THIS WEEK: Minot State takes its longest trip of the season, traveling to Fayette, Iowa to battle Upper Iowa Saturday starting at 3 p.m.

RECORDS: Minot State is 1-2 overall and 1-2 in NSIC play after three weeks of games against NSIC South Division opponents. The league will begin division play next week. Upper Iowa comes into the weekend 0-3 overall and 0-3 in the NSIC.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State's head coach is Tyler Hughes, who is in his third season at the helm. He is 3-22 at Minot State and 23-26 overall as a head coach, all at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, where he coached from 2011-12. Hughes spent the 2013 season as an assistant coach with Urban Meyer at Ohio State. Upper Iowa's head coach is Tom Shea. Shea became the 15 th head coach in school history in 2009. He is no stranger to Minot State as he coached at the University of Mary from 1991-97 and was the head coach at Dakota State from 2007-08, facing the Beavers multiple times. He began his career at Upper Iowa in 2004 as a defensive coordinator before returning to UIU as the head coach. He has coached at Peru State, where he led the team to the 1990 NAIA National Division II title. He is 108-34-3 overall in his coaching career.

FOLLOW THE BEAVERS: The game is broadcast locally on KCJB 910-AM with Scott Kittell calling the play-by-play. Live audio can be accessed online at kcjb.com. MSU provides live video and live stats as well as links to the live audio at MSUBeavers.com. MSU's play-by-play is anchored by Leif Bakken with Anthony Battle providing color commentary. Minot State Athletics also is active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube with all feeds accessible through the home page.

RANKINGS: The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference continues to have a strong presence in the latest American Football Coaches Association Top 25 poll as four teams are ranked in the poll. MSU has faced two of them, No. 14 University of Sioux Falls last week and No. 21 Minnesota State in week 1 when the Mavericks were No. 7 in the country. Augustana University is No. 16 and MSU's opponent in three weeks, Bemidji State, is No. 22. USF, Minnesota State and Augie are also three of for NSIC teams in the D2Football.com Top 25, with Minnesota Duluth, Minot State's opponent in two weeks, replacing BSU at No. 21.

RECENT HISTORY: The Beavers played a solid first half against then No. 15 ranked USF last week during Homecoming 2016, but fell 41-14 after a strong second half by the Cougars. Isaiah Weed threw for 272 yards and a score – hitting true freshman Cordell Pimienta from 17 yards out for Pimienta's first career TD catch and Jaccob Lopez plunged in from 1-yard out for his second career TD and first of the season. MSU's defense was led by Donnell Vercher who had a career-high 15 tackles. Upper Iowa got to within two points of Minnesota State University Moorhead early in the fourth quarter on a 10-yard run by Derrick Portis, but couldn't get any closer, losing 23-21. Portis had a game-high 139 yards rushing and scored three times. Brent Lammers passed the ball 43 times and finished with 202 yards, but was intercepted twice in the loss. Adam Lytle had 10 tackles to pace the defense.

OVERALL SERIES: Minot State is 0-2 in its short history with Upper Iowa, losing 26-20 at Fayette in 2012 and 49-3 at home in 2014.

LAST TIME OUT: The Beavers were overwhelmed in the home opener in 2014 as Upper Iowa scored 21 points in the first quarter and didn't let up. MSU's lone bright spot was a 27 yard field goal by Brian Gutierrez late in the second quarter after the Peacocks built a 28-0 lead. Jarvis Mustipher paced the Beavers offense with 64 yards rushing. Cole Jaeschke passed for 255 yards and two TDs, while Chris Smith tinished with 101 rushing and three scores.

