THIS WEEK: Minot State returns to Herb Parker Stadium to celebrate Homecoming 2016 by taking on No. 15 ranked University of Sioux Falls Saturday starting at 3 p.m.

RECORDS: Minot State is 1-1 overall and 1-1 in NSIC play. USF is 2-0 overall and 2-0 in NSIC play. This is the third week of the conference's North-South Division games.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State's head coach is Tyler Hughes, who is in his third season at the helm. He is 3-21 at Minot State and 23-25 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. USF's head coach is Jed Stugart, entering his seventh season. Stugart has built USF into a NCAA Division II powerhouse winning 545 games against just 16 losses. He is 40-15 in games since moving to DII and helped the Cougars to the national title game in NAIA in 2010.

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: The University of Sioux Falls is one of four ranked Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference teams and is the highest ranked NSIC team in the latest American Football Coaches Association Top 25 poll, coming in at No. 15. Augustana University is No. 18, Minnesota State is No. 21 and Bemidji State leaps into the top 25 at No. 24 after topping the Mavericks last week. USF is also No. 15 in the D2Football.com poll. Minot State is not ranked in either poll this week.

RECENT HISTORY: The Beavers defense held off one last charge by Wayne State College as Donnell Vercher intercepted a pass in the end zone to preserve a 20-14 win over the Wildcats Saturday night at Wayne, Neb. The Beavers built a 20-7 lead early in the third quarter and then used a solid ground game led by Jarvis Mustipher and timely passing from backup quarterback Isaiah Weed to secure the win. Mustipher rushed for 72 yards and a score, while Weed passed for 161 and a TD in relief of injured MSU starter Zac Cunha. MSU's defense, again led by Trevin Swensen, held a high-powered WSC offense to just 116 yards passing and 283 total yards. USF gave up 21 first half points last week against Minnesota State University Moorhead, but scored nearly at will. The Cougars led 28-21 at half and shut out MSUM in a 42-21 win at home. Luke Papilion passed for two scores and rushed for four others as he had 160 yards passing and a 149 yards rushing. Mickey Max added 185 yards rushing for the Cougars as they rolled to 44 yards rushing, averaging 9.3 per carry.

OVERALL SERIES: Minot State trails the all-time series with the University of Sioux Falls 4-1, winning the first meeting in the 1994 NAIA playoffs.

LAST TIME OUT: The Beavers fell behind early in Tyler Hughes' MSU coaching debut, falling 41-14 at USF to start the 2014 season. The Beavers were down 34-7 at half with the lone bright spot a Glyn Borel 52 yard pass from Zac Cunha. MSU cut it to 34-14 as Thomas Bryson returned a fumble 63 yards for a score, but MSU couldn't get anything going on offense in the second half. Cunha threw for 158 yards and Jarvis Mustipher added 33 yards rushing for MSU. Casey Weinmann had a huge day with 19 tackles, while Lebi Freidt added 11 and a QB sack. Nephi Garcia and Joseph Hlushak were a solid 1-2 punch for USF with 89 and 86 yards rushing respectively.

NOTING THE COUGARS: The University of Sioux Falls is the highest ranked Northern Sun team after Minnesota State tumbled from the top 10 last week… Luke Papilion had a great day with six total touchdowns, four on the ground and two passing. He was intercepted four times, however. In all, Papilion finished with 160 yards passing and 149 yards rushing… USF has rolled to 53 first downs in two games, picking up a staggering 33 first downs via the rush… The Cougars average 594.5 yards per game, steamrolling to 1,189 overall… Max Mickey has 363 yards rushing in two games… Brady Rose has caught 12 passes for 223 yards, averaging 18.5 yards per catch, but its fellow receiver Josh Angulo who leads the team in touchdown receptions, catching three for scores on six total… Josh Butlder had 18 total tackles for the Cougars, while Drew Jackson has 2.5 sacks on the season.

FAMILIAR SPOT: Isaiah Weed found himself in a familiar spot Saturday night as the Beavers were forced to go to their backup after starter Zac Cunha went down with an injury just before halftime. Weed, who made five appearances last year as a true freshman, stepped in and delivered a solid performance, tossing a touchdown to go along with 160 yards passing and a 192.2 efficiency rating. Probably most impressive for Weed was a stat that didn't show up in the scoresheet as he was recorded with just four yards rushing total. But Weed's elusiveness in the backfield saved the Beavers on multiple occasions, turning would-be sacks into positive yards. Weed has 507 yards passing in six career games and 71 yards rushing total.
 
EVEN AKKIL: MSU senior wideout Akkil Walker has been a steady target for the various Minot State quarterbacks over the past two seasons. He is in his third year overall, but came into his own last year after redshirting in 2013, catching a career-high 39 passes for 381 yards, ranking him second on the team in both categories. He had a career-high 117 yards on 10 receptions in the Beavers opening game in 2015 and then has paced the Beavers in receiving yards in both games to start this season. Walker caught four passes for 83 yards in week 1 and snagged three for 84 yards and his first TD of the season in week 2

Akkil Walker (WR, 5-11, 168, Sr., Miami, Fla. / Miami Southridge)
Season Total Receiving

Opponent	No.	Yards	TDs	Long
Minnesota State	4	83	0	39
Wayne State College	3	84	1	67
TOTAL	7	167	1	67

FEAR THE BEARD PART 2: Beavers All-NSIC punter Aaron La Deaux finished Saturday's game with another solid outing, averaging 43.6 per kick. He had a long of 52 and two more 50-plus kicks. He pinned the Wildcats deep in their own territory twice, once on a 50-yarder that finished at the WSC 6 and another, his shortest of the day, a 36-yard dart that went out of bounds at the WSC 7, both in the second half.

MUSTIPHER MOVING CLOSER TO 2,000: Jarvis Mustipher's 72 yards rushing Saturday moved him to within 101 yards of 2,000 for his career. Mustipher played in his 32nd game in his career and scored his ninth rushing touchdown. He is fifth all-time in rushing (since 1974) having just passed Neil Graham. He needs 52 yards to catch Dennis Rekedal. Scott Deibert is the Beavers all-time leader with 3,144 from 1994-97.

SPREADING THE WEALTH: Both Zac Cunha and Isaiah Weed have moved the ball around to multiple receivers over the first two weeks. MSU had eight different players with at least one catch and no one player has 10 yet on the season. Three different receivers – Akkil Walker, Ray Watkins and Taylor Maloney – have caught touchdown passes.

BY THE NUMBERS

2: MSU takeaways compared to giveaways. The Beavers are plus-2 over the first two games as MSU has only coughed up the ball once and have a fumble recovery and two interceptions through two games.

12.5: Tackles averaged by Trevin Swensen to start the season. Swensen, who led the Beavers in 2015 in tackles, has been the individual leader in both games in 2016.

21: MSU first downs through the air. The Beavers have 33 total first down through two games with 21 coming via the pass. Minot State has eight rushing and four by penalty.