BEMIDJI, Minn. – Minot State University football struggled offensively in loss at Bemidji State.

That was most evident in the red zone as Minot State went 2-for-4 in the game, but found the end zone just once.

"We didn't play good football in any way offensively and didn't come to play," said MSU head coach Tyler Hughes. "There were some fundamental things that are required to be successful and we didn't do those. We came out slow and never got into a rhythm. They didn't give us things we haven't seen, we just didn't move the football."

The lack of scoring punch, coupled with four long drives by Bemidji State, helped BSU to a 31-17 win over Minot State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football Saturday in front of 3,203 fans at Chet Anderson Stadium.

"We certainly had some scoring opportunities and didn't execute and take advantage of them," Hughes said. "We talked about it after the game in the locker room, we have to take personal responsibility of what happens on the field and if one guy doesn't do what he is supposed to do, it makes us break down."

Minot State finished with just 185 yards of total offense and were outgained by BSU 416-185. If it wasn't for special teams' play, it might have been a bigger margin. Minot State's Randel Barber (Jr,, DB, Maricopa, Ariz.) blocked a pair of punts – one resulting in a touchdown by Michael Jenkins (So., DB, Orlando, Fla.). The Beavers also had 92 yards of punt returns, one by Glyn Borel (Sr., WR, San Jose, Calif.) setting up a field goal.

"Randel made some big plays with those blocks – some individual effort plays," said Hughes. "It was nice to get a couple of those as we have made it a point of emphasis this season. He helped get us some points on the one play and put us in a position to score on the other."

The biggest potential special teams' play turned into the biggest defensive stand for Bemidji State. A bad snap by BSU in punt formation gave Minot State the ball at the Bemidji 11 with 7:23 to play in the game trailing by 14. Minot State got to the BSU 3, but MSU was intercepted in the end zone to negate the drive.

BSU scored nine plays later on a 9-yard run by Jonathan Albercrombie to put the lead to 31-10.

After a scoreless first quarter, Bemidji opened a 14-0 lead behind a huge 13-play, 89-yard drive as Ryan Shields hit Tucker Forsgren from 4-yards out. Shields then found Brady Schmidt from 24 yards out four minutes later for the two TD lead.

Minot State countered with a 32-yard field goal by Brian Gutierrez (Sr., K, Granada Hills, Calif.), but MSU gave up a quick drive right before the half resulting in a 38-yard field goal by Kyle Fodness to stake BSU to a 17-3 halftime lead.

Schmidt put BSU (3-4 overall, 3-4 NSIC, 3-0 NSIC North) up 24-3 early in the third quarter on a pass from Shields, before the Jenkins special team's TD ended the third with BSU up by two scores. The final ended at two scores as well as Borel hauled in a 20-yard TD from Zac Cunha (Jr., QB, Rocklin, Calif.) with just over a minute to play.

Shields went 21 of 42 for 317 yards and three touchdowns to pace BSU. Schmidt caught six passes for 96 yards in the win.

Cunha was 12-for-33 passing for 164 yards with a TD and an interception. Jarvis Mustipher (So., RB, Melbourne, Fla.) led the Beavers in rushing with 17 yards on eight carries. MSU finished with just 21 yards rushing in the game. Leon La Deaux (Sr., WR, Port Orchard, Wash.) caught five passes for 74 yards, while Borel finished with 61 yards on three catches.

Three Minot State (0-7, 0-7, 0-3) defensive players finished with 10 tackles or more as Jenkins led the Beavers with 13 total. Levi Freidt (Sr., LB, Minot, N.D.) and Aaron James (Jr., LB, Oklahoma City, Okla.) added 11 and 10 stops respectively. Freidt had another huge game as he added two sacks, three tackles for a loss and one pass breakup to go with his 11 tackles.

"Overall, defensively we played well," Hughes said. "We had some breakdowns here and there, but were good overall. We had some big stops on third down stops in the red zone, I thought they did their part

"But again, I always think you need to take personal responsibility. I hope they all feel that even if they did well, they aren't happy because it was a loss."

Minot State will look to get its first win of the season as they play host to Minnesota Crookston Saturday.