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RECORDS: Minot State will enter this weekend's matchup with a 1-4 overall record and a 0-1 record in the Northern Sun North Division. Northern State will also enter with a 1-4 record and an 0-1 mark in the North Division.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State's head coach is Paul Rudolph, who is in his seventh season at the helm of the Beaver football program. Rudolph sports  a 32-35 record while at MISU and a career record of 75-82. The Wolves are coached by fourth-year man Tom Dosch. Dosch has a record of 14-24 as a head coach with Northern State but has improved the record of his team each of the last three seasons.

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. MISU 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: Neither team received any votes in the Oct. 7 American Football Coaches Association Poll. In the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Wolves were picked No. 8 while the Beavers were tabbed No. 14 out of the 16 teams in the league.

RECENT HISTORY: In the first ever "Battle of the Big Lake", Minot State fell to intrastate rival University of Mary by the count of 45-10. Again, a slow start and miscues doomed the Beavers in their third straight loss. MISU had two punts partially blocked, a shanked third punt and a muffed punt return all in the first half allowing the Marauders to gain a 38-0 halftime advantage. The Beavers defense gave up just 293 yards, but due to miscues and poor special teams play, U-Mary often had a short field. Minot State has now allowed 40 points or more in two consecutive games. Northern State lost their fourth consecutive game Saturday as the fell on Gypsy Days to MSU-Moorhead 47-46. The two teams combined for 1,001 total yards and 13 touchdowns in the game. The Wolves special teams played a large role against the Dragons as  NSU blocked two MSU-Moorhead PATs, including returning one for two points. Scored a touchdown on a fake punt and a fake field goal, as well as forcing an MSU fumble on a punt return that would set up another score for Northern. NSU quarterback Jared Jacobson led the Wolves with 284 total yards (123 rushing, 161 passing) and three touchdown passes.

OVERALL SERIES: Minot State and Northern State University have faced each other fourteen times previous to Saturday's matchup at Herb Parker Stadium. The Beavers hold the all-time advantage with a 7-6-1 record against the Wolves. Last season, the Wolves took down Minot State 31-7 in Aberdeen, S.D. in the first matchup between the schools since 1993.

NOTING THE WOLVES: Putting points on the board has not been an issue for the 2013 Northern State Wolves football team. In three of the first five games, NSU has put up 29 points or more. The issue has been the Wolves' defense as they have allowed 37.0 points per game, ranking them No. 13 in the Northern Sun for scoring defense. The Wolves ranked last the NSIC in rushing defense, as they have allowed 6.7 yards per carry and 19 rushing touchdowns through five games. Quarterback Jared Jacobsen ranks No. 8 in the NSIC in total offense as he averages 240.2 yards per game and has scored 13 touchdowns on the year. Connor Doherty recorded his first career 100+ yards receiving game in the loss to MSU-Moorhead. The freshman tight end had 108 yards on just four receptions in the loss. The NSU defense is led by Blaine Schmidt with 37 tackles. Logan Dosch and Ryan Weybrecht also have recorded over 30 tackles on the year NSU.

OFFENSIVE TROUBLES: The Minot State offense could muster just 243 yards from scrimmage in the 45-10 loss at University of Mary, the second fewest yards the Beavers have had this season. The Beavers rank last in the Northern Sun averaging just 14.5 points per game and have also lost 10 fumbles.

STONE COLD SACKS: Before suffering a season ending injury in 2012, Cameron Stone (Jr., LB, Great Falls, Mont.) was leading the Beavers in sacks. Now, fully recovered, Stone is back at the top of the MISU defense in sacks. He recorded his second of season against U-Mary as he took down quarterback Craig Bagnell for a seven yard loss. Stone will look for his third sack of the season against the Wolves, who have allowed just five sacks all season.  

BARBER'S CAREER-LONG RUN: Running back Randel Barber (So., Maricopa, Ariz.) broke off a career-long run of 46 yards last weekend against University of Mary. In the loss, Barber carried the ball 11 times for 82 yards and a touchdown. His previous career-long rush came as a freshman against U-Mary when he broke off a game sealing 35 yard touchdown.

GUTIERREZ TAKES OVER AS PUNTER: When Aaron La Deaux (R-Fr., K/P, Port Orchard, Wash.) went down with a season-ending injury this off-season, the Beavers were in need of a new punter and kicker. 2013, began with Mitchell Matthias (So., LB, Merritt Island, Fla.) as the teams' punter, but against U-Mary, the MISU staff made the change to Brian Gutierrez (Jr., K/P, Granada Hills, Calif.) to take over all aspects of the Beaver kicking game. Gutierrez had six punts for an average of 34.5 yards but showed some power, booting a 51 yard punt.
IMPROVED PASS PROTECTION: Although the Beavers allow the most sacks out of any team in the Northern Sun with 25 sacks allowed on the season, things seem to be headed in the right direction. The Minot State offense allowed a season-best two sacks against University of Mary. The last time the Beavers allowed less than two sacks was last season against Bemidji State (11/10) when MISU allowed just one sack for 10 yards.

PETERS LEADS THE NSIC: Despite making just four catches during the loss to University of Mary, Wayne Peters (Sr., WR, Carson, Calif.) continues to lead the Northern Sun in receptions with 36 receptions during his senior campaign. Peters is just three catches shy of tying his season total from 2012 where he caught 39 passes for 531 yards and four touchdowns.

BY THE NUMBERS
27 Percent: The Beaver offense has converted just 27 percent of the time of third downs this season. That marks the second worst percentage in the NSIC behind Minnesota Crookston (19.5 percent). On the defensive side of the ball, Minot State ranks No. 8 in the conference allowing opponents to convert just 34.2 percent of the time.

128: The Beavers have a good chance at improving that third down conversion rate as Northern State has allowed 128 first downs on the year, ranking last in the Northern Sun.

19: Since becoming a part of the MISU offensive attack in week 3, Leon La Deaux (Jr., WR, Port Orchard, Wash.) has been a solid target for quarterback Zac Cunha (So., Rocklin, Calif.). LaDeaux has caught 19 balls for 245 yards and a touchdown in 2013.