D3FOOTBALL.COM NATIONAL TEAM OF THE WEEK
Smith, who was named
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, led the Auggies with a career-high 16 tackles (five solo), including a half-sack, 2.0 tackles for-loss and a fumble recovery, in Augsburg's win on Saturday over the Knights. The 16-tackle effort was Smith's second double-digit tackle effort of the season.
A defensive tackle, Smith was one of the keys to Augsburg's second-half comeback, as the Auggies rallied from a 14-0 halftime deficit with 35 unanswered points in the second half. Augsburg's defense limited the Knights' offense to just 63 total yards in the second half -- 10 passing yards and 53 rushing yards. The Auggies also forced four Carleton turnovers, with each sparking Augsburg scoring drives. Augsburg's defense limited the Knights to 280 yards of total offense in the game.
Smith had seven assisted tackles, including 1.5 for-loss, in the second half. He was part of at least one tackle on five of Carleton's eight second-half drives. He recovered a fumble with 2:18 left in the game that started Augsburg's final scoring drive of the afternoon.
On the season, Smith leads the team in tackles (42, 19 solo), tackles for-loss (8.5 for 26 yards) and sacks (4.0 for 18 yards). He currently stands second in the MIAC in tackles per-game (overall stats) at 10.5.
The Team of the Week is chosen by the staff of
D3football.com, a national site that covers NCAA Division III football. Last week, defensive back
Tyler Phillips (SR, Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial HS) was named to the
Team of the Week after his 13-tackle performance in Augsburg's 32-31 win at St. John's.
Augsburg is unbeaten at 4-0 overall, 3-0 in MIAC play, setting up a matchup of unbeatens next Saturday (10/8) at 1 p.m. at Edor Nelson Field, as Augsburg hosts St. Thomas (5-0 overall, 3-0 MIAC). The 4-0 start marks the third time in school history that Augsburg has started a season 4-0 (1973 and 2008 seasons), and the fifth time that Augsburg has been unbeaten after its first four games of the year (Augsburg started 2-0-2 in 1928, 3-0-1 in 1929, 5-0 in 1973 and 4-0 in 2008).
