THIS WEEK: Minot State finishes the 2016 season at home against rival University of Mary Saturday starting at 1 p.m. at Herb Parker Stadium. The game will be the fourth "Battle of the Big Lake" game featuring a traveling trophy to commemorate the only yearly played game between NCAA teams in the state of North Dakota.

RECORDS: Minot State is 2-8 overall, 2-8 in NSIC play and is 1-5 in the NSIC North Division. U-Mary comes into the weekend with a 1-9 overall record, 1-9 in NSIC games and 1-5 in the North.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State's head coach is Tyler Hughes, who is in his third season at the helm. He is 4-28 at Minot State and 24-32 overall as a head coach. University of Mary is coached by Josh Kotelnicki who is 7-25 in his third season.

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. MSU's play-by-play is anchored by Leif Bakken with Anthony Battle providing color commentary. Minot State Athletics also is active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube with all feeds accessible through the home page.

RANKINGS: Minot State and U-Mary were not ranked in either the American Football Coaches Association Top 25 poll or the D2Football.com Top 25 this week.

RECENT HISTORY: MSU struggled to get the offense going in a 31-0 loss at home last week to St. Cloud State. Ben Zahniser led the way with 63 yards rushing for the Beavers. U-Mary was dismantled at #18 Minnesota Duluth as the Bulldogs scored 54 first half points to roll to a 75-14 win. Nick McCann passed for 97 yards in the loss.

OVERALL SERIES: Minot State and the University of Mary have played 24 times throughout both teams NAIA and NCAA Division II days and the series is tied at 12 overall. U-Mary leads the "Battle of the Big Lake" games 2-1.

LAST TIME OUT: MSU's Jarvis Mustipher bulled his way in from 2-yards out to cap a seven play drive in overtime as the Beavers edged U-Mary 15-9 at the Bismarck Community Bowl. Mustipher led the Beavers with 154 yards rushing in the win. Caleb Buck passed for 214 for the Marauders in the loss.

NOTING THE MARAUDERS: The University of Mary had struggled to score points all season as they have been blanked three times and have only 96 total points through 10 games. But, U-Mary hasn't been shutout since week four and has reached double digits in three of its past four games… Zach Podoll and Zack Gravs have been the main offensive weapons as Podoll leads the team with 391 yards rushing, while Graves has 361 and two TDs… Passing the ball has been an issue as UM does not have 1,000 passing as a team yet. Nick McCann has been the most effective averaging 124 yards passing.

NOTING THE BEAVERS: Minot State will honor 15 seniors during its last game of the season Saturday… Ben Zahniser and Jarvis Mustipher have emerged as a solid 1-2 punch in the backfield. The freshman Zahniser has 562 yards and eight TDs on the season, while senior Mustipher has 502 and five TDs. The two have combined for 1,062 and 13 TDs… Donnell Vercher intercepted his team-leading third pass last week and has a chance to reach 100 tackles on the season as he sits at 90 through 10 games. He also has six pass breakups… Senior Aaron La Deaux continues to lead NCAA Division II in punting average, carrying a 46.8 per punt average into the weekend… Freshmen Lavante Bushnell and Cordell Pimienta are ranked second and fourth overall in receiving for the Beavers as Bushnell has caught 31 passes for 355 yards, while Pimienta has 16 catches for 230 yards.