The coaches each took the opportunity to speak on their players, game goals, and the overall outlook for Saturday’s ballgame and both teams’ first game of the season. 

For SMSU head coach Cory Sauter, he focused on managing the manageable; the game items that he and his team could control those manageable items, no matter what order the numbers on the scoreboard are in. For him and his team, it wasn’t necessarily winning the game on the board- it was winning the game through playing as tight of a game as possible. 

“We are certainly going to play to win, but it’s just having some objectives,” Sauter said. We definitely want to try to check those off the list. Just going in with a plan and being able to execute that to the best of our abilities. We aren’t looking at the scoreboard at any point, just being able to stay in that moment.” 

We are certainly going to play to win, but it’s just having some objectives

Coach Todd Hoffner’s head was in the same space as Sauter’s, in that he wanted to focus on each little game detail that his team could control. Hoffner, just as any coach for a team MSU’s talent, noted that the little details add up and matter. 

“You don’t want to make a lot of mistakes. You want everyone to be on the same page, and you know, let football be football. A lot of it has to do with playing as a team and putting your best out there. Once again, we have to focus on what we do. We can’t control what we can’t control. I don’t see Boyer skipping a beat at the quarterback position.” 

Sauter explained the depth of Mankato’s team, and he made sure to point out that the team has exceptional depth throughout their lines, which helps keep them strong throughout season’s wear and tear. 

“They are in the position in case something happens, they’ll have that Plan B and sometimes even C to go,” Sauter said. The running back, Gunn, he’s a bigger kid. Again, just a bigger running back. So he’s definitely going to be someone we need to key in on.”

Sauter continued. “They have two quarterbacks that they’ve played with, and they both have the ability to make their offense go. That’s why even at the end of the year, they are still in a position to go. They are stacked and positioned really well to make some deep runs in the playoffs. They’ve got talent, and if we were in the same position as they are, we would do the same.”