FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26:
Volleyball:  Oakland @ South Dakota State, 7:00pm

Soccer:   South Dakota State @ Nebraska-Omaha, 3:00pm

Hockey:  Coulee Region @ Brookings Blizzard, 7:00

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27:
Football:  Youngstown State @ South Dakota State (Live on Ranch 910AM @ 1:00)
   Western Illinois @ Missouri State
   South Dakota @ Indiana State
   Illinois State @ Northern Iowa
   Southern Illinois @ North Dakota State
   Jamestown @ Dakota State
   Upper Iowa @ Sioux Falls
   Augustana @ Concordia-St. Paul
   Minnesota-Duluth @ Minnesota-Crookston
   Bemidji State @ St. Cloud State
   Minot State @ Minnesota-Moorhead
   Minnesota State-Mankato @ Wayne State
   Northern State @ Mary
   Southwest Minnesota State @ Winona State
   Nebraska Wesleyan @ Briar Cliff
   Midland @ Concordia
   Dordt @ Morningside
   Hastings @ Doane
   Northwestern @ Dakota Wesleyan
   New Mexico Highlands @ Black Hills State
   Fort Hays State @ South Dakota Mines

Volleyball:  IPFW @ South Dakota State, 7:00pm

Cross Country:  South Dakota State @ Summit League Championships; Rochester, MI

Hockey:  Brookings Blizzard @ Coulee Region, 7:00pm

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28:
Women’s BB:  Minnesota-Crookston @ South Dakota State (Live on Ranch 910AM @ 1:30)

THURSDAY VB SCORES…
Mitchell def. Brookings,     22-25, 21-25, 25-16, 25-22, 15-12
   BKGS:  Mack Rief 17kills, 11digs…Kenzie Thuringer 12kills…Alyssa Tvedt 10kills…Marisa Milton 44assts, 11digs…Emily
  Johnson 28digs
Iroquois def. Aberdeen Christian,   25-12, 25-4, 25-8
Aberdeen Central def. Pierre,    25-15, 25-11, 25-13
Arlington def. Sioux Valley,    25-21, 25-19, 23-25, 25-18
Britton-Hecla def. Groton Area,    25-19, 25-14, 25-17
Dakota Valley def. Dell Rapids,    25-19, 25-6, 25-18
Deuel def. DeSmet,     25-18, 25-23, 25-10
Elkton-Lake Benton def. West Central,   25-17, 25-17, 25-21
Estelline def. Florence/Henry,    25-14, 25-6, 25-15
   EST:  Erin Begalka 15kills, 4blks, 3aces…Savannah Dolezal 28assts…Nicole Stroschein 11digs
   F/H:  Morgan Schaak 2kills…Taylor Buskohl 11digs, 1ace
Howard def. Colman-Egan,    25-16, 25-13, 22-25, 25-22
Huron def. Sioux Falls Washington,   21-25, 25-13, 26-24, 25-16
Madison def. Tea Area,     25-19, 25-23, 25-14
Sioux Falls O'Gorman def. Yankton,   25-23, 25-17, 25-23
Watertown def. Brandon Valley,    18-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-23

SDSU FB…Youngstown State – losers of three straight – visit South Dakota State Saturday in the Hobo Day football game.
Kickoff at Coughlin-Alumni is at 2:00 – live coverage on the Ranch 910AM starts at 1:00.
   SDSU fell at Northern Iowa last week – head coach John Stiegelmeier says finishing drives with touchdowns is becoming a psychological issue.  97624   :21   “in that situation”.
   Stiegelmeier says Youngstown runs a “smoke-and-mirrors” offense.  97625   :31   “decent defensive line”.
   Stiegelmeier says the Jacks’ players have seized a learning opportunity last weekend, and practiced well this week.

LINEUP SWAPS… Coaches across college football have been swapping out players like chess pieces.
   Some have moved players to new positions out of necessity, trying to fill gaps left by injuries or a lack of depth.
   Others have had the opposite problem, moving players to get them on the field instead of buried on the depth chart at a different spot.
   Whatever the reason, there's been little hesitation by coaches to move players around, even from one side of the ball to the other.
   Ohio State has done it with Zach Boren, moving him from fullback to middle linebacker due to injuries. Georgia also has switched dynamic sophomore Malcolm Mitchell from cornerback to receiver to get the ball in his hands more often.

PLAYOFF CRUNCH…Two South Dakota State teams scrambling for post-season position have key contests this weekend.
   The volleyball team hosts Oakland Friday and IPFW Saturday – Phil McDaniel’s squad is in a logjam for the final post-season tourney berth.  97626   :31   “down the road”.
   The soccer team is at Nebraska-Omaha Friday – head coach Lang Wedemeyer says the team must win, and get help, to make the playoffs.  97627   :27   “would help us”.
   South Dakota State does host the Summit League soccer tournament – the top four teams in regular season make the field.

BLIZZZARD…The Brookings Blizzard have a home-and-home weekend series with Coulee Region, starting Friday night at seven at Larson Ice Center.
   The teams have already met several times this season.  Brookings coach Cory Laylin says it’s not a rivalry – but…97623   :38   “for the challenge”.
   Brookings trails Austin by one point in the Central Division standings, with Coulee Region nine points behind the Blizzard.

BEMIDJI HOCKEY…Hockey teams like the Brookings Blizzard in the North American Hockey League – and the Sioux Falls Stampede of the United States Hockey League – are prime recruiting targets of Division I college programs.
   Bemidji State head coach Tom Serratore (sehr-a-tor-EE) says he watches Brookings and Sioux Falls with interest.  97621   :29   “it’s very important”.
   Serratore says high school seniors need to play junior hockey to get the colleges’ eye.  97622   :34   “evolves right there”.
   Serratore says, in his 12 years at Bemidji, he’s only signed one player right out of high school.
   The Beavers stopped in Brookings Thursday for a practice, en route their WCHA opener at Nebraska-Omaha.

BIG 12 WBB… With Brittney Griner and all the starters back from Baylor's 40-0 season, the race in the Big 12 likely will be who finishes second behind the Lady Bears.
   It is no surprise that Baylor is the overwhelming favorite to win the league again — and perhaps a second-straight national title.
At the Big 12 women's media day Thursday, Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale said Griner makes the Lady Bears special and unique. Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson says they're arguably the best team in America.
   Baylor coach Kim Mulkey says the goal isn't and never was to go undefeated. The only goal is to win championships.
   Griner, the 6-foot-8 two-time All-American and AP player of the year last season, is going into her senior season.

NCAA GRAD RATES… The latest figures from the NCAA show that football and men's basketball players are graduating in record numbers.
   The annual Graduation Success Rate figures, released Thursday, show both sports hit an all-time high based on the one-year measurement of freshmen who enrolled in 2005-06.
   Men's basketball players made a six-percentage point jump over the freshmen class of 2004-05, hitting 74 percent. Football players were at 70 percent, up from 69 percent last year.
   The NCAA's overall four-year measurement, covering freshmen classes from 2002-03 through 2005-06, was 80 percent, matching last year's record.
   The one-year numbers compiled by the federal government remained steady at 65 percent, two points higher than the overall student body. There is a difference in the overall numbers because the NCAA figures include transfer students.