THIS WEEK: Minot State opens the home portion of the its 2011 schedule with a clash with future Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference foe Concordia University, St. Paul Saturday at 1 p.m. at Herb Parker Stadium.

TRADITION IN TRANSITION: Minot State is in its third season of a four-year transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II. MSU advanced to Year Three Provisional status in July and is expected to complete the transition in July 2012. Minot State was selected to join the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in 2012-13.

RECORDS: Minot State is 0-1 overall while CU is playing its first game of the season.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State's head coach is Paul Rudolph. Rudolph is a solid 26-15 overall in four seasons. Ryan Williams begins his first season as the head coach at CU and his first as a collegiate head coach.

ON THE AIR: The game is broadcast locally on KCJB 910-AM with Scott Kittell calling the play-by-play. Live stats and live audio can be accessed online at (www.msubeavers.com). The game is also live on the NBC North Dakota Sports Network – KMOT in Minot.

RANKINGS: Neither team was ranked in any of the three major NCAA Division II polls (AFCA, d2football.com, SuperRegion 3).

RECENT HISTORY: MSU struggled to find consistency on offense, turning the ball over six times in a 27-0 loss at Bemidji State to start the season. Concordia-St. Paul finished the 2010 season with a tough 13-9 loss to Pittsburg State in the Mineral Water Bowl.

OVERALL SERIES: The Beavers and Golden Bears have played three times, with CU winning twice – both times at home. MSU is 1-0 against Concordia at the friendly confines of the Herb.

NOTING THE GOLDEN BEARS: In a strange twist to a large conference, Concordia University, St. Paul was selected sixth overall in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference preseason poll. The Golden Bears were selected fifth in the South Region, one place behind Wayne State. Wayne State was two spots behind CU in the overall poll… Head coach Ryan Williams, a North Dakota State graduate, was promoted from Offensive Coordinator to Interim Head Coach late in the offseason… Offensive lineman Tyler Hendrickson has been picked to multiple preseason All-American teams.

PARDON THE MESS: Minot State will have extensive construction going on as the game is being played. The university asks that all fans abide by the signage around the stadium and stays out of any and all construction zones. The Beavers are currently building a state-of-the-art wellness center next to the MSU Dome, there is continued work on the new stands for the stadium and Allen Field is the site of a geothermal site for the university.

CATCHING ON QUICKLY: Minot State's Jabari Taylor (Sr., Hollywood, Fla.) wasted little time making his presence known on the offensive end of the ball as he hauled a team-high eight passes against Bemidji State. Taylor caught a school-record 90 passes in 2008 for Minnesota State Moorhead.

UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY: It won't be fully known until the game is started how the Paul Rudolph led Beavers will respond to a shutout at the hands of Bemidji State. It's never happened. Rudolph suffered his first shutout loss as the head coach at MSU. The Beavers were last blanked in 2006 by Jamestown College 3-0. It was the second such 3-0 loss for the Beavers in Dakota Athletic Conference play that season.

SPREADING IT AROUND: While Minot State's C.J. Evans (R-Fr., QB, Havre, Mont.) didn't have a great start to his collegiate career, throwing five interceptions, he did spread the ball around to multiple Beavers in the opening game. Eight different players caught at least one pass, including four wide receivers, three running backs and a tight end.

MOHR STEADY PLAY PLEASE: Minot State junior Brett Mohr (LB, Southey, Saskatchewan) was steady at the linebacker position in the opening game. Mohr matched his 2010 total for tackles for a loss with 1.5 in the opener and finished with 5.5 total tackles Thursday.