OPENING KICKOFF: The Snow College football team will begin is 2024 regular season Saturday night against the Utah Islanders inside Terry Foote Stadium in Ephraim, Utah.  Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.  For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.
 
The Islanders are a new after-education development football program based in Herriman, Utah.  They were established as a program in June of this year and will play a total of seven games during their inaugural season.
 
The Badgers are coming off a 2023 season that saw them go 9-3 overall.  They claimed victories over three ranked teams during the 2023 campaign and earned a bid into the Game One Bowl against No. 11 Iowa Central Community College at the end of the season.  The Badgers suffered a 44-9 loss in the bowl game. 
 
For the second consecutive season, the Badgers came up just short of earning a bid into the NJCAA Division I Playoffs.  Snow College climbed as high as fourth in the football poll, but eventually ended the regular season one spot shy of the final playoff spot, finishing fifth.
 
BADGERS IN THE PRESEASON POLL: The Snow College football team opens the season ranked fifth in the NJCAA Division I Football Preseason Poll, the Association unveiled Monday.
 
This top-five ranking comes following the Badgers finishing ninth in the rankings after the 2023 season.  The Badgers enter the 2024 campaign following a 9-3 2023 season that saw them earn a bid into the Game One Bowl against No. 11 Iowa Central Community College. 
 
Snow College faced a total of six ranked opponents during the 2023 season.  The Badgers went 3-3 in those games while averaging 26 points per game in those contests.  Snow College lost just one home game during the 2023 season, a 20-13 defeat at the hands of the eventual National Champion Iowa Western Reivers.  The Badgers are 10-1 over the past two seasons inside the friendly confines of Terry Foote Stadium.
 
The Reivers stood atop the preseason rankings following a 12-1 season and securing a second consecutive National Championship.  Snow College and IWCC will square off with one another Oct. 5 inside Titan Stadium in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  The Badgers have lost four consecutive matches against the Reivers.
 
East Mississippi Community College, Hutchinson Community College, and Kilgore College round out the rest of the top five with Snow College slotted in the fifth spot. 
 
The Badgers will face five opponents among those ranked or receiving votes in the preseason poll.  Georgia Military College was slotted in the 12^th spot in the rankings while Butler Community College claimed the final spot in the top 15.  Lackawanna College and New Mexico Military Institute fell just outside the top 15 and were receiving votes. 
 
Of the five matchups with teams in the preseason poll, only the Badgers game against GMC will occur at home.  In a stretch between Sept. 14 and Nov. 2, the Badgers will play six games, five of which will be against teams ranked in the preseason poll.
 
The Badgers are 8-8 against ranked opponents under Head Coach Zac Erekson and have gone 6-5 against ranked opponents over the last two seasons.  The Badgers have been ranked inside the top 15 each week since Erekson took over the program in 2020.
 
2023 BY THE NUMBERS: The 2023 Badgers were ninth in the country in offensive efficiency averaging 32.8 points per game.  They scored over 30 points in seven of their 12 games throughout the season including four games of 45 points or more.
 
Defensively, Snow College was among the nation's best allowing just 17.8 points per game, good enough for sixth overall.  The Badgers' defense pitched two shutouts during the year in addition to two other contests allowing fewer than seven points.
 
The Badgers paced the nation in total first downs (287) and total 3^rd-down and 4^th-down conversions.  Snow College was second overall in red zone touchdowns last season with 29.  The Badgers were also ranked second in fumbles recovered with 13.
 
RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS: The Badgers will return two All-Americans from the 2023 team, one on each side of the ball.  Bryan Cuthbertson, a linebacker from Sherwood, Oregon, was named to the Defensive First Team.  Cuthbertson played in 10 of the Badgers' 12 games last season.  He recorded 70 total tackles including 15 in the Badgers' 33-32 victory against Garden City Community College. Cuthbertson also recorded two sacks and two interceptions for the Badgers.
 
Donovan Smith, a quarterback from Rialto, California, started all 12 games for the Badgers a year ago.  He was second overall in the nation in total completions (214), pass attempts (376), passing yards (2,573), and passing touchdowns (26).
 
