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RECORDS: Minot State will enter this weekend's road contest with a 2-6 overall record and a 1-3 record in the Northern Sun North Division. Minnesota State University-Moorhead will also enter with a 2-6 overall record but with a 2-2 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 33-37 record while at MISU and a career record of 76-84. The Dragons are coached by Steve Laqua. Laqua is in his third season as head coach for MSU-Moorhead and currently has a 5-25 overall record. He has multiple years of NCAA Division II coaching experience including stints at both University of Minnesota Crookston (2004-2005) and North Dakota State University (2005-2007).

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 Minot State nor MSU-Moorhead received any votes in the Oct. 28 American Football Coaches Association Poll. In the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Dragons were picked No. 15 while the Beavers were tabbed No. 14 out of the 16 teams in the league.

RECENT HISTORY: Both the Beavers and Dragons were involved in close and competitive football games a week ago. Minot State defeated University of Minnesota Crookston 20-19 in Crookston, Minn. in large part due to the defense. As a team, the Beavers held UMC to 193 yards of total offense and just nine first downs. However, MISU still trailed late in the fourth quarter before Brandon Boston (Jr., DB, Richmond, Texas) made an interception and returned it 59 yards for the score, tying the game. The following extra point gave the Beavers the lead and the defense was able to stop the Golden Eagles again to secure the win. Minnesota State University-Moorhead defeated the University of Mary 48-41 in a high-scoring game in Moorhead, Minn. The win was the first ever for MSU-M against U-Mary for "The Battle for the Paddle", an annual rivalry game played between the two NSIC schools located on prominent regional rivers. The Dragons built a 34-7 lead and weathered a big U-Mary rally in the second half to secure the win. MSU-M outgained the Marauders 582-522, including 416-399 through the air.

OVERALL SERIES: Minot State holds a 5-3 advantage in the all-time series against Minnesota State University-Moorhead, dating back to 1930. Minot State and Dragons faced off last season for the first time in 36 years, ending with a 31-10 MISU win. Prior to 2012, the Beavers had fallen to MSU-Moorhead three straight times.

NOTING THE DRAGONS: Minnesota State University-Moorhead has been one of the most potent offensive teams in the Northern Sun in 2013, racking up an average of 456 yards per game while putting up 32.1 points per game. Quarterback Jake Hodge leads the high powered Dragon attack as he has a combined 27 touchdowns in eight games played this season. Hodge has completed 59 percent of his passes while only throwing two interceptions in 200 attempts. Adam Jirskra has been Hodge's favorite target on the year, as Jirskra has caught a team-high 47 passes. Jirskra has totaled 727 yards on the year as well as eight touchdowns, ranking him third in the NSIC. As the offense has prospered, the MSU-M defense has struggled. The Dragon defense ranks last in the NSIC in both total defense (498.9 ypg) and scoring defense (43.1 ppg). Linebacker Chris Lee has been solid for MSU-Moorhead, notching 65 tackles on the year to lead the team.

DOMINATING DEFENSE: The Minot State defense allowed just 164 yards of total offense in the win over University of Minnesota Crookston, marking the fewest yards given up by a Beaver defense since the 2009 season. UMC could manage just nine first downs on the game and just 23 yards on the ground in 25 attempts. The Beavers defense now ranks No. 7 in the NSIC in total defense (367.9 ypg).

293 TACKLES AND COUNTING: Senior Chad Marshall (LB, Hazen, N.D.) ranks No. 4 in the Northern Sun in tackles with 73 tackles (35 solo, 38 assisted) through eight games. Marshall will need just seven tackles against the Dragons to go over the 300 tackle mark for his career as a Minot State University Beaver  

MIGHTY MUSTIPHER: Jarvis Mustipher (R-Fr., Melbourne, Fla.) gained a career-high 126 yards on 27 attempts Saturday against the Golden Eagles. This marks the second time this season Mustipher has eclipsed the 100 yard mark, the other coming on homecoming in a loss to Winona State. Mustipher now has 461 yards on the season but is still searching for his first career touchdown.

SACKED LUNCH: Going in to the game against University of Minnesota Crookston, the Beaver defense had struggled to sack their opponent's quarterback, collecting just 12 sacks in seven games. MISU broke that habit as they sacked UMC five times in the win. Matt Sumlin (So., DB, Bakersfield, Calif.) led the way with two sacks while Josh Weidler (Sr., LB, Velva, N.D.), Josh Zimmer (Sr., DL, Great Falls, Mont.) and Cameron Stone (Jr., LB, Great Falls, Mont.) each chipped in with one sack apiece.

BOSTON'S PICK-SIX: Trailing 13-19 with just over two minutes remaining in the game, Minot State needed a big play. Brandon Boston (Jr., DB, Richmond, Texas) delivered that big play with a  59 yard interception and return for a touchdown, stealing a win from the hands of the UMC Golden Eagles. It was Boston's second interception of the year and Minot State's first "Pick-Six" since John Denne returned an interception 37 yards for a score against Valley City State University on Sept. 25, 2010.  

FIVE CATCHES PER GAME CLUB: Wayne Peters (Sr., WR, Carson, Calif.) and Leon LadDeaux (Jr., WR, Port Orchard, Wash.) both rank in the top 10 in the Northern Sun in receptions per game. Peters is tied for first in the NSIC with 51 receptions on the year and 6.38 catches per game. LaDeaux sits in fifth place in the Northern Sun with 5.83 catches per game.

BY THE NUMBERS
Minus-2: Minnesota State University-Moorhead has only returned three punts on the season resulting in -2 yards on those three returns. A season ago, the Dragons returned 16 punts for 223 yards- an average of 13.9 yards per punt return.

70.5: Leon La Deaux (Jr., WR, Port Orchard, Wash.) is averaging 70.5 yards per game through his first six games as a Minot State Beavers. LaDeaux's best game of the year came in his MISU debut where he had nine catches for 131 yards and a score.

204: Last season when the Beavers defeated MSU-Moorhead 31-10, Minot State went for 204 yards and a season-best four touchdowns with their running attack. The Beavers have traditionally been a throwing team, but history shows MSU-M can allow big plays on the ground, averaging 6.1 yards per rush against them.