FAYETTE, Iowa – It was a game of missed opportunities for Minot State.

The Beavers trailed just 14-7 at Upper Iowa midway through the third quarter, but the Beavers had multiple chances to be tied or in the lead at the midway point of the game.

Those missed opportunities came back to haunt the Beavers as Upper Iowa took advantage with a big third quarter, outscoring MSU 21-0 to pull away for a 35-7 win in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football Saturday at Harms-Eischeid Stadium.

"The third quarter was really bad football all the way around," said MSU head coach Tyler Hughes. "They made the big plays and it changed the game. Through the first half, we did some good things, but left some opportunities on the table and in the third quarter they got after us. They made the big plays and we didn't."

Minot State (1-3 overall, 1-3 NSIC) moved the ball well most the game, finishing with 381 yards in total offense and 19 first down. The Beavers earned three of those on their first drive in the third quarter, pushing to the UIU 25. But a holding penalty and a missed field goal stalled the drive.

"We had some red zone opportunities and came away with nothing and missed a couple field goals – and we had a couple dropped interceptions on defense," Hughes said. "Those compound over the course of the game. But with that being said, we could have coached better, put our guys in better positions."

The Peacocks (1-3, 1-3) opened up the game after the MSU missed field goal. UIU scored on a short field to make it 21-7 on possession after, picked off a Minot State pass for a touchdown on the Beavers' ensuing drive and scored one play after a 70 yard rush on their next drive all in a span of about five minutes of game time.

"We had a solid week in practice and I thought we were ready to go," Hughes said. "We played well early on, but couldn't carry that over to the second half."

MSU ran out to a 7-0 lead as Jarvis Mustipher scored from 14 yards out on the Beavers second possession of the game to make it 7-0. MSU put together two good drives to start the game, moving 53 yards on five plays to open the game before missing a field goal and then the Mustipher touchdown drive that covered 66 yards in eight plays.

"We wanted to come out with multiple looks, different concepts and be as multiple as we could to keep them from figuring us out on offense," Hughes said. "On defense, we worked on gap control, getting into good formation and have good pursuit. For the most part we did that in the first quarter."

Upper Iowa scored to tie it later in the second and took a lead midway through the second quarter after a Beaver fumble. The turnover was the first of three turnovers in the game for MSU.

The final totals were close but the way each team went about getting there was much different. UIU outgained MSU 444-381 overall as they rolled up 338 yards rushing as three individuals went over the 100 yard mark led by quarterback Dimitri Morales' 133.

The Beavers finished with a 271-106 edge in passing. Isaiah Weed threw for 226 yards, while Jose Escobar finished with 45 yards passing in his first minutes of the year. Weed finished with 50 yards rushing and Mustipher added 42 and a score on the ground. Akkil Walker caught six passes for 77 yards and Cordell Pimienta added seven catches for 39 yards to pace the receivers.

MSU's Michael Jenkins led the defense with nine tackles and two pass breakups, while Roma'n Grissett earned his first career interception and added two tackles.

The Beavers stay on the road next week but open NSIC North Division play at Northern State Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in Aberdeen, S.D.

About Minot State
Minot State University is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and NCAA Division II offering 14 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletics programs. The NSIC is a premier NCAA DII, 16-member conference featuring teams in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa. The Beavers are the only public NCAA Division II institution in the state of North Dakota.