THIS WEEK: Minot State begins the 2015 season at home taking on Southwest Minnesota State Thursday. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m.

RECORDS: The Beavers (0-0, 0-0) finished last season with a 1-10 record after a home loss against No. 2 Minnesota Duluth. The Mustangs (0-0, 0-0) ended 2014 with a 3-8 record losing their final game at home against Augustana.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State's head coach is Tyler Hughes, who is in his second season at the helm. He is 1-10 at Minot State and 21-14 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. SMSU's coach is Cory Sauter, who is 21-35 entering his sixth year. Sauter spent two seasons as the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator before being named head coach. Prior to his coaching career he spent six year playing professional football in the NFL and NFL Europe.

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: This is the first game of the season for both teams.

OVERALL SERIES: Minot State and SMSU have played only five games dating back to 1990. The Beavers have only came out victorious is one of the five games in this series with a 36-12 win in 1996. More recently the two teams have played just once as NSIC opponents.

LAST TIME OUT: SMSU won 37-21 at home in 2013 after out gaining MSU 530 yards to 336. Both quarterbacks ended the day with two touchdowns, but the ground game tipped the scale with a three to one difference in favor of SMSU.

NOTING THE MUSTANGS: Southwest Minnesota State struggled at times last year, but still was able put up some impressive offensive statistics including a third-down conversion percentage of 43.8, which was good enough to rank third in the NSIC. They were also one of the most disciplined teams ranking fourth in the NSIC in fewest penalty yards per game (45.5). Even though they were successful in those areas one of their faults in 2014 was their turnover margin which was worst in the conference. The Mustangs expect sophomore quarterback Blake Gimbel to make his first start in Minot. Gimbel will try to hook up with sophomore wide receiver Nate Huot who brought in 52 receptions last season. Of their 13 seniors on the roster safety Jared Twedt sticks out on the defensive side of the ball ranking ninth in the NSIC with 95 tackles as a junior. During his breakout season in 2013 Twedt recorded 82 tackles and hauled in three interceptions along with a forced fumble.

RECOGNITION FOR BRYSON: Minot State senior Thomas Bryson (DL, Layton, Utah) was named the NSIC North preseason Defensive Player of the Year. After stints with BYU and Snow College, Bryson played his first season in the NSIC in 2014 making himself known. Playing in all 11 games the 6-foot-5 defensive end finished the year ranked second in both sacks (10.5) and tackles for a loss (16.5). Ending the season strong Bryson tallied double digit tackle totals in two of the final three games. Rounding off his impressive debut season with two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries including one that he returned for a 63-yard touchdown against Sioux Falls.

NEW FACES ON DEFENSE: The Beavers welcome three new faces to the defense this year with each one playing at a different level. On the defensive line the team welcome Keaton Epps (Jr., Wake Forest, N.C.), a junior defensive end from Southern Virginia. Epps was named to the All-USCAA first team in 2014 and hopes to create havoc on the line opposite of Thomas Bryson. At linebacker, Snow College transfer Trevin Swensen (Jr., Shelley, Idaho) will add consistency to the front seven. Earning an All-American honorable mention spot Swensen led his team with 63 tackles last season adding 5.5 sacks. In coverage will be senior defensive back Maurice Talley, Jr. (Elk Grove, Calif.). After spending time at Snow College, Weber State and Utah this 6-foot corner adds size and speed to the starting lineup.

DELIVERY BY AIR AT THE HERB: In the four games Zac Cunha (Sr., QB, Rocklin, Calif.) started at home last season he averaged 295.5 yards per game and over two touchdowns. Throwing an impressive 10 touchdowns to two interceptions at home the Rocklin, Calif. native was able to lead the Beavers to their only win of the season by throwing four touchdown passes on the way to a 50-20 victory. Cunha also threw his season high 76-yard pass in his first home start against Wayne State.

THIRD YEAR FOR MUSTIPHER: After leading the Beavers in his first two season playing Jarvis Mustipher (Jr., RB, Melbourne, Fla.) is still waiting for his breakout year. With 692 yards in 2013 and 415 yards in 2014 the back has broken the century mark four times in his career, but only doing it once last season. Mustipher will be given the starting role in the first game of the season with hopes of reaching the end zone and increasing his production as he has four rushing touchdowns in his two-year career.

SIZING UP AT WIDE RECEIVER: Minot State will once again have two big receivers book ending their offense this season. At 6-foot-2 Porter Sturm (Sr., Roy, Mont.) has finished with at least 37 receptions in his first three seasons. With 1,514 career yards and eight touchdowns Sturm is sure to be one of Zac Cunha's favorite targets. Opposite of Sturm will be fellow senior Brayden Loertscher (West Valley City, Utah). The 6-foot-1, 196 pound receiver didn't have the stats Sturm did last year, but he finished with a four-game streak with at least one reception. Even at slot the 5-11 Akkil Walker (Jr., Miami, Fla.) is a size upgrade from the average slot receiver. Walker will be playing in his second season after redshirting in 2013 and appearing in seven games in 2014.

LA DEAUX TAKES OVER: Junior Aaron La Deaux (Jr., K/P, Port Orchard, Wash.) will take over the specialist duties by both kicking and punting for the Beavers after only punting last season. In 2014 La Deaux landed 20 punts inside the 20 yard line as well as kicking eight over 50 yards earning first team All-NSIC North honors. This will be his first year kicking since 2012 when he made six-of-ten field goals, including a 49-yard make. In 2013 La Deaux used his redshirt due to an injury.

BY THE NUMBERS

4.2: Average yards per rush given up by the Beavers defense in 2014. It is also the same number SMSU averaged per rush last season.

14: TD passes for junior Zac Cunha this season compared to just five interceptions. That was Cunha's best ratio in his three years.

26: Sacks by the Minot State defense last season. The mark was good enough for a top five ranking in the NSIC.