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THIS WEEK: Minot State University returns to Herb Parker Stadium with a daunting task of taking on No. 9 Minnesota Duluth in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division game Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

RECORDS: MISU is 1-5 overall and 1-1 in the NSIC North Division. Duluth enters the weekend at 5-1 overall and 1-1 in the NSIC North.
 
COACHES CORNER: Minot State's head coach is Paul Rudolph. Rudolph is 29-29 overall in five seasons with the Beavers and 72-75 overall as a head coach. Bob Neilson is the head coach at UMD and sports a lofty 95-25 mark in his ninth season as head coach of the Bulldogs.
 
FOLLOW THE BEAVERS: The game is broadcast locally on KCJB 910-AM with Scott Kittell calling the play-by-play and former Minot State standout Brendan Weidler on color commentary. 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. Minot State Athletics also is active on Facebook, Twitter and You Tube with all feeds accessible through the home page.
 
RANKINGS: Minnesota Duluth comes into the contest as the No. 9 ranked team in both the AFCA Coaches Top 25 Poll and the D2Football.com poll. They are the top ranked NSIC team in the AFCA poll, but train Minnesota State (No. 4) in the D2Football.com poll. MISU was unranked in both polls.
 
RECENT HISTORY: The Beavers fell 31-17 at Northern State Saturday, giving up 17 second-half points in the loss. The Bulldogs cruised 45-14 over Minnesota State Moorhead.
 
OVERALL SERIES: This marks the first meeting in football between the two schools.
 
NOTING THE BULLDOGS: Minnesota Duluth has won two NCAA Division II national championships during Nielson's career as a coach, taking home titles in 2008 and 2010… The Bulldogs have churned up 1,439 yards on the ground this season, averaging 239.8 yards on the ground in six games, tops in the Northern Sun. Yet, UMD does not have an individual in the top 5 in rushing in the league. The Bulldogs have four players who have rushed for at least 200 yards, led by Austin Sikorski's 375… Duluth is also the second best rush defense in the conference allowing 100.7… The Bulldogs rank only fifth in the conference in scoring percentage in the red zone, converting 85.3 percent of the time, but have a massive amount of attempts. UMD is 29-34 in the red zone this season, six more attempts than any other school in the NSIC… Aaron Roth and Justin Fowlkes have been a formidable 1-2 punch returning kicks for UMD as they both average more than 30 yards a return and both have returned a kick for a touchdown. Roth is leading the conference in with a 39.0 average and has two returns for a TD, while Fowlkes is averaging 32.5 per return and has an 80-yard TD.
 
PORTER CONTINUES TO IMPRESS: Minot State redshirt freshman Porter Sturm (WR, Roy, Mont.) has quickly become freshman Zac Cunha's (QB, Rocklin, Calif.) favorite receiver. Sturm caught five passes for 143 yards and a touchdown last week against Northern State and now has 25 receptions for 455 yards and five scores on the season. Sturm has progressed throughout Cunha's starts this year. After being shut out in the opening game (Cunha's only non-start), Sturm caught one pass for 16 yards against Wayne State. He hauled in four catches for 48 yards and his first collegiate TD against Sioux Falls and then broke out against Upper Iowa, finishing with 11 catches and 199 yards. Over the past two weeks, he has nine receptions and 182 yards, including the eventual game-winner against the University of Mary. 
 
PLUS/MINUS HAS BEEN A NEGATIVE:  Minot State's trouble at the start of the season can be traced back to its plus/minus average in turnovers. MISU is minus-(-15) in the turnover category. The Beavers have thrown 13 interceptions and lost eight fumbles so far this season on offense. On defense, MISU has generated just six turnovers, picking off five passes (all in the past three weeks) and recovering just one fumble. Fumbles have been a key stat for the Beavers in 2012 as they have fumbled 13 times and lost eight, while generating just four fumbles on defense and recovering one.
 
FREIDT UP TO FIVE: After leading the team in 2011 with four interceptions, Levi Freidt (So., DB, Minot, N.D.) was going through a little bit of a sophomore-slump, failing to pick a pass off through five games. Freidt, however, broke the INT-less drought with an interception last week at Northern State, halting an NSU drive in the end zone. Freidt has five interceptions in his career.
 
CHASING 100: Minot State sophomore linebacker Casey Weinmann (Selz, N.D.) has an outside chance of hitting the century mark for tackles as he has 46 stops through six games. The Beavers have four games remaining so Weinmann will have to up his 7.7 tackles-per-game average, but has a 14 tackle game to his credit. Weinmann is tied with Josh Weidler (Jr., LB, Velva, N.D.) with five tackles for a loss. Weidler is second on the team with 41 stops so far this season.
LADEAUX UNLOADS: Minot State freshman kicker/punter Aaron La Deaux (Port Orchard, Wash.) has steadily increased his punting numbers throughout the season, culminating in a 62-yard ball that was downed at the Northern State 6-yard line just before halftime. LaDeaux, who was 1 for 2 on field goals in the game to up his FG total to three on the season, is averaging 36.7 yards per kick with five over 50 yards in 2012.
 
RACKING UP RETURN YARDS: The Beavers have two players ranked in the top 5 respectively in the Northern Sun in two return categories. Junior Glyn Borel (WR, San Jose, Calif.) is second overall in kick return average, gaining 33.8 yards per return. He has 372 yards on 11 kick returns this season, including a 98-yard TD return to open the game against Upper Iowa three weeks ago. Fellow junior wide receiver Wayne Peters (Carson, Calif.) has emerged as one of the top punt returners in the league, sitting in fourth overall with a 10.7 per punt average. Peters is just one of four players with more than 100 yards in punt return yardage and leads the league with 161 total.
 
FACING THE BEST: When Minot State is finished battling Minnesota Duluth, it will be the fourth game this season against a team either ranked or receiving votes during the week of the game and the second game against a team currently ranked in the top 10. Minnesota State, who was receiving votes in week 1, is now the nation's No. 10 ranked team according to the AFCA Coaches Top 25 poll and the country's No. 4 team according to the D2football.com poll. MISU's overall opponent record including Duluth is 28-14.