FULL PDF RELEASE  |  LIVE VIDEO  |  LIVE STATS  |  LIVE AUDIO  |  TICKETS

Teams: Minot State at Minnesota State University | Series: MSU leads series 1-0
Date: Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014 | Time: 1 p.m. | Site: Blakeslee Stadium

RECORDS: Minot State head back on the road with an 0-2 record overall and 0-2 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play. The Beavers are 0-1 on the road. This will be the third of four interdivisional games before NSIC North play begins in two weeks. Minnesota State is 2-0 overall and 2-0 in the NSIC.
 
COACHES CORNER: Minot State's head coach is Tyler Hughes, who begins his first season at the helm. He is 0-2 at Minot State and 20-6 overall as a head coach, all at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, where he coached from 2011-12. Hughes spent last season as an assistant coach with Urban Meyer at Ohio State. Minot State and Minnesota State head coach Todd Hoffner will forever be linked as Hoffner was the head coach with the Beavers for 75 days before being reinstated at Minnesota State. Hoffner is 36-13 with the Mavericks and is an impressive 82-42 overall as a head coach.
 
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: Minnesota State moved up one place in the American Football Coaches Association Poll and is now No. 3 in the country in both the AFCA and the D2Football.com polls. Minot State is unranked in both polls.
 
RECENT HISTORY: The Beavers fell behind early and never recovered during their home opener, falling 49-3 to Upper Iowa. Minot State got a Brian Gutierrez (Sr., K, Granada Hills, Calif.) 27-yard field goal as its only points in the game. Minnesota State ran up a huge 69-13 win over Minnesota State University Moorhead in Moorhead, Minn., Saturday, scoring the fourth highest point total in school history.
 
OVERALL SERIES: MISU and MSU have met just one other time – the Beavers first ever NSIC contest – as the Mavericks won 44-10. The Beavers actually led the game 7-3 midway through the first quarter as Glyn Borel (Sr., WR, San Jose, Calif.) caught a 6-yard TD from Bryce Jorgenson. Aaron La Deaux (So., K/P, Port Orchard, Wash.) kicked a 49-yard field goal, the longest Minot State field goal over the past 10 seasons, to cut the Mavericks' lead to 23-10 at halftime. MSU, however, got three TDs in the second half. Thomas Connor and Jon Wolf combined for 161 yards rushing and the Mavericks defense held the Beavers to minus-(-44) yards rushing.
 
NOTING THE MAVERICKS: Minnesota State drew 6,022 for its home opener, a 31-0 shutout win over St. Cloud State in the season opening game… The Mavericks have outscored their opponents 100-13 through two games and have an impressive 1,004 yards of total offense… Tyler Henderson paces the defense with 16 total tackles… Andy Pfeiffer and Connor Thomas have combined for 413 yards rushing and five touchdowns. The Mavericks have outrushed their opponents 654-369… MSU is winning the battle of turnovers as they have forced five fumbles and intercepted two passes to have a plus-5 turnover ratio… The offensive line has not allowed a sack so far this season despite running 145 total plays.
 
PUNTER PROWESS: Minot State sophomore Aaron La Deaux (P/K, Port Orchard, Wash.) is currently third in the conference punting average, nailing a 40.2-yarder each time out. He is one of three punters in the league to average about 40-yards per kick. The former All-NSIC North punter was injured last season before returning to the lineup in 2014. He has a long punt of 55 yards this season.

GROUNDED TO A HALT: The Beavers have not generated much offense through two games, ranking last in total offense and in rushing offense in the conference. Minot State has mustered just 101 yards through two games, gaining just 1.7 yards per carry and are one of three scores in the conference without a rushing TD. Contrast that to Minnesota State, who is the top rushing team in the league, as the Mavericks have 620 yards rushing, average 6.1 per carry and have six scores on the ground.

ALL-AROUND GUY: Minot State senior Leon La Deaux (WR, Port Orchard, Wash.) is seventh in the Northern Sun in all-purpose yards. La Deaux is third overall in the league in kick return average and is second in total kick return yards with 209. As a receiver, he is tied for the team lead with 79 yards receiving. He has helped the Beavers to the fourth-best average on kick returns as a team, churning up 23.3 yards per kick.

KEEPING THE BALL: The Beavers have a slight edge in possession time overall in their first two games of the season, averaging 31 minutes, 38 seconds per game compared to 28:22 for its opponents. Minot State had a lengthy possession last week to help those numbers, going on an 16-play, 61 yard drive for a field goal that totaled 8:28 of the second quarter.

JAMES JARS IT LOOSE: Junior linebacker Aaron James (LB, Oklahoma City, Okla.) has found a knack for stripping the ball away from the opposition as he has two forced fumbles in two games. His first force turned into a touchdown return for defensive lineman Thomas Bryson (Jr., Layton, Utah) in week 1 and last week he forced a fumble just outside midfield that Isaiah Steinwand (Jr., DB, Minot, N.D.) pounced on. James leads the team in tackles for a loss with 3.5 and is tied for fourth overall in total tackles with 14 stops.

QUESTIONS AT QB: Minot State has played two quarterbacks in two games as junior Zac Cunha (Rocklin, Calif.) was replaced midway through the second quarter last week by sophomore Crosby Jensen (Salt Lake City, Utah). Jensen finished his first game with the Beavers with 150 yards passing on 15 completes and two interceptions. Through two games, the Beavers have completed just 31-of-70 passes for 329 yards.
 
BEHIND THE NUMBERS
9: Times Minnesota State has been in the red zone on offense and the amount of times the Mavericks have scored, including eight TDs. Of those eight touchdowns, MSU has been an even split between passing and rushing, earning four each.

9.5: Average number of tackles made per game by senior Levi Freidt (LB, Minot, N.D.) who is second on the team and 16th in the conference. Freidt now has 171 tackles in his Minot State career.

17: Penalties committed by the Beavers in two games, tied for second most in the conference. Minot State has surrendered a total of 145 yards or an average of 73.5 per game on miscues.