pace during the game. Sometimes we’ll go really, really fast, and sometimes, we’ll go somewhat slower. It’s a different style of play, but the players have caught onto it.”
Southwest State put up gaudy numbers in 2013, setting 13 single-season team records and playing a postseason game for the first time since 1990. The Mustangs finished 7-5, the most NCAA Division II victories in program history. Southwest State set a school record with 6,295 yards, averaging 524.6 yards per game while setting the NSIC single-season record with 5,892 yards in 11 league contests.
But after graduating their entire starting offensive line, a receiver who had 18 touchdowns, a tight end and a slot player, the Mustangs are finding yards harder to come by this season. Still, the team is only one play away from being 2-0. Southwest State let a 15-point fourth-quarter lead slip away in a 19-18 loss at Mary in the opener before rebounding with a 56-31 home victory over Minnesota-Crookston last week.
“For the most part, we’re starting from scratch this season, so we have some growing pains to go through,” said Sauter, a native of Hutchinson, Minn. “We’ve talked with the entire offense about this, but what we did last year was pretty special. Even if we had all the same guys back from last year, I don’t know if we could replicate it. It was just one of those years where everything fell into place. We had some amazing games.”
One of those was a 55-48 loss to Sioux Falls in which the Mustangs set an NSIC record with 828 yards of offense, including 512 through the air from quarterback Charlie Kern.
Kern, a 6-foot-3, 203-pound senior, is smart and mobile. He has thrown for 496 yards and two touchdowns in two games this season after throwing for 3,156 yards and 33 touchdowns as a junior. The difference has been turnovers. Kern threw only eight interceptions last season but has four already this year.
“Southwest is extremely talented on the offensive side of the football,” UMD coach Curt Wiese said. “They score a lot of points and put pressure on your defense. They like to turn the football game into a track meet. They’ve got an explosive offense, so the key will be keeping them off the field.”
Southwest State ran 91 plays last week. By contrast, UMD ran 82 plays last week and just 61 in its opener.
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The other key component of their offense is senior Tyler Tonderum, a finalist for national player of the year last season. Tonderum rushed for a school-record 2,145 yards and 19 touchdowns as a junior but only has 140 yards on 42 attempts this season (3.3 yards per carry).
It won’t get much easier this week.
“Looking at Duluth on film, I’m surprised anybody has even scored against them,” Sauter said.
Sauter said Southwest State’s offensive playbook is about a fifth the size it was when he first arrived on campus in 2008. The Mustangs have pared it down to make it simpler for the players. They might not execute as many plays but they execute them better. Sauter said they might mix in a different formation or motion, but they are the same plays.
“It’s one of those offensive philosophies where you want to run your system better than the other team can defend it, and we’ve also found that we’ve been able to wear some teams out,” Sauter said.
Southwest State occasionally goes four wide or employs an empty backfield, but generally goes with three wide receivers, a tight end and a running back. Sauter said the Mustangs went with the same personnel 90 percent of the time last year because subbing players slows their pace.
It’ll definitely be an interesting contrast in styles when the teams take the field today.
“We know what we want to run because we’ve run it so many times in practice,” Sauter said. “Sometimes the opposing defense gets lined up properly. Sometimes they don’t and we try to take advantage of that. But we’re not trying to chase records. That was last year and this is a new year, a new team. We just want to play our style and try to find a way to win games. Every day and every week I feel like we’re getting better, and as a coach, that’s all you can ask for.”
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southwest MINNESOTA state at minnesota DULUTH
r National rankings: UMD is No. 4 in both the American Football Coaches Association NCAA Division II and D2Football.com polls; Southwest State isn’t ranked.
r Series: UMD has a commanding 26-5-1 lead. The Bulldogs have won seven straight in the series, including a 45-20 victory in the 2012 season opener in Marshall, Minn. This is only the teams’ fourth meeting since 2003.
r Coaches: Cory Sauter is 19-28 in his fifth season as Southwest State’s coach. Curt Wiese is 13-2 in his second season as UMD’s head coach.
r Outlook: Southwest State is coming off a 53-31 home victory over Minnesota-Crookston last week as senior quarterback Charlie Kern ran for three touchdowns and threw for two more. UMD rallied for a 23-22 overtime victory at Augustana as sophomore quarterback Drew Bauer, who was recruited by the Marshall college, threw for 246 yards and a touchdown. “We had our backs against the wall,” UMD coach Curt Wiese said. “There is a lot we can take from that game, just in terms of believing you can win in situation like that.” Bauer’s favorite target was sophomore Beau Bofferding, who had a career-high 10 receptions for 105 yards. It was UMD’s first 100-yard receiving game since Zach Zweifel had eight receptions for 106 on Oct. 12, 2013. Bofferding provided a spark as junior wide receiver Justin Fowlkes continues to recover from a leg injury. … UMD’s rushing game hasn’t been as consistent as the Bulldogs would like. UMD is averaging just 21.5 points per game, down 20 points per game from last season. Like the Mustangs, most of Bulldogs’ offensive line is new, with three starters graduating as well as two tight ends. “Don’t push the panic button just yet because Duluth hasn’t scored a bunch of points,” Southwest State coach Cory Sauter said. “No. 1, Augie’s defense is very good. Between Mankato, Augie, Duluth, those are the premier defenses in the league. Offensively, Duluth has big, physical kids who can move up front. They’re all in that 6-5 and 275 to 300-pound range, but they’re not your typical lineman with slow feet. They’ve got a line that can get moving. Being able to stop the run will be a huge challenge for us, because if Duluth can get a lead, they’re tough to beat because they can control the game.” UMD, meanwhile, is allowing 136.0 rushing yards per game this season on 3.8 yards per carry. Last fall the Bulldogs only allowed 78.8 and 2.6 but aren’t yielding any more points this fall. … Southwest State athletic director Chris Hmielewski was a pitcher for the Duluth-Superior Dukes in 1996.
