THIS WEEK: Minot State finishes off a two-game homestand and plays its final game at Herb Parker Stadium in 2015 as the Beavers play host to their Minnesota counterpart, Bemidji State, Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Minot State will celebrate Senior/Parent Day and honor military personnel with Military Appreciation Day.

RECORDS: The MSU Beavers (1-7, 1-3 NSIC North) are coming off of a 30-20 loss against MSU Moorhead. Bemidji State (5-3, 4-0) defeated St. Cloud State 28-27 last weekend.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State's head coach is Tyler Hughes, who is in his second season at the helm. He is 2-16 at Minot State and 22-20 overall as a head coach, all at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, where he coached from 2011-12. Hughes spent the 2013 season as an assistant coach with Urban Meyer at Ohio State. Jeff Tesch is in his 20th year as the head coach of Bemidji State. Tesch has won more games in his first 19 years, 119, than the total win number had reached before he took the position. The 2006 NSIC Coach of the Year has produced 10 All-Americans and more than 30 all-region players at Bemidji State. Prior to joining BSU, Tesch spent 11 years as an assistant coach for North Dakota.

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. 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, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube with all feeds accessible through the home page.

RANKINGS: Neither team is ranked in either the American Football Coaches Association Poll or the D2Football.com polls.

RECENT HISTORY: Minot State, returning home, began its game against MSU Moorhead behind 10-0 after allowing a blocked punt to be returned for a touchdown. While Minot State was able to tie the game up 13-13 before entering halftime and go up 20-13 after the third quarter, mistakes in the fourth quarter hurt chances to put the game away. When heading into the end zone with the ball inside the ten-yard line penalties backed up MSU to force them to attempt to convert a 3rd-and-46 and stop the team from scoring another touchdown. With Moorhead scoring the last 17 points Minot State fell in its second straight game. Bemidji State won its last game 28-27 with a missed extra point by St. Cloud State saving the game. After going up 14-0 Bemidji State allowed the Huskies to tie the game 21-21 going into halftime. Scoring the next touchdown but BSU up 28-21 and after SCSU scored what looked to be the game-tying touchdown the Huskie kicker failed to put the final point on the board as the game ended in a one point decision.

OVERALL SERIES: Minot State is just 1-15 overall against Bemidji State in a series that dates back to 1999. BSU is riding a 12-game winning streak in the series with the last MSU win coming in 2002. Minot State has not defeated Bemidji State at Herb Parker Stadium during the series.

LAST TIME OUT: With a 52-7 victory last season MSU Moorhead was able to 360 yards rushing with four rushing touchdowns and three passing. Minot State was not able to get on the board until the fourth quarter when Jarvis Mustipher (RB, Jr., Melbourne, Fla.) ran 35 yards into the end zone. Mustipher finished just four yards short of passing the century mark with 96 yards on 14 attempts. Minot State struggled to hold on to the ball fumbling three times, turning it over twice. Porter Sturm (WR, Sr., Roy, Mont.) led the passing game with six receptions for 32 yards while Aaron James (LB, Sr., Oklahoma City, Okla.) led the defense with 11 tackles.

NOTING BEMIDJI STATE: While Bemidji State has a middle of the pack offense (ranked seventh in scoring in NSIC) it sports one of the conference's best defenses. BSU ranks third in the NSIC in scoring defense by only allowing 20.6 points per game. A big part of that defense come from stopping the run allowing just 118.8 yards per game on the ground and 3.2 yards per carry Bemidji State. BSU has been efficient through the air on offense throwing for 19 touchdowns compared to three interceptions. On the ground Bemidji State has been able to average 4.6 yards per carry and reach the goal line 14 times.

ON ROTATION: While the MSU Beavers went a second straight game without throwing an interception they did so with two quarterbacks. Jose Escobar (Jr., Norwalk, Calif.) has earned the team's starting spot after his three-touchdown performance against St. Cloud State, but he came up more than once against MSU Moorhead in order for freshman Isaiah Weed (Bonney Lake, Wash.) to come in and take a few snaps. Weed completed two passes on two attempts for 42 yards and a touchdown while carrying the ball once for a 14-yard gain. Escobar ended the game with 162 yards passing, 16 yards rushing and a touchdown of his own.

BACKFIELD WOES: With starting running back Jarvis Mustipher (Jr., Melbourne, Fla.) out of the game against MSU Moorhead and Charles Hall (Jr., Hinesville, Ga.) sustaining an injury early in the game the MSU Beavers had to rely on their depth to handle the rushing duties. With Tyere Hunter (So., Spring Valley, Calif.) and Darrell Milburn (Jr., Baltimore, Md.) taking the majority of carries Minot State failed to average over three yards per carry.

HOME FIELD PLAY: Minot State has yet to win a home game this season marking a six-game streak dating back to last year. The MSU Beavers have struggled at home averaging less than 100 yards rushing (94.5) and less than 200 yards passing (193.75) at home with 16.75 points per game scored at home on average. MSU will play its final home game of 2015 this week against Bemidji State.

BY THE NUMBERS

7: Receptions by Porter Sturm (WR, Sr., Roy, Mont.) against MSU Moorhead matching his season high in reception totals. Sturm gained 128 yards and added a touchdown to his performance.

16: Tackles recorded by Aaron James (Sr., Oklahoma City, Okla.) against MSU Moorhead. James added two tackles for a loss including one sack.  

30: Times the MSU Beavers ran the ball against MSU Moorhead. That mark is the lowest the team has ran all year.