THIS WEEK: Minot State returns to Herb Parker Stadium for a Homecoming 2012 clash with new rival University of Sioux Falls. It marks the second straight season the Cougars are Minot State's homecoming opponent and the third matchup between the two schools in the past two seasons. Game time is set for 2:30 p.m.

RECORDS: MISU is 0-2 overall and 0-0 in the NSIC North Division. USF comes into the weekend at 2-0 overall and 0-0 in the NSIC South Division.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State's head coach is Paul Rudolph. Rudolph is 28-25 overall in five seasons with the Beavers and 71-72 overall as a head coach. Jed Stugart is in his third season at USF and is 20-5 with the Cougars and 46-12 overall.

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: Minot State was not ranked in the latest AFCA Division II Coaches Poll or the DIIFootball.com Top 25 Poll. Sioux Falls received votes in the AFCA poll.

RECENT HISTORY: The Beavers improved dramatically from week 1 to week 2, but dropped a 20-6 decision at Wayne State College Saturday. USF had little trouble in its home opener, blasting Minnesota State Moorhead 45-10.

OVERALL SERIES: Minot State trails in the overall series 3-1, losing its last three games to the Cougars.

NOTING THE COUGARS: The University of Sioux Falls has not allowed a sack through two games, leading the Northern Sun and tied for the top spot in the country in the category… Taylor Perkins was 25 for 42 for 254 yards and three touchdowns against St. Cloud State as the Cougars knocked off the then-nationally ranked Huskies in the season opener. The Cougars have racked up 445 yards in total offense, including 211 average per game on the ground… In last year's second meeting at Sioux Falls, USF scored 20 points in the final 12 minutes to erase a 10-9 deficit to defeat Minot State.

FAMILIAR FOE: Minot State and the University of Sioux Falls saw a lot of each other last year in both football and across the athletic board as the two teams were linked in their positions as NCAA Division II transitional teams. MISU and USF met twice in football – a rarity in the sport – three times in soccer, four times in volleyball and a whopping eight times between men's and women's basketball as the school's played two home-and-away double headers. The two won't play as much now, but will see each other regularly as members of the Northern Sun. 

WIND UP WEINMANN: MISU sophomore Casey Weinmann (LB, Selz, N.D.) had his best day as a Beavers by far last week against Wayne State College. Weinmann finished with a career-high 14 tackles and had 3.5 tackles for a loss in the game. He had a total of 18.5 tackles and 3.5 tackles for a loss in all of 2011.

NEED TO PACK A SACK LUNCH: Minot State's defense has yet to record a sack in the 2012 season, placing the Beavers at the bottom of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in the statistic. Minot State finished the 2011 season with just 12.0 sacks total.

YOUTH BE SERVED: The Beavers have a total of nine players who are listed as the team's No. 1 or No. 2 at their specific position who are in their freshman or redshirt freshman season. Minot State has two true freshmen starters as Zac Cunha (QB, Rocklin, Calif.) and Aaron La Deaux (P/K, Port Orchard, Wash.)  are listed as starters this week at quarterback and punter/kicker respectively. Randel Barber (RB, Maricopa, Ariz.), Marcel Brinson (LB, Gilroy, Calif.), Mitch Mathias (LB, Merrit Island, Fla.) are all true freshmen who are listed as backups. Porter Sturm (WR, Gilroy, Mont.) is the Beavers starting wide receiver and is a redshirt freshman, while David Alaniz (TE, Cross Junction, Va.), Claude Richards (DL, Loxahatchee, Fla.) and Cooper Helm (DB, Wenatchee, Wash.) are all redshirt freshmen backups.

THE BIG CUNHA: Minot State quarterback Zac Cunha showed flashes of why the coaching staff was high on the true freshman signal caller coming into fall camp. Making his first start in his second collegiate game, Cunha was solid throwing for 209 yards and a touchdown against Wayne State College. He finished with a 99.60 passing efficiency rating for the game, going 17 of 36 with an interception.

RUSHING SLOWED: The Beavers can finally say they have a rushing yard. MISU was stymied to the tune of a minus-(-44) yards rushing in the season opener against Minnesota State. So to have 25 yards rushing on the season doesn't seem nearly as bad as it sounds. The Beavers were better in the run game against Wayne State, gaining 69 yards on 41 carries. Minot State has yet to record a rushing touchdown and only had eight rushing scores in 2011.

TURNOVERS A MINUS: Minot State is a minus-(-6) in the turnover ratio over the first two games, fumbling four times and throwing three interceptions. While the seven turnovers is a glaring stat, the Beavers only have one take-a-way in two games, a forced fumble.

STEADY DENNE: MISU senior safety John Denne (St. Cloud, Minn.) has put together a solid start to his final season, sitting in second on the team in total tackles with 17. He also has two pass break ups. In his three-plus season, Denne had 125 tackles and eight interceptions.