JON NOWACKI, NEWS TRIBUNE
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SW Minn. State (1-1) at No. 4 UMD (2-0)
What: NSIC football game
When: 6:05 p.m. today
Where: Malosky Stadium
Forecast: High of 68 with a 15 mph wind and 80 percent chance of rain
TV: My9
Webcast: portal.stretchinternet.com/umd/
Radio: KQDS-AM 1490; fan1490.com
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Date Opponent W/L Score
Sept. 6............ vs. Concordia-St. Paul W 20-13
Sept. 13.......... at Augustana W 23-22 OT
TEAM STATISTICS UMD Opp.
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Scoring........................................ 43.................... 35
Points Per Game....................... 21.5................. 17.5
First Downs.................................. 35.................... 35
Rushing Yards............................ 471.................. 272
Average Per Rush........................ 5.8................... 2.6
Average Per Game.................. 235.5............... 136.0
Passing Yards............................ 328.................. 382
Com-Att-Int......................... 28-62-0........... 30-58-0
Average Per Pass........................ 5.3................... 6.6
Average Per Catch..................... 11.7................. 12.7
Average Per Game.................. 164.0............... 191.0
Total Offense............................. 799.................. 654
Average Per Game.................. 399.5............... 327.0
Fumbles-lost.............................. 1-0.................. 2-2
Third Down Conv.................... 14-34.............. 13-30
Percentage............................... 41%................. 43%
Fourth Down Conv...................... 1-3.................. 1-2
Percentage............................... 33%................. 50%
Sacks by-yards......................... 4-30.................. 2-7
Penalties-yards........................ 7-57................ 8-75
Time of Possession................. 30:29............... 29:31
RUSHING Att. Yards Avg. TDs
L. Lauters..................... 25 217 8.7 0
D. Bauer........................ 29 145 5.0 2
S. Magee........................ 2 43 21.5 0
A. Roth............................ 6 40 6.7 0
B. Bofferding................... 7 21 3.0 0
A. Sikorski...................... 9 10 1.1 0
Team.............................. 3 -5 -1.7 0
Total............................. 81 471 5.8 2
Opponents.................... 71 272 3.8 1
PASSING Comp. Att. Yards TDs Int.
D. Bauer................ 28 61 328 2 0
Team...................... 0 1 0 0 0
Total..................... 28 62 328 2 0
Opponents............ 30 58 382 3 0
RECEIVING Rec. Yards Avg. TDs
B. Bofferding................ 10 105 10.5 1
A. Roth........................... 8 111 13.9 0
Z. Zweifel...................... 5 69 13.8 0
J. Fowlkes..................... 2 25 12.5 0
T. Grant.......................... 2 8 4.0 1
L. Lauters...................... 1 10 10.0 0
Total............................ 28 328 11.7 2
Opponents................... 30 382 12.7 3
FIELD GOALS FGM FGA Pct. Long
A. Brees..................... 3............ 4 75.0 29
T. McLaughlin........... 2............ 2 100.0 45
TACKLE LEADERS Solo Ast. Total
G. Grady................................ 5............. 14 19
D. Fletcher............................ 8............... 9 17
D. Boegel........................... 10............... 6 16
T. Smrcina............................ 8............... 3 11
N. Zibolski............................ 3............... 7 10
J. Harden.............................. 1............... 7 8
B. Bates................................ 5............... 3 8
B. McDonald......................... 4............... 3 7
G. Brown............................... 2............... 5 7
D. Brown............................... 3............... 3 6
J. Lambrecht........................ 2............... 4 6
B. Stiglich............................. 2............... 4 6
Sacks: G. Brown 1, D. Brown 1, J. Lambrecht 1, N. Thorpe 1.
INTERCEPTIONS No. Yards Avg. TD
Total.......................... 0................ 0 0.0 0
Opponents................. 0................ 0 0.0 0
FUMBLE RETURNS No. Yards Avg. TD
Total.......................... 0................ 0 0.0 0
Opponents................. 0................ 0 0.0 0
PUNTING No. Yards Avg. Long
S. Magee................. 11............ 427 38.8 58
Total........................ 11............ 427 38.8 58
Opponents............... 11............ 391 35.5 52
PUNT RETURNS No. Yards Avg. TD
A. Roth....................... 3.............. 10 3.3 0
Total.......................... 3.............. 10 3.3 0
Opponents................. 1.............. 12 12.0 0
KICKOFF RETURNS No. Yards Avg. TD
A. Roth....................... 2.............. 23 11.5 0
J. Fowlkes.................. 1.............. 13 13.0 0
B. Bofferding.............. 1.............. 36 36.0 0
Total.......................... 4.............. 72 18.0 0
Opponents................. 8............ 161 20.1 0