NOTING THE PEACOCKS: Upper Iowa is 0-3 but have been outscored by just 23 points all season and have eight more first downs than its opponents… The Peacocks have been outscored by 25 points in the first half, including 37-14 in the second quarter… Ryan Parmely lead the team in rushing, gaining 195 yards on 52 carries, but it was Derrick Portis who returned to the lineup last week to lead the team with 139 yards rushing… UIU has used three quarterbacks this season with Dimitri Morales rolling up 665 yards. But, like the running game, it was Brent Lammers who was the main signal caller last week, finishing with 202 yards on 24-for-43 passing… No matter who the thrower has been, Jarred Edmonds has been on the receiving end. He leads the team with 23 catches for 323 yards and three TDs… Zach Gardner has 27 tackles and Adam Lytle 23 to pace the defense… The Upper Iowa kicking game has struggled in three games, going just 1-for-4 on field goals… UIU is minus-5 in the turnover ratio with seven interceptions and three fumbles on the year.

VERCHER-LY ALL THE TACKLES: Junior defensive back Donnell Vercher led the team with 15 tackles in the loss to USF Saturday, reaching a new career-high in stops. Vercher is currently ranked fourth in the league in average tackles per game with a 10.7 average. He has 32 tackles including 15 solo in three games.
 
COVERING UP: MSU ranks No. 1 in the conference in net average on kickoffs, a credit to the work of the coverage team and kicker/punter Aaron La Deaux. La Deaux has been outstanding in the kicking game so far this season, as he has averaged 65.4 yards per kick with four touchbacks in nine kickoffs. The Beavers have only allowed 99 return yards in nine kickoffs in 2016. La Deaux also leads the conference in punting average with a solid 45.0 per kick. He has a long of 71 and seven of his 22 kicks have been 50-plus. Along with a huge foot, he has also been a key field-position weapon as six of his punts have ended up inside the opponent's 20.

 Aaron La Deaux (P/K, 6-2, 193, Sr., Port Orchard, Wash. / South Kitsap)
NSIC Punting Leaders

NAME	G	NO	YDS	TB	FC	BLK	I20	50+	LONG	AVG
1. La Deaux, Aaron (MINOT)	3	22	989	4	3	0	6	7	71	45.0
2. Day, Stephen (UMC)	3	18	759	1	0	0	2	5	60	42.2
3. Netusil, Cody (WSC)	3	17	699	1	3	0	4	3	70	41.1
4. Maedke, Sam (CSP)	3	11	449	1	4	0	3	1	50	40.8
5. Aanerud Isaac (BSU)	3	11	442	1	4	0	4	1	52	40.2

AIR RAID: Minot State has been solid against the pass in 2016, allowing just 151 yards per game, second to just Augustana University in the league. Through three games, opponents have caught just 35 passes for a 47.3 percentage and 453 yards. The Beavers have picked off two passes total.

MATURATION PROCESS: Minot State has used multiple true freshmen this year and it is paying dividends as the class has more than just held its own. Freshman Lavante Bushnell leads the team with 92 return yards on six kickoff returns. He has a 15.3 yard average and a long of 26. Lane Torgerson leads the team in punt returns with 25 yards on five total for a 5.0 average. Bushnell, Cordell Pimienta and Ben Zahniser, a running back, have all caught passes for the Beavers. Bushnell is tied for second on the team with nine catches, while Pimienta caught his first collegiate TD last week. Zahniser is second on the team in rushing with 31 yards in three games. On the defensive side of the ball, Titus Dixon has become a mainstay in the middle as a linebacker and has eight tackles in three games.

KEEPING THE BALL: MSU has used a combination of short passing and decent running to hold a big edge in possession time. The Beavers are currently averaging 32:51 minutes per game, compared to 27:09 for its opponents. MSU had a big 35:34-24:26 advantage last week.

BY THE NUMBERS

1: Field goal attempted by MSU and its opponents combined in three games. The Beavers missed their only attempt in the first game and MSU's opponents have not tried one yet.

41.3: MSU's percentage on third down. The Beavers are just below MSU head coach Tyler Hughes' threshold of 50 on third downs.

52: First downs for Minot State. The Beavers, despite being outscored 90-41 on the season, trail its opponents by just seven first downs. The Beavers have 34 passing first downs, compared to just 20 they have given up through the air.