Game Time...The 2020 football season is here as Northwestern and Morningside meet up in a top 10 match-up Saturday night in Sioux City, Iowa. Kickoff at Elwood Olson stadium is set for 7pm. Northwestern finished the 2019 season ranked 10th in the NAIA with a 9-2 record and begins this season either fifth or sixth in the preseason rankings. Morningside won its second straight national championship to cap a 2019 season with an unbeaten 14-0 record and is ranked first in all of the preseason polls. 

Follow the game live at the following links: 

    Watch (via Metro Sports) | Listen (KSOU) | Live Stats

All-Time...This will be the 29th match-up in the rivalry with Morningside; Northwestern trails the all-time series 10-18 and has dropped six straight to the Mustangs. The Raiders last win was a 38-28 win on Korver Field in 2013. 

The Coaches... Matt McCarty owns a 31-13 record in his four seasons as the head of the Raiders football program. He has guided the Raiders to three consecutive playoff appearances and his teams have been ranked in the NAIA's top 15 for 29 straight weeks and in the top 20 for 33 consecutive polls. McCarty was also the defensive coordinator for 11 years (2005-15) and played for Northwestern from 2000-03, earning All-American honors in 2003.

Steve Ryan is now in his 20th season as head coach and has guided the Mustangs to a 184-36 record for an 83.6 winning percentage in 19 seasons for the most football coaching victories and the highest victory rate in Morningside history. Ryan has led the Mustangs to 16 consecutive post-season appearances in the NAIA National Championship Series, where the team has advanced to at least the semifinals seven times in the last nine years. He has led the Mustangs to 10 Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) championships, including their current run of nine consecutive league titles.

Scouting Reports...

    Morningside Mustangs: 

The two-time defending national champion Mustangs have won 29 straight games dating back to a semifinal loss to the University of Saint Francis (Ind.) in the 2017 national semifinals. They have gone unbeaten the last two seasons (15-0-2018; 14-0-2019) and have won 43 straight GPAC games. They have not lost a conference match-up since the final regular season game in 2014 (vs Doane). 

Morningside unofficially returns 12 starters (7 offense, 4 defense, 1 special teams) from a 2019 team that defeated Marian (Ind.) 40-38 in the title game.

Team Stats...based on 2019 season (NAIA Rank-if top 10)
Offense:                                         Defense:                         Special Teams:
52.5ppg (1st)                             13ppg (4th)                             Punting-36.4yds/
563ypg (1st)                              270ypg (6th)                           Kick Return-16.7ypr
  236ypg rush (8th)                       74ypg rush (3rd)                  Punt Return-16.7ypr 
  327ypg pass (1st)                      196ypg pass                        6/9 FG, 76/80 PAT
4 sacks allowed (1st)                45 sacks (2nd)
58% 3rd down (1st)                   28% 3rd down (10th)
+3 TO margin 

Returning Statistical Leaders: (NAIA Rank-if top 10)
Passing: Joe Dolincheck (all-conf) - 295/433, 4303yds (1st), 49 TD, 12 INT, 68% completion
Rushing: AP Ponder (2x all-conf) -323/1884yds (1st), 23 TD, 5.8 yds/carry
               Anthony Sims (all-conf) - 93/675yds, 11 TD
Receiving: Reid Jurgensmeier (2x All-Conf) - 69 catches, 1,377yds (2nd), 17 TD
                  Austin Johnson - 58 catches, 988yds, 10 TD
O-Line: Hunter Behrens, Jake Noel
Kicking: Chase Carter 6/9 FG, 76/80 PAT
Defense: Seth Maitlin (2x all-conf) 47 tackles, 9.5 QB sacks
              David Rios 37 tackles, 8 QB sacks
              Niklas Gustav (2x all-conf) 31 tackles, 5.5 QB sacks

Northwestern Notes:
The Raiders have qualified for the NAIA Football Championship series three straight and six of the last eight seasons. They finished second in the GPAC with an 8-1 record, 9-2 overall, losing to 9th-ranked Saint Xavier (Ill.) 25-20 in the first round. 

McCarty returns 16 starters (7 offense, 6 defense, 3 special teams) from the 2019 squad, including seven players who earned all-conference accolades. Tyson Kooima earned GPAC Offensive Player of the Year honors and is the career passing leader at Northwestern. Kooima's top three pass catching targets also return, including Shane Solberg, a two-time All-American and the program's career leader in receiving.

Team Stats...based on 2019 season (NAIA Rank-if top 10) 
Offense                                   Defense              Special Teams
34.3ppg                                 14ppg (6th)             13/16 FG
424                                        314ypg                   44/48 PAT
     Rush-145                            Rush-149            KR – 23.8yds/return (4th)
     Pass-279 (9th)                    Pass-165            PR – 10.4yds/return
-4 TO margin (19/23)            24 QB sacks          Punt – 32/attempt 
16 sacks given up                 33% 3^rd down
43% 3^rd down

Returning Statistical Leaders: (NAIA rank-if top 10)
Rush: Tyson Kooima - 97 att, 377yds, 6 TD
          Garrett Packer - 69 att, 331yds, 3 TD
Pass: Tyson Kooima (GPAC Player of Year)– 214/354, 3007yds (2^nd), 27 TD, 10 INT; 4 300-yd games in 2019
Shane Solberg (2x all-conf) – 85 catches (2nd), 1264yds (4th), 13 TD; 7 100-yard games in 2019
Cade Moser – 41 catches, 682yds, 7 TD; 4 100-yard games in 2019
Michael Storey - 23 catches, 396yds, 3 TD 1 100-yard game
Marcus Rens – 32 punts, 31.8yds/attempt
Brett Moser – 60 tackles, 2 INT 
Noah Van't Hof - 55 tackles
Liam Stubbe - 44 tackles, INT
Devin Mouw - 42 tackles