Augustana Football Earns Outright NSIC Title In Regular Season Loss

BEMIDJI, Minn. - The Augustana Viking football team became outright NSIC champions for the second consecutive season on the final day of the regular season, ultimately falling 17-10 to Bemidji State on Saturday afternoon at Chet Anderson Stadium.

AU moves to 8-3 on the year and finished 8-2 in the NSIC while the Beavers jump to 8-3, 7-3. 

Gunnar Hensley finished 16 of 31 passing with 144 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions while Jarod Epperson ran for 57 yards on 23 carries. Canyon Bauer caught four passes for 47 yards and Isaiah Huber added 41 yards on five receptions. 

Kade Lynott had another impactful game, recording a career-best 15 tackles while adding a sack. Peyton Buckley had 12 tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss and TJ Murray had an interception.

Augustana ran six plays on the opening drive before a punt gave BSU possession. The Beavers marched right down the field, taking seven plays to go 54 yards and set up a first and 10 from the AU 31. The defense put its foot down there, allowing a four yard run in between three incompletions to get the ball back to the offense.

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The Vikings seemed to have found something on the following drive, marching down to the BSU 9 yard line for a second and eight, but a run for no gain and a run for a one yard loss set up a 26-yard field goal that drifted just left and kept the game scoreless.

BSU took their ensuing drive into the second quarter before opening the scoring with a touchdown to cap a 13-play, 71-yard drive and give the Beavers a 7-0 lead.

A three-and-out from the Vikings looked to give the Beavers even more momentum as they moved 40 yards in three plays to get to the AU 40. On a defense that makes plays when needed, Murray stepped up to the plate, picking off a pass inside the AU 20 and taking it all the way back to the 50-yard line. A late hit on the return set the Vikings up at the AU at the BSU 37.

A stop on fourth down in the red zone allowed the Beavers to take back over offensively. Three straight punts set the Vikings up with a chance to score with under a minute left in the first half and after the offense moved 30 yards, Jake Pecina split the uprights to get within 7-3 at the half.

Nine plays into the second half, Lynott collected a fourth down sack to turn the tides. The offense started humming there, moving right down the field with a 13-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a Huber touchdown and gave AU its first lead of the day at 10-7 with 4:50 left in the third quarter.

BSU took their next drive into the fourth quarter where they cashed in on a field goal to tie the game at 10-10 with 12:18 to play. After three straight punts, The Beavers moved 45 yards in six plays to take a 17-10 lead. The Vikings ran 15 plays and got to the BSU 23 with a fourth and 9, but the Hensley pass fell incomplete, bringing the game to its final score.

The Vikings will now await the NCAA selection show on Sunday to find out their next opponent.