Cougars roll to 35-14 win over Southwest Minnesota State

Marshall, Minn. (USF) – The University of Sioux Falls football team (4-3, 3-3 NSIC) put together one of its most complete performances of the season tonight, powering past Southwest Minnesota State (1-5, 1-5 NSIC) with a 35-14 road victory at Mattke Field inside the Schwan Regional Event Center.

Fast Start

After an early turnover on the opening drive, the Cougars quickly found their rhythm. Redshirt-freshman quarterback Tate Schafer capped a four-play, 57-yard drive with an eight-yard rushing touchdown midway through the first quarter to give USF a 7-0 lead.

Offensive Fireworks

In the second quarter, Schafer connected with Adonis Hutchinson for a 24-yard touchdown strike to extend the lead to 14-0. Hutchinson wasn’t done—after an SMSU score, the junior wideout added another highlight-reel moment with an 85-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter, marking his second score of the day and his longest catch of the season.

Christian Janis also joined the scoring column late in the second quarter, hauling in a 43-yard touchdown pass from Schafer with 18 seconds left in the half to give the Cougars a 21-6 advantage at the break.

Schafer accounted for five total touchdowns—throwing for three and rushing for two—while completing 21-of-34 passes for 384 yards and adding 70 yards on the ground.

Balanced Attack

USF dominated on both sides of the ball, outgaining the Mustangs 618–245 in total offense and controlling possession for nearly 40 minutes.

The Cougars rushed for 234 yards behind Bubba Tann III’s 108-yard effort on 19 carries, while Jordan Smith added 69 yards on 12 attempts.

Hutchinson led the receiving corps with seven catches for 167 yards and two touchdowns, while Janis added 49 yards and a score. Hank Brown Jr. contributed six receptions for 59 yards, and Dahlton Wood added a 20-yard grab to move the chains.

Defensive Dominance

The Cougars’ defensive front was relentless, holding SMSU to negative seven rushing yards and just 245 total yards of offense. Mouhamed Diawara led the charge with two sacks and two tackles for loss, while Dawson Raabe added a sack and 2.5 tackles for loss of his own.Dalton Reiff also recorded a sack as USF’s defense notched four total on the day.

By the Numbers

• Total Offense: USF 618 – SMSU 245
• Passing Yards: USF 384 – SMSU 252
• Rushing Yards: USF 234 – SMSU (-7)
• First Downs: USF 30 – SMSU 12
• Time of Possession: USF 39:50 – SMSU 20:10

Up Next

The Cougars enter their bye week and will hit the road October 25th to take on Minot State before returning home November 1st to host Winona State.

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