The Mustangs hosted the University of Sioux Falls (USF) Cougars for “Tackle Cancer” night Oct. 17. Coming into the game, USF was ranked 5th in the nation for division II football, while the Mustangs had just received their first top 25 votes since 2008. Southwest Minnesota State University came into the game with a 5-1 record while the Cougars were an undefeated 6-0.

The Cougars won the opening coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. They struck quickly, scoring within the first two minutes of the game on a 38-yard touchdown pass.

SMSU took over on offense and began driving down the field. Quarterback Blake Gimbel completed passes to a variety of receivers while running back Davontay Stevens racked up yardage on the ground. The Mustangs sustained a long drive and finished it off with an 18-yard screen pass from Gimbel to Stevens for a touchdown with 10:19 left in the first quarter. The score was 7-7.

It looked to the spectators as though the Cougars were going to march down the field and score again, but on the SMSU 17-yard line, junior linebacker Tyler Flud made a terrific play on the ball and ended up with a drive-ending interception.

SMSU took over, but was stopped on a fourth and one play at midfield. The momentum shifted to the Cougars again as they scored two straight touchdowns. However, the Mustangs blocked an extra point to make the game 20-7 going into halftime.

SMSU received the second half kickoff but fumbled at midfield and the Cougars recovered and made another touchdown and field goal to make the score 27-7 with 12:06 left in the third quarter. This seemed to spark the Mustangs as they went on to score 12 unanswered points to bring the score to 27-19. But, with 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Cougars found the end zone once more.

The game was not over yet, however. Gimbel threw yet another touchdown pass to make it a one-possession game once again.

The score was now 34-26. The Cougars were able to run down the clock to three seconds before the Mustangs got the ball back again. The Mustangs tried on last play but it did not gain nearly enough to threaten the Cougars, ending the game 34-26.

Turnovers were the true undoing of the Mustangs. Too many fumbles and not converting on fourth downs gave the Cougars many chances to score. Still, losing to the 5th ranked team in the nation by only eight points will do nothing but help the Mustangs for the rest of the season. They showed that they can play with anyone and will be a tough task for any team they face.