BREAKING DOWN THE SCHEDULE: A mid-season road matchup with the two-time defending national champions in addition to a pair of new opponents highlights Snow College's 2024 football schedule.
 
The 2024 campaign is poised to be challenging as the Badgers will take on three opponents that finished last season inside the NJCAA Division I Football Top 15 as well as two others that were ranked inside the top 15 at some point during the year. 
 
The Badgers fell short of making the Division I Football Playoff last year after finishing the regular season with a 9-2 overall record.  They were selected to participate in the Game One Bowl where they suffered a 44-9 defeat against No. 11 Iowa Central Community College.
 
Snow College faced five ranked teams during the 2023 regular season and went 3-2 in those contests including victories over No. 14 New Mexico Military Institute, No. 13 Georgia Military College, and No. 12 Lackawanna College.
 
The Badgers went 5-1 at home last season with their only loss coming against No. 2 Iowa Western Community College.  Snow College has gone 19-2 in Ephraim over the last four seasons with its only two losses coming at the hands of the Reivers.
 
The Badgers will kick off the season with three straight home games beginning with the Utah Islanders, a new after-education development football program based in Herriman, Utah, Aug. 24.  Snow College will face Community Christian College Detroit, a team they have never faced in the past Aug. 31 before hosting the US Air Force Preparatory Academy Sept. 7 in Ephraim.
 
Four straight road games await the Badgers to close off September and begin October as they take on Lackawanna College Sept. 14 and Butler College Sept. 28.  Snow College will take on the two-time reigning national champions IWCC in Council Bluffs, Iowa Oct. 5.  The Badgers will wrap up the four-game road swing against Pacific Northwest Christian College Oct. 19.
 
They will play three of their final four games at home beginning with Georgia Military College Oct. 26.  The Badgers' final road game will be against the 2021 champion Broncos of NMMI Nov. 2.  Snow College will wrap its season against Monroe College Nov. 9 before welcoming Sussex Community College to Terry Foote Stadium for the first time ever Nov. 16.
 
The Badgers will travel approximately 12,000 miles across five different states and three different time zones.  Snow College went 5-1 in 2023 against teams they will face in 2024.
 
Zac Erekson returns to the sideline to lead the charge for the Badgers as he enters his fifth season at the helm.  Erekson boasts a 32-8 overall record in his four full seasons as the head coach of the team. 
 
All home games will be played inside Terry Foote Stadium in Ephraim.  For game start times and other information regarding the 2024 football schedule, visit snowbadgers.com.
 
ON THE SIDELINE: Zac Erekson will enter his fifth year as head coach of the Badgers.  He owns a 32-8 overall record with the team since taking over the position in the fall of 2020.  His nine wins from last season are the most he's recorded in any season for the club.
 
Erekson's team have been ranked inside the NJCAA Division I Football Poll every week he's been the head coach.  He has secured eight victories over his first four seasons against other ranked teams and has yet to lose to an unranked team.
 
Erekson has amassed a 19-2 overall record in games played inside Terry Foote Stadium. His teams are also 13-3 in road games and have never lost back-to-back games in his time at the helm.
 
He will be joined on the sideline by returning coaches Jordan Pulou (Missouri S&T; third season) as Defensive Coordinator, Trevor McFalls (Southern Utah University; third season) as Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line Coordinator, Lanny Owens (McMurray; second season) as Tight Ends Coach, and Neil Pau'u (Brigham Young University; second season) as Wide Receivers Coach. 
 
Erekson will bring four new coaches onto his staff for the 2024 season including Linebackers Coach Jake Hill (Weber State University; 1^st season) Defensive Backs Coach/Special Teams Coordinator/JV Team Head Coach Michael O'Neal (Norwich; 1^st season), Defensive Line Coach Ricky Ali'ifua (Utah State University; 1^st season), and Running Backs Coach Matt Beecher (Brigham Young University; 1^st season).
 
UP NEXT: Snow College will take on Community Christian College Detroit for the first time in program history.  Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. inside Terry Foote Stadium.  For